1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Welcomed Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In eighteen fifty one, 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 2: a young British man visited London on grim business. He 8 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 2: had just finished burying his mother and now he had 9 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 2: the unenviable task of going through her estate. He was 10 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 2: emptying her desk drawer when he found a small black 11 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 2: object wrapped in paper. When he realized what it was, 12 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 2: he almost dropped it. It was his father's burned and 13 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 2: blackened heart. The story of how the heart was wound 14 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 2: up in that desk begins in eighteen fourteen with one 15 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 2: of the most quintessentially Gothic love affairs in history. It 16 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 2: centered on two star crossed lovers. Mary was the sixteen 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 2: year old daughter of a broke novelist. Percy was a 18 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 2: young poet who hung around Mary's house, always trying to 19 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 2: get her father to look at his writing. He was 20 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 2: also twenty one and married with a child on the way. 21 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 2: Despite the obstacles, Mary and Percy were instantly drawn to 22 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 2: one another. They soon began a torrid affair, meeting in 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 2: secret by her mother's gravestone. Eventually, they decided to make 24 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 2: their love public, revealing it to Mary's father and Percy's wife. 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: Neither family took the news very well, and Percy was 26 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 2: forbidden from seeing Mary ever again, but the young lovers 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,919 Speaker 2: refused to accept defeat. They fled home and spent months 28 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 2: traveling abroad in Europe. When they returned, Mary was pregnant. Unfortunately, 29 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 2: the child was born premature and died only a few 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 2: days later. Mary's grief was made worse when news of 31 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 2: her affair spread. She and Percy were ostracized by London society. 32 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 2: The scandal soon became so overwhelming the couple decided to 33 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 2: flee England again, despite being out of money. It wasn't 34 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 2: long before another tragedy struck. Two years into the affair, 35 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 2: Percy's wife, Harriet, was found floating in London's Serpentine River, 36 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 2: having taken her own life. Mary was riddled with guilt 37 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 2: over Harriet's death, but it solved a lot of her 38 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 2: problems too. She and Percy were married only two weeks later, 39 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 2: finally putting an end to the gossip. They were now 40 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 2: free to live more or less as they pleased, but 41 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: still preferred to avoid London, where they felt unwelcome for 42 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 2: so long. They traveled, often staying in the Italian countryside 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 2: with Percy's wealthy author friends. Meanwhile, Percy and Mary's relationship 44 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 2: continued to face obstacles. They lost two more children to illness, 45 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 2: leaving Mary deeply depressed. Percy sought solace outside their marriage. 46 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 2: He fathered a child with another woman in eighteen eighteen, 47 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: and may have had a separate, ongoing relationship with Mary's 48 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 2: stepsister Claire. Despite Percy's infidelity, Mary's love was steadfast. While 49 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 2: they went through periods of estrangement, she always returned to 50 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 2: him eventually, at least until eighteen twenty two. On July 51 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 2: eighth of that year, Percy was sailing off the coast 52 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 2: of Italy when he was caught in a storm. The 53 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 2: boat capsized and twenty nine year old Percy drowned. His 54 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 2: body washed up on shore, where it was found ten 55 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 2: days later. Because it was in the water so long, 56 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 2: there were concerns that the body might carry bacteria. It 57 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 2: was cremated on the beach and the remains were taken 58 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 2: to Rome for burial. At least most of the remains 59 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 2: were buried there. For some reason, Percy's heart survived the cremation. 60 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 2: This is hard to explain, but it could have been 61 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 2: caused by the heart calcifying due to an earlier. 62 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: Bouts of tuberculosis. For Mary, though, it was proof that 63 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: her husband's romantic spirit persisted beyond the grave. She brought 64 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: the organ home, wrapped it in one of Percy's poems, 65 00:03:58,000 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: and placed it in the top drawer of her right, 66 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: where it stayed until her death. It's a little spooky 67 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: to think of her sitting at that desk writing away 68 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: while her husband's calcified heart lay mere inches away. Maybe 69 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: it inspired her because her writing captured both romance and horror. 70 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: Mary was, of course Mary Shelley, best known as the 71 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,600 Speaker 1: author of the novel Frankenstein. Her husband was Percy Biss Shelley, 72 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: a famous romantic poet. The strange fate of Percy's heart 73 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: is both an unsettling footnote to their torrid relationship and 74 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: a romantic symbol of all they endured after everything they'd 75 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:41,360 Speaker 1: been through scandal, infidelity, and even death, their love still burned. 76 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: When a person dies, we remember them in a number 77 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: of ways. We hold a funeral so that we can 78 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: bid them goodbye one last time. We might hold a 79 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,119 Speaker 1: candlelight vigil or donate money in their honor as well. 80 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 1: But those who are buried in cemeteries are usually commemorated 81 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,440 Speaker 1: by way of a plaque or tombstone marking their grave site. 82 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: It could be inscribed with the dates of their birth 83 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: and death, or a heartfelt message of peace and love. 84 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: But not Sir George Yardley. His grave was different, and 85 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: for a good reason. George was born in fifteen eighty 86 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: seven in Surrey, England, the son of a merchant tailor 87 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: from London, but rather than enter the family business, he 88 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: took a different route for his life. He joined the military. 89 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: He spent several years at war before seeking new horizons 90 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: quite literally. In sixteen oh nine, George ventured out to 91 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: sea with Sir Thomas Gates and a fleet of ships 92 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: carrying colonists and supplies for an expedition to Jamestown in America. 93 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: Although their trip took a bit longer than expected, a 94 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: nasty storm forced their ship to wreck in Bermuda, and 95 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: it took the crew almost a whole year to build 96 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: two new ships that would take every one to Virginia, 97 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: but they eventually made it. By the time everyone arrived, 98 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: conditions in the colony had grown dire. Many were already 99 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 1: dead from sickness or a lack of food, or from 100 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: attacks by the local indigenous tribes. But while others took 101 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: to helping the struggling colony, George was given another task. 102 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: He was sent to look for gold and silver in 103 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: the nearby mountain ranges. Years passed, and in sixteen sixteen, 104 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: his hard work and loyalty had earned him the title 105 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,479 Speaker 1: of Deputy Governor of Virginia. Throughout his tenure as both 106 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: Deputy Governor and then as governor, George accomplished quite a lot. 107 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: He secured peace treaties with the Chickahamane Native Americans, formed 108 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: a local governing body, cultivated land with other farmers, and 109 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,839 Speaker 1: encouraged the construction of a new college. He also married 110 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: a woman named Temperance Flowerdew. She had arrived in Jamestown 111 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: the year before her would be husband, and the couple 112 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: had three children together, Elizabeth, Abigail and their youngest A 113 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: son named Francis. But not everything George did was good 114 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: or wholesome. He oversaw the introduction of the slave trade 115 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: to Virginia when a ship carrying dozens of enslaved Africans 116 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: landed on its shores. The governor then chose to own 117 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: a number of enslaved persons himself, putting them to work 118 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: on his private plantation. Sir George Yeardley did not live long. 119 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: He died in sixteen twenty seven, when he was roughly 120 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: forty years of age. His body was laid to rest 121 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: in Jamestown and adorned with a large grave marker made 122 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: of polished black limestone. It was a significant grave too, 123 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: likely of some great expense, given that had to be quarried, cut, 124 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: and imported from Europe. The stone featured a carving of 125 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: a knight in armor, to its left a curly symbol 126 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: that resembled a backwards question mark, and to the right 127 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: the imprint of a shield. When first installed that his grave, 128 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: these carvings would have been covered by brass overlays, each 129 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: with intricate details, but record of who the stone had 130 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: belonged to had been lost for four centuries, leading many 131 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: to speculate as to who the owner might have been, 132 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: while in September of twenty twenty four we finally got 133 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: our answer. Researchers determined that Sir George Yardley had in 134 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: fact been the original recipient of the gravestone following his 135 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: death and burial in Jamestown. But they didn't obtain this 136 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: information by testing his remains for traces of DNA. There 137 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,239 Speaker 1: was none to test after such a long period of time. Instead, 138 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: they poured through documents and records dating back to the 139 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: sixteen hundreds. Figuring the shape on the stone was a knight, 140 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: they looked at all deceased Englishmen from the sixteen twenties 141 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: who had been knighted, and this led them straight to Yardley. 142 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: As for the stone itself, the researchers were also able 143 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: to find out that it was over three hundred million 144 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: years old and had come from either Ireland or Belgium. 145 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: It would have been very expensive and chosen by Yardley 146 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: or someone close to him in order to show off 147 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: just how rich he really was. But there's something else 148 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: about Sir George, a fact that sets him apart from 149 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: all others in both Jamestown and the rest of America. 150 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: His grave is so old. It's believed to be the 151 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: first in the country ever to be marked with a gravestune, 152 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: and that fact, well, it kind of rocks. I hope 153 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,319 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 154 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 155 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 156 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 157 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 158 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and 159 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the Worldoflore 160 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: dot com. And until next time, stay curious.