Joseph Thompson (abt. 1797 - 1847)

Died 3 Oct 1847 at about age 50 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Joseph Thompson is a part of US Black heritage.

Joseph Thompson was born about 1797.

From the Bethel Burying Ground Project:

"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.

"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."

It is likely that Joseph worked on the Delaware River docks as a porter or he might have been a day laborer.

He passed away in 1847.^[1]

In the 1847 African American Census^[2], Joseph is recorded living with 4 others. 2 Males and 3 females, 1 under 5yrs.; 1 under 15; 1 under 50; 2 over 50; 1 native of state and 4 not.

Sources

1. ↑ Death: "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915"
   FHL Film Number: 1906538
   Ancestry Record 2535 #1673385 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Joseph Thompson death 3 Oct 1847 (age 50) in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. ↑ 1847 Census:"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., African American Census, 1847"
   African-American Census of Philadelphia. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2709 #1511 (accessed 31 October 2022)
   Joseph Thompson in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

• https://bethelburyinggroundproject.com/category/on-this-date/

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139388115/joseph-thompson: accessed 31 October 2022), memorial page for Joseph Thompson (unknown–3 Oct 1847), Find a Grave Memorial ID 139388115, citing Bethel Burying Ground, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Anne D (contributor 50025304) .