The Mysterious Death of Polly Schraeder
In January of 1924 the city of Lebanon was shocked by the mysterious demise of an elderly fortune-teller. While the official investigation determined that Mary "Polly" Schraeder had died of natural causes, the facts surrounding the eccentric spinster's death led many to believe that she was murdered for the large fortune she was said to possess. Born in Lancaster County in 1837, Mary C. Schraeder was raised in a Schwarzenau Brethen household-- a strict and fanatically conservative Anabaptist religious sect whose practitioners seemed to relish the challenge of out-suffering their neighbors. Some Schwarzenau Brethren, like those in the monastic community founded by Conrad Biessel, eschewed pillows for wooden blocks upon which to rest their heads, while others followed dietary guidelines so restrictive that it led to many unnecessary and preventable deaths (see my article on the Ephrata Cloister for a deeper explanation). Music was forbidden, art and children's games we...
