Bethel Burying Ground Project

Six-month-old Thomas Summersett* died this date, October 10th, in 1812 of “Summer Complaint” (Cholera) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. John Summersett was the child’s father. There is no available information on the child’s mother. Mr. Summersett worked as an oysterman. Many white historians and artists have represented these Black men and women who labored in this profession in an old-time romantic light. It was a racist image of a happy go lucky “darky” who would sing while hawking his or her goods. The reality was quite different. 

Oysters were the fast food of the 18th and 19th century. The oyster vendor above has forks, plates, and condiments available for her customers. Her income would not have been steady because of the weather and the seasonal availability of the oysters. All Black vendors, regardless of their wares, were subject to violent attacks by thieves and white gangs. There was nothing remotely romantic or nostalgic about what these men and women had to go through just to live in poverty.

It is likely that Mr. Summersett was one of the “Black Warriors.” In 1812, there was a looming threat of the British invading Philadelphia. The Engineer Corps of the U.S. Army requested assistance from the Black citizens of Philadelphia in erecting ramparts or breastwork on the west side of the Schuylkill, near Gray’s Ferry. The African American community’s response was robust. Black religious leaders Richard Allen and Abasolon Jones organized a company of at less a thousand Black men. Some estimates go as high as 2,500. 

The above is a present-day photograph of Small Street (now Kater Street) in South Philadelphia where the Summersett family resided. The street was near an outdoor market. Consequently, there was a large number of residents employed as grocers, cake bakers, fishmongers and biscuit makers.

The Summersett family buried their six-month-old son on an autumn day in 1812 at Bethel Burying Ground.

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Historical Note: On this date, October 10th, in 1887 there were two separate nuisance complaints filed against Bethel AME Church for the lack of upkeep of Bethel Burying Ground.

*”Sommersett” is an alternative spelling of “Summersett.”

Thirty-nine-year-old James Johnson Richmond died this date, October 3rd, in 1853 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. He was employed as a shoemaker at the time of his death. However, three years earlier he worked as a waiter earning $7.50 a week, which was almost double of what the normal income for the average Black man in the same occupation. Mr. Richmond was married to Charlotte Richmond who was thirty-three at the time of her husband’s death. She was employed as a laundress, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. The Richmonds had two sons, John and Peter, who were nine and seven years old respectively at the time of their father’s death. They lost another son Robert on November 4, 1851 to Tuberculosis when the child was eighteen-month-old. He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery. The parents and children were all born free and in Pennsylvania.

The red pin indicates the location of the Richmonds’ home at 417 N. 4th Street.

The Richmond family lived in a northern district of the county of Philadelphia called “Northern Liberties.” They lived in a room at 417 N. 4th Street, a heavy industrial neighborhood, for which they paid $1.75 a month. The children went to local schools for Black children.

Dunlap’s Phoenix Carriage and Coach Manufacturing Company was located a block away from the Richmonds’ residence.

The disease that took the lives of Mr. Richmond and his son Robert was a product of cramped and unventilated living conditions. Tuberculosis was responsible for taking more lives than most other diseases combined. Below are several photographs of the actual alleys that existed near the Richmond family’s home.

Ms. Charlotte Richmond and her children buried their husband and father on an autumn day in 1853 at the Bethel Burying Ground.

Six-year-old Charles Edwards died this date, September 27th, in 1847 of Marasmus and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Marasmus is caused by starvation or a diet totally absent from necessary nutrition. Apart from weight loss, long-term effects of Marasmus in children include repeated infections. Diarrhea, measles, or respiratory infections are serious complications that can be fatal in a child with this illness.

The child’s parents were Ann  (32 years old) and Peter (37 years old). She was employed as a day worker and he was not employed at the time of his son’s death. Three years later in 1850, Mr. Edwards reported he then worked as a waiter. The Edwards also had a thirteen-year-old daughter, Maria, who assisted at home, according to the 1850 United States Census. The entire family lived in 9’x9′ room on School Avenue for which they paid $0.62 a week in rent, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. The degree of the family’s poverty is evident in that the Edwards owned only $15 in personal property, per the 1847 Census.

The Edwards’ home was near the intersection of 2nd and Spruce Streets, not far from the Delaware River wharves.

At the time of the internment of the Edwards’ child, Bethel Burying Ground was in bad shape. On November 10, 1847, the officials of the Philadelphia Board of Health agreed to notify Bethel Church officials that BBG was a public nuisance following complaints by neighbors and an inspection by Board members. “You are hereby notified, that in all future interments made therein, each body shall be deposited in the grave six feet in depth, and filled up with earth to a level with the proper surface of the ground; and that nobody shall be kept upon any part of the said grounds, or in any place appertinent and thereto, for a longer period than two hours previous to it being interred as above directed.” * It is difficult to explain the terrible condition of the small cemetery with the local AME bishop living across the street.**

Six-year-old Charles Edwards was buried on a clear September day where the temperature only reached 60 degrees by the late afternoon.

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Note – an “Ann Edwards,” a Black woman, delivered a stillborn child on September 26, 1844. The child was buried in the “Colored” section of Union Baptist Cemetery, two blocks from BBG. I am unable to definitively determine if this is the woman that was also the mother of Charles.

*Philadelphia Board of Health Minutes for November 10, 1847.

**African Methodist Episcopal Bishop Morris Brown lived at 154 Queen Street the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census.

Fifty-one-year-old Robert Vezey* died this date, September 25th, in 1852 of “Debility” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Mr. Vezey died in the hospital of the Philadelphia Almshouse. The poorhouse medical facility served the destitute who were homeless and who had no resources to support themselves. His cause of death was “Debility” which only described his current physical state. Starvation, living outside in the elements, alcoholism and venereal disease commonly accounted for this condition. 

“In 1835, the overcrowded Philadelphia Almshouse moved to Blockley Township in West Philadelphia, an area once known as “Blockley Farm,” now between 34th Street and University Avenue. Built to house a variety of Philadelphia’s indigent population, the facility consisted of a quadrangle of four sizable buildings including a poorhouse, a hospital, an orphanage, and an insane asylum. Construction of the first building had begun in 1830.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockley_Almshouse

The red pin indicates the location of the Blockley Almshouse and Hospital.

The fact that Mr. Vesey was buried in a private cemetery, as opposed to the city’s potter’s field, indicates that he probably had family already buried at Bethel Burying Ground. I have been unable to positively identify any family members. The 1837 Philadelphia African American Census reports Mr. Vesey as married and employed as a porter. His unnamed spouse worked as a laundress. There are seven men, women and children interred at BBG with the last name of Vesey or with a very close spelling. (See below)

In the week that Mr. Vesey died, there were a total of 22 deaths at Blockley. According to the Board of Health – “People of color, 19. From the Country, 2.” (emphasis added)

*Others buried at Bethel Burying Ground that could have been related to Mr. Vesey:

• Cassandra Veazy: 24 years old; 18 Jan 1829
• Unspecified Veazy: 2 months old; 22 Nov 1828; father, Robert Veazy
• Ann Vesey: 43 years old; 3 Oct 1844
• George Vesy: 40 years old; 11 July 1843
• Mary Ann Vesy: 2 years old; 5 May 1821
• Emily Vizy: 7 months old; 4 Aug 1828
• Thomas Vizy: 10 months old; 24 April 1827