N.B. This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on Ely Goldsmith. Links to earlier articles are at the bottom of this post. Introduction We’ve learned a lot about Ely Goldsmith over the last four blog posts. He left a very large footprint in the court records and press. But what of his family? His […]
The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 5: Virtually Invisible Female Relations Read More »
NB. This is Part 4 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Links to other articles are at the bottom of this post. Introduction As the 1930s dawned, we find Ely in and out of prison. Released from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, he was immediately taken into custody for financial fraud. He did
The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 4 – The Cuban Connection Read More »
N.B. This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Previous blog post links are at the bottom of this post. Introduction In the previous installment of this series, we witnessed Ely slide from a legitimate, presumably successful accountant to a sketchy, unqualified immigration consultant. Ely also put the American justice system
The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 3: Unrepentant Convicted Felon Read More »
N.B. This is Part 2 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Part 1 can be viewed here. Links to the other parts are at the bottom of this post. Introduction Ely Goldsmith seemingly had it made, carving out a new life for himself in the USA. He was a naturalized citizen. He was
How does a Certified Public Accountant end up in jail, not once, but twice, for smuggling aliens into the USA? How does a tax accountant end up dabbling in passports and visas? When I first came across H. Ely Goldsmith’s name in the Swiss Archives files, I had no idea he would lead me down
The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 1: From Berlin to New York Read More »
While searching for nuns and spies the other week, Google presented a few results that piqued my curiosity. All of the hits revolved around a lady named Margaret Spencer from Eastbourne. She had passed away in June 2014 and, after her death, her family revealed that Margaret had been a wartime spy. Now, this is
Draper, Nurse, Midwife, Spy: The Fantastical Life of Margaret Spencer Read More »
During the Second World War, rumours of parachute spies dressed as nuns proliferated through the English countryside. Woe betide any nun who went out without her identity papers! She was likely to be arrested and frog-marched to the nearest police station. Of course, we now know those rumours were unfounded. But then… I overheard heard
The Nun Who Wasn’t: Unveiling a Spy Story Too Strange to Believe Read More »
I have received some fascinating mail over the last few months. I am always a bit shocked when people write to me, seemingly out of the blue, and claim their connection to one of the historical figures that I have written about. In so many ways, we are all connected, and these stories, the stories
From the Mailbox: Echoes of Spies, Refugees, and Court Martials – September 2024 Read More »
I’ve been absent from this blog for almost a year but I am now back in the blogging saddle! I hope. It is amazing how times flies! Life can get hectic and sometimes choices have to be made. I am slowly learning that I cannot do “everything”. For the past year, other life projects took
Back in the Blogging Saddle Read More »
I took a big step forwards a few weeks ago. I decided to post some of the photographs of Josef Jakobs onto Alamy, one of the stock photo websites. There are a number of different stock photography sites; places like Shutterstock, Pixabay, Unsplash, iStock, Getty and Alamy. I chose Alamy because they have a section
Photographs of Josef Jakobs now on Alamy Read More »