Sixth-five-year-old Ann Wiggins died this date, March 24th, in 1850 of Typhoid Fever and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The 1847 African American Census reports that Ms. Wiggins was a washerwoman “when she can get it.” She resided in an 11’x11′ room at 3 Pleasant Avenue with a 15-year-old female who works “in-service” so is probably not there very much. They pay $2.30 a month for rent which is roughly equivalent to $50 in today’s currency.
The Times (Philadelphia, PA), 13 October 1898.
Pleasant Avenue was a dead end alley that ran north/south between Lombard Street and Minister Streets between 7th and 8th Streets in center city Philadelphia. Pleasant Avenue rarely appeared on a city street map. Ms. Wiggins died from Typhoid Fever which is caused by ingesting a certain strain of Salmonella bacteria present in water contaminated with diseased human excrement. Between 1852 and 1854 three hundred and fifty-five citizens died of this disease. This is different from Typhus Fever which is spread by fleas from diseased rats. Certain breeds of ticks also carried the disease.
Bethel Burying Ground Project 