Bethel Burying Ground Project

Thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Edwards died this date, April 8th, in 1849 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The 1847 Philadelphia African American Census reports that two years before his death Mr. Edwards was too ill to work. The Census also shows that Ms. Edwards* was employed as a nurse and another member of the residence was employed as a domestic earning $1.50 a week. The Edwards and the unidentified woman lived in a room at #8 Madison Court for which they paid $3.50 a month. 

Madison’s Court was a slum within a slum. This dead-end alley branched off St. Mary’s Street which had a wide reputation of being the worst-of-the-worst living environment in the city of Philadelphia. The sun never shone in the ill-ventilated rooms of these tenements. This made it a perfect haven for deadly respiratory diseases, such as Tuberculosis, that killed Mr. Edward.

Eleven Black families totaling forty-five men, women and children lived on small Madison’s Court, according to the 1847 Census. No one would choose to live here. Historically, this neighborhood was one step away from the House of Refuge and its adjoining potter’s field. And yet, Mr. Edwards’ family made sure that he had a dignified burial at a respectable cemetery.  

*There are a number of individuals with the last name “Edwards” buried at Bethel Burying Ground. There is some evidence that points to the possibility of Harriet Edwards being Joseph Edwards’ spouse. She died at 40 years old of a lung infection on February 22, 1851, and likely was buried next to her husband.

Thirty-one-year-old Robert Carson died this date, March 26th, in 1841 of the deadly effects of a “Lumbar Abscess.” He lived on Broad Street, just below Arch Street. The 1837 Philadelphia African American Census shows that Mr. Carson was employed as a porter. He was married and there were five others in the family besides the couple. The ages, genders or relationships of these five individuals are not reported. All seven in the family were born in  Pennsylvania. Ms. Carson’s first name was not reported. Her occupation is recorded as “own work” which I take to mean homemaker. 

The Carson family lived in a room on Broad Street, just a block north of Penn Square which is now the location of Philadelphia’s historic City Hall. In 1841, it was a large public square. The rent for their room was $4 per month, according to the 1838 African American Census. Mr. Carson probably made $4-$5 a week as a porter, most likely at the warehouse of E.G. Dutilh & Co., located directly across Broad Street from his home.

Tragically, Mr. Carson’s nine-year-old son, Simon, died six months after his father of brain inflammation, possibly meningitis or a similar virus. The child’s death certificate was written on a greasy piece of paper, perhaps from a paper bag.

Both father and son are buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Thirty-one-year-old George Griffiths died this date, March 24th, in 1841 of Small Pox and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. The 1840 U.S. Census shows that he was married and that the couple had a daughter. The 1839 City Directory reports his occupation as a laborer. Ms. Griffiths worked as a “day worker.” Her first name was not recorded. The Griffiths’ family lived in Marriot’s Lane between 2nd and 3rd Streets in the Olde City section of Philadelphia. 

Above is a 1910 photograph of Montrose Street (formerly Marriot’s Lane).

Mr. Griffiths was a victim of a small epidemic of Smallpox in 1841 Philadelphia. The Board of Health’s records show that he was one of the 249 victims who died that year. The worst plague of Small Pox took the lives of 4,464 Philadelphians between 1871-1872.

The last known case occurred in the United States in 1949 due to a worldwide vaccination programs. The first smallpox vaccine was created in 1758. The success of vaccination from the deadly effects of this disease was brought to America by an enslaved Black man named Onesimus.* It is not known if Mr. Griffiths was vaccinated. A small percentage of those vaccinated still died from the disease.

Onesimus

George Griffiths was buried at Bethel Burying Ground on a “summer like” day in March. The temperature rose to a high of sixty-seven degrees. “People sat with their windows open, and the doors of the churches, as in midsummer, were not closed.”**

*For more on this man, please go to —–https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onesimus_(Boston_slave)

**”North American,” 29 March 1841.

Sarah Larey died this date, March 19th, in 1840 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Born in New Jersey, she came to Philadelphia in 1813 when she was approximately thirty-three-year-old. It was reported on the death certificate that she was married, however, I haven’t been able to locate with certainty the name of that spouse.  

Ms. Larey lived with her family in Currant Alley, now Warnock Street. It is located between Locust and Spruce Streets between 10th and 11th Streets. Above is a photo of Warnock Street in 1926. Below is a photo of what Warnock Street looks like currently.

Ms. Larey may have been witness to the “riot” that took place in her neighborhood during the summer of 1839.

“Public Ledger,” 13 August 1839

Approximately one-hundred-year-old Hester Brown died this date, March 5th, in 1861 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. I have not been able to find more personal information than what is on the death certificate. Born in Delaware in approximately 1761, she was most likely born to an enslaved mother at the least. Ms. Brown is not listed in any U.S. censuses or the Philadelphia African American censuses of 1836 and 1847. I also could not locate her in the Philadelphia city directories. Her death certificate reports that she was employed as a laundress. There were no mentions of her in the local newspapers of the era.

Ms. Brown lived in a room at 1017 Rodman Street, formerly known as Bonsall Street. 

Her address was at the southern limits of center city Philadelphia. 

The 900-1000 blocks of Rodman in 1861 was one of the thriving centers of African American family life. The LeCounts, Bolivars, Proctors, and Durhams, residents of those two blocks, were keystones in the building of educational, cultural, business, religious and civil rights institutions in 19th century Philadelphia. Perhaps none were more important as a role model than Hester Brown’s next door neighbor – The “Black Swan,” aka Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield.

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield was born into slavery on a Natzeh, Mississippi plantation in 1819. Her life story is an amazing testament to the human spirit. She became a prominent vocalist that was the first Black person to sing for royalty during a concert attended by Queen Victoria in England. During her career, she traveled to Europe, Canada, and throughout the United States, performing to large crowds in concert and recital settings. In the antebellum United States, her concerts were often under heavy police guard because of the racist threats. She would tour in the Spring and Summer and, during the rest of the year, she was a vocal teacher to budding Black men and women seeking a singing career. Ms. Hester Brown certainly would have heard the beautiful tones wafting down Rodman Street.

908-910 Rodman Street in hard times (1926)

Hester Brown died on a cold March day where the temperature briefly rose to 41 degrees. Ms. Brown was not buried at Bethel Burying Ground for ten days after her death. It is not possible to give a definitive reason for this. Sometimes, if the weather is bad and/or the ground is frozen solid, there could be a delay.  That doesn’t appear to be the case with Ms. Brown after reviewing the weather in 1861 for the months of February and March. It could be that she was indigent and, likely, could not afford a burial plot and Bethel Church eventually stepped up. 

Coincidently, the funeral director, Thomas Allmond, who took care of Ms. Brown’s corpse, had his home and business at the same address as Ms. Brown, according to the 1860 city directory. Per the death certificate by 1861, he had moved down Rodman Street to 1027. 

The six-month-old unnamed son of Mary Ann and William Morris died this date, February 22nd, in 1844 of Gastritis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. By 1847, according to the Philadelphia African American Census, Mr. Morris was no longer in public documents.* I have not been able to find a death certificate for him. The 1847 Census reports that Ms. Morris is occupied as a wash woman with two daughters at home between the ages of five and fifteen years of age. Both attend school and can read and write. They were born in Pennsylvania while Ms. Morris was not. Ms. Morris and her children regularly attended church services. She also was a member of a beneficial society in the church. The family lived in one 11’x11′ room at 19 Middle Alley for which they paid $1.25 in rent, likely the equivalent to what Ms. Morris earned in a week of work. Middle Alley was one of the most notorious and deadly pestholes in the city and districts of Philadelphia. Many residents, both adults and children, would die from want of food and medical attention. Infanticide was not uncommon and the city’s coroner was not an infrequent visitor to the unpaved “Murderer’s Row.”

The Morris infant died on a clear day where the temperature rose to 54 degrees. Sadly, Mary Ann Morris would die of Tuberculosis in Blockley Hospital seven years later and was buried in the local Potter’s Field. 

*The death certificate is not signed by a physician. It is signed by George W. Morse. There is a man by that name listed in the 1844 City Directory as a “card manufacturer” or printer that prints business and social cards. This individual may have been Mr. Morris’ employer and perhaps gives us a hint at what Mr. Morris did for a living.