Ernest Hexamer and William Locher. Maps of the City of Philadelphia. Volume 3, Plate 32. (Philadelphia 1858-1862). From Places in Time website. (www.brynmawr.edu/iconog)
The one-day-old infant of Martha and Moses Rex died this date, January 15th, in 1835 of convulsions and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The family lived at 221 Prosperous Alley (see map above). The alley ran south from Locust Street between 11th and Quince. The child’s death certificate is not available. Martha was employed as a day worker and Moses was a Porter according to the 1847 African American Census. Both were born into enslavement and eventually manumitted. They had three other children, two boys, and a girl. According to the 1837 African American Census, the family worshiped at the First African Baptist Church which was located at 8th and Vine Street. (See “A Biohistory of 19th-Century Afro-American: The Burial Remains of a Philadelphia Cemetery,” by Lesley M. Rankin-Hill).
Bethel Burying Ground Project 