What’s the story?
In 1847, a group of Quakers in Philadelphia conducted a census of the city’s Black communities, building a picture of more than four thousand households. The raw data makes it possible to catch glimpses of the vibrant lives of Black Philadelphians – recording the income they earned as sailors or firemen, the schools their children attended, or the freedom seekers they paid to free.The 1847 census was one of several taken in the mid-19th century by Quakers affiliated with the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and together they aggregate an enormous quantity of data. (The 1838 and 1856 census are part of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society’s records at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.) The 1847 census includes four handwritten volumes (for the pre-consolidation City, Northern Liberties, Southwark & Moyamensing, and Spring Garden & West Philly), plus a separate accounting for people residing in the Blockley Almshouse. While each row and year is just a snapshot, recent work by the history nonprofit 1838 Black Metropolis has built a framework for additional longitudinal research. With the assistance of phonetic name-matching, the group identified more than 400 individuals recorded in both the 1838 and 1847 censuses, telling a story of “how life may have changed for households from one decade to the next.” Today we can browse the books, or search the extracted data, to peek into communities from nearly two hundred years ago. Some of the names who appear in the census are well-known, like Sarah Mapps Douglass or William Still, but more are there waiting for their stories to be told.
More details
theme: Power of Placesubjects: Black life, Economic conditions, Philadelphia housing, Society of Friends, Statistical Research
contributing repository: Swarthmore College Special Collections
submitted by: Caitlin Goodman
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