Bethel Burying Ground Project

Two-year-old William Wallace died this date, July 11th, in 1844 of Catarrh Fever and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Catarrh is an inflammation of the mucous membrane, particularly of the head and throat.

The child’s parents were Jane and Loveless Wallace. Mr. Wallace’s first name is spelled “Lovelis” in city directories. Ms. Wallace was employed as a “day worker” and Mr. Wallace as a “carter” who owned his own wagon. According to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, the family appeared to be relatively well off financially. They reported that they owned $2,000 in personal property which would be equivalent to approximately $54,500 in today’s U.S. currency. In addition, Mr. Wallace reported that he earned $450 a year, almost twice the average yearly earnings by a Black man laboring in 1844 Philadelphia.

A carter or drayman drove a horse or mule drawn wagon that was used for the transport of all sorts of goods. Most Black men did not own their own rig and either rented one or worked for a weekly salary with a company. Those that owned their own rig were better off financially.

The Wallace family lived at 195 1/2 Lombard Street which was located between 6th and 7th Streets on Lombard, less than a block away from Bethel AME Church. Their rent was $5 a month for one room that was home to three adults and two children, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. One of the adults (unidentified) was born enslaved and purchased his or her freedom for $200. 

The above is a 1914 photo of a room in a building near the Wallace family’s residence. The title of the City of Philadelphia photo is “Slum.”

The last mention of Loveless and Jane Wallace in public records is in the 1848 Philadelphia City Directory.  I am unable to locate any records on the family after that date.

Their young son William was buried on an “intolerably hot” day in July. Tragically, the Wallaces lost another son, 6-year-old John, on December 14, 1845, of Tuberculosis. He was interred next to his younger brother at Bethel Burying Ground. 

Forty-five-year-old Sidney Stewart* died this date, July 7th, in 1853 due to hemorrhaging of his lungs and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. At the time of his death, he was employed as a steward on a steamboat that traveled the Delaware River. Below are the Stewart family members as recorded by the 1850 Federal Census three years before Mr. Stewart’s death.

Ellen – (spouse) 35 years old, also referred to as Eleanor.

Mary – 12 years old

Sidney – 10 years old

Ellen – 8 years old

Amelia – 6 years old

Emeline – 4 years old

Fanny – 2 years old

                                                             Isabella – less than a year old. 

The Stewarts had two other children. They had a seven-year-old daughter, Frances, who died on October 5, 1842, of Croup and who was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ellen Stewart gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte, on May 25, 1852. Sadly, she died February 4, 1853, of a GI infection and also was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. 

Isabella died in 1867 at the age of eighteen, from complications during childbirth and was buried at Lebanon Cemetery in Philadelphia.

The Stewart family lived at 25 Harmony Street, a short alleyway from Bethel Burying Ground. The purple arrow points to the location of the graveyard and the white arrow shows the location of the Stewart home. The narrow thoroughfare was home to 15 Black families containing 57 members. Some of the families owned their own home, including the Stewarts. The Black men on Harmony Street were employed in a wide variety of occupations including sailmaker, oyster seller, seaman, and drayman. The women of Harmony Street were engaged as laundresses, dressmakers, and homemakers. The Black population of Harmony Street largely was comprised of former slaves and first generation free men and women, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census.

The white arrow indicates the location of the Stewarts’ home on Harmony Street. The purple arrow is the location of Bethel Burying Ground.

Sidney Stewart was interred on a warm day in July at Bethel Burying Ground next to his daughters, Frances and Charlotte.

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*There is one occasion in public records where Mr. Stewart’s first name was spelled ‘Syndey’ and another time where the family name was spelled ‘Steward.’

Seventy-year-old Joseph Ash died this date, July 6th, in 1849 of “Debility”* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. When Mr. Ash was a younger man, he worked as a porter, according to city directories. At the time of his death, he lived with his adult son, Josuha Ash, and his family at 220 S. 7th Street in center city Philadelphia. It appears the Ash family may have owned this basement unit at this prestigious address across from the southwest corner of Washington Square.

The value of the property in 2018 would be approximately $38,000. In 2018 dollars, annual taxes would be $475 with a water bill of $15 for the year.

The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census recorded that, in addition to his father, Josuha Ash’s family included his spouse, a male child under the age of five and a female child under the age of fifteen who was employed as a seamstress. 

It appears from the 1847 Census that Sarah Ash, Josuha’s spouse, was employed as a “layer out of the dead” – the predecessor to the role of a funeral director or undertaker. She would prepare the body of the deceased for burial. Embalming became an option during the American Civil War, prior to that era the remains had to be interred as soon as possible. The law stated it had to be within the 24 hours after the individual died. A layer out of the death or a ‘shrouder,’ as they sometimes were called, had to be available around the clock. Their duties included washing and dressing the deceased and some shrouders also were able to provide items such as black mourning crape, shrouding sheets and ice to preserve the body in hot weather. Some also acted as the deceased family’s representative with burial ground managers, and the owners of funeral carriages and hearses. 

A modern-day shrouder

Mrs. Ash, one of our oldest citizens of color, and a noted Shrouder, departed this life on the 28^th ultimo, aged 69 years of age. Mr. Ash was one among the first who joined Bethel church . . . Her death was caused by typhoid fever. Mrs. Ash had a large circle of friends, and was a very thorough-going woman. If our memory serves us correctly, she came forward and partook of the Sacrament in Bethel church the last time we saw here there. We trust we shall meet her in heaven. . . .       “The Christian Recorder,” February 18, 1865

It is likely that Sarah Ash prepared the body of her father-in-law for his interment at Bethel Burying Ground. Joseph Ash was buried on a pleasant day where the temperature only reached an unseasonable 80 degrees. There was no way to predict the devasting hurricane that would hit the city of Philadelphia on the evening of the 14th.

The eight-month-old son (unnamed) of Anna and William Reed died this date, June 30th, in 1848 of Marasmus* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Mr. Reed (45 y/o), born in Virginia, was employed as a shoemaker at the time of his son’s death. Ms. Reed (34 y/o), born in Maryland, worked as a laundress. Census records show that one of them was born into slavery. 

Reviewing the Philadelphia 1847 African American Census and the 1850 Federal Census, it appears that the Reeds suffered the death of two other of their children and Mr. Reed’s sixty-year-old mother. It is likely that some, if not all, also are buried at Bethel Burying Ground. All the Reed children were born in Pennsylvania.

The family lived at 16 Bonsall Street below 10th in the “Cedar Section” of the city of Philadelphia. The Reed family had one room in a three-story brick tenement for which they paid $3.12 a month in rent. The average wage for a shoemaker would have been $4-$5 a week and half that for a laundress. 

According to census records, Anna and William Reed were members of a temperance organization. It is highly likely that they were members of the Moyamensing Temperance Society. On August 1, 1842, this society mustered its 1,200 members to march in a parade around the city celebrating its liberation from the grip of alcohol and celebrating the anniversary of the end of slavery in the West Indies. It is unknown if Mr. and Ms. Reed were there that day when the 1,200 marchers were met by a white mob twice that size. This violent planned assault was the start of a three-day citywide riot. The Black community saw their homes, churches, an orphanage and meeting halls burned to the ground along with many killed and wounded. What wasn’t destroyed was looted. The sight of so many strong and unified Black citizens scared the hell out of the white population, prompting an Irish woman to demand the mob attack the home of a certain Black family. “There’s [sic] some Negroes living in there, living just like white folk!” 

The Reed child was interred at Bethel Burying Ground on a warm June day that was “alternately cloudy and clear” with temperatures reaching into the high 80s.

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* The term “Marasmus” stood for a variety of malnutrition, wasting and starvation illnesses. The condition has been characterized as a disease of the “extremely poor.”  Often the infant or child was getting too many carbohydrates (cheaper) and little if any protein (more expensive). In many cases, the individual simply starved to death for lack of any food.

Thirty-eight-year-old Eliza Moore died this date, June 27th, in 1843 of “Debility” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. “Debility” is only a symptom, not actually a cause of death. Any illness from cancer to influenza could have caused the physical wasting. There is no census or city directory mention of Ms. Moore. Her death certificate was signed by a physician who was volunteering with the Southern Dispensary, a medical clinic for the poor. 

Ms. Moore lived in the 300 block of Harmony Street, which is now named Fulton Street. The map above shows that she lived only two blocks from Bethel Burying Ground where she was laid to rest. Harmony Street was a narrow crooked thoroughfare filled with working-class Black families and widows. According to the Philadelphia 1847 African American Census, the men’s occupations included sailmaker, oyster seller, and seaman. Women were generally employed as laundresses. Families lived in one room where a 12’x12′ room rented for $2 – $2.50 a month which would be close to a week’s salary.  

Ms. Moore was one of only eight individuals in her age group that died in Philadelphia in 1843 of “Debility.” By contrast, four hundred forty-eight children died of this diagnosis during the same period. 

Ms. Moore was interred at Bethel Burying Ground on a clear, hot day where the temperature rose to over 100 degrees.