Bethel Burying Ground Project

Twenty-two-year-old Josephine Atlee died this date, December 4th, in 1848 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on December 5, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Twenty-two-year-old Josephine Atlee died this date, December 4th, in 1848 of Tuberculosis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. It appears from census records that she was the daughter of Adam and Lucinda Atlee and the sister of John and Hannah Atlee. At the time of Josephine’s death, Adam was ~56 years old, Lucinda ~55, John ~22, who may have been a twin of Josephine. Hannah was approximately 17 years old. All family members were born in Pennsylvania, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census and the 1850 U.S. Census. (1)

Adam Atlee was employed as a cart driver in 1847 and a shingle maker in 1850. It appears Lucinda was a homemaker. John worked as a waiter and young Hannah was “at service.” The 1847 Census reports Josephine’s employment as “day worker.” (2)

The Atlee family lived in a room in the 1800 block of George Street, now Samson Street (red pin). The residence was a half a block north of Rittenhouse Square. It was one of the original squares planned by William Penn in the 17th century. The Atlee family lived in one or two rooms for which they paid $3 a month which equates to $100 in modern currency. They reported $50 in personal property, which equates to approximately $1,600 in modern currency.

The Black residents of George Street lived where the white establishment permitted them. They were employed in professions that supported the lifestyle of the wealthy who lived around Rittenhouse Square. Over a dozen Black families lived on the same block as the Atlee family, according to the 1847 Census. Those families consisted of over seventy men, women, and children. The men were employed as coachmen, waiters, barbers, and livery stable workers. The children attended the Adelphia School and the private schools of Sarah Douglas and John Mitchell. It is worth mentioning that not only could three members of the Atlee family read but also two could write. It is likely that young Josephine attended one of the schools mentioned.

Josephine Atlee died on a remarkably warm day in December where the temperature rose to over 70°. Her family buried her, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) The 1850 U.S. Census spells the family name as “Atley.”

(2) Josephine Atlee was one of 323 Black girls and women who were “at service” or “in-service” in 1847, according to the Philadelphia African American Census. These domestic workers would either live full-time in their employee’s home, or just during the work week, or not at all and live at their home.

Nine-week-old Sarah Ann Till died this date, November 19th, in 1820 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on November 19, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Dr. William P. Chandler did not make the effort to ascertain the baby’s name. It was provided by the Bethel gravedigger in the document below. The physician also put an “s” at the end of the family’s name. All other documents show the family’s name as “Till.”

Nine-week-old Sarah Ann Till died this date, November 19th, in 1820 of “Debility” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Little Sarah Ann may have starved to death. Her mother’s breast milk may not have come in or she may have been too sick to breastfeed and there may not have been a wet nurse available. In 1820, Sarah Ann was one of ninety-five children in the city reported to have died with the same diagnosis. In reality, it likely was closer to double that number.

The red arrow indicates the location of the Till home at 272 South 7th Street, a half a block south of Washington Square, according to the 1820 City Directory. The red circle illustrates the location of Bethel A.M.E. and its proximity to the Till residence.

The 1820 Philadelphia City Directory shows Mr. Till’s occupation as “boot cleaner.” He likely had been employed in one of the hotels in the old city area. He was one of twenty-five Black men in the Directory that reported their occupation as boot cleaner. Mr. Till was no longer reported in the city directory after 1822. However, eighteen years after Sarah Ann died, there is a John Till and family reported in the 1838 Philadelphia African American Census.

This John Till lived with his spouse and two other females. One appears to be school age. Three of the adults are not native to Pennsylvania. The child is a native. Two of the adults were formerly enslaved and, reportedly, gained their freedom through manumission. Mr. Till was employed as a porter and Ms. Till as a laundress. They resided in Eagles Court. I suspect that Mr. and Ms. Till were runaways and, after establishing a home in Philadelphia, they were able to bring a relative up from the South. The enacting of the 1820 Fugitive Slave Law may explain why Mr. Till no longer had himself listed in the city directories. But this is just conjucture.

Nine-week-old Sarah Ann Till died on a cold day in late November of 1820 and was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

It is likely that Reverend Richard Allen, pastor of Bethel A.M.E., presided over the funeral service for the infant. He may have recited the hymn he wrote for the death of a child.

The tyrant, Death, came rushing in.
Last night his power did shew,
Out of this world this child did take,
Death laid low.
No more the pleasant child is seen
To please the parent’s eye.
The tender plant, so fresh and green,
Is in eternity.

“A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” by Rev. Richard Allen. Hymn XLI, p. 64.

Seventy-year-old Stephen Armstrong died this date, November 11th, in 1841, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on November 11, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Seventy-year-old Stephen Armstrong died this date, November 11th, in 1841 due to Hydrocephalus and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Hydrocephalus is a condition in which fluid accumulates on the brain. Mr. Armstrong’s symptoms could have included headaches, double vision, vomiting and seizures. The causes of this painful illness includes meningitis, brain tumor, and head trauma.

Mr. Armstrong was self-employed as a porter. He owned his own wheelbarrow to transport materials or goods from one point to another. Because of this, he was considered a private business owner. In 1838, three years before he died, he paid $2.50 in business taxes. This amount would be approximately $75 in modern currency.

Although not explicitly stated, I believe, after examining census records following Mr. Armstrong’s death, his spouse was Ann Armstrong.* Both were born enslaved in Maryland and paid a total of $715 for their manumission. In modern currency, the amount would be approximately $21,000. Ms. Armstrong was employed as a laundress.

According to the 1838 Census, Ann and Stephen Armstrong lived with four other individuals in two rooms at 245 South 7th Street, very close to Washington Square, in the older part of the city. The ages and the relationship of the four to the Armstrong couple was not recorded. All four were born in Pennsylvania.

The building at 245 South 7th was a three-story wood frame structure that was home to three separate African American families. The Armstrongs paid $6 a month in rent or approximately $167 in modern currency.

1841 was a bad year for the citizens of Philadelphia. They saw a 400% increase in Small Pox deaths and an increase of 2,000+ patients at the city’s clinics (Dispensaries). However, the congregants of Bethel A.M.E. saw their old church replaced by a new larger structure to accommodate the large influx of free African Americans from the southern states. The fear of slave rebellions aided by free Blacks spurred the creation of stricter laws governing the lives of these men and women who fled north.

Mr. Armstrong died on a near freezing day in November that saw showers all day. He was buried by his family, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Ann Armstrong was 54-55 years old when her spouse died. She continued to live near Washington Square and make her living by washing clothes. She passed away in October of 1852 at sixty-nine years old and was buried at Lebanon Cemetery.

Twenty-five-year-old Henry Proctor died this date, October 26th, in 1847 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on October 26, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: a, African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. 1 Comment

Twenty-five-year-old Henry Proctor died this date, October 26th, in 1847 of “Fever” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. It appears that Dr. John Mitchell took little time seeking out Mr. Proctor’s cause of death. In reviewing Philadelphia Board of Health records for 1847, it appears that the citizens were being plagued by a serious outbreak of Scarlet Fever. Mr. Proctor may have succumbed to this bacterial disease that is usually seen in children. He may have contracted it from a child in his family.

According to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, Mr. Proctor lived in Stevens’ Court with two children and four adult women. Three of the women served as “in-service” domestics and may have been staying at their employer’s home during the week. Mr. Proctor worked as a laborer earning $6 a week. The woman who stayed at home with the children was also employed as a laundress who also did ironing! For every dozen shirts finished, she would have made upwards of 10 cents. Everyone in the family was born in Pennsylvania.

The red circle in the above map indicates the location of Stevens’ Court which was located in the rear of 917 South 5th Street in south Philadelphia. The red arrow illustrates the location of the Bethel Burying Ground and its proximity to the Proctors’ home.

The Proctor family likely lived in two rooms for which they paid $2.50 a month, according to the 1847 Census. At the time of Mr. Proctor’s death, Stevens’ Court was home to 16 Black families with a total of 86 members. All of the women in these families worked as laundresses while the men worked as laborers. There were two men who reported their occupation as “seaman.”

Old Philadelphia was traditionally a mob town. Generations of white citizens daily roamed the city’s streets looking to beat down anyone of a different race, religion, or political party. The police force was small and afraid of the gangs. For many years, the policemen refused to wear their uniforms for fear of being identified and assaulted by gang members. The citizenry would not be surprised to hear that federal troops had to be used to quell a riot initiated by a white mob.

The residents of Stevens’ Court lived in a very dangerous neighborhood for African Americans. Blacks were denied access to public transportation which forced many to live near their place of employment. Some locations were worst then others. In this case, Stevens’ Court was only several blocks away from the home of the Moyamensing Hose Company (aka “The Rowdy Boys of Moyamensing”) and the “Killers” – their murderous enforcers. Their sole goal was to rid Philadelphia of Blacks and Protestants. To this end, no form of violence was ruled out. Guns, knives, clubs, cobblestones, and arson were all utilized. (1)

**Wood frame rowhouses similar to those on “Red Row.”**

Many in Stevens’ Court likely remember the destruction of “Red Row” and feared the same might happen to them. In July of 1835, a Black man stabbed a white man with whom he was fighting on South 2nd Street. Also a Black man working as a butler assaulted his employer. The white gangs in the city used these incidents to mount rampages through the African American neighborhoods. “Red Row” was a block long row of nine wood frame houses located on Christian Street between 8th and 9th Streets. All were occupied by Black families. The origin of the term “Red Row” isn’t clear. It has been used as a disparaging term for a small community of African Americans or a neighborhood of poor whites.

On the night of July 27, 1835, a mob of 1,500 white men and boys broke into and destroyed the homes of Black families on Red Row. Most of the African American adults were able to grab their children and escape through their back doors into the alleys and backyards of their neighbors. However “several men were concealed in a chimney in one of these houses, a torch was applied to burn them out, and the house was quickly in flames.” All the houses on the row were destroyed by fire. All the furniture was destroyed and the families’ valuables and food were stolen. A Black women who had given birth four days before was able to successfully escape with her newborn. She had no where to go and hid in the grass of a vacant lot. (2)

A group of armed Black men were eventually able to engage in a running gun battle which killed and wounded approximately ten white men, according to newspaper reports. But the torture, beatings, and arson were accomplished. The Black men and women of Stevens’ Court lived with the memory of the savagery that could occur any minute of any day to them.

Mr. Proctor died on a day in late October in 1847 and was buried by his family, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Harry C. Silcox, Philadelphia Politics from the Bottom Up: The life of Irishman William McMullen, 1824-1901.

(2) Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 July 1835, p. 2.

Thirty-year-old Ann Thompson died this date, October 5th, in 1840 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on October 5, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Thirty-year-old Ann Thompson died this date, October 5th, in 1840 of Puerperal Peritonitis and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. She was another victim of physicians and midwives not sterilizing their instruments and not washing their hands and, subsequently, infecting the genital area and uterus of a woman after she gives birth. It appears from Board of Health records that Ms. Thompson’s child lived.

Puerperal Peritonitis or “bed fever” was a quick, agonizing and devastating disease. It affected women within the first three days of giving birth and death occured only days later from sepsis or “blood poisoning.”

The yellow arrow indicates the approximate location of Ms. Thompson’s home on Prosperous Alley between 11th and 12th Streets and Locust and Spruce Streets. Prosperous Alley was in the middle of a cluster of streets, alleys, and dead end courts that mainly housed Black families. The majority of men worked as waiters and shoemakers, while the women were employed as laundresses and dressmakers. There were a significant number of widows and single women in the alley, according to city directories. The area was five blocks west of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

There is enough evidence from the 1838 Register of Trades of Colored People to suggest that Ms. Thompson’s spouse was Thomas Thompson. His occupation was listed as “Shoemaker.” The 1840 U.S. Census shows Ann and Thomas were already the parents of three girls, all under the age of ten. There were two other older adults listed at the same address who very well may have been Ann’s or Thomas’ parents.

The 1840 Philadelphia that Ms. Thompson left with her death was the most racist city in the north. African American men recently had lost the right to vote in Pennsylvania and street assaults on Black men and women were increasing. Just before Ms. Thompson’s death, the celebrated abolitionist Lucretia Mott, a white woman, was warned by the mayor of Philadelphia that she had been seen walking with Black people on the city’s streets and that her activity was inciting a “certain element” and should stop. She didn’t stop but in the end that “certain element” really didn’t need any incentive to continue their genocidal assault on the Black race.

Ms. Thompson died on a warm day in early October and was buried by her family at Bethel Burying Ground. I wasn’t able to find any further records on Mr. Thompson or the children.

Eighty-year-old Grace Johnson died this date, September 26th, in 1847 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on September 26, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia. Leave a comment

Eighty-year-old Grace Johnson died this date, September 26th, in 1847 of a Pulmonary Hemorrhage and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Documents also record her first name as “Gracey” and “Gracie.” Several months before Ms. Johnson died she reported her occupation as a domestic “at service” to the 1847 African American Census. She was one of 194 women in the Census who reported this as their occupation. (1)

Ms. Johnson was single and lived alone in a 7′ x 7′ room at #8 Fothergill Street for which she paid $1.25 a month. In the 1837 African American Census, she reported that she was a widow. She’s listed as a widow in city directories as early as 1824.

**The room in the above photo is larger than the 7’x7′ room in which Ms. Johnson resided.**

**The red arrow on the above map illustrates the approximate location of Ms. Johnson’s home at #8 Fothergill Street and its proximity to Pennsylvania Hospital less than a block away.**

Fothergill Street was more like a narrow alley than a proper thoroughfare. It often would have been blocked by garbage, trash, and piles of ash from stoves and fireplaces. In the winter, ice and snow would have made it impassable. In 1897, the name of the street was changed to Hutchinson.

**Hutchinson Street as it currently appears.**

Ms. Johnson was born enslaved in 1767. It wasn’t recorded what colony her parents lived in, but it wasn’t Pennsylvania, according to the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census. She choose not to be specific to the census taker about how she was freed.

**“*In Service”* (Digital Collection of the NY Public Library)**

Ms. Johnson lived through decades of race riots, white gangs, daily street violence, and epidemics of Cholera, Yellow Fever, Malaria, Typhoid, Typhus and Tuberculosis. She richly deserved a dignified burial where she could rest in peace. She found that on a cloudy late September day that saw intermittent light showers. Ms. Johnson was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Philadelphia Negro by W.E.B. DuBois, p. 454.

Five-year-old David Ware died this date, September 19th, in 1843 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on September 19, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia. Leave a comment

Five-year-old David Ware died this date, September 19th, in 1843 of a brain inflammation and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. There are several diseases that can cause the inflammation. At David’s age, it could have been measles or mumps.

According to the 1850 U.S. Census, young David lived at #8 Acorn Alley with the following three single women: Eliza Ware, 33-years-old, who was born in Delaware; Sarah Ware, 29-years-old, who was born in New Jersey; Ann Ware, 21-years-old, who was born in Delaware. It is not clear which woman was David’s mother, if any of the three. None of the women was recorded as a widow.

**The red arrow on the above map indicates the location of #8 Acorn Alley and the proximity of Washington Square only two blocks away.**

The Ware women were employed as laundresses and whitewashers. Whitewashers were house painters. Colored wash (paint) was very costly and only used in wealthy homes. Whitewash was a mixture of water and quicklime and inexpensive to make.

In a profession where the majority of whitewashers were male, there also was a significant number of women. In the image above, you can see it was a physically demanding occupation by the size of her forearm. **(1)**

The 1847 African American Census recorded the Ware family paid $4.50 a month for their room/s which is much higher than average. This sum equates to approximately $158 a month in modern currency. It also is reported that the family owned property in New Jersey worth $500 or approximately $17,560 in modern currency.

Eliza, Sarah and Ann Ware were educated. All could read and write. They belonged to beneficial societies and attended church services at Bethel A.M.E., according to census records. (Photo is from the Digital Collection of the NY Public Library.)

Young David Ware died on a clear hot day in September of 1843 and was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) We Are Your Sisters: Black Woman in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Dorothy Sterling, p. 90.

Eighty-eight-year-old Levi Ganges, died on September 13th, in 1848 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on September 13, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Someone’s speaking in Ba-kongo another answers a question asked in English with a phase of Wolof

Someone is telling a joke in Mandingo a young man – salt water African – becrys his fate in Swahili (1)

Eighty-eight-year-old Levi Ganges died on September 13th, in 1846 from the complications of a stroke and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. He was born ‘Lahy,’ son of Malcauba, an African tribal chief. At approximately forty-years-old, he was kidnapped and placed on a slave ship destined for the sugar cane plantations of the Caribbean.

Mr. Ganges was one of the 135 enslaved Africans rescued in 1800 by the U.S.S. Ganges, an American naval ship.

Mr. Michael Kearney has diligently researched the history of this incident and the genealogy of the Ganges family. For his authoritative account, please go to https://thegangesfamilies.com/

Mr. Ganges was a member of the Susu people, also spelled Soso, a West African ethnic group, one of the Mandé peoples (Mandingo), living primarily in Guinea and Northwestern Sierra Leone. (The photo below is from the New York Library Digital Collection,)

Susu Chief and Staff

1906 map of the African west coast showing the home of the Mande people.

Screenshot (32)

The Pennsylvania Abolition Society volunteered to take over the care of Black men and women of Africa. The Society put into place a program where the new citizens would be indentured for a number of years. They would be clothed, housed, and taught a trade. Levy/Lahy Ganges was indentured for four years to Enos Eldridge, a farmer in Darby County, Delaware County, to be taught the fundamentals of agriculture.

In September of 1839, it became known to the lawyers arguing for the freedom of the Africans rescued from the slave ship Amistad that Mr. Ganges spoke their language and could be valuable as a translator. He traveled to Hartford, Connecticut to meet with his fellow countrymen. The pertinent documents concerning this meeting are on Mr. Kearney’s website.

My research is focusing on Mr. Ganges life between the end of his indenture and his translation work with the Africans of the Amistad.

Tombstone Spring flower

Lahy, son of Malcauba, died on a cool and clear September day where the temperature only rose to sixty-six degrees by late afternoon. There was a total eclipse of the moon on the evening that he passed away. He was buried, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) Meditations in Congo Square by Lamont B. Steptoe, p, 32. (Camden, NJ: Whirlwind Press.

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susu_people

Eighty-nine-year-old Hannah Richards died this date, September 9th, in 1852 and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on September 9, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, AME Zion, archaeology, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

Eighty-nine-year-old Hannah Richards died this day, September 9th, in 1852 of Apoplexy (stroke) and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. Ms. Richards had been a widow since at least 1837 when she reported that fact to the census taker. At that point in time, she was the head of a family of ten. They ranged from three small children to seven adults. Three were not native to Pennsylvania and one was, who gained his or her freedom through manumission, was formerly enslaved. The 1840 City Directory lists Ms. Richards’ occupation as “washerwoman.” During this period, the family lived on Tammany Street below 3rd Street in the West Kensington section of the county.

By 1847, Ms. Richards resided at a house that she owned at Vernon Street above 10th Street in the Spring Garden section of the county. The red pin on the map below indicates the Richards’ home. The red arrow illustrates the location of Bethel A.M.E. where she reportedly worshiped. African Americans were not allowed on public transportation, so she walked approximately two miles to Bethel. As she grew older, she may have chosen to attend services at Zoar A.M.E. which was only six blocks away from her home at 4th and Brown Streets.

The 1847 African American Census also reveals that Ms. Richards resided at this time with three other adults – a male and two females in a four room house. The male labored as a porter, earning $5 a week. One of the women is employed as a washwoman, earning $3 a week. Only one is native to Pennsylvania. Two were born enslaved and one of the two’s freedom was purchased for $150. The family had a mortgage payment of $450 a year. They had $1,200 equity in the property. Their water bill was $5 a year and they paid $15 a year for taxes. (1)

The Vernon Street neighborhood was predominately white and dotted with carpenters’ shops. A block away was a large chemical factory where many of the local men were employed.

**A 1953 photo of a child on Vernon Street (now Reno). (Temple U. Digital Library Collection)**

Ms. Richards was born in 1763, likely in Maryland or Virginia. She had seen many burial grounds for Blacks in her lifetime, including slave graveyards, potter’s fields, and small churchyards. However, she had never seen anything like Bethel Burying Ground. Owned by Blacks for Blacks, it was a place of reverence and dignity where generations could be buried together and honored. The creation of such a publicly recognized sacred space would also have served as a powerful symbol, reinforcing the notion that people of African descent were by that time no longer strangers in the city, but rather a permanent part of Philadelphia’s social and historical fabric.

Hannah Richards died on a day in early September 1852 and was buried by her family, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

(1) In modern currency the equivalents are $450 = $14,218; $1,200 = $37,917; $5 = $158; $15 = $474

Forty-five-year-old Mary Stewart died this date, August 15th, in 1849, and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground.

Posted by Terry Buckalew on August 15, 2020

Posted in: On This date. Tagged: African American burial grounds, African American cemeteries, African American History, African Methodist Episcopal Church, archaeology, Bethel Burying Ground, Mother Bethel, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Richard Allen. Leave a comment

MARY STEWART

Forty-five-year-old Mary Stewart died this date, August 15th in 1849, due to “Cramps of the Stomach” and was buried at Bethel Burying Ground. In 1847 she told the census taker that her spouse worked irregularly as a laborer, earning $3.50 a week, when he was able. He was not named. Ms. Stewart was employed as a domestic. In the 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, Ms. Stewart sadly reported that she had to sell “some of her things to procure the means to bury a child.” She added that “at the same time her son sold some of his things to bury his wife.” Either Mr. or Ms. Stewart had formerly been enslaved and gained their liberation through manumission. The family was struggling just to stay alive.

Green Street is enclosed in the red circle. The red pin illustrates the location and proximity of the Bethel A.M.E. Church.

Ms. Stewart and her family lived in a room at #19 Green Street for which they paid $3 a month and reported having only $15 in personal property. In modern currency, their rent equates to approximately $100 monthly and their property equates to approximately $500. Green Street was a block-long thoroughfare, packed with forty-seven Black families with a total of almost one-hundred-fifty men, women and children.

The above photo is of 4th and Spruce Streets, right around the corner from the residents of Green Street. It was taken circa 1859. These are some of the homes that the Black women of Green Street would work in as domestics, cooks, and wash women. (Free Library of Philadelphia Digital Collection)

Mary Stewart died on an August day where the temperature rose to 82° and saw a brief shower at 11am. The rest of the day was clear and fair. She was buried by her family, with dignity, at Bethel Burying Ground.

Bethel Burying Ground Project