Philadelphia and the surrounding area have boasted a lot of firsts in America, for better and for worse. Among the worse is the first kidnapping for ransom in the nation. In 1874, less than two years before Philadelphia hosted America’s Centennial celebration, two men drove a carriage up Washington Lane, Germantown, hoping to find the children of a wealthy resident for their ransom. They found Charley and Walter Ross, five and four years old, respectively, and lured them into their carriage with candy.

The kidnappers let Walter go after he started crying, but they demanded a $20,000 ransom for Charley. The twenty-three letters that the kidnappers sent fueled the story nationwide. A line from the first letter inspired the title of Carrie Hagen’s We is Got Him, which follows the story of the Ross kidnapping. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a review of Hagen’s book this past Sunday, but courtesy of Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods, PhilaPlace has an interview with the author.

Although it’s certainly not one of Philadelphia’s happier stories, it is one of its more interesting ones and it’s worth a read. And remember, don’t take candy from strangers.