Bethel Burying Ground Project

Ten-year-old Alexander Murrell died this date, June 18th, in 1851 of Stomatitis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Stomatitis is a condition that causes painful swelling and sores in the mouth.  Causes for this include injury, infection, allergies, and malnutrition. The victim usually dies from Septicemia. 

The child’s father was David Murrell. His mother’s name has not been mentioned in any of the available documents. Mr. Murrell was employed as a waiter earning $2.50 a week. Ms. Murrell worked as a wash woman earning $.50 a week, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. One of the adults was previously enslaved and manumitted by their enslaver. Ten-year-old Alexander was their only child at the time of his death.

The red pin above illustrates the location of the Murrell family’s residence in Liberty Court in the Spring Garden District in the northern part of the City (before county consolidation in 1855).

The box outlines the location of Liberty Court that ran from 10th Street below Vine Street.

Liberty Court was an “African American enclave.” It was a small courtyard community of “band-box” houses squeezed in behind the larger residences that faced the street. “Liberty Court had been erected over a portion of the property along Tenth Street, owned by the First African Baptist Church (FABC), between 1810 and 1822.” A 1985 archeological project revealed the skeletal remains of five African Americans that were missed when the FABC moved its cemetery in 1822. Liberty Court eventually was demolished during the construction of the Vine Street Expressway extension in the late 1980s.*

This “enclave” was home to extremely poor Black families who were paying $0.75-$1.00 a week for one room. Looking at the results of the 1847 Census, there were 18 families with a total of 86 family members living in Liberty Court. The vast majority of the males worked as porters when they could get the work. The women were employed in their usual jobs of domestic and laundress.  Many families received public assistance in the form of firewood in the winter. In addition, there was a higher than normal percentage of formerly enslaved men and women. Interestingly, I could not find any of the Liberty Court residents recorded in the 1850 U.S. Census.

The Murrells buried their son at Bethel Burying Ground on a clear warm day in June.

*John L. Cotter, et. al, The Buried Past: An Archeological History of Philadelphia, p. 301-303.

Thirty-four-year-old Daniel Johnson died this date, June 15th, in 1854 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Mr. Johnson was employed as a porter until the onset of his illness. He was married to Anna Johnson, who was thirty-two-years-old at the time of her spouse’s death. There was no occupation reported for her. Both were born in Delaware, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. It appears they did not have children. Below is the family’s entry from the 1850 Census which includes two others residing in the same room with the Johnsons.

It was common for families to share a room to defray the cost of the rent, although there may have been a family connection. The 1852 Philadelphia City Directory has the Johnson couple residing at #23 Gilles’ Alley. 

The black arrow indicates the location of Gilles’ Alley. The red pin illustrates the close proximity of Bethel AME Church.

Gilles’ Alley was a narrow thoroughfare lined with wretched tenements.  It was cobblestoned and without sewer connections. The overflowing outhouses were often used by the homeless for shelter. “It is safe to say not one house in the alley could pass an inspection without being condemned as prejudiced to health.”* In 1847, it was home to forty Black families totaling almost one hundred members. They were working as cake bakers, stevedores, seamen, cooks, shoemakers, domestics, and painters. 

The Johnsons regularly attended religious services and were members of a beneficial society, according to the 1847 Census. 

Anna Johnson buried her husband at Bethel Burying Ground on a clear June day where the temperature rose to 65 degrees by noon. Although it is not possible to be definitive, there is some evidence that Anna Johnson may have lived until June of 1893 when she died at 71 years old of heart disease and was buried at Lebanon Cemetery.

*W.E.B. DuBois, Philadelphia Negro, p. 307.

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Murray died this date, June 3rd, in 1850 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. She was born in Philadephia and was unmarried at the time of her death. She resided in Coombe’s Alley, according to her death certificate. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census shows a ‘James Murray’ as the head of a family in Coombe’s Alley. He was employed as a waiter earning $3 a week. His spouse, Margaret Murray, worked as a wash woman earning $3.50 a week. They paid $4 a month for the rent of rooms at #5 Coombe’s Alley.

James and Margaret Murray reported to the census taker the following information for the 1850 U.S. Census.

Name                                    Age                        Born in

James Murray                   33y                         PA

Margaret Murray             26y                         PA

Louisa Murray                   9y                          PA

Thomas Murray                5y                          PA

Angeline Murray              3y                          PA

Robert Murray                  <1y                        PA

Racy Ann Murray             16y                         PA 

The red pin illustrates the location of Coombe’s Alley near the Delaware River wharves. The red arrow illustrates Penn Square the future home of the current city hall.

In the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia, Coombe’s Alley is known for the tragic loss of thirty-two citizens in the narrow alley over a very short period of time. In a lighter vein, the alley is also known for a colonial tavern, Enock Story’s, where one night Quaker William Penn, Jr. became inebriated and engaged in a brawl. It is recorded that he painfully lost the encounter. 

Grace Ann Murray was one of the 896 Philadelphians that succumbed to Tuberculosis in 1850.  She died on a cloudless windy day in early June and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground by her family.

Twenty-two-year-old Nathan Black died this date, May 27th, in 1851 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. There is not a great deal of information on this young man. He was born in Maryland, according to the 1850 U.S. Census, and was living with Mary Jane Winter who was seventeen-years-old and born in Pennsylvania. Neither one reported an occupation. Although at this point, Mr. Black may have been too ill to work.

The 1850 Census shows the couple living in the South Mulberry Ward of the pre-consolidated city. Neither Mr. Black or Ms. Winter are listed in the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census or city directories. Census data places the young couple living near the intersection of 12th and Mulberry Streets. Mulberry is now named Arch Street and is located near what is now City Hall. 

The black arrow shows the approximate location of Mr. Black’s residence. The red arrow is the location of Penn Square, now City Hall.

Nathan Black died on a clear and fair day in late spring with the temperature rising to 81 degrees. He was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. 

*The census taker interviewed Mr. Black on 9 August 1850. Mr. Black’s skin color was reported as “mulatto.”

Forty-five-year-old Mary Polk died this date, May 25th, in 1850 of “Congestion of the Brain”* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ms. Polk was the head of her family and was able to participate in the 1850 U.S. Census before she died. In this census, she did not report an occupation, probably because she was so ill. In the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, she listed her occupation as wash woman earning $75 a year.

At the time of her death, her children were as follows: Caroline (18 years old) who worked as a wash woman, William (16) who worked as a barber’s apprentice and Richard (13) who attended the 6th and Lombard School. All the children were born in Pennsylvania. Ms. Polk was born enslaved in Virginia. I could find no reference to a spouse.

The Polk family resided in the rear of #11 Prune Street now, 411 Locust Street (Red pin above).  The address is a block from Washington Square and two blocks from Independence Hall. Their home was likely a shed or converted stable for which they paid $3 a month. The breadwinners in the family were bringing home approximately $1.50 each a week, according to the 1847 Census.

Ms. Polk escaped slavery in Virginia and sought refuge in Philadelphia. In her time in the city, she had to survive six major riots and the endless threat of street assaults by white thugs. Ms. Polk was one of the Black Philadelphians who historian Gary B. Nash observed that while they could not “hold back the storm of racial hatred,” they could fight back “by strengthening their own neighborhoods and community.” Ms. Polk was a long time member of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and a contributing member of African American beneficial societies, according to the 1847 Census.

The Polk children buried their mother at Bethel Buying Ground on a rainy day in May where the temperature rose to 54 degrees.

*”Congestion of the Brain” is a meaningless term. Ms. Polk may have died from anything from a stroke or meningitis to head trauma.