Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Then and Now: 9th and Nectarine Streets
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| 9th and Nectarine, which is about a block from 9th and Sping Garden. |
Monday, February 18, 2013
The 400 Block of Library Street
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| The 400 block of Library Street, located between 4th and 5th Streets and Chestnut and Walnut Streets. |
This is a brief history of the 400 block of Library Street in Philadelphia, located between 4th and 5th Streets and Chestnut and Walnut Streets, just 1 block east of Independence Hall.
In Colonial Philadelphia, the land that would eventually become the 400 block of Library Street was then the rear gardens of 3 Chestnut Street properties:
1) the home/tavern of Benjamin Armitage "Sign of the Anvil and Double Cross Keys" located on the SW corner of 4th and Chestnut. Armitage ran unsuccessfully for the office of City Coroner in 1773 and 74. He died in 1789.
2) The mansion of Charles Norris. Built in 1750, the 3-story Georgian Mansion was considered to be one of the finest houses in Philadelphia during the 1750's, 60's and 70's. The rear garden was noted for its lush fruit trees.
The mansion and gardens were burned by the British Army when they pulled out of Philadelphia in June of 1778. Charles Norris' grandson, Isaac Norris rebuilt the Mansion after the Revolutionary War but on a much smaller scale.
3) the home of Dr. Peter Campbell at the SE corner of 5th and Chestnut. Campbell owned a 25 year old Negro slave named Aaron Williams. When Campbell died during the Summer of 1779 all of his property, including Aaron, was confiscated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sadly, Aaron, a man who lived just across the street from Independence Hall, was resold by Pennsylvania in a slave auction on May 1, 1780.
Library Street was born in 1789 when Benjamin Franklin's Library Company of Philadelphia purchased the Campbell property and a portion of the Norris Mansion garden and erected a Library.The Library was built at the rear of the Campbell property along 5th Street half way between Chestnut and Walnut. A small lane was added through what was once the Norris Mansion garden connecting 4th and 5th Street. This lane became the 400 block of Library Street. Over the next 50 years 14 or so more buildings were added to Library Street and was home to Bankers, Lawyers, Soldiers, Printers, Thinkers and Drinkers.
The top left photo was taken in January of 1859. It shows the South side of Library Street from #400 (far left) up to #416 (far right). From the 1859 City Directory, here are the people that worked in these buildings:
400-404 Library: was owned by Howell Evans, printer. This was a huge 4 story property on the SW corner of 4th and Library. It had an entrance on 4th Street and 2 on Library Street. Evans was 33 when he moved his printing business to Library Street in 1851 and he stayed there for more than 35 years. He advertised in 1859 that he had a steam powered fastcard press and could turn out 10,000 cards an hour for sale $1.50 per 1000. In 1859, besides his 12 employees, these people also had offices in Evan's building: Charles D Freeman (lawyer/alderman), FE Hayes and Samuel Salter (lawyers), Herman Roettger (optician), George Townsend (publisher), E Headley Bailey and Maurice Alexander (insurance brokers) and James Louderback and Gustavus Hoffman (designers and wood engravers). Howell Evans died on February 16, 1891 of Apoplexy.
406 Library: first floor William Keyser (barber), second floor Charles Watkins and Peter Weaver (ship brokers)
408 Library: Isaiah Bryan's "Our House" Hotel. The Our House Hotel was established by the 1830's. Bryan bought the Hotel at age 41 in 1858. In May of 1861, just a month after the start of the Civil War, Bryan joined the 18th Infantry Regiment of Pennsylvania and was appointed 1st Lieutenant. He was sent to help protect Baltimore from the Rebels. After his 3 month enlistment was up, he returned home. He re-enlisted on March 20, 1862 and was appointed Captain in the 99th Infantry. He died at age 47 on February 4, 1864 from a bleeding ulcer. He was given a military funeral at the "Our House" Hotel.
410 Library: William Jack (carriage maker). William was 49 years old when he moved his business to Library Street in 1858. In 1868, he took his 21 year old son Robert into the business and changed the name to William Jack and Son. William died of Liver disease on October 29, 1878. Robert kept up the business and brought in his younger brother William in 1880. The photo on the bottom left shows Robert (mustache) and William outside their shop in 1880. They are facing the rear of the old Customs house. They stayed in business until 1895. In 1902 The American Bank Note Company built their manufacturing plant here. It was at this site in 1902 when Tracy R Edson came up with the green dye added to bank notes to make them harder to copy.
412-416 Library: Military Hall. By 1810 it was obvious that we were heading to war with England again, so the Hall was built as an arsenal. After the War of 1812, it was turned into a lager beer hall. It was a very popular meeting place for soldiers and militia men. The Union Army held recruitment drives at the Hall (as well as at the "Our House" Hotel). The Hall had several owners over the years. At the time of the top left photo, the owner was John F Heishley. Heishley bought the Hall in 1858. In 1861 he was appointed a Captain of the John Hancock Guards, a private militia group that was assigned to the 2nd Delaware Infantry Regiment. He served for the duration of the war and received several wounds.
After the war, he moved to Alexandria Virginia where he opened a grocery store. The next owners, Gustavus Bergner and Charles Engel turned the Hall into a brew pub. From 1889 - 1896 the owner was James G Gosch. Gosch was and ex deputy sheriff and the Secretary of the Mercantile Appraisers Board. He changed the Hall into a Chop and Oyster House. This change appealed to the growing number of Lawyers who were taking offices on Library Street. The Oct 22, 1889 Phila Inquirer called his place a "Goldmine". In 1907, Gosch sold Military Hall to William J VanHook. Gosch opened the Hotel Aberdeen at Broad and Filbert in April of 1896. Sadly he died of Brights Disease on December 2, 1896 at age 48. William J VanHook changed the name of Military Hall to VanHook's Restaurant. VanHook went bankrupt in 1915 and closed the restaurant in 1917. As of April 4, 1920, the building was up for sale. I could find no further history on the building. Like the rest of Library Street, it did not survive the 1950's creation of Independence Mall.
418 Library: William Quinn (Velocipede). William Quinn was a Blacksmith. In 1858 he began to manufacture velocipedes (early kind of bicycle). In 1864 he moved to 10th and Sansom. Later in life he was a coach maker. He died of Apoplexy on June 28, 1899.
There were 2 more buildings on the south side of Library Street not seen in the top left photo. They were:
420-422 Library: aka Goldsmith's Hall. Built in 1851, it was a large 6 story building home to many businesses.
In 1859 they were: E Tracy (watch case maker), Harvey and Ford ( Ivory workers) along with 18 employees, Edward S Markley (printer/bookbinder) along with 13 employees, Peysson and Shoemaker (poudrette mfg......fertilizer made from manure and coal dust), Alexander Murphy (notary public), John B Jones (publisher), Robert Hutchinson (real estate), Lewis E Wells (Gold Chain mfg) and Ferdinand J Dreer and Samuel Sears (jewelry mfg) and Lawyers Samuel Chew, A I Fish, John Flint, William W Juvenal, Harris L Sproat, Edgar M Chipman and Charles G Harres. Goldsmith's Hall burned down on December 20, 1882.
SW Corner of Library and 5th: Mercantile Library Building, built in 1845.
Also not seen in the top left photo is the north side of Library Street. There were only a few buildings on the north side. They were:
401 Library: William H Foster (Exchange Office).
403 Library: Richard Joyce (printer's furniture mfg), W F Pullinger (glass reflector mfg), H A Salter (scrivener) and Samuel A Salter jr (lawyer).
405 Library: Edward Hurst and Joseph Bradston (lawyers and notaries).
407 Library: John Anderson (Sec and Treasurer of Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company).
427 Library: Sharp Family Jewelers (A Sharp- diamond setter, William Sharp- jeweler, George Sharp- silversmith)
No houses could be built in between 407 and 427 because the US Custom House on Chestnut street extended back to the north side of Library Street. The Custom House was built as the Second Bank of the United States in 1816 where the Charles Norris Mansion once stood. The Bank closed in 1836 when President Andrew Jackson refused to renew its charter. The building was used as the US Custom House from 1845 to 1934. In the bottom left photo, the Jack brothers are facing the rear portico of the Custom House. Just behind 401 to 407 was the Philadelphia National Bank Building which was built in 1808 replacing Benjamin Armitage's Tavern.
The first building that was built on the block, The Library Company of Philadelphia Library on the NE Corner of 5th and Library was torn down in 1888 and was replaced with the Drexel Building. In 1897 the name of Library Street was changed to Samson Street. During the 1950's, Independence Mall was developed and the entire block was razed, except for the Old Custom House. In 1958 the American Philosophical Society built a library on the site of the original Library Company building. As for the rest of Library Street, it is now an 18th century style Courtyard between 4th and 5th Streets and Chestnut and Walnut Streets.
SW Corner of 13th and Arch
This is a little history about the SW corner of 13th and Arch. It was a large empty lot when it was purchased by Matthew Newkirk in 1836. Newkirk was a veteran of the War of 1812, a Director of the Second United States Bank and President of the Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. He was close friends with Henry Clay and Nicholas Biddle. Newkirk built a mansion at the SW corner of 13th and Arch. The fronts along 13th and Arch Streets were made entirely of white marble. It was the first private residence in the city to have gas lines throughout the building. As the mansion neared completion in December of 1836, a carpenter died when he fell from scaffolding. Newkirk died there in 1868.
The Newkirk family sold the mansion to The Society of the Sons of St George in 1875. The Society, founded in 1772, gave advice and assistance to Englishmen in distress. They extended the building and added a third floor. They named the building St George's Hall (left photo). The Hall was available to rent and these are some of the events that were held there:
April 27, 1876....Dr Richard A Proctor, famed English Astronomer who produced one of the earliest maps of Mars, gave a lecture called "The Birth and Death of Worlds".
October 28, 1876....Blind Tom Wiggens. Blind Tom was born a slave. Because he was blind, when the other slaves were out working, Tom was left behind in his owner's parlor where he learned how to play the piano. He was so good that he was taken out on concert tours. He played for President Buchanan at the White House in 1860. When he first came to Philadelphia in September of 1865, his 3 day engagement was extended 4 weeks. He wowed the audiences by simultaneously playing the melodies of "Fishers Hornpipe" with his left hand, "Yankee Doodle" with his right hand while singing "Dixie." Mark Twain was a huge fan of Blind Tom.
December 21, 1879....banquet for ex President Grant
June 18, 1882....Memorial Service for General Giuseppe Garibaldi, the "Italian George Washington".
June 4, 1895....banquet for Archbishop Patrick Ryan
September 14, 1899....President William McKinley and the United States Marine Band opened The National Export Exposition.
The Society of the Sons of St George moved to 19th and Arch in 1902. St George's Hall was demolished in April of 1902. The marble front of the building was salvaged and was incorporated into the country home of Harry Bryan Owsley jr near Princeton NJ. Today, the marble front can be found at Princeton Battlefield State Park.
Replacing St George's Hall was a 9 story structure containing stores and offices. At first it was The Liverwright and Greenwald Building then later it was called the Frankel Building (middle photo). This building stood for 85 years until 1987 when it was razed to make room for the Criminal Justice Center. Today it is a parking lot behind the Center (right photo).
Booth Saves Lincoln!
I
found this article in the June 8, 1893 edition of the Philadelphia
Inquirer. Edwin Booth, John Wilkes' brother, had just died. Good story!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The Story of Charles Allen Smith
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| Charles Allen Smith Statue Dedication, McPherson Square August 4, 1917 (Kensington) |
Charles Allen Smith was a 20 year old Seaman from Kensington. He was killed at Vera Cuz, Mexico on April 22, 1914. His statue has stood in McPherson Square since June 29, 1917. His funeral on May 13, 1914 was the grandest ever held in the city, yet today he is barely a footnote in American History.
Charles Allen Smith was born on January 11, 1894, the eldest child of Walter and Jennie Smith of 2535 Lawrence Street (near 4th and Huntingdon). Walter worked as a weaver. Besides Charles, Walter and Jennie had 4 other children: James (who died at age 4 months on Aug 27, 1895 from Capillary Bronchitis), Edna in 1897, Esther in 1903 and a stillborn. Walter and Jennie had a stormy marriage and Walter left Jennie and the children shortly after Esther's birth in 1903. He made no attempt to see them for 11 years. Jennie was so bitter that in the City Directory she always listed herself as Jennie widow of Walter. She made it quite clear that Walter was dead to her. She moved the family to 1925 E. Sergeant Street (near Lehigh and Kensington Aves) and took a job at a cigar factory. By 1910, they moved to 2170 E. Sergeant and by 1912 to 2168 E. Sergeant. By 1910, Jennie worked as a washerwoman.
Seventeen year old Charles entered the Navy on August 31, 1911 and was stationed aboard the USS New Hampshire. In October, 1913, while home on leave, Charles met Miss Elizabeth Agnes Broadbent and they were engaged to be married. They set the date for October, 1915 when Charles' enlistment would be up.
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| Elizabeth Agnes Broadbent, fiance of Charles Allen Smith. |
In April of 1914, the Mexican civil war was raging near the oil rich town of Tampico where many American companies held interests. To protect their investments and American lives, the US sent a gunboat to patrol the area. While ashore to pick up supplies, several sailors were unlawfully taken into Mexican custody. They were released after an hour and a half along with a written apology but that wasn't good enough for Woodrow Wilson. He demanded that the Mexicans raise an American flag on Mexican soil and to fire a 21 gun salute. The Mexicans did not do so by the appointed deadline so Wilson gave the orders to capture the port of Vera Cruz, crucial to the Mexicans for weapon shipments from the German government. The USS New Hampshire was among the battleships sent to Vera Cruz and Charles Allen Smith was among the sailors and soldiers sent ashore to take the city. The landing went well but the Mexicans had snipers hidden throughout the city on April 22, 1914. Charles was pinned down behind some sandbags when he saw the Color Sergeant go down. Without an instant of hesitation, Charles leaped forward to get the flag. Before he got there he was cut down with a bullet to the lungs and another through his head. He was the second American (of 17) killed that day. The first sailor killed was also a Philadelphian, George D McKenzie Poinsett.
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USS New Hampshire. Charles Allen Smith served aboard her from August 31, 1911 to April 22, 1914. |
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| Charles Allen Smith's Death Certificate |
It was decided that Poinsett and Smith would lay together in state at Independence Hall and given the biggest funeral known to the city. Before reaching Philadelphia, they were given a huge memorial service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard where they were eulogized by President Wilson. The caskets were accompanied from NYC to Philadelphia by Poinsett's father and brothers. Jennie Smith was too poor to make the trip to Brooklyn. After 11 years, her husband Walter came home and offered a reconcilliation with Jennie. Jennie told him that he was welcome to come to the funeral but she wanted nothing else from Walter. She had raised the children without him and she would continue to do so.
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| The caskets of Poinsett and Smith in state at Independence Hall. May 12, 1914 |
The funeral was held on May 13, 1914. Their caskets were in state at Independence Hall from 8 am to 2pm. 500,000 people came to pay their respects. The bell tolled from the Hall Tower from 1:45 to 2:30. The caskets were brought from the Hall through an Honor Guard of Civil War veterans. The procession marched to Chopin's Funeral March up Market Street to Broad Street all the way to Berks Street. The streets were mobbed because schools and businesses closed for the occasion...but not a sound could be heard as the caissons rolled past. Smith's casket was then taken to his Mother's house at 2168 E. Sergeant Street. More than 1000 people were gathered to see Charles' home. The casket could not fit through the door so it had to go in via the front window. At this point Mrs Smith passed out and was placed under a doctor's care.
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| The funeral procession filing past Civil War Vets May 13, 1914. |
From there, a Navy Honor Guard escorted Charles to Fernwood Cemetery (section G crypt 613). He was laid to rest at sunset as two sets of 3 volleys rang forth and the bugler sounded taps over his grave. On May 26, 1916 the Boy Scouts began a collection to raise funds for a statue of Smith to be placed in McPherson Square. In April of 1917, the Philadelphia Art Jury rejected the statue saying that it looked more like a cemetery marker than a heroic work of art. The defiant Kensingtonians told the Art Jury to go to hell and they dedicated the statue on August 4, 1917. During the ceremony, Smith's mother, Jennie, wailed uncontrolably and collapsed. 10,000 people came to see the dedication. Spanish American War Vets, along with Civil War Vets and Navy Veterans marched 5 miles through Kensington along with 8 marching bands playing martial music. Today the statue stands covered in grafitti.
NE corner of 12th and Spruce Streets (1880 - 2012)
I found the top picture in a 1922 edition of the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger. At that time, readers were invited to send in old photos of Philadelphia and they would be printed on the back page. I looked up the history of the people who lived in the house (1137 Spruce Street) and the one that replaced it (bottom photo) and found the story to be of interest.
In 1865, Alexander B and Sarah Ann Duncan moved into the old wooden house shown in the top photo. Alexander was 50 years old and worked as a cabinet maker. Sarah was 45 and opened a Toy/Variety Store in their house. They lived there until 1886 when the property was purchased by prominent physician, Calvin B Knerr. Knerr had the old wooden house torn down and replaced it with a modern 4 story building. The bottom floor storefront was Dr. Knerr's office and the top 3 floors were apartments.
In 1899, Dr. Knerr's son, Bayard Knerr, also opened an office there after he graduated from the University of Penn. Bayard also lived in one of the apartments. He was married 3 times, first in 1902 to a Canadian girl named Margaret Ross who was a cousin to England's Prime Minister Gladstone. Margaret was an opera singer and Bayard divorced her in 1909 when she went out for a world concert tour. Bayard next married Ethel Bransome in 1913. Ethel divorced Bayard in 1917 and he immediately married his third wife, Caroline. After his father left the practice in 1910, Bayard began to rent out some of the apartments.
In 1913 he rented one to F Roe Searing and his wife Nancy. F Roe was a successful building contractor. By 1915, Searing was unhappy with his life and confided to his secretary, Elizabeth Rendell, that he intended to kill himself. She persuaded him to instead run away and start a new life. Searing and his wife spent the Summer of 1915 at Atlantic City. One day F Roe went swimming and never came out of the water. He was presumed dead but no body was ever recovered. Miss Rendell had met him under the boardwalk with a clean set of clothes and drove him off to the train station. He headed south and eventually bought a houseboat and a small farm in Louisiana. The insurance companies were suspicious at the first. They had discovered that Elizabeth Rendell's sister May had taken out a policy on Searing just a week before his "drowning". Mrs Searing had to sue the insurance companies for F Roe's life insurance money and she won the suit in 1916. Eventually F Roe sent for Elizabeth Rendell to join him in Louisiana where they lived as man and wife. The insurance companies never gave up and found them in October of 1917. They were brought back to Philadelphia where they were convicted of insurance fraud. F Roe served 2 years and Elizabeth 1 year. Elizabeth died on January 3, 1921. F Roe and his wife Nancy reconciled by 1924 and lived together in Atlantic City until April 1932 when F Roe died. Nancy never remarried and lived until 1972, age 93.
As for Bayard Knerr, he was a very popular physician/surgeon/
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