13. The Prospect of Freedom

In this episode, which is the first to have been recorded after the singularly wonderful and marvelously successful Marble House Meeting at the end of June, Taylor has a proper conversation with Kate McCabe, the retired educator, amateur historian, and self-described "Morristown Girl" who knows more about the family of James Colles than anyone who—unlike her—actually shares some of his DNA. McCabe talks about some of the prickly personalities that tried to fit in with the family. She calls Emily Johnston De Forest a "rockstar." She explains "the squabble" over Colles's estate and is pretty sure what good works his son George Wetmore Colles did with the funds he pilfered from it. "To what extent does James Colles owe his wealth to the slave trade?" is another question that gets asked and answered. There is some profanity in this episode, and Taylor explains that hooking up with cousins in his family is definitely a thing, "but only because we all find one another so attractive!"The founding sponsor of Relative Strangers is FamilyTreeChart.com. Use promo code METROPOLITAN to get 10% off your first order. Please follow the podcast on Instagram at RelativeStrangersPodcast, where Taylor is generally a little less dramatic.