Three-month-old Mary E. Gibbons died this date, May 16th, in 1843 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. James Gibbons is likely the father of the baby girl. Not only was he a successful carpenter, he was also a joiner. A joiner is a skilled craftsman who constructs the wooden components of a building, such as stairs, doors, and windows. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census shows the Gibbons family at this time consisting of four adults – two men and two women. Three out of the four were formerly enslaved. They collectively paid for their freedom a total of $1,250 or $38,955 in modern currency. Both men were carpenters and the women were employed as a domestic and a dressmaker. They all regularly attended church services. The child’s mother is not identified by name.

The red pin indicates the location of the Gibbons residence at 163 Pine Street, located between 5th and 6th Streets. The orange arrow indicates the location of Bethel AME Church.

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 14, 1849.

The Gibbons family rented the three-story brick building at 163 Pine Street for $5 a month or $155 in modern day currency. The above newspaper announcement shows that Mr. Gibbons had moved his carpenter shop to his home in 1846.  Tragically, Mr. Gibbons would pass away three years later in June of 1849 at 53 years old.

Three-month-old Mary E. Gibbons died on an unusually warm day in May where the temperature rose to over 80 degrees. She was buried at Bethel Burying Ground most likely the following day that saw a change in the weather to “raw and rainy.”

Five-year-old James Paschale died this date, May 9th, in 1836 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The 1837 Philadelphia African American Census points to Joseph Paschale being James’ father. The mother’s name is not recorded, which was standard protocol until the 1850 U.S. Census. Mr. Paschale worked as a porter while Ms. Paschale was employed as a “day worker.”  There was a total of three family members and all were not born in Pennsylvania. It is not possible to tell if the third individual noted in the Census was five-year-old James. Censuses typically were taken during the Spring months, right around the time of the child’s death.

The Paschales lived in a room on Twelve-Feet-Alley for which they paid $2.15 a month in rent. Black and poor white Philadelphia citizens were forced to live in these airless, fetid pestholes and they bore the brunt of the diseases that haunted these tenements. This particular death trap was located between 5th and 6th Streets and South and Bainbridge Streets, just over the city boundary into the Southwark District.

These narrow alleys were unpaved paths that were badly drained and often blocked with filth and garbage of all kinds. No one chose to live in these plagues spots.

The 1837 Philadelphia African American Census reports that, in addition to the Paschale family, there were twelve other Black families on Twelve-Feet-Alley with a total of 46 family members. The males were employed as waiters, laborers, and seamen, whereas the females were employed as cooks, day workers, and servants. 

Five-year-old James Paschale was buried on a day in May by his parents at Bethel Burying Ground. It appears that Ms. Paschale had given birth to a stillborn child on March 5, 1826. The child whose gender was not recorded also was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. 

Fifty-year-old Rev. Ralph Hite died this date, May 8th, in 1848 of a Psoas Abscess* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Rev. Hite lived with his spouse, Mary Ann Hite and their thirteen-year-old son Ralph Hite, Jr. 

Rev. & Ms. Hite had another son who was reported to be “at sea” earning $18 a month. All of the Hites were not born in Pennsylvania. Ms. Hite was occupied as a “house cleaner,” according to the 1847 African American Census. The family lived in the rear of a house on Lisle Street, which was likely a former shed or stable. For this, they paid $3.75 a month. 

Rev. Hite fell ill in 1846 and had not been able to attend to his religious duties. He was put on a half salary which was $100 a year. Although not stated, I believe he was affiliated with Richard Allen’s African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

The red arrow indicates the location of the Hite’s home on Lisle Street in the Moyamensing District. The yellow arrow indicates the location of the Bethel Burying Ground in the Southwark District.

The above is a 1920 photo of Mildred Street (formerly Lisle Steet). By this date, the neighborhood residents were predominately Italian-American.

Below is a current photo of Mildred Street in South Philadelphia.

Rev. Ralph Hite was buried at Bethel Burying Ground on a clear cool May day in 1848. Six years later, Mary Ann Hite would lose her nineteen-year-old son, Ralph, Jr., to Tuberculosis. He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery in December of 1854.

*A Psoas Abscess is a rare infectious disease where a Staphylococcus bacteria invades the muscles and bone of the hip. The causes are numerous and include cancer and injury. Today, the disease would be treated with antibiotics. In 1848, there was no cure for this debilitating and very painful disease.

Ms. Ledman gave birth to a dead son after it was asphyxiated during birthing on May 6th in 1851. Ms. Ledman’s spouse was Abel Ledman. 

Tragically, Ms. Ledman gave birth to a stillborn child fifteen months previously due to convulsions on February 8, 1850. (see Appendix)

A year previous to this occurrence, Ms. Ledman gave birth to a female stillborn child on January 5, 1849. (see Appendix)

All of the children were buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Abel Ledman and his spouse did not participate in any local or national censuses. They also refused to have their names and addresses published in the city directories over the decades. It is probable that one or both of the adults were fugitives from slavers.

After the Civil War in 1868, there is a lone entry for an “Abel Leadman” in a city directory in which he is listed as “colored” and a “laborer.” There are no death certificates that I can locate related to the adult Ledmans. The couple’s last name has been also spelled “Leduum,” “Ledaman,” and “Leadman.” His first name has also been spelled “Able.”

APPENDIX

Resolved that the defective retaining wall of the African A.M.E. Church Burying Ground west of 411 Queen Street . . . are on account of their condition, nuisances prejudicial to public health, and as such the owners or agents thereinof have failed to abate the nuisances in the manner hereinafter specified in accordance with the law, and the rules of the Board. 

Source: Philadelphia Board of Health Minutes, 5 May 1885; entry #1521, p. 273.

Eighteen-year-old Henry Harman died this date, May 1st, in 1853 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. At the time of his death, he likely still lived in the “Colored Division” of the Pennsylvania House of Refuge. The “House” initially was established for white “juvenile delinquents” in 1825. It took another twenty-five years before the authorities created one for Black boys and girls. The residents usually were arrested for petty crimes or vagrancy. Sentences were indeterminate. 

The above is from the 1850 U.S. Census and shows Mr. Harmon as a resident of the “Colored House of Refuge.” He may have been infected with the Tuberculosis in this institution that proved to be fatal to him.

Below is an undated photograph of two African American boys at the “Refuge.”*

There is no certainty in identifying Henry’s parents. Looking at the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, the most likely are Levi and Harriet Harman living at 19 Middle Alley. Both were born in Delaware.

Eighteen-year-old Henry Harman died on a day where the weather “was truly spring-like and lovely – every way appropriate to the first of May.”** He was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

*https://images.app.goo.gl/RoAePgB8sbCcA6x99

**Philadelphia Inquirer, 1 May 1853.