Picture Tour of Laurel Hill Cemetery

Historic Landmark
Receiving Vault; in the days of hand digging graves, the receiving vault was used for those bodies that could not be buried in the winter when the grounds were frozen. The bodies were held in vaults such as this one until spring soften the frozen ground.






The Kane Family Vault







General George Gordon Meade and Family Burial Plot

A Typical Family Burial Plot in the 19th Century

Hugh Mercer; personal physician of George Washington in the French and Indian War; Later served under Washington in the Revolutionary War; Fought at Trenton and died at Princeton.

In order to appreciate the full architectural and historical beauty of the cemetery, click on the picture to enlarge it.

Marie Schroeder Weleski

Wissahickon Park Playground

Living here in Wissahickon means enjoying the park and all its beauty. This was the case on Saturday morning with Shaun in the park's playground.

Views of Manayunk

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
Old Mill
Manayunk view from Westminster Cemetery Manayunk
New Condo's mixed with Old Mills
Hill side view

Andrew and Samuel Wisloski

166 Roxborough Avenue Philadelphia PA. 19127

While researching archival records at St. John the Baptist Church located in Manayunk, I came across the death records of Andrew and Samuel Wisloski. Both were listed as dying on the same day from Asphyxiation. This information prompted me to investigate the reason behind the Wisloski brothers’ cause of death. Upon further investigation, I discovered that after an evening of drinking, the Wisloski brothers’ got into a fist fight at home and unbeknownst to both of them the gas pipe above the stove was inadvertently hit by one or both of them causing the release of gas. Both were asphyxiated by the gas fumes. Andrew was 50yrs old and Samuel was 40yrs old at the time of their death. The date of death was listed as March 11th, 1938 and the funeral mass was held at St. John’s on March 16th, 1938 at 9AM. Burial was held on the same date at Westminster cemetery in lot 327, grave number two. Residence listed at the time of their death was 166 Roxborough Avenue .


The above paragraph was taken from "a journey into the past". Andrew and Samuel Wisloski were the older brothers of John Weleski. Sometime between the birth of John's second and third child, he changed the spelling of his last name from Wisloski to Weleski for reasons unknown. In addition. the house on 166 Roxborough Avenue was the family home of John and his siblings.

John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski

3427 Commissioner Street Philadelphia, PA. 19132 Home of John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski in 1945

Family Member Headstones in Laurel Hill Cemetery

John Schroeder 1915-1969, son of Charles and Mary (Mervine) SchroederCharles Schroeder 1886-1945, Mary (Mervine) Schroeder 1889-1979
and their son Earl Schroeder 1926-1939
John Weleski 1904-1954 and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski 1906-1945, daughter of Charles and Mary (Mervine) Schroeder

Lady in the Window

If you were able to magnify the earlier blog picture of 3907 Ridge Avenue, this is what you would see. In my opinion, I believe this is a ghostly figure of a woman. I was standing in Laurel Hill cemetery directly across the street when I photographed this house for genealogy purposes.

Fact or Fiction

Click on the picture to enlarge it. When you have the red brick house with the black door in focus, magnify the house but focus on the third floor window on your right. What do you see?

For years my family thought this house was haunted. When I went around snapping pictures for this blog, I never noticed anything out of the ordinary. But days later when I downloaded the pictures and enlarged the Ridge Avenue house, I saw something in the picture in this window. They say ghosts are picked up on film. See for yourself. In the meantime I am going to add script from "a journey into the past".

The marriage between John and Marie was not a happy marriage. Witnesses have stated that Marie was seen as being sad. This was especially true during the pregnancy of her third child. There are also myths surrounding the unhappy Marie during the pregnancy.
Legend has it that when Marie finished hanging baby clothes on the clothesline in the backyard of her house on 3427 Commissioner Street in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, she walked away and for a moment paused and looked over her shoulder at the clothes blowing in the wind with such sadness that the next door neighbor asked her what was wrong. Marie told her that she would never hold the baby she was carrying. On February 17th, 1945, Marie gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Soon after the child’s birth and before she could hold her child, she suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. On February 19th, 1945, Marie died. The neighborhood of East Falls fell into shock. How could a woman who was as sweet and gentle as Marie, suffer such a tragedy. What will now become of her children?

Marie was laid out at her parents’ home on 3907 Ridge Avenue. Legend states that the newborn baby John was placed in a cradle beside the mother’s coffin. During the night, Lillian, baby John’s older sister would awake suddenly from a dream were her mother tells her to check the baby. Lillian went downstairs to the Living room where the baby slept beside the casket and noticed he had his blanket wrapped around his head. Legend states that Lillian was very protective of her younger brother from that moment on.

The casket of Marie Weleski was carried from the house on 3907 Ridge to the cemetery across the street. Marie was laid to eternal rest beside her brother in Section Z, lot 504. The funeral director was listed as William Turner on 4170 Ridge Avenue and the cemetery’s superintendent was William J. Proud. Marie was laid to rest at 2:45pm on February 22nd, 1945.

Days of the Coal

When my mother was a little girl, this area once located next to Bernard and Mary Cafferty's house was a coal yard. My mother remembers the days when money was so tight that there were times when my grandmother asked her to walk by this coal yard and see if she could find any loose pieces of coal outside the gates for their own furnace.

When I was a little girl, I remember sitting on the basement steps at my grandparents' house watching my grandfather shoveling loads of coal into the fiery furnace. it would not be until 1969 that their coal furnace was replaced by oil heat.

Bernard and Mary (Boland) Cafferty

Bernard & Mary's House

Mary Boland Cafferty was the eldest child of John and Ella (Ellen) Boland. Though her parents and siblings came to America in the year 1908 through the Port of New York, I have discovered only recently that Mary and her husband Bernard came to America in the year 1901. I have searched all through the Ellis Island records and it is clear that Bernard and Mary Cafferty did not enter the country through the Port of New York. It is my opinion that they came to America in 1901 through the Port of Philadelphia.

According to the 1920 Censes, Bernard was born in 1877 and was listed as a laborer in a cemetery as was his wife Mary. In 1920, they are listed as having seven children who were all born in Philadelphia. Michael was listed as being 18 yrs old followed by Annie who was listed as being 16 yrs old. Margaret was listed as being 12 yrs old followed by Helen who was listed as being 7 yrs old. Bernard was listed as being 5 yrs old followed by Regina who was listed as being 2 yrs old. The youngest child in 1920 was Alice who was listed as being 4 months old. The eldest child Michael worked as a Bell Hop in a Hotel. No other child was listed as being employed.

According to the 1930 Censes, Bernard and Mary Cafferty had two more children. Mildred was born in 1921 and William who was born in 1923. By this time, Mary Cafferty was not employed outside the home and Bernard’s occupation was listed as being a foreman in a radio factory. The 1930 Censes also listed Bernard as being born in Northern Ireland and he became a citizen in 1906. The two oldest children Michael and Annie no longer lived at home with their parents.

In 1930 Bernard and Mary Cafferty had several boarders living in their home. They are listed as Della, Frank and Ernest Harding from New Jersey, James and Harry OKane from Northern Ireland and Cassidy Machaco from Northern Ireland. Of interest, the boarders’ occupations were listed as working in the textile and knitting mills (probably Dobson’s) and an automobile and ship building plant.

It is not surprising that Bernard and Mary Cafferty took in boarders in 1930. The Great Depression had just begun. However, the worst years of the Depression would not occur until 1932. (See original family history under William and Mary)

The 1930 Censes also listed who Bernard and Mary’s neighbors were. Do you recognize any of these names? They are Jordan, Harrison, Williams, McDonald, Myers, Marrie, Algood, Dinsdale, Owens, Dorne, Wetherford, Harwitz, Mcamary, Bruner, Davis, Hughes, Diehl, Ward, Montgomery, Schmid, Weber, and they had a servant living with them named Mary Coyle, Gallagher and Maguire.

Daniel and Catherine (Boland) Malervy

3827 Terrace Street Phidelphia PA 19127

This is the house where Daniel and Catherine (known as Aunt Kate) lived with their daughter Helen and niece (Anna Marie McCaffery). The next paragraph is taken from "A Journey into the Past".

Life with Aunt Kate was nothing less than cruel. Discipline was swift, fierce and physical. I remember having many conversations with grandmom (Anna) about her life with Aunt Kate. Her memories were very painful. She told me about a house that to the outside world looked perfect. The house on 3827 Terrace was always neat and clean with its polished table tops and fine Irish linen. Family portraits decorated the living areas. All appeared very normal. There was the father and mother and the two girls, Anna and her younger cousin Helen. They attended Catholic school. They attended Sunday Mass. But what the outside world could not possibly know is the cruelty that went on behind closed doors. Aunt Kate had severe mood swings. She also liked to have a drink and the story goes that when prohibition went into effect, Aunt Kate was known to hide her alcohol in the backyard. Whether Aunt Kate had a problem with alcohol or whether she was manic depressive, we will never know for sure but what we do know for sure it that Aunt Kate beat Anna. Most of the time the beatings took place in the basement of the house. Sometimes Anna was tied to a chair. The beatings occurred when Anna did not perform her chores to Aunt Kate’s satisfaction such as the tables were not polished correctly or there was lint on the floor.

Anna endured these beatings for the next eight years until the day she came home from school and an angry and out of control Aunt Kate grabbed Anna as she walked in the door. She beat Anna until she was covered in blood. Anna ran out the door and to a neighbor’s house. Hurt and crying she was brought into the house. From that point on, Anna lived at 3902 Terrace in the care of the Gallagher family.

Self Portrait

One of Shaun's favorite things to do (besides the playground & being a soldier) is taking pictures of himself with my digital camera. Here is one of those pictures.

Final Florida Vacation Photo

This picture pretty much speaks for itself. Having a grandchild's love is pure sheer joy.

Captain Memo's Pirate Ship

The plan was to take a pirate ship cruise complete with actors dressed up as pirates aboard the ship. However, on the day of our reservation, we were greeted with high surf and winds so fierce, we swore we were in the middle of an Arabian sand storm. Needless to say, the cruise was cancelled and we were faced with a very disappointed little four year old boy who had his heart set on a pirate adventure. So what was the next best thing to do? We drove out to the pier, photographed the ship then took the little disappointed darling to a nearby store and purchased two pirate shirts one for him and one for his baby brother back home.

Dunedin Florida

Notice the oranges in the tree
At the Pier

Clearwater Beach Florida

Shorts in January, What a Concept

For those of us from the good old North where January is cold and snowy, to wear shorts this time of year is a treat.

Flight Adventures

Here we are on our descend over the Gulf of Mexcio ready to land at St. Peterburg's airport when all of a sudden the plane gains speed and pulls back up into the sky while making a sudden sharp turn to the right....

What happen was the question on everyone's lips?

The pilot soon came on to announce we would be landing in Tampa instead of St. Peterburg's. Fog rolled in over St. Peterburg's airport and the runway could not be seen..

Shaun Patrick being a seasoned traveler at four years of age (he has flown eight times) barely blink an eye at the event unfolding on the plane. He just thought the entire ordeal was an exciting adventure. So much so that when he spoke to his parents the morning after our arrival in Florida, he told her this and I quote, "Mommy, we could not land in St. Peterburg's. We had to land in Tampa because the Air Pilot could not see because of the snow."

A Short Vacation Getaway

I will be taking my grandson Shaun Patrick on a mini vacation to the sunshine state of Florida this weekend so stay tune to more historical and fun family facts upon my return on January 16th.........................................

John and Agnes (Bridget) (Boland) McCaffery

3809 Cresson Street Philadelphia PA 19127

When Agnes (known as Bridget) died in 1915 from acute appendicitis, she and her husband John and daughter Anna lived in this house.

In 1915, the railroad went right down Cresson Street. It was not until later that a wall was built and the railroad elevated to protect the neighborhood from the numerous accidents that occurred because of its original location.

John and Ella (Ellen) (Doherty) Boland

John and Ella (Doherty) Boland lived at 11 S. Osborne Street Philadelphia PA. 19127 which was once located in the spot where this wall was built to separate the railroad from the neighborhood.

My grandmother Anna Marie McCaffery was born in this house on July 5th, 1912 and when her mother died in 1915, Anna returned to live in this house with her maternal grandparents until the age of seven when her grandmother Ella died.

Arthur and Mary (Gallagher) Maier

My sister and I shared this house's back third floor bedroom

35th & Commissioner Streets Philadelphia, PA. 19132

When I was five years old, my family moved into this house thus produced some of the best childhood years of my life. The house had four bedrooms. The front third floor bedroom was shared by my brothers Michael and Arthur while my sister Maryanne and I shared the back third floor bedroom. My youngest brother Frankie was born only a few months before we moved out of this house.

Though my parents divorced when I was a baby, my mother remarried in 1963 and later had my sister and two younger brothers.

Today the house once loved is now in disarray as are many of the houses in this old East Falls neighborhood.

John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski

3427 Commissioner Street Philadelphia PA 19132

John and Marie (Schroeder) Weleski are my paternal grandparents. This is the East Falls home they lived in at the time of Marie's death on February 19th, 1945 after suffering a stroke after the birth of her third child John on February 17th, 1945. My father, Ronald was 11yrs old at the time of his mother's death.

William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher's 1st House

According to the 1910 census records in Philadelphia, when my grandfather William Joseph Gallagher was 4yrs old and his sister Anna was 2yrs old, they lived in this house on 143 Seville Street in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, PA. Their parents were William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher.

After Patrick Gallagher died in 1913, his wife (William Senior's mother) Hannah came to live with William and Mary and their two small children in this house before they moved ten years later into the 3902 Terrace Street house.

Please note that in 1910, Patrick and Hannah (Dougherty) Gallagher lived down the street at 127 Seville Street.

In Case You Were Wondering

This is 2722 Croskey Street. It is the house with the little porch.

John G. and Elisabeth Keller

126 & 128 Walnut (now Mallory) Phila. PA. 19127

John Keller (126) and Gotlieb Keller (128)

John G. Keller Civil War Discharge Paper

Script From "A Journey into the Past"

Dear Readers,
Below is a script from the original text of "A Journey into the Past".

According to the 1860 Philadelphia Census, there was a family of Kellers with the mother, Susannah age 59yrs old as head of household. The census also listed three sons, Jacob age 23yrs, Gotlieb age 22yrs and Frederick age 16yrs. Though I cannot verify for sure that this Keller family is any relation it was recorded in the German Lutheran Archives that John Keller was also known as Jak which could be the shorter form of the name Jacob. In addition, John Keller would have been about 23yrs old in 1860 and he did later name one of his daughters the name Susannah which he could have named after his mother. This of course is all speculation. Besides John Keller, the Naturalization Records of 1794 to 1880 also listed an Adam Keller and a Patrick Keller as arriving through the Port of Philadelphia in 1858. (Publication Code 9300) Again, whether or not these two Kellers are in any way related to John Keller is purely speculation.

According to the 1890 Philadelphia directories, John resided at 126 Walnut while Gotlieb Keller resided at 128 Walnut in Manayunk. Again, whether or not these other Kellers are related is all speculation.
John died later that summer in 1890 leaving a wife and several young children ranges in ages 1yr to 14yrs.


Readers,
I wrote the above text when I did original research on John Keller. Today, the speculation has become reality and we now know John Keller had at least two brothers named Gotlieb and Frederick and that his mother was named Susannah. I will research these names further in the future and keep you posted. In the near future you can also expect other text inserts as well as the house photos at 126 and 128 Walnut.

John G. Keller House Update

I looked at a 1875 map of the Manayunk/Roxborough area and to my surprise I saw John Keller and a brother Gottlieb Keller listed as living next door to each other on 126 and 128 Walnut Streets. What I also discovered is that Walnut Street is now called Mallory Street and not Shurs Lane as I originally believed so I made a trip out there after work today and I discovered both houses still stand today and are in good condition. John G. Keller is my grandfather William Gallagher's grandfather. He is also the relative who came over here in 1858 from Baden, Germany and served in the Civil War most notably in the Battle of Gettysburg. More Information to follow shortly.....Stay tuned.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #6

3907 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA.19132 (red brick with black door, left of white house)

In 1953, William and Anna bought 3907 Ridge Avenue from the Schroeder Family located just a few doors up the street. It was a five bedroom, one bath, three story house very much like the one they rented at 3919 Ridge Avenue. This was the first and only home William and Anna owned. It was the house where William and Anna spent most of their married lives together. It was the house where their children "left the nest" and where some "returned", "stayed" and "left again".

It was the house we called haunted. It was the house where my paternal grandparents lived before they sold it in 1953 to my maternal grandparents even though their children did not meet and marry until years later.

It was the house where I was born and lived the first three years of my life. It was the house where I would return again and again and again throughout my life. It was the house where I have the most cherished memories.

In 1969, William and Anna moved away from the area and resided in various houses and apartments in the NorthEast section of Philadelphia the remainer of their lives. With the exception of 1975 to 1976 when they lived in Costa Mesa, California which was a short distance from their son John and his family who lived in Newport, California.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #5

3919 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA. 19132 (white house) (cira2005)


When World War II ended and the soldiers returned home from battle, many areas of Philadelphia experienced a severe housing shortage. This shortage affected the home where William and Anna rented on 2722 Croskey Street when a soldier returned from battle and purchased the Croskey Street house from its original owner.

With five children and no houses in the area available for rent, William and Anna rented a shack of a house located on 3919 Ridge Avenue in 1946 located in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. This house was not fit for man nor beast and certainly was not a place for young children. The youngest children were divided up among relatives while William worked to restore the house. He installed windows, indoor plumbing and repaired a large hole in the center of the parlor which looked right into the dirt basement.

Sadly, this house has once again found itself in disrepair.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #4

Map of 2722 Croskey Street Philadelphia, PA.19125 (click image to enlarge map)

When William got a job at Midville Steel in Nicetown, he relocated his family from the Manayunk section of Philadelphia to North Philadelphia to be closer to his employer. Though I do not have a picture of the house on 2722 Croskey Street, I have a map with its location. In this house, William and Anna welcomed their fifth and final child AnnMarie.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #3

4137 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA.19127 (house with awning) (cira2005)

It was not long before William and Anna moved yet again and this time they moved to the house on 4137 Terrace Street right next door to the house where their first two children William and John were born. Here at 4137 Terrace Street they welcomed their fourth child and first daughter Mary in 1938.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher #2

219 Jamestown Road Philadelphia, PA.19127 (cira 2005)


William and Anna rented many houses during the early years of their marriage and the second home in which they lived was on 219 Jamestown Road. Here their third child Collum (Uncle Gene) was born in 1935.

William and Anna Marie (McCaffery) Gallagher # 1

4135 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA. 19127 (house without awning)


Before the birth of their first child William in 1931, William and Anna (McCaffery) Gallagher moved into 4135 Terrace Street. In 1933 their second child John was born.

William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher

3902 Terrace Street Philadelphia, PA. 19127 (cira2005)
House is now divided into two apartments........


According to the 1910 census records, William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher lived with their two small children William (age 4) and Anna (age 2) in the rear of the house on 143 Seville Street just a few houses down from William's parents' house on 127 Seville Street. In the 1920 census records, they still resided at this location but now William's mother Hannah was listed as living there too. Hannah moved in with her son and his family after her husband Patrick died in 1913.

Sometime between 1920 and 1926, William and Mary (Keller) Gallagher, their children and mother moved to 3902 Terrace Street. A lot occurred at the residence on 3902. Hannah died in 1926. Anna married Coll McCaffery. Coll's cousin Anna Marie McCaffery was taken in under the protection of Mary Gallagher in 1928 and married her son William shortly thereafter. Then in 1929 the house at 3902 Terrace caught fire and the Gallagher family was forced to move in with the McCaffery's.

Patrick and Hannah (Dougherty) Gallagher

127 Seville Street Philadelphia, PA. 19127 (cira 2005)


Patrick and Hannah (Dougherty) Gallagher, our earliest Gallagher ancestors to arrive in the United States and make their home in a little Mill Town in Philadelphia called Manayunk.

Patrick and Hannah married in 1877 in Ireland, stopped over in Scotland where their first child Grace was born in 1878 then came to Philadelphia in 1880.

According to the 1895 census records, Patrick and Hannah lived at 127 Seville Street where they raised four children Grace, Mary, William and Sally.

In the 1910 census records, Patrick and Hannah's youngest child Sally along with her husband John Keller also lived at 127 Seville.