Fourteen-year-old Mary Louisa Custis died on December 19th, 1841 of Tuberculosis (Phthisis) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. She was born in Virginia and brought to Philadelphia when she was three years old in 1830. We don’t have any more information on her and, depending on when she became ill, she may have worked as a domestic or in the home. Tragically, Mary Louisa was not the first child or the last child her parents would lose to illnesses. From existing records, at least four other children of Sarah and Lewis Custis passed away. (1)

Sarah Custis was forty years old when her daughter Mary Louisa died. Mr. Custis was forty-two years old. Both were born in Virginia, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. The family did not participate in either the 1838 or the 1847 Philadelphia African American Censuses. The males in the family never reported their names, addresses, or occupations to the numerous city directories over the decades. This may indicate that the Custis family was formerly enslaved and had been passengers on the liberating Underground Railroad.

The 1850 Census also reported two other family members. George Custis was thirty years old, born in Virginia, and employed as a coachman and William Custis was twenty years old, born in Virginia, and also employed as a coachman. The family patriarch, Lewis Custis, was employed as a shoemaker. There were no children recorded.

According to several physicians that authored the children’s death certificates, the family lived in the area of 11th and Washington Avenue in the Moyamensing District. It is farther south than most Black residents living below South Street. The location is a mile from Bethel AME Church, a half mile from the Bethel Burying Ground, and very near what is now known as the famous Italian Market.

Mary Louisa died on a “piercing cold” day in late December that saw a winter storm of “rain, sleet, hail, snow, and high winds.” She was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground with her sibling. Sadly, there would be more to come.

(1) Below are the other Custis children:

Lewis Custis: died August 19,1839 at 3 weeks old of Hydrocephalus. He is also buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

John Custis: died December 14, 1842, at 8 months old of Small Pox. burial unknown. He died at the Alms House but was not buried on their grounds. He likely was buried at Bethel Burying Ground and the paperwork no longer exists.

John Custis: died July 16, 1843, at 9 months old of Convulsions. He is also buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Unnamed male: stillborn January 19,1849; buried at Union (Colored) Cemetery. “Son of Sarah Custis.”

The two-month-old son of Robert Veazy died this date, November 22nd, in 1828 of an unknown cause and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The signature in the lower left corner is that of Isacc Cork, the sexton of Bethel AME Church and the manager of the cemetery. Dr. H. Bond of 114 Mulberry Street signed the death certificate. (1)

According to Philadelphia Board of Health records, there were one hundred eighty-two individuals between 1828 and 1829 whose cause of death was labeled “unknown.”

Robert Veazy was approximately twenty-seven years old when his son died. The child’s mother’s name and age are unavailable. Ten years after the child’s death, the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census reports the couple was childless and living at #94 Gaskill Street. Ms. Veazy was self-employed as a laundress while Mr. Veazy worked as a porter. The Census reports both were born free and attended Bethel A.M.E. Church.

When Baby Veazy died the family lived in Clever Alley which was located from 5th to 6th Streets between Spruce and Pine Streets. This narrow thoroughfare was home to Black laborers and white craftsmen.

In the first half of the 19th century, Philadelphia porters were all Black men. It was a back-breaking job, hauling hundreds of pounds on the dirt and cobblestone streets of the city in the heat and humidity of summer and the bitter cold of winter. Business slowed down in the winter when the rivers froze, and ships couldn’t dock to unload their goods. During this time, according to African American journalist William Carl Bolivar, these men would collect “twine and burlap” and turn the material into door mats that “were always in demand.” Dressed in “high hats and leather aprons,” the men would loudly hawk their wares near heavily trafficked areas such as the State House, now known as Independence Hall. There were city laws that prohibited these men from being stationary and blocking the already crowded sidewalks. However, when it snowed these sidewalks and roads became impassable the vendors had little choice. From the newspaper articles below, it appears Mr. Vesey (sic) was, on occasion, in violation of those ordinances. (2)

(The first article is from the February 26,1844 edition of the SUN and the second article is from the March 19, 1845 edition of the Daily Chronicle.

Mr. and Mrs. Veazy buried their two-month-old son on a cold day in late November, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) The name “Veazy” has many variations including Vesey, Vasey, Vesy, Veasey, Veazy, Very, and Vizy. Ten individuals with some form of these variations have been identified interred at Bethel Burying Ground.

(2) “Pencil Pusher Point,” Philadelphia Tribune, 10 May 1913, p. 4.

Fifty-year-old Joseph Thompson died this date, October 3rd, in 1847 of “Debility” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Dr. Thomas T. Smiley did not take the time to take a medical history from the family and, subsequently, just wrote a cause of death that is meaningless. The illness that Mr. Thompson suffered from rendered him weak. Mr. Thompson may have suffered from heart disease. According to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, he was employed as a laborer who worked “irregularly,” presumably due to his illness.

Buckley Street was more of an alley than a broad thoroughfare. The Thompson family lived in a 13″x 13″ room at #34 Buckley Street for which they paid $.50 a week. According to the 1847 Census, the family consisted of Mr. and Ms. Thompson and a female child under the age of fifteen. I have not been able to locate a likely match for Ms. Thompson and the child in the 1850 U.S. Census. She was employed as a rug maker and the child attended St. Mary’s Street School. Two members were native to Pennsylvania while the third was not. They had no personal property. The family was desperately poor.

According to the 1847 Census, there were eight Black families who lived on Buckley, including the Thompsons, who totaled thirty-two men, women, and children. The women were employed doing laundry and working as day workers. The men worked on the Delaware River docks as porters and day laborers. The children went to either the Raspberry Street School, St. Mary’s Street School, or the 6th and Lombard Infant School. The Raspberry Street School also offered evening classes in math and reading to African American residents.

When the Irish gangs weren’t hunting African Americans to kill, they were busy trying to kill each other. Mr. Thompson died on the day that two murderous gangs, the Skinners and the Buffers, chased each other through the neighborhood shooting and killing each other through the night. Tragically, they gave no peace to the dying Mr. Thompson and his terrified family. His family buried their patriarch, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

Sixty-five-year-old Mark Grubb died this date, September 18th, 1849, of an undiagnosed illness that caused diarrhea to the extent that the dehydration was fatal. Mr. Grubb had not been employed since before at least 1847, according to the Philadelphia African American Census of that year. His death certificate above states that he was employed as a porter at the time of his death which was unlikely given his illness. City directories and the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census have Mr. Grubb employed as a coachman and laborer at different times. (1)

Poverty is as deadly as any disease. In 1849 Philadelphia, the majority of African American men and women had no resources other than their own labor. If illness prevented you from working, you did not get paid. There were no sick days and indeed no vacation time. If the breadwinner is sick then hard times just got harder and I believe that is what happened to the eight other members of the Grubb household. According to the 1847 Census, the family consisted of two males and seven females. Three were under fifteen years old; four were under fifty years old, and two were over fifty years old. One was employed as a cook and two made mats from rags collected from trash piles. Two of the girls were “in service” domestics.

St. Mary’s Alley was a narrow dead-end path that ended in a small courtyard surrounded by rotting tenements. Two years before Mr. Grubbs’ death the family lived on St. Mary’s Street (aka Mary St. – see map above). St. Mary’s Street was a two-block-long stretch of brothels, bars (legal and illegal), gaming houses, and hotels that allowed whites and Blacks to comingle. The street was home to constant violence, arson, and disease, and without clean water or sanitation. Black families lived in one room without heat in the winter or fresh air in the summer.

After the death of Mr. Grubb, the family is not listed in any census or city directory. They likely moved out of the city. This may have been a direct result of what occurred on the night of October 9th, three weeks after Mr. Grubb passed away. In addition to what we have mentioned about what St. Mary’s Street had to offer its Black citizens, they were being hunted by the “Monamensing Killers.” These young Irish thugs’ sole mission was to kill and assault African Americans and the whites who associated with them. Their target on that Fall night was the California Hotel at the corner of 6th and St. Mary’s Street. It was said that the reason for the attack was that the owner, a Black man, had a white wife. Others thought that it might be that the owner was not buying liquor from the people who were represented by the Killers.

Twenty-four-year-old James Williams was on St. Mary’s Street the night of October 9th. When he was thirteen years old, he stole his enslaver’s horse on a plantation in Elkton, Maryland, and rode to freedom. In his autobiography, he remembers that night as an epic battle between whites and Blacks. Mr. Williams joined a group of African Americans called the “Stringers” that were engaging the white mob. The mob outnumbered the Blacks who also had fewer guns. Mr. Williams received a gunshot wound to his right thigh and a hard knock on his head. Several Black men were killed and dozens were seriously injured. The California Hotel was burnt to the ground before military troops intervened. The remaining members of the Grubb family had every reason to seek a safer and healthier residence. (2)

According to the 1847 Census, one member of the Grubb family belonged to a beneficial society, likely at Bethel Church, that allowed Mark Grubb to be buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Dr. Smith forgot to add a date to his note. Other Philadelphia Board of Health documents were used to determine the date.

(2) Life and adventures of James Williams, a fugitive slave, with a full description of the Underground Railroad, P. 14-15. Available at hathitrust.org.

Thirty-five-year-old Elizabeth Birmingham died this date, August 18th, in 1843 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. It appears that her four-month-old son, James died the previous day of Cholera.

The documented family history of Ms. Birmingham and her family is thin. Samuel Birmingham is the only Black man with that last name listed in the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census and the 1839 and 1840 city directories. In addition, a seven-year-old boy, Samuel Birmingham, tragically, died a few months after his mother and brother, in October of 1838, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. His cause of death was a ruptured blood vessel. He was likely Elizabeth and Samuel, Sr.’s son.

After 1840 Samuel Birmingham disappears from the censuses and city directories. Previously, it was reported that he was employed as a shoemaker and resided in Raspberry Alley. In 1840 he had a workshop in the cellar of 301 N. 2nd Street.

Ms. Birmingham was one of 1,517 Philadelphians to die of Tuberculosis (Consumption) between 1842 and 1843, according to Philadelphia Board of Health records. Baby James and his mother both died on days that were “partly clear and warm and pleasant.”(1) It would have been the custom to open Samuel. Jr.’s grave and inter mother and sons together at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) North American, 2 Sept 1843, p. 2.

Forty-three-year-old Festus Frame died of Tuberculosis on August 12th, 1847, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. He is first listed in the 1837 Philadelphia City Directory as ‘Festus France.’ Over the next ten years, he and his family used ‘France’ and ‘Frame’ fairly interchangeably. The problem may have been with the transcribers or that the family was hoping to throw fugitive slave catchers off their trail. According to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, where he appears listed as ‘Mr. Frame,’ he and his spouse were previously enslaved. They did not report to the census taker how they were liberated.

Two mysteries cloud the telling of the family’s story. In the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census, it is reported that Mr. Frame and his spouse owned $700 in personal property or approximately $22,845 in modern currency. They owned their home so that may account for the personal property amount. Mr. Frame worked as a laborer and his spouse was self-employed as a washwoman.

After Mr. Frame’s death, the family address, #10 Acorn Alley, is listed under the name of ‘Sarah Frame’ in the 1850 City Directory. Sarah is listed as the head of the family. Her age is reported to be fifty-five years old and she was born in Delaware, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. This would have been an age difference of eight or nine years between Sarah and Festus.

Acorn Alley was a narrow thoroughfare, just west of 8th Street. In 1847 it held at least twenty-one Black families with a total of eighty-seven children, women, and men. The women were employed as laundresses and domestics, while their children attended the 6th and Lombard Infant School or the private schools of Diana Smith or Roger Georges. The men were employed as coachmen, seamen, carpenters, waiters, and oyster house-workers. There was one minister, Rev. John Boggs, who was the Frames’ next-door neighbor at #9 Acorn Alley. (1) He was a key member of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and an important figure in the Philadelphia African-American community. No doubt he was close to the Frame family as they were Bethel congregants, according to the 1838 Census.

Mr. Frame was one of 1,841 to die of Tuberculosis between 1847 and 1848, according to the Philadelphia Board of Health records. He died on a clear warm day in August that saw the temperature rise to eighty-five degrees by late afternoon. He was buried, with dignity, by his family and friends at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Until 1854 the street numbers were consecutive. After 1854 odd number houses were on the north side of the street and even numbered houses were on the south side.

Twenty-six-year-old Cleary Watts died on May 1st, in 1849 of Tuberculosis, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The gender of this person was not recorded. “Cleary” is normally a male’s name. However, I noticed that in 19th Century African American culture, it is also used for a female’s name. Mr./Ms. Watts was a member of the large Watts clan that had lived near the Delaware River on Corn Street above Reed Street for at least a decade before his or her’s death.

Below is the 1850 U.S. Census data on the Watts families on Corn Street. This was recorded one year after Cleary Watts’s death. The deceased may have been a member of Ephraim and Judith Watts’s family. It is likely that Judith was not Cleary’s biological mother.

The members of the Watts family were hard-working with the men employed as porters on the nearby Delaware River waterfront. The women were employed as laundresses, domestics, cooks, and dressmakers. The family attended services at Bethel A.M.E. Church and sent their young children to local private Black schools including the Lombard and St. Mary schools. They owned their own homes. Despite being model citizens, the color of their skin made them second-class citizens who were not allowed to vote or sit on juries. The family members still had to protect themselves from the white gangs who made a game out of “hunting the nig.” They escaped the whip and chains of the Virginia and Maryland plantations to be forced to live in an apartheid city with a different kind of slavery.

There were two days during the year that were much more dangerous for African Americans to be out and about on the streets of Philadelphia. The first and most notorious is July 4th when there were all-day-long drunken rampages by white gangs in the Black neighborhoods. The other is the day that Cleary Watts died. May 1st was traditionally when the Firemen’s Parade was held. All of the volunteer fire companies would cover their fire fighting equipment with layers of flowers and march throughout the city all day long with flags flourishing and bands playing patriotic tunes. During this show of white power, the criminal gangs associated with the fire companies went hunting for African Americans to assault.

On the day that Cleary Watts died, there were major attacks in the Black communities at 6th & Fitzwater Streets, 8th and Catharine Streets, and 5th and Shippen Street (now Bainbridge Street). Even though there were many injured, the newspaper only reported an elderly Black man and woman admitted to Pennsylvania Hospital with skull fractures and cuts. One of those injured was Mr. Isaac Newkkins who was beaten down in front of his home on Bedford Street.

Cleary Watts died on a day that dawned clear but saw intermittent showers for the rest of the day. Mr. or Ms. Cleary Watts was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground by his or her large family.

(1) It is often difficult to determine the maternal lineages of older, formerly enslaved individuals. Plantation owners demanded enslaved females start having children when they were thirteen years old. By twenty years old, they were expected to have five children. As an incentive, enslavers would promise freedom to those women who survived their younger years and gave birth to at least fifteen children.

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