Two-year-old Georgiana Kinnard died this date, September 28th, in 1844 of Pneumonia and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. After surveying census records, I am convinced that Georgiana’s parents were Elizabeth and Cyrus Kinnard. Ms. Kinnard was thirty-years-old at the time of her daughter’s death and he was thirty-four-years old. Mr. Kinnard was born in Maryland while Ms. Kinnard was born in Delaware. They had two other children: Matilda, who was six-years-old, and Rebecca, who was a year old. It appears that Ms. Kinnard was pregnant with her son Cyrus, Jr. (1)

In the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, Mr. Kinnard reported that he was born to an enslaved mother. He also stated that he was not manumitted nor did he buy his freedom, which leaves the probability that Mr. Kinnard was a succesful passenger on the Underground Railroad! He was employed as a waiter and, in 1847, reported his earnings as only $15 a month. Ms. Kinnard was self-employed as a washerwoman which she did while pregnant and caring for children at home.

Two-year-old Georgiana lived with her parents and siblings in one room at #18 Acorn Alley for which they paid $1.50 a month, which is a clear sign of poverty along with Mr. Kinnard’s low income. The modern currency equivalent for $1.50 is approximately $50.00. The Census reports the family had $75 in personal property or $2,500 in modern currency. This would include furniture, tools, and clothes.

Georgiana was one of 211 children who died from Pneumonia between 1846 and 1847, according to the Philadelphia Board of Health records. The treatment for her illness was bloodletting. She would have been cut by the doctor and several spoonfuls of blood would have been taken from her little arms on a regular basis. The more conservative physician might just apply leeches to draw the blood out. Bloodletting is the withdrawal of blood based on an ancient system of medicine in which fluids were regarded as “humours” that had to remain in proper balance to maintain health.

The child’s parents may have gone to Powel’s Apothecary at the corner to buy a liquid “elixir” that usually contained opiates and alcohol that did not help cure the condition. The family also may have contacted an African American herbalist to use traditional medical methods. There were ten Black herbalists in the community, according to the 1847 Census.

Georgiana died on a Saturday in late September that saw a storm of heavy rain and damaging wind. She was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) By the 1850 Federal Census the Kinnards also had James H. (4 y/o), Mary L. (2 y/o), and July A. (4 months old). All the children were born in Philadelphia.

Mary Ann Robinson died this date, September 22nd, in 1842 of Tuberculosis (Phthisis) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ms. Robinson was a widow without known living family members, so Dr. Van Dyke was not sure of her age which was approximately thirty-years-old.

According to the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census, Ms. Robinson was widowed at least four years before her death. If her husband was buried at Bethel Burying Ground, there is no surviving record of that event. She was self-employed as a washerwoman, living in a 10′ x 10′ room in Freytag’s Alley. The alley was located near the corner of 5th and Bainbridge Streets in the Southwark section of the county. Ms. Robinson paid $3 a month in rent which equates to approximately $100 in modern currency. The 1838 Census also reports that she had $175 in “personal property” which equates to approximately $5,850. This may have included cash saved in her benefical society account at her church, Bethel A.M.E. It likely helped cover the cost of her funeral and burial.

Ms. Robinson would have gone to Mr. Charles Rizer’s Apothecary on the southwest corner of 5th and Shippen Streets for any medicine to ease her pain. For peppermint candy or lozenges for her throat, all she needed to do was go across the street to Brooks Candy Store on the southeast corner of the intersection. It appears to have been a very popular establishment!

According to Philadelphia Board of Health records between 1841-1842, Ms. Robinson was one of the one thousand five hundred eighty-three Philadelphians to die of Tuberculosis. Ms. Robinson died on a day in September where the dawn arrived with the city coated in a “heavy frost” and the temperature remained in the teens all day. She was buried by friends, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

Fifty-five-year-old Elizabeth Macklin died this date, September 18th, in 1848 of an abdominal disease and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ms. Macklin was married to Moses Macklin who would die two months later in November at sixty-one-years-old of a viral disease, likely pneumonia or influenza. Elizabeth and Moses were interred together at Bethel Burying Ground.

Elizabeth Macklin was a self-employed washerwoman. It was backbreaking work that had to be done in the sub-freezing winter and the heat and humidity of a Philadelphia summer day. She also would be expected to labor when pregnant, take care of children, shop for groceries, and cook. Ms. Macklin’s work week may have looked like the following:

Monday: Deliver clean laundry to clients from the previous week. Gather dirty laundry from clients, look for new clients, and shop for work supplies.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Gather buckets of water from the spigot or hydrant outside and carry them upstairs, making multiple trips, gather firewood to boil water while soaking, washing and wringing out clothes and bed sheets. She would have to carry the heavy wet items outside to hang on clotheslines. On freezing and rainy days, she would have to hang them inside.

Thursday and Friday: Iron for hours until completed. Deliver clean laundry. Repeat Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saturday: Iron all day “finishing late at night or early the next morning” (3)

Depending on how many clients she had, and if there were any helpers, Ms. Macklin would make anywhere from $0.50 to $2.00 for her week of labor.

Ms. Macklin died on a clear day in September where the temperature rose to sixty-eight degrees in the afternoon. She was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground by her adult children and with financial assistance from a beneficial society at Bethel A.M.E. Church, according to census records.

NOTES

1. https://bethelburyinggroundproject.com/2019/11/06/sixty-one-year-old-moses-macklin-died-this-date-november-6th-in-1848-and-was-buried-at-bethel-burying-ground/

2. Sharon Hartley, “Northern Black Female Workers,” p.7 in “Unknown Tongues” by Gayle T. Tate, p. 98.

3. Tate, p, 114-115.

Seventy-two-year-old Benjamin Morris died this date, September 7th, in 1841 of Tuberculosis (Consumption) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The document above shows Mr. Morris’s age as nintey-two which is incorrect. The below document filled out by the manager of the cemetery shows his correct age as seventy-two. This is also backed up by census records.

Mr. Morris was employed as a blacksmith and may have worked at McGavett’s Foundry which was next to his home at the corner of Broad Street and Paper Alley in center city Philadelphia. Mr. Morris owned his home, according to the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. It was a small house with only three rooms and valued at $1,100 in 1838. That would be approximately $34,500 in modern currency. Mr. Morris had $125 in personal property or approximately $4,000 in modern currency.

Mr. Morris was born to an enslaved mother in approximately 1769. It is not known what colony they lived in at the time. It could have been Pennsylvania. It is recorded in the 1838 Census that he gained his freedom by manumission when $250 was paid to his enslaver. Given the small amount, he may have been a child when this occurred.

Mr. Morris died on a early September day that saw a violent hail storm sweep the city damaging homes, trees, and gardens. He was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.