The Lancaster Vice Files

Dr. David Franklin Kline, Abortionist

Dr. Kline was a respected physician in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1900. At the same time, he also worked for the brothels in town, as other doctors did. He provided abortions for sex workers and other Lancaster women. Listen to find out how he ended up in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.

Fair Elise and Mary: You'll be all right now

This is the second of two episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. Listen to this episode after Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel. She ended up in a brothel in 1913 because of her parents' financial struggles and illnesses. At this point, brothels ran "wide open" in Lancaster, with the encouragement of city officials. Learn what it was like to live in a brothel and see how Fair Elise's life turns out. You might be surprised.

Fair Elise: Child of the Brothel

This is the first of two episodes about Fair Elise, a toddler who spent several years in a brothel. She ended up in a brothel in 1913 because of her parents' financial struggles and illnesses. At this point, brothels ran "wide open" in Lancaster, with the encouragement of city officials. Learn what it was like to live in a brothel and see how Fair Elise's life turns out. You might be surprised.

Barbara Foreman, Charity Girl

Barbara Foreman worked as a tobacco wrapper in the city in the early 1900s. She was part of a growing number of wage-earning women who traveled the streets downtown, where theaters, cafes and dance halls offered enticing respite from the drudgery of work.  What do the secret Vice Files tell us about this young working woman? Writer and Producer: M. Alison Kibler Narrator: Rachel Rubins Research Team: Jayden LaCoe, Kylie Loughney, Rachel Rubins, Dylan Sykes Geneological research by Hope Glidden Financial Support from the Center for Sustained Engagement with Lancaster at Franklin & Marshall College Additional Support from LancasterHistory

Jennie Taylor, Proprietor of Disorderly Houses

The local newspapers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania wrote often about Jennie Taylor, the daughter of a formerly enslaved man. She made the papers when she was attacked by boyfriends, when she was arrested for public drunkenness or for running a "disorderly" house, and when she fought police officers. What do the unpublished Vice Files add to this publicity about Jennie Taylor? This episode focuses on how race shaped the public and secret sides of Jennie Taylor. Writer and Producer: M. Alison Kibler Narrator: Rachel Rubins Research Team: Jayden LaCoe, Kylie Loughney, Rachel Rubins, Dylan Sykes Geneological research by Hope Glidden Financial Support from the Center for Sustained Engagement with Lancaster at Franklin & Marshall College Additional Support from LancasterHistory