3500 Hamilton St
“three-story Italianate house, stuccoed. Flat roof with bracketed overhang. Circa 1910
Colonial Revival porch alterations. Middle register of second floor later
altered.”
(Inventory of Buildings in Powelton from the application submitted to the
National Register of Historic Places, 1985)
History
1860:
Albert Ashmead 36 Merchant; real estate: $30,000,
personal: $10,000
Eliz Ashmead 35 Real estate: $20,000
Thos J Ashmead 12
Albert S Ashmead 10
Walt R Ashmead 7
Wm H Ashmead 4
Clarence H Ashmead 4
Emi Ashmead
2
Eliz Ashmead 1
yr. 4 mons.
Sarah Graham 79 [Mother-in-law]; real estate: $25,000
Eliz Mack 19 Servant; born in Ireland
(Precinct 7, 91)
The 1856 and 1858
directories list them at 36th and Bridge (Spring Garden).
In July, 1861, Albert
enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corp, Company S,
Pennsylvania 29th Infantry Regiment.
He served throughout the Civil War, he mustered out in Nov. 1865. The 1866 city directory (compiled in 1865) as
U.S. Quartermaster, 721 Market St. and living at 59th and
Lancaster. In May, 1866, IRS records
show him paying $15 for a peddler’s stall, probably on Market St., and include
him among “men in employ of Clare & Sons.”
Sarah Graham was the
widow of Thomas Graham, a grocer at 289 High (Market) St.
1870:
Albert Ashmead 46 Real estate agent; no real estate,
personal: $5,000
Elisa G.
Ashmead 46 Real estate: $50,000
Thomas G.
Ashmead 21 Farmer; personal: $3,000
Albert S.
Ashmead 20 Physician
Walter K.
Ashmead 16
William H.
Ashmead 14 Twin
Charles H.
Ashmead 14 Twin
Emeline Ashmead 12
Elisabeth
Ashmead 10
Nathaniel W.
Ashmead 8
Peter [Percy]
H. Ashmead 3
Harriett Wilson
21 Domestic servant; black; born in
(ED 77, 22; 2nd
enum.: 31)
In 1880 they were living in Lower
Merion where he is listed as an “oil merchant.”
In 1910 they were living in Norristown.
Thomas moved to Williamson, Wayne
Co., N.Y. where he was a nurseryman. At
one point, he advertised eggs from a wild strain of mallard ducks.
Albert, Jr. graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1869. In 1875, he moved to Tokyo, Japan where he
was Foreign Medical Director of the Imperial Japanese Hospital. He then returned to a medical practice in New
York. He became an internationally
recognized expert on leprosy.
William and Clarence moved to
Jacksonville, Florida. where they were booksellers, stationers and
printers. William began the weekly
Florida Dispatch which published
farming information and included a section on pests. He became interested in entomology with a
particular interest in bees. He began
working for the USDA in 1887 and in 1895 he became Assistant Curator at the
U.S. National Museum. His collection of
about 60,000 specimens formed the basis for the Museum’s collection of
Hymenoptera. Clarence returned to
Philadelphia about 1885.
Percy graduated from Lehigh and
became chief engineer for J.G. White & Co. in New York which specialized in
electric railway lines. He planned
railroads in China and Brazil. In 1911,
he was selected by Costa Rica to be their representative on the Costa
Rica-Nicaragua boundary dispute arbitration commission.
Nathan remained in Philadelphia and
became an engraver. Emeline
married a prominent New York surgeon Algernon T. Bistow. Elizabeth married John S. Garrigues,
a civil engineer. They lived in
Haverford where his father was a farmer.
He attended Haverford College.
1874, February: Deed transferred from Robert Glendenning Jr.
(trustee Elizabeth G. Ashmead wife of Albert S. Ashmead) to [Thomas] Graham
Ashmead.
1876, January: Deed transferred from The Fidelity Insurance
Trust and Safe Deposit Company (Trustees) to Henry K. Harnish.
1879, January: Deed transferred from Henry K. Harnish to The Fidelity Insurance Trust and Safe Deposit
Company (Trustees).
1880:
William J. Latta 23 Railroad superintendent
Margaretta Latta 58 Mother; widowed
Samuel W. Latta 30 Brother; physician; married
Margaret B. W. Latta 25 Sister
Helen E. Latta 21 Sister
John S. Latta 17 Brother; works in hardware store
Thomas L. Latta 15 Brother; at school
Eliza Clark 22 Servant; father born in
Maria Mc
Mullin 47 Servant; father born in
(ED 487, 24)
In 1870, the Latta
family lived in Sadsbury, Chester Co. (4 miles west
of Coastville).
William S. Latta was a physician born about
1823 and died between 1870 and 1880. The
household included 7 children. Samuel W.
Latta was listed as a Navy surgeon.
By
1887, Margaretta, John and Thomas lived at 3717
Hamilton St. with their mother, who was now
widowed. William is listed at 3719
Hamilton, but probably lived at 3717 with his brothers and
mother. Samuel was at 201 N. 35th
St.
In 1895, John was listed at 3719
Hamilton. Samuel lived at 3626
Baring St. Thomas was working for
Armstrong & Printzenhoof and living at 3918
Spruce. William was listed as
“president” and living in “Wissahickon Heights.”
In 1900, John, his sister Margaret
and an older married sister, Mary Latta Jones, lived
at 3717
Hamilton St. Samuel was still at 3626
Baring St.
In 1906, John lived at 3902 Chestnut
St. with Margaret. Samuel still lived at
3626 Baring St. Thomas lived at the NE
corner of 39th and Spruce and William at Moreland Ave. corner of
Huron, Wissahickon Heights.
In 1900, he lived at 3626
Baring St. By 1910, Samuel had moved
to 3611
Powelton Ave. In 1920, he lived at 3602
Powelton Ave.
In 1930, William lived at 428 West
Moreland Ave., Philadelphia with his son and daughter. He was a traffic manager
for the railroads. His son was a
statistician for Bell Telephone and his daughter was an “artistic helper at an
art studio.”
“William J. Latta,
General Agent at Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, is the son
of Dr. William Sutton Latta, and grandson of Rev.
James Latta, and was born in Sadsbury
Township, Chester County, Pa., near the Octoraro
Church, on the 21st of November, 1852. He early learned telegraphy, and entered
the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as night operator at
Parkesburg in November, 1869, serving there and in the telegraph offices on the
Philadelphia Division at Paoli, Leaman Place, Mantua,
Harrisburg and Philadelphia Yards until 1873, when he entered the telegraph
office of the Division Superintendent at West Philadelphia. On January 1, 1875,
he entered the General Agent's office as stenographer to Mr. Charles E. Pugh.
On the opening of the Centennial Station in 1876 he was appointed Chief Clerk
in charge of that office, and remained there until after the close of the fair.
In 1878 he was promoted to be Superintendent of the grain elevator, and on the
1st of January, 1881, to be Superintendent of Altoona Division. On the 1st of
October, 1882, he was made Superintendent of the Philadelphia Division, and on
July 1, 1883, General Agent at Philadelphia.
“Among the many corporations with
whose interests he is identified is the Junction Railroad, of which he is
Superintendent, having been appointed February 1, 1889, to succeed William F. Lockard, deceased.
“Mr. Latta
is also Trustee of the Tabernacle Presbyterian Church of West Philadelphia, and
Chairman of the Pennsylvania Railroad Department of the Young Men's Christian
Association, West Philadelphia.
“Inheriting in a high degree the
obdurate, uncompromising integrity of the Scotch, that strong race from whence
he sprung, and the sound religious beliefs that his forefathers taught, he has
kept his mind clear, his heart pure and hands clean, notwithstanding the high
position he occupies has constantly been environed by allurements and
temptations to which a weaker man would in all probability have fallen a
victim.
“His course of conduct, impulses,
sensations and mental impressions are largely determined by his ardent nature.
He is steady in his mental surveys and singularly free from intolerance and
prejudice. His propensity is always to be considerate in his treatment of
others, and to entertain respect for their opinions. He is courageous, swift to
attack, heroic in defense, and fights his cause to a successful issue; but
success only makes him magnanimous. Bland and delightful in his personal
relations and full of sympathy, the friendships he forms are paramount and
strong, and he seems to derive exquisite pleasure in promoting some one's
welfare. He endears himself to his subordinates by his extreme tenderness and
heartfelt care for their interests. His benevolence ripples all over with
kindliness and causes him to rejoice with the joyousness of others. Master of a
high order of intelligence, and uniting within himself great energy, strength
of character, rapid perception, clear judgment and entire uprightness to a
studious temperament and methodical habits, he has become possessed of such a
fund of knowledge and such a control of facts that he dispatches with the
greatest of ease the multitudinous and complex questions which are being
constantly presented to him. This renders him a safe and sagacious counsellor, and places him in the lead whenever the
interests of business or other affairs of life are being considered.” (History of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company: ..., Volume 2. William Bender Wilson, 1895: 104)
For a listing of some of the other
central figures in the Pennsylvania Railroad who lived in Powelton, see the Powelton
History Blog.
A similar biography and photo are
available for Samuel W. Latta on the page for 3626
Baring St.
1883, March: Deed transferred from The Fidelity Insurance Trust
and Safe Deposit Co. (Guardians) to Emma R. Divine.
1886, March: Deed transferred from Emma R. Divine to Clement M.
Divine.
1887 Directory: Jesse W. Thatcher, physician, 3500 Hamilton
In 1881, he lived at 300N.
1889: Thatcher, J(esse). W(illiam)., MD a member of the International Hahnemannian Asso. (Proceedings of same, 1889)
1889: J. W. Thatcher, MD; a presentation: “Aborted Amputation”
given to the Hahnemannian Assoc. 6/16/1898 pg. 180
Proceeding of IHAssoc 1898)
1890, April: Deed transferred from Clement M. Divine to Jesse
W. Thatcher.
1891 Directory: Jesse W. Thatcher, physician
“JESSE W. THATCHER. M. D.
“Dr. Jesse W. Thatcher was born in
(Philadelphia
and Popular Philadelphians, 1891)
1893, Feb. 22: Death of Anna S. Blakey,
daughter of Lucretia and the late Paxon
Blakey; funeral at the residence of her
brother-in-law, Jesse W. Thatcher, 3500 Hamilton St. (Phila. Inquirer, Feb. 25, 1893)
1898 Boyd’s Blue
Book: Dr. and Mrs. Jesse W.
Thatcher
Paxson Blakey Thatcher
1900:
Jesse W. Thatcher 50 Physician;
owner with a mortgage
Elizabeth
Thatcher 46 Married 26 years, 7 children, 5 surviving
Paxson B. Thatcher 25 Physician
Letitia A.
Thatcher 21
Lillian
Thatcher 19
Royal J.
Thatcher 14
Robert F.
Thatcher 10
Emma J. Broadnax 29 Servant; black; born in
(ED 543, 11A
& B)
In genealogies, Elizabeth is
identified as Letitia Blakey.
Paxson Blakley Thatcher married Blanch Warren in 1903. They had a daughter Genevieve. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1899. He and his wife lived at 346 N. 52nd
St in 1906. He died in 1916.
1910:
Jesse W.
Thatcher 59 Medical doctor
Elizabeth
C. Thatcher 57 Married 31 years, 7 children, 5 surviving
Lillian
Thatcher 29
Royal J.
Thatcher 25 Automobile mechanic
Robert B.
Thatcher 20
Mary Smith 29 Servant; black; married once, 3 children; born in
(ED 492, 2B-3A)
1911: J. W. Thatcher elected to the Judiciary
Committee of the Germantown Homeopathic Medical Society 1/6/1911
1913:
1915, Dec. 29: Death
of Jesse W. Thatcher
“DEATH OF DR. J. W. THATCHER
Dr. J. W. Thatcher,
Dr. Thatcher was sixty-five years
old. He had been practicing in
In 1920, Elizabeth Thatcher was living in the Hampton Court Apartments at 205 N. 35th St. with her daughter, Lillian.
1920:
Harry G.
Haring 61 Retail druggist; owner with a mortgage
Ulia Haring 55 Born in Md.
---- next
household
Emma McCoy 45 Single
----
George L. Standring 49 Window
shade business; father born in
Anna R. Standring 48 Father born in
John R. Standring 25 Clothing salesman
---
Mary N. Delp 41 Single
Catherine
N. Delp 43 Sister; single
---
Emma Garwithen 58 Widowed
---
Alice
Kelly 32 Public school teacher; single
--
Phebe E. Miller 38 Single
Clara B.
Miller 34 Sister; secretary for railroad; single
---
John W.
Riley 31 Wire chief for Western Union; born in
N.Y., father born in N.Y., mother in
Ella N.
Riley 21 Parents born in
(ED 686, 1B-2A)
The Delp
sisters were from Hatfield, Montgomery Co.,
1921: Stewart Dickson, 2nd yr. student at
1930: 3500
Henry G.
Harney 71 Owner, house valued at $10,000
Ulie Harney 65 Born in Md., mother born in England
-- next
household
Leonard M.
Layton 23 Office clerk; married at age 23; renting
for $50 per month
Alice M. Layton
21 Married at age 21
Geraldine
Layton 25 Sister; clerk for steam railroad
--
Joseph M.
Beatty 53 salesman; father born in N.Y.; renting
for $50 per month
Alicia
E. Beatty 58 Sister; father born in N.Y.
--
Neil Barson 56 Carpenter; married at age 25; born in
Sweden; renting for $50 per month
Mary O. Barson 56 Married at age 25; born in Ohio
--
Rudolph Balas 22 Office
clerk; married at age 21; born in N.Y.; renting for $50 per month
Mary E. Balas 21 Married at age 20
--
Arthur L. Peare 23 Accountant;
married at age 22; born in N.Y.; renting for $50 per month
Thelma R. Peare 20 Married at age 19
Vera B. Reed 20 Lodger
Bette Bowren 65 Servant; black; widowed; born in Va.
(ED 398, 14B)
1950 Directory: M. Bernard Cooper
< 3422
Hamilton 3502
Hamilton >
Revised 10/26/2011