Fifty-three-year-old Frances Paul died this date, May 26th, in 1853 of Typhoid Fever and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground on the 27th. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census reports her occupation as cook. In 1847, she lived with her husband and five other females – one of which was a child and the remaining women were over 14 years of age. One of the females was reported as Lydia Paul, age 24 and born in Pennsylvania. She likely was a daughter of Thomas and Frances Paul. Thomas Paul was sixty-seven years old and was employed as a laborer in 1847.  

The other people living at 245 South 7th Street were occupied as dressmakers and a laundress. Mr. Paul was born enslaved as were two other residents. Two gained their freedom by manumission and the third by “limit.”* I don’t believe Ms. Frances Paul was one of those born into enslavement since her birthplace was New Jersey. It is possible, but unlikely.

The census sheet from 1850 shows the three Paul family members (in the red box) residing with six others who are likely boarders.

The red pin indicates the approximate location of the Paul family residence between Washington Square and Pennsylvania Hospital.

Frances Paul’s community on south 7th Street in 1847 was a crowded neighborhood. Approximately two hundred Black men and women on two blocks along south 7th Street were employed as seamen, waiters, milliners, laundresses, barbers and coachmen. Ms. Paul was stricken with Thyroid Fever from drinking polluted water. It is likely that the local hand pumps brought up water contaminated with human waste leaked from overflowing cesspools. The disease also would have affected the entire neighborhood. 

The individuals inflicted with the disease would suffer for weeks or months before they died or survived the infection. In 1852 through 1853 two-hundred eighty-eight Philadelphians died of Tyhpoid Fever. Another nine-hundred twenty-two died of Dysentery, a symptom of Typhoid Fever.

Ms. Frances Paul succumbed to her disease on a clear day in late May of 1853. Her loving family buried her at Bethel Burying Ground.

*By the use of the term ‘limit’ I take it to mean that the years of enslavement were limited to a number of years set down in the will or a legal declaration of the enslaver. 

** https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/typhoid-fever-and-filtered-water/

Sixty-seven-year-old Amy James died this date, May 15th, in 1841, of an aneurysm (blood clot) to her heart and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ms. James was a widow living on Baker Street in South Philadelphia. The 1837 Philadelphia African American Census reports that she owned real estate valued at $750. In modern currency, it would be $22,500. It appears that Ms. James owned her home on Baker Street where her income came from renting rooms. In addition, she paid $25/$750 in “ground rent”* and $7.50/$225.00 to the water company. 

Census and bank records show Ms. James was employed as a day worker and a whitewasher at different times in her life. A whitewasher was a plasterer and house painter.

Public Ledger, August 23, 1841

 The above advertisement, published several months after her death, asked those who owe or who are owned money by Ms. James to communicate with the executors of her estate. Charles Wilmore was a neighbor on Baker Street and a porter by trade. David Ware was a prominent teacher and clergyman at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

The above map shows the location of Baker Street (red arrow) to the location of Bethel Burying Ground (red circle).

In 1827, Ms. James along with two neighbors, Jane Ginn and Hester Butler, opened a bank account at the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS). The two Baker Street neighbors also were signees in an account titled “In Trust for the Warner Mifflin Benevolent Trust.” 

Warner Mifflin (1745-1798) was recognized internationally for his antislavery efforts and is credited with assisting a great number of African Americans in obtaining their freedom. Warner Mifflin, a devote Quaker, was widely known and respected for his brave efforts to  promote “righteousness, mercy, and peace, among mankind.” (https://archives.delaware.gov/tag/warner-mifflin/)

The Fund may have been established to assist recently freed enslaved African Americans. Ms. James also had a personal account at PSFS.

THREE WOMEN ON LOMBARD STREET

Ms. James died on a Saturday in May of 1841. The day began clear, during which the  temperature rose to 69 degrees by late afternoon. She was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

*Ground rent is an agreement between a landlord and a tenant, where a tenant pays for the right of using a plot of land. With ground rent, the tenant owns the property on the land but does not own the land itself. The ground rent is paid as a fixed fee to the landlord.

Sixty-eight-year-old Susan Brown died this date, May 6th, in 1848 of “old age” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The year before she died, Ms. Brown cooperated with the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. She reported that she lived in a room at 96 Gaskill Street with another woman who was under fifty years old and was employed as a laundress. Their relationship was not documented.

Ms. Brown did not report any employment for her self. She did receive public aid. The women paid $1.50 a month in rent for their room. 

The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census shows Gaskill Street was home to 58 Black families with a total of 152 members. The adults were employed in various occupations that included mariner, chimney sweep, porter, wood sawyer, shopkeeper, sailmaker, harnessmaker, shoemakers, laundress, and waiter.

Gaskill Street was only an eight-foot-wide narrow cartway that was often clogged with garbage and ash from stoves. Heavy rains and overflowing cesspools would flood the basements with human excrement. Sewage would filter down to the water level and contaminate the drinking water at the local hand pump, causing illness and sometimes death. In the winter, snow and ice would make the thoroughfare impassable. 

This 1904 photo shows the rear of the homes in the 700 block of Naudain Street (formerly Gaskill Street). The area was called Brown’s Court.

Ms. Susan Brown died on a Spring day in May and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Fifty-four-year-old Dinah Johnson died this date, May 2nd, in 1854 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. (1) She worked as a laundress and was a native of New Jersey, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. Ms. Johnson lived in a building at 184 Pine Street which was between 6th and 7th Streets. For this, she paid $4 a month in rent. (2) This was a hefty amount for rent. However, the 1847 Census shows that she was living with two other female adults and a female child at this address. Their relationship was not documented. One of the other women worked as a laundress while the other as a seamstress. Three members of this family were not native to Pennsylvania. Four could read and three could write. All the women regularly attended church services and belonged to a beneficial society. 

The red pin illustrates the location of Ms. Johnson’s home. The red circle marks the nearby location of Bethel AME Church.

It is not known how long Ms. Johnson was sick with Tuberculosis. There was generally known to be two types of the illness: “chronic” that could go on for years or “galloping consumption” which would kill in a matter of weeks. No matter which one plagued Ms. Johnson, she probably went to Mr. Zolhekoffer’s drug store on her street corner to purchase the medicines that would help with the violent coughing, diarrhea, and blood-spitting that accompanied the disease. She also may have purchased a compound that would help her sleep for a few hours. According to the Philadelphia Board of Health, Ms. Johnson was one of the 1,394 citizens to die in 1854 due to Tuberculosis of the lungs.

With families packed into one or two poorly ventilated rooms, the Tuberculosis bacteria could infect and kill an entire family.

Ms. Johnson died on a early day in May in 1854 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) The spelling of Ms. Johnson’s first name was also reported as “Diana.”

(2) The social worker interviewing Ms. Johnson in 1847 reported that “She (Ms. Johnson) probably gains her rent by letting out houses.” I take this to mean she acted as a representative of the tenement owner and managed the rentals for the owner.