We had a beautiful weekend here in Philadelphia with temperatures ranging in the 70's along with lots and lots of sunshine which means one thing to Bill & I, it is time to go out and hit some of the historical sites around this neck of the woods and do a little (alot) of genealogy research.
Though I do much of my research "via" computer or books, the spring and fall seasons are the perfect times to go out and research the areas in person. I especially like to research in cemeteries and I am currently working on these three church yard burial grounds, St. Peter's, Old Pine Street Presbyterian and Christ Church. Christ Church is the smallest of the three but is the most notable because in its grounds are interred five signers of the Declaration of Independence (including Ben Franklin), several Revolutionary War Heroes, a few early Medical Pioneers, and graves that are so old many have stones that have just weathered away.
What is amazing about this small two acre plot of burial ground is there are about 4,000 people interred here and from what I understand the cemetery is still active. Among those interred here are the many victims of the 1793 Yellow Fever Epidemic. Just one family alone lost eleven of their children before they (parents) died themselves.
In addition to these three Center City burial grounds I am also researching the Washington Avenue Immigration Center that was once located at the docks at Washington Avenue and Columbus (Delaware) Blvd. This was the location where several of our ancestors went through the immigration process when they came here from countries such as Ireland, Germany and Poland. Though several immigrants came through this port before 1873, the immigration center's most popular years were between 1873 and 1923.
More to follow including pictures at a later date.
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