Bethel Burying Ground Project

Fifty-year-old Mary George died this date, December 12th in 1847 of Typhus Fever and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. There is not a great deal of specific information on Ms. George. There is a woman by this name whom I presume is this Ms. George in the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. She was single, poor and cleaned houses for a living. 

The black arrow illustrates the location of the Quince Street address and the red circle illustrates Bethel A.M.E. Church.

According to her death certificate, Ms. George resided at #32 Quince Street near the intersection of 10th and Lombard Street in center city Philadelphia. According to the 1847 census, that address was also occupied by the Julia Buck family. It appears that Ms. George was either a family member of Ms. Buck or that she just rented space in the one-room home. There were a total of four residents. The women all worked as laundresses and the only male was employed as a hod (brick) carrier. 

Approximately three weeks before Ms. George died, she was bitten by a flea that likely came from a rat. The bite transmitted a bacteria into Ms. George’s bloodstream. During the next 2-3 weeks, she experienced excruciating pain and a series of ever-increasing symptoms. These included high fever, vertigo, headaches, fatigue, blindness, loss of hearing, hallucinations, episodes of cold chills and hot flashes. As the end of her life neared, Ms. George would have been racked by vomiting, throat and lungs inflammation and unremitting pain in her legs, back, and groin. Finally, the bacteria would enter her central nervous system causing an even higher fever and deadly convulsions. 

Ms. George was one of the 254 Philadelphians to die of Typhus in 1847. The vast majority were destitute and lived in awful conditions. Many of the sick died alone and uncared for in desolate rooms, boarded shanties, and damp pitch-black cellars. The last epidemic of Typhus in Philadelphia occurred during the winter of 1835-36 among a large group of recent Irish immigrants. At that time, the Board of Health recorded 241 deaths. In 1847, the year that Ms. George died, a total of 254 Philadelphians succumbed to Typhus. Although the number who died from Typhus that year was very high, it was not declared an epidemic by the government. 

Ms. George died during a week that saw a startling rise in temperatures that resembled more like “the first of April than December.” Daytime temperatures rose to the high 60s and low 70s. The city streets turned to mud and made walking and transportation difficult.

Forty-year-old Levin Custis died this date December 8th, in 1842 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Dr. Boardman did not see the corpse until the next day – if at all. He omitted Mr. Custis’s age which was eventually added to the weekly Board of Health Summary. According to the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census, the good doctor also misspelled the deceased last name.

Mr. Levin Custis was formerly enslaved and gained his freedom through manumission, as did his spouse, according to the 1838 Census. Mr. Custis was employed as a laborer, while Ms. Custis took in laundry.  I have not been able to identify her first name. The 1838 census also reports a third individual living with the family, possibly a child.

The red arrow points to Mr. Custis’s home on Flower Street near Ninth and Christian Streets in South Philadelphia. The red circle illustrates the location of Bethel Burying Ground, only four blocks away.

The Custis family lived in a room on Flower Street in the Moysmensing District of Philadelphia County. Through the 19th Century, Flower Street (now South Fallon Street) saw its tragedies, including starvation, exposure, riots, and epidemics. March was a cruel month for the poor in the city. Work was either slow or non-existent. Consequently, money for food and wood or coal for heat was a problem. In desperation, some would break up furniture to burn for heat. In March of 1835, even that couldn’t keep Flower Street resident Ms. Amy Grant and her baby son from freezing to death in their room. (1)

Flower Street was also the target of rampaging racist mobs in the summer of 1835 and in 1842.

In addition to the seasonal rampages of white racist mobs, the residents of Flower Street also fell prey to the criminal gangs that daily roamed the neighborhood unchecked. (2)

Above is a 1920 photo of Flower Street now South Fallon Street. The majority of residents at this time are Italian Americans.

Current photo of South Fallon Street.

Mr. Levin Custis died on a cold December day that saw snow fall all day. It was especially heavy in the evening. This may have delayed the physician and may have been the reason why the death certificate is dated the day after he died.

(1) Daily Pennsylvanian, 4 March 1835.

(2) Daily Pennsylvanian, 11 September 1848

The death certificate is in error. The deceased was not William Valentine. I believe it was Surry Valentine. William was Surry’s father and Sophia Valentine was Surry’s mother. The image below is from the 1853 Philadelphia City Directory. It states that William Valentine is the head of a household at #10 Little Pine Street. The same address that is on the death certificate.

Consequently, I believe the actual deceased family member was four-month-old Surry Valentine, a girl, who died of an illness that had as a symptom uncontrolled diarrhea. She was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. 

At the time of the death of their daughter, William Valentine was thirty-years-old and Sophia Valentine was eighteen-years-old, according to the 1850 U.S. Census. Both parents were born in Virginia. Ms. Valentine worked taking in laundry and ironing, while Mr. Valentine was employed as a waiter earning $3 a week. The family lived in a room at #10 Little Pine, paying $3 a month in rent, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. 

The red arrow illustrates the location of the Valentines’ home at #10 Little Pine Street. Later it would be renamed Minster Street. The yellow circle illustrates the location of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

In 1847, Little Pine Street was home to an industrious fifty-two families with a total of one hundred seventy-nine individuals who held a wide variety of occupations. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census also shows that nineteen of the residents reported that they were formerly enslaved.

All the residents of the crowded Philadelphia streets, courts, and alleys lived in fear of fire. The thousands of old wood-frame buildings were all possible sources of fuel for a configuration. On a cold day in late January in 1848, the Valentine family and the rest of the residents of Little Pine Street heard the cry of FIRE! 

Philadelphia Inquirer, 31 January 1848.

The Valentines’ home escaped the blaze this time but the fear must have always remained.

Four-month-old Surry Valentine died on a late November day in 1853 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sarah Ann Prettyman died this date, November 26th in 1853 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Information is limited on Ms. Prettyman. She appears in the 1850 U.S. Census, three years before her death. 

Sixty-two-year-old Louisa Prettyman was the head of the family. She was born in Delaware, as were all the family members. Ms. Prettyman was blind, according to the Census. Sarah Ann was not employed and may have taken care of the elder Ms. Prettyman at home. Brother James was twenty-two-years-old and was employed as a seaman. Lot Prettyman was twenty-years-old and worked as a laborer. Additionally, the Census reports that eighteen-year-old Elisha Prettyman was employed as a laborer. I could not find any information on the spouse of Louisa Prettyman.

The 1851 Philadelphia City Directory shows Sarah Ann and Louisa Prettyman resided in Wilson’s Court (red pin). The location of Bethel A.M.E. Church is encircled in red.

Wilson’s Court was a small out-of-the-way alley on Carpenter Street between 8th and 9th Streets in the Moyamensing district of the county. The name of the thoroughfare was changed in 1858 to Gramment.  

The wonder cure for “Spitting of Blood

The Catholic Herald, 5 February 1853

Ms. Prettyman was inflicted with Tuberculosis. A disease that was described by the ancient Greeks and known also as Consumption and Phthisis. It was a cruel disease that often took years to kill its victim while he or she coughed up blood from hemorrhaging lungs. The rich could ease some of the sufferings by “taking the waters” at a resort or at a mountain top spa with its clean dry air. The poor were stuck in smokey, soot-filled rooms that only ascerbated their misery. But they did have the dozens of “snake oil” concoctions like the one above that promised a cure from their sickness.

Sarah Ann Prettyman died on a late November day in 1853 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Note: The Census record above is somewhat confusing on the names of “Louisa” and “Lot.” I have confirmed this spelling through other documents. 

Thirty-three-year-old Eliza Gale died this date, November 12th, in 1853 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Dr. Samuel Tucker assigned Ms. Gale’s cause of death as “Sudden Death.” It appears that the doctor did not take the time nor the care to investigate her medical history with her family. Dr. Tucker had a prestigious address at 212 Walnut Street and likely volunteered at the Southern Dispensary, a clinic for the poor. It could be that Tucker never saw Ms. Gale and simply signed a vague death certificate. 

There is very little information on the Gales. The 1853 City Directory reports an Edward Gale living at the same address as Eliza Gale. He was employed as a drayman. A drayman was historically the driver of a dray, a flat-bed wagon pulled by horses or mules, that was used for transport of all kinds of goods. There is no information on any employment for Ms. Gale. It appears that the Gales may have been recent residents of the city. They lived on Duponceau Street – an infamous location.

Duponceau Street was located between Spruce and Walnut Streets and 8th and 9th Streets, very near Washington Square. For decades, the street was home to numerous bordellos or houses of prostitution. In addition to the local clientele, it was popular with traveling merchants, salesmen, and freight wagon drivers. (1) The previous name of the narrow thoroughfare was Blackberry Alley. In 1849, the city fathers thought that, by the act of changing the name, the Alley would somehow magically erase the problem. This was not the first nor the last time that this was attempted. It never worked and certainly did not work this time.

“Dollar Newspaper,” 6 September 1854, p. 2.

The police were always being called to Duponceau Street the “shame and disgrace of the city.”(2) At all times of the day and night, there were screaming, drunken brawls that spilled out on to the street from the brothels at #3, #4, #5, #6, #8, and #24 Duponceau Street. The Gales lived at #2 Duponceau! With the disturbances, the police would come and arrest a couple of the participants and leave the street to business as usual. 

According to the Philadelphia Board of Health records, there were 214 deaths in 1853 attributed to “Sudden Death” or cause of death “Unknown.” Forty out of the 2, 486 so far identified at BBG have the cause of death as “Unknown” or “Sudden Death.”

Eliza Gale died on a cold, wet day in November and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. I could not locate any further information on Mr. Gale.

(1) Philadelphia Inquirer, 7 April 1852.

(2) Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 September 1854, p.1.

For further reading, please go to – Ill-Fame on Blackberry Alley

Sixty-one-year-old Moses Macklin died this date, November 6th, in 1848 of Pleurisy* and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Mr. Macklin was married to forty-seven-year-old Elizabeth Macklin who was a native of Delaware, according to the 1847 African American Census and the 1850 U.S. Census. Mr. Macklin was employed as a wood sawyer, while Ms. Macklin labored taking in washing and ironing. It appears that the Macklins had at least two adult children, William who was twenty-six-years old at the time of his father’s death and Isaac who was twenty-four. Both were born in Pennsylvania. 

The yellow arrow illustrates the location of the Macklins’ home in the 300 block of Harmony Street. The Bethel Burying Ground is nearby, as illustrated by the yellow circle. The Macklin family owned their home, according to the 1847 Census. The value of the home in modern currency is approximately $22,250.

The 1847 Census shows the fifteen Black families on Harmony Street were industrious. The forty-nine residents were employed as:

• cooks
• sailmakers
• draymen
• oyster cellar worker
• dressmakers
• waiters
• porters
• clothes seller
• seamen
• laundresses 
• domestic workers
• a steward of a steamboat

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Tragically, Moses and Elizabeth Macklin lost a four-month-old daughter, Hannah, twenty years before Mr. Macklin passed away. She died of Cholera in 1828 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Moses Macklin died on a day where the sun rose to a temperature of 32°, a thirty-degree drop from the day before. The temperature rose to 56° by 2 pm. Mr. Macklin was buried at Bethel Burying Ground next to his daughter.

*Pleurisy is severe chest pains caused by a bacterial infection. It also can be caused by a virus, such as the flu or by a fungus.

Sixty-five-year-old Janet Jones died this date, October 29th, in 1848 of Erysipelas and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. It appears Ms. Jones chose not to participate in the U.S. Census or the Philadelphia city directories. However, she is recorded in the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census. Ms. Jones reported she was a widow who worked as a seamstress. In addition, she stated she formerly was enslaved and gained her freedom through manumission. Ms. Jones worshipped at Bethel AME Church. 

The red arrow illustrates the location of Ms. Jones’s residence on the 1100 block of Pine Street near Quince Street. The red pin in the lower-right corner illustrates the location of Bethel AME Church.

The last known address for Ms. Jones was for a room in a building on the 1100 block of Pine Street for which she paid $2 a month. She may have been able to make that amount in a week as a seamstress. The 1838 Census reported that she only owned $15 in personal property. 

The 1917 photo above is taken from Pine Street very near Ms. Jones’ residence. The long view is looking down Quince Street.

Ms. Janet Jones died of Erysipelas. The disease starts out as a skin rash but can spread quickly to vital organs. Since the availability of antibiotics in 1944, the disease is easily cured simply with penicillin. However, the disease has been known since ancient times as a deadly illness. There are dozens of strains of this streptococcus bacteria, some more deadly than others. It is likely that the strain that killed Ms. Jones took 1-3 days to incubate. It would have entered her body through anything from a small scrape to a large wound or surgical incision. She would have been hit with a painful body rash and blistering, high fevers, chills, vomiting, and delirium. Eventual death from a heart attack would come anywhere from a few days to three weeks. Nineteenth-century physicians did not yet understand the concept of germs and the necessity of sterile conditions. (1)  

Ms. Jones died on a “pleasant day” in late October where the temperature rose to sixty-five degrees. She was laid to rest at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris; The Merck Manuel.