The unnamed two-year-old son of Charles Savage died this date, September 1st, in 1847 of a chronic stomach inflammation and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The name of the child’s mother was not recorded. Mr. and Ms. Savage had three other children – one under five years old and two between the ages of five and fifteen years old, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. There was also another unidentified female adult who was part of the family. Mr. Savage was employed as a driver of a furniture cart, earning $5 a week. Ms. Savage was a homemaker. The three adults were not born in Pennsylvania, while all the children were native of the state.
The family of six lived in a 12’x12′ room in Church Alley, a short narrow back street near the Delaware River. They paid $4 a month for the small, poorly ventilated space. The children in the Savage family attended Jonathan Tudas’ private school on Hurst Street, several blocks from their home, according to the 1847 Census.
The Savages’ two-year-old son was buried on a humid, rainy day in September of 1847. The 1850 Federal Census has no mention of a “Charles Savage” in Philadelphia that fits the information in the 1847 Census.Â
Bethel Burying Ground Project 