Forty-year-old Peter Potter died this date, June 11th, in 1841 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on June 11, 2021
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Forty-year-old Peter Potter died this date, June 11th, in 1841 of Pneumonia and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Mr. Potter was employed as a seaman, according to the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. It is unlikely at his age that he was a “blue water” or deep-water sailor. He may have been employed on coastal freighters that went from city to city along the east coast. This work would have been seasonal, with the winters bringing violent storms at sea and ice to the harbors. There is evidence in the city directories that, during the winter, he worked as a “hackman” driving a horse drawn cab.

The 1838 Census does not report his spouse’s first name. We know Ms. Potter was self-employed as a laundress and, along with her husband, she was “free born.” There were no children in the family.

The red circle indicates the location of Crab Street (later Charles Street). The black circle illustrates the location of Bethel Burying Ground and the proximity to the Potters’ home.

Mr. and Ms. Potter lived in a room at #12 Crab Street located between 4th and 5th Streets and Bainbridge and Monroe Streets in the southern part of the city. They paid $3.50 a month in rent or the modern equivalency of $107.50. The 1838 Census shows that #12 Crab Street was one of twelve residences on Crab Street occupied by African Americans. In four of them widows resided, single women lived in six others, and the Potters along with another couple lived in the remaining two homes. The women were occupied as cooks, laundresses, and domestics.

From 1841-1842 five hundred and sixty-one Philadelphians died from Pneumonia or Pneumonia related diseases.

Mr. Potter died on a warm day in June. “Just before six o’clock p.m. we had a gust of wind and a shower of rain to cool the atmosphere so that the laborers and the invalid could sleep at night.”(1) He was buried, with dignity, by his spouse at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) United States Gazette to the Country, 12 June 1841, p. 1.

Sixteen-month-old Joseph Davis died this date, June 8th, in 1841 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on June 8, 2021
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Sixteen-month-old Joseph Davis died this date, June 8th, in 1841 of a disease of the spine, possibly Spina Bifida a birth defect. Between 1840 and 1841, seventeen children died from Spina Bifida and a total of thirty-one from “Diseases of the Spine,” according to the Philadelphia Board of Health records.

The beautiful penmenship of cemetery manager Shepherd Gibbs reveals that the father of the deceased child was Mr. Mark Davis. I can only find a reference to the family in the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. Mr. Davis worked as a porter while Ms. Davis (not named) was self-employed as a laundress. Both were not born in Pennsylvania. In 1837, when the census was taken, they had a child who was old enough to attend Sunday school at Bethel A.M.E. Church.

The red pin indicates the location of the Davis home on Lombard Street below 11th Street. The black circle illustrates the location and proximity of Bethel A.M.E. Church where the family attended religious services. The black arrow points to the location of Pennsylvania Hospital at 8th and Pine Sreets.

One of the back breaking jobs that Black men were allowed to grind away at in 1841 was pushing heavily loaded carts of coal, wood, fresh fruits, vegetables and dry goods taken from the newly arrived ships docked on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Over cobblestone and rutted dirt streets in the heat and rain, they would push and pull their freight to warehouses and markets all over the city.

In a good week, a Black man working as a porter could earn $5 or the 2021 equivalent of $153.50. According to the 1838 Census, $5 is exactly what the Davis family paid for one month rent of their room on Lombard Street. Mr. Davis’ work was seasonal. During the winter months, when the rivers froze up and the ice stopped ships from reaching the wharves, there was no need for porters.

Delaware River 1856

The above lithograph depicts the Delaware River in the winter of 1856. The sailing ships in the background are immobilized until the river is cleared of ice by warmer weather.

The 1838 Philadelphia African American Census shows twelve Black families living on Lombard Street between 10th and 11th Street. These families totaled thirty-eight men, women, and children. The women were self-employed as laundresses and seamstresses while the men were employed as porters and coachmen. The infants went to either the Shiloh Infant School or the 6th & Lombard Street School. The older children went to the Raspberry Alley School which was also open evenings for adult classes.

In January of 1841, Washington Engine Company, a volunteer fire company, erected a new building on the Davis’ block to house their heavy fire fighting equipment. The building was topped by a brass bell that was rung when the call went out for assistance. I think of the poor Davis family taking care of a very sick child among this racket that could occur night or day.

Elizabeth Catlett’s “and Child” 1956

Mr. and Ms. Davis lost their baby son on an “oppressively hot” day in June where the temperature rose to ninety-one degrees by noon. A violent storm arose in the afternoon, providing a “refreshing shower” to the city. The wind was strong enough to capsize small boats on the Delaware River.

Little Joseph Davis was buried, with dignity, by his parents at Bethel Burying Ground.

Six-year-old Francis Burton died this date May 21st, in 1842 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on May 21, 2021
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Six-year-old Francis Burton died this date, May 21st, in 1842 of “convulsions.” According to 1842 Philadelphia Board of Health records, Scarlet Fever was killing hundreds of the city’s children and may have been the cause of the child’s death. Francis had three siblings at the time of his death. They included Mary who was eight-years-old, Charles who was four-years-old and Peter, Jr. who was the youngest at two-years-old. The younger children attended the 6th and Lombard School, while the older children were enrolled at Miss Amelia Bogle’s private school, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census.

The parents of this brood were Mary Burton, thirty-two-years-old, who was a self-employed laundress, and Peter Burton, forty-two-years-old, who was employed as a porter. He was born in Delaware and Ms. Burton was born in New Jersey. All of Francis’s siblings were born in Pennsylvania, according to the 1850 U.S. Census.

The Burtons lived at #18 Barley Street which is circled on the map above. The red star illustrates Pennsylvania Hospital and its proximity to Barley Street.

The Burtons owned their home on Barley Street. It was between 10th and 11th Streets, just south of Pine Street. According to the 1847 Census, the Burtons were close to paying off their mortgage. Barley Street was a narrow two block long thoroughfare that in 1846 was home to fifty-eight Black families with an amazing total of two hundred twenty-four men, women, and children. They were packed into three-and four-story tenements where they shared outhouses and one or two water pumps. The women worked as laundresses, seamstresses, and cooks. The majority of the men worked as waiters, barbers and porters.

On the morning of August 1, 1842, only a few months after young Francis’s death, a memorial parade was held by over 1,000 members of the Black Young Men’s Vigliant Association on Philadelphia’s Lombard Street between Fifth and Eighth streets in commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the end of slavery in the British West Indies. As the marchers approached Bethel A.M.E. Church at 6th and Lombard Streets, they were attacked by thousands of racist Irish-American thugs. A three-day rolling riot by a white mob attacked African Americans and burned Black homes, churches, and meeting halls.

It appears the Burton family was not physically harmed by the mob. Their home was two or three blocks outside the area of destruction. The next time they may not have been so fortunate.

Six-year-old Francis Burton died on a pleasant day in May after a violent nor’eastern washed through the city the night before. He was buried, with dignity, by his parents at Bethel Burying Ground.

Eighty-two-year-old Julia Hollis died this date, May 18th, in 1849 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on May 18, 2021
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Eighty-two- year-old Julia Hollis died this date, May 18, in 1849 of “old age” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. She was born enslaved and gained her freedom by manumission, according to the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. At the time of her death, her household contained the following family members.

According to local and federal censuses, Jonathan (aka John) and Levi were employed as porters; Mary and Annie were laundresses; and Teresina was a dressmaker. On one occassion, their last name was misspelled as “Holly.”

This large family lived in what appears to be one room, likely only 12’x12′. It is hard to believe the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census that reported the family paid $5 a month in rent. This was the going rate for a large room in a working-class neighborhood. According to the 1847 Census, the Hollis family were the only African Americans on Mark’s Lane.

The Hollis family lived on Mark’s Lane in a neighborhood not normally home to African Americans. The red pin illustrates the location of the narrow thoroughfare that ran from 11th to 12th Streets, just north of Race Street. The black arrow indicates the location of what is now the location of Philadelphia City Hall in center city.

On election day, October 9th in 1849, the Irish gangs in the southern district of Moyamensing went hunting for Blacks and for whites that comingled with them. The racist mob burned down dozens of Black homes, businesses, and churches. Scores of African Americans and whites were badly injured. The violence went on for a night and day and, eventually, took militia troops to put down the white mob. It appears the Hollis family members escaped being injured because they were a considerable distance from the rampage.

Even though the members of this large family may not have been direct victims of the mob, the warning was clear. African American Philadelphians were not safe from harm day or night in their homes, churches, or on the street. The police were not going to protect them, and the militia only intervened after the assaults and arsons were well underway.

Eight-two-year-old Julia Hollis died on a mild, cloudy day in May. She was buried, with dignity, by her family at Bethel Burying Ground.

The five-month-old daughter of Liddney and Robert Kennedy died this date, May 15th, in 1842, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on May 16, 2021
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The five-month-old daughter of Liddney and Robert Kennedy died this date, May 15th in 1842 of Marasmus and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The baby starved to death because of a lack of food or a disease that damaged her digestive system. Baby Kennedy was one of the one hundred forty-nine children in 1842 to die of Marasmus, according to Philadelphia Board of Health records.

Liddney Kennedy was twenty-two-years old when her daughter was born. Ms. Kennedy was born in Delaware and was self-employed as a dressmaker. Mr. Kennedy also was twenty-two-years old, born in Maryland, and employed as a musician, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. It appears that the baby was their only child. However, the 1850 U.S. Census reports that by then the couple had three children. They were John R. who was six-years-old, Elizabeth who was five-years-old, and Robert who was fifteen months.

The red dot indicates the location of the home of the Kennedy family at #7 Guilelumina Place in the southwestern part of the city. The black circle illustrates the location of Rittenhouse Square.

The Kennedy family lived at #7 Guilelumina Place. It was a short narrow thoroughfare that was home to ninety-five Black men, women, and children, according to the 1847 Census. They were employed as porters, cooks, dressmakers, laundresses, seamen, and white washers. They even had their own herb doctor, Henry Gleeve. Their children went to the school in Raspberry Alley.

The Kennedy family paid $8 a month for their one room on the alley. In modern currency that would be approximately $242. According to the 1847 Census, they owned $500 in “personal property” or approximately $15,000 in modern currency. This was a considerable amount and may have included Mr. Kennedy’s muscial instruments.

Frank Johnson 1792-1844

Mr. Kennedy may have been a musician in the Frank Johnson Orchestra. Francis “Frank” Johnson was an African American musician, maestro, and composer. He directed military bands and society dance orchestras, taught music, and performed on the violin and keyed bugle. His early career consisted of performing for balls, parades, and dancing schools. The Orchestra performed arrangements of “fashionable” music for most of the major dance functions in Philadelphia. Upon Mr. Johnson’s death in 1844, the Orchestra became known by the name of its new director Joseph Anderson, Jr. for further information on Mr. Johnson please go to —-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Johnson_(composer).

The five-month-old daughter of Liddney and Robert Kennedy died on a unseasonably cold, rainy day in May and was buried with dignity by her parents at Bethel Burying Ground.

Thirty-five-year-old Lavinia Chandler died this date May 6th, in 1849, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on May 6, 2021
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Thirty-five-year old Lavinia Chandler died this date May 6th, in 1849, of “Fever” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Her daughter nine-month-old Margaret Jane died four days later on May 10th, presumably of the same illness. The baby was buried with her mother at Bethel Burying Ground. The Philadelphia Board of Health records for 1849 show a substantial number of deaths from Scarlet Fever. This could have been the cause of Ms. Chandler’s and her daughter’s deaths.

I believe there is enough evidence to state that Joseph Chandler was the father of Margaret Jane and the spouse of Margaret. Mr. Chandler worked at various laboring jobs while Margaret was employed as a domestic day worker. The couple had a second daughter whose age was only listed as below five years old. There are no other mentions of Chandler family members after the 1847 Census. Mr. Chandler may have moved from Philadelphia.

The circle indicates the location of Washington Court and the star illustrates the location and the close proximity of Bethel AME Church.

The Chandler family resided at #6 Washington Court. They lived in a 11’x11′ room for which they paid $2.75 a month. Poverty had its grip on the family, given they only had personal property valued at $15, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. They did belong to a beneficial society at Bethel Church. This was a savings account that could be used to defray burial expenses.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the 19th Century.

Located close to Bethel A.M.E. Church, Washington Court contained thirty-three Black men, women, and children, according to the 1847 Census. The adults were employed as dressmakers, seamstresses, seamen, hod carriers, and carpenters. They even had their own herb doctor Mr. Randolph Stokes. Their young children attended the 6th and Lombard School.

Upon her daughter’s death, mother and child were buried together at Bethel Bethel Burying Ground. Around eight o’clock in the evening on the day of Ms. Chandler’s death, a “strange cloud formation” appeared in the sky over Philadelphia. According to one newspaper report “This was doubtless a Boreal Aurora in one of its many phases.”(1)

(1) North American, 1 June 1849, p. 1.

Eighty-six-year-old Rebecca Miller died this date, April 28th, in 1846 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on April 28, 2021
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Approximately eighty-six-year-old Rebecca Miller died this date, April 28th, in 1846 of “mortification of the foot” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. It is likely that gangrene set in from a wound and that Ms. Miller died of sepsis and subsequent organ failure. It appears that Ms. Miller lived at #8 Gray’s Alley with Keziah Miller. According to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, Keziah was self-employed as a “day worker.” In 1847, she was reported between the ages of fifteen and forty-nine years old. In the Census, Keziah declined to answer whether she was born in Pennsylvania or in another state. The relationship between the two women is unknown.

The women lived in a single 12’x12′ room at #8 Gray’s Alley for which they paid $2 a month. The census taker commented that they were “poor, but respectable.”

Gray’s Alley (later Gatzmer St.), highlighted by the red circle, is located very close to the Delaware River docks.

Gray’s Alley was a narrow, block long thoroughfare within sight of the tall masted ships docked on the Delaware wharves. According to the 1847 Census, there were seventy-three Black men, women, and children living in the alley. Most of the adult men were laborers, working to load and unload freight from the large vessels. Many others were porters delivering the goods around the city. The majority of the women in the alley were self-employed as laundresses and day workers. The very young children of Gray’s Alley were cared for at the 6th and Lombard Street School, while the older children went to either the Adelphia School or the Raspberry Alley School. Raspberry also had an evening school for adults where reading, writing, and math were taught.

The London House at Front and Market Streets. The selling of Black men, women and children occurred outside on a make shift platform circled in red.

Ms. Miller was likely born to an enslaved mother and, consequently, she also was enslaved. Did she herself stand on that rickety platform, scared to death that she would be separated from her mother? What was she feeling when strange white men touched her, inspecting her body to determine her sale price? Was she freed by the British when they occupied the city during the American Revolutionary War?

Her home was very near the slave market. When she traveled to the Second Street market, buying food for her meals, did she travel a path so that she would circumvent the London Coffee House and the horrible memories that it would dredge up?

These were the “slave dungeons” next to the slave market and Front and Market Streets. Did Rebecca Miller and her family spend time in these hell holes?

Ms. Miller died on an overcast day in April. Heavy black clouds filled the sky in the evening. Her friends buried her, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground. (1)

(1) Public Ledger, 2 May 1846, p.1.

One-year-old William Augustus died this date, April 22nd, in 1846 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on April 22, 2021
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One year and nine month old William Augustus died this date, April 22nd, in 1846 of Pneumonia and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Although the attending physician wrote the family name as ‘Augustine,’ there is census and city directory evidence that the family’s name was actually ‘Augustus.’ The child’s parents were Samuel, age thirty-six, and Mary Augustus, age twenty-nine. He worked as a porter and Ms. Augustus as a laundress. They had a one-year-old daughter Elizabeth. It also appears that Ms. Augustus was pregnant with her son George, according to the 1850 U.S. Census.

All the members of the family were born in Philadelphia with the exception of Ms. Augustus who was born in the West Indies. She was born to an enslaved mother on one of the many islands that used kidnapped Africans to grind away their lives harvesting sugar cane. The life expectancy of someone working in these killing fields was three years.

New York Library Digital Collection

We may never know how Ms. Augustus came to Philadelphia. In the 1850 U.S. Census, she declined to answer any questions concerning her enslaved past. She was born in 1817 and, curiously, that was the same year when all the Caribbean islands, large and small, were devastated by a powerful hurricane. The sugarcane fields were destroyed along with all structures including “negro houses.” (1)

A possibility is that Mary’s enslaver fled the island they lived on and resettled in Philadelphia. The city was a haven for French refugees because of Stephen Girard’s presence and the subsequent French community near the Delaware River waterfront. Any enslaved Blacks would be freed once they landed in the city. They might have to do several years of an indentureship but eventually would be liberated. The 1850 U.S. Census shows that Ms. Augustus was one of 254 city residents born in the “West Indies.”

The Augustus family lived on Centre Street (red pin) five blocks from Center Square now Philadelphia City Hall (red circle).

When Baby Augustus died, he was living with his parents and sister in one room on Centre Street. The family paid $3.50 a month for rent. Mr. Augustus was employed as a porter earning $5 per week. Ms. Augustus, who was pregnant, was self-employed as a laundress, likely earning around $.50 a week. The Augustus family neighbors on Centre Street were Black men and women employed as waiters, barbers, dressmakers, shirt makers, seamen, and a “travelling preacher,” according to the 1847 Census. Their very young children were cared for at the 6th and Lombard Street School, while the older children went to either the Adelphia School or the Raspberry Alley School. The last school listed in the previous sentence also had a evening school for adults that taught reading, writing, and math.

Baby Augustus died on a cloudy April day where the temperature rose to a high of 63 degrees. His parents buried him, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Daily National Intelligence, Washington, DC, 26 November 1817, p. 2; Vermont Gazette, 2 December 1817, p. 3; Boston Commercial Gazette, 8 December 1817, p. 3.

Twenty-seven-years-old John Murphy died this date, April 8th, in 1845 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on April 8, 2021
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Twenty-seven-year-old John Murphy died this date, April 8th, in 1845 of Tuberculosis (Phthisis) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. He passed away at his mother’s house, according to Dr. Samuel S. Hollingsworth, the attending physician. Mr. Murphy was one of 1,633 Philadelphians to die of TB from 1844 to 1845. There is no mention of his occupation in census records or city directories. His mother, Emmaretta Murphy, was a widow and the head of the family at least since the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. Ms. Murphy was a self-employed laundress, according to census records.

A snapshot of the Murphy family in the 1838 Census shows that there were a total of seven members in the household, four of whom were not born in Pennsylvania. Two were children in school and two members worshiped at Bethel A.M.E. Church. These individuals could have been family members or just boarders.

Two years after John’s death, the family consisted of Ms. Murphy and two males, one of which was under fifteen years old and and the other was under the age of fifty. The names and the relationships of the two males were not provided.

On the night of Tuesday, February 24th in 1845, as Mr. Murphy lay on his bed gasping for air in the last stages of his illness, his street erupted into violence. A white mob of “thirty to forty” men invaded the neighborhood and went on a rampage assaulting any African American they saw on the street. Two city watchmen tried to halt the gang and were severely beaten for their efforts. The rioters were members of the Moyamensing Hose Company, according to one newspaper report. The newspapers did not carry any details concerning the wounded African Americans. Sadly this was not an unusual event in the Philadelphia Black community. The newspapers called the mob members “rowdies.” (1)

The red arrow illustrates the location of the Murphy home in the 900 block of Lombard Street just south of Pennsylvania Hospital. The red pin indicates the location of Bethel A.M.E. Church and its proximity to the Murphy residence.

On the April day that John Murphy died, the weather turned “cold, raw, windy” with snow flurries that gave the day “the appearance of the depth of winter.” He was buried, with dignity, by his mother at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Public Ledger, 25 February 1845, p.2.; North American, 25 February 1845, p. 2.

Fifty-five-year-old Anna Clarke died this date, April 6th, in 1853 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on April 7, 2021
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Fifty-five-year-old Anna Clarke died this date, April 6th in 1853 of “Hemiplegia.” This would be paralysis of one side of the body from a stroke or head injury. Six years earlier in the 1848 Philadelphia African American Census, Ms. Clarke reported she was self-employed as a laundress. It was a strenuous job, even for a young person. John, her husband, worked as a stevedore, loading and unloading cargo from the ships docked on the Delaware River wharfs. It too was a backbreaking job, even for someone half his age. We don’t know his exact age but we can assume it was close to his spouse’s age. In 1847, there was another female in the home listed in the census as someone between the ages of 14 and 50 who also worked as a laundress. Her relationship to the Clarkes’ was not recorded. Only two of the three residents were born in Pennsylvania. In 1847, the family lived in Rose Alley.

The red star indicates the location of the Clarkes’ family home in the rear of #5 Little Pine Street, now called Addison Street. The red circle indicates Bethel A.M.E. Church and the very close proximity of the two.

Little Pine Street was a thoroughfare of poor working Black families who mostly lived in one room, likely only 9’x9′. But there was another group who resided in the rear of these buildings like the Clarkes. Sheds, horse stables, and pig pens were covered with odd pieces of lumber and carpet and rented as shelter. The floors were dirt and would easily get muddy from the leaky “roof.” Renters would lay discarded pieces of carpet on the bare ground that would get soaked and gather mold. These hovels were the perfect environment for diseases to spread, especially Tuberculosis.

Anna and John Clarke lived on Little Pine Street with neighbors who were employed as a carpenter, painter, boot black, cook, laundress, and several who were seamen. Their children went to school at nearby 6th and Lombard School and Bethel Church. The church was a constant target for white mobs to attack. The Black house of worship was a threat to the white society in apartheid Philadelphia. Congregants were attacked as they left Sunday services. This often resulted in violent battles that also brought the Black residents of Little Pine Street to the clash.

This occurred on such a regular basis that a grand jury ruled that Bethel Church was a “nuisance” for attracting racist mobs. The worshippers at Bethel Church were accused of being a burden to the good order of things because of the color of their skin. It is very likely that the Clarkes were part of this “problem!” (1)

Anna Clarke died on a Spring day in 1853 and was buried by her husband, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Poulson’s, 10 July 1822; Public Ledger, 7 August 1837; Age, 11 March 1864.