Two-year-old Margaret Jane Smart died this date, April 20th, in 1851 of “Convulsions”* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Her parents were Mary Smart and her late husband Charles, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. Ms. Smart was 38 or 39 years old at the time of her daughter’s death. Mr. Smart died 18 to 19 months before Margaret Jane’s death. His death certificate is below. He died of Cholera at 35 years old in September of 1849. Employed as a laborer, he had lived in Philadelphia for fifteen years at the time of his death. He likely was born in Delaware, as was his spouse, according to the 1850 U.S. Census.
Two-year-old Mary Jane died on Mary’s Alley. A narrow, dark plague spot, where it isn’t surprising to find the dead, but it is a surprise to find the living. Ms. Smart lived with her children in a room or part of a room for which she would pay $0.25 to $0.75 a week in rent. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census reports that, for several years, there was sickness in the family for which they received medical attention at the local public clinic.
Mary Jane Smart is one of the 919 babies two-years-old and younger who have been identified from surviving records as having been buried at Bethel Burying Ground.
Mary Jane Smart was buried at Bethel Burying Ground on a rainy, overcast day where the temperature reached 56 degrees in the afternoon. I was unable to find any further mention of Ms. Smart in available records.
Bethel Burying Ground Project 