Samuel Bartram Davis Paul, Sr., 1871-1954

 

SAMUEL BARTRAM DAVIS PAUL, SR. was born on 18 February 1871 to parents Henry K. PAUL and Sarah Jane (DAVIS) PAUL in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]  He married Clara May KELLY on 24 December 1894 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died on 26 June 1954 in Aldan, Pennsylvania.[2]

Samuel grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, living on Elem [sic] Street with his parents, two brothers and sister.  The 1880 census notes their address as 3903 Elem Street – but this was probably the intersection of 39th and Elm Streets in what is now the Mantua section of Philadelphia.  The 1880 census enumeration district 495 includes other streets Grape, North 40th, 39th, Preston, and Union in addition to “Elem.”[3]  Comparing the below 1872 map from the David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/ ) with the same area in Google Maps, it is probable that “Elem” Street is actually Elm Street, and that it has since been renamed to Wallace Street.

1872 David Rumsey street map of Philadelphia

1872 map overlaid on Google Map of same Philadelphia area

 His middle name Davis was provided by his mother, as this was her maiden name.  It is unknown where his middle name Bartram came from – but this name was passed down to multiple descendants from Samuel.

Samuel married Clara May Kelly on 24 December 1894 at the Reformed Church, at 10th & Wallace Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he was 23 years old.  It was the first marriage for both of them.  On his marriage license application, his occupation was listed as “special office Board of Health.”[4]

The 1894 address of the church was determined by reviewing church history provided on two websites:  The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/o/ofrc3010.xml : viewed 26 May 2022) and St. Paul’s Baptist Church (http://1000wallace.org/about-us/our-history/ : viewed 26 May 2022).  According to the HSP:

“The congregation [German Reformed] sold the Race Street properties and bought a site at the corner of Tenth and Wallace streets (below Fairmount Avenue). A newly constructed fourth church building opened there in 1882. In 1916, declining numbers and migration by congregants once again caused the congregation to move.”

And, according to the current tenant of the church at 10th & Wallace, St. Paul’s Baptist Church:

“A more spacious church building was available on the southwest corner of Tenth and Wallace Streets. After a number of alterations, the congregation marched into our new church home on Sunday, August 27, 1916.”

Putting this information together, it is clear that the Reformed Church that Samuel and Clara were married at in 1894 was located at 10th & Wallace Streets in Philadelphia.

Church at 10th & Wallace Sts., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Samuel and Clara started their family of five children on 8 March 1896, when Miriam Clara Paul was born.[5]  Samuel Bartram Davis Paul, Jr., was born two years later, on 8 March 1898.[6]  In 1900, the family lived in a rented home at 1334 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their extended family:  Samuel’s parents, Samuel and Clara’s two children, Samuel’s brother Walter and sister-in-law and their three children, a child of Samuel’s brother Harry, and five boarders – a very large brood!  The house from this location is no longer there, so it’s impossible to determine how much space they had for these 17 people.  Samuel, his father and brother all listed their occupation in 1900 as “laundry.”[7]

Three more children came along for Samuel and Clara – Walter, Russell and Clara.[8]  In 1910, the family lived at 1204 Reno Street in Philadelphia, where Samuel now provided his occupation as a collector at a towel supply company.  Multiple family members were documented with jobs in the towel supply industry over time – brother Walter was a driver in 1910; in 1920, when Samuel Sr was a manager of painters, his son Samuel Jr was a driver and son Walter an errand boy; and in 1930, his wife Clara was listed as a helper.  It is likely that this was the Peerless Individual Towel Supply, a company that leased towels and soap to businesses, where future son-in-law William Oldham Sr worked in 1920.[9]

By 1920, the family moved to the suburbs.  Their first suburban home was at 1029 Tyler Avenue in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.  Another large group of people lived here – Samuel and his wife, their three boys, two daughters, a son-in-law, two grandchildren and a boarder.[10]  Later, they moved to 225 Maryland Avenue in Aldan, Pennsylvania, where they lived for over ten years.[11] 

In 1935, Samuel’s wife Clara passed at 60 years old of carcinoma of the rectum, which she had suffered with for eight months.[12]  Samuel continued to live in Aldan, Pennsylvania through the end of his life, living with his son-in-law Robert Dawson’s family (daughter Clara’s husband).  He died of cerebral thrombosis, a blood clot in the brain, on 26 June 1954 at 83 years old. He is buried at Fernwood Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania, in section 30, R-11, lot 5.[13]  There is no headstone to mark his grave.

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[1] City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Registration of Births, 1871, p. 156, Samuel B.D. Paul; Family History Library microfilm 004261689, image 450; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBT4-ZC3 : viewed 14 June 2022).  See also Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 49112 (1954), Samuel B. Paul Sr.; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42410_2321306652_0856-00348 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 348.  See also 1880 U.S. census,  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 495, p. 27, dwelling 264, family 264, Henry K. Paul household; NARA microfilm T9, roll 1183.   See also 1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Philadelphia, ward 14, enumeration district (ED) 0248, sheet 2B, dwelling 31, family 36, Harry K. Paul household; NARA microfilm T623, roll 1457.

[2] For marriage, see Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Affidavit of Applicant for Marriage License, file no. 73615 (1894), for Sam'l B. D. Paul and Clara M. Kelly; Family History Library Film 004287335; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DKTS-7FP : viewed 13 Dec 2020), images 52-55.  For death, see Pennsylvania, death certificate no. 49112 (1954), Paul.

[3] 1880 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 495, Henry K. Paul household.

[4] The Reformed Church (Willow Grove, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania), "Register of Marriages by Rev. Peter H. Milliken," 2nd page, for Samuel B. D. Paul and Clara M. Kelly (1894); image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2451/images/42154_329967-00127 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 128. 

[5] City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Registration of Births, 1896, p. 191, Miriam Clara Paul; Family History Library microfilm 1289335; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L1RJ-BCL : viewed 22 April 2021), image 253.

[6] Central Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "Record of Baptisms," 1830-1905, misfiled under "K" tab, Samuel Bertram Paul; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61048/images/43102_3421606199_1014-00116 : viewed 13 May 2022), image 115.

[7] 1900 U.S. census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ED 248, Harry K. Paul household.

[8] In 1904, Walter: Central Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "Record of Baptisms," 1830-1905, misfiled under "K" tab, Walter Kelley Paul; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61048/images/43102_3421606199_1014-00116 : viewed 13 May 2022), image 115.  In 1907, Russell: Pennsylvania Certification of Birth no. 106506 (1907), Russell Davis Paul; Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, New Castle; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60484/images/42411_647350_0683-03555 : viewed 13 May 2022), image 3555.  In 1911, Clara: Pennsylvania Certification of Birth no. 137031 (1911), Clara May Paul; Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, New Castle; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60484/images/48218_1421012671_0133-03238 : viewed 13 May 2022), image 3238.

[9] For name of towel supply company, see "United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1002/images/PA-2139284-3230 : viewed 13 Dec 2020), image 3228, card for William John Oldham, serial no. U2420, Local Draft Board 1, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  For description of Peerless’ function, see Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department, PEERLESS TOWEL SUPPLY CO., INC, Respondent v. TRITON PRESS, INC., 3 A.D.2d 249, 160 N.Y.S.2d 163 (N.Y. App. Div. 1957), 12 March 1957; digital, Casetext.com (https://casetext.com/case/peerless-towel-supply-v-triton-press : viewed 27 February 2021).

[10] 1920 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Darby,  ward 1, enumeration district (ED) 157, sheet 3A, dwelling 42, family 43, Samuel B. D. Paul household; NARA microfilm T625, roll 1560; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4385026_00909 : viewed 20 November 2020), image 5.

[11] 1930 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Darby, enumeration district (ED) 0176, sheet 1B, dwelling 15, family 15, Samuel B Paul household; NARA microfilm T626, roll 2034; image, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4639365_00536 : viewed 20 Nov 2020), image 2.  See also 1940 U.S. census, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Darby, enumeration district (ED) 23-226, sheet 2A, dwelling 23, Robert F Dawson household; NARA microfilm T627, roll 3498; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-03498-00571 : viewed 12 May 2022), image 3.

[12] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 57176 (1935), Clara May Paul; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42342_647680_0924-01830 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 1830.

[13] Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 49112 (1954), Samuel B. Paul Sr.; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5164/images/42410_2321306652_0856-00348 : viewed 24 Nov 2020), image 348.  See also "Died," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 28 June 1954, p.24, col.7; image, newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/176572926 : viewed 26 May 2022).  Specific plot information provided by Fernwood Cemetery email to Dawn Vanderwolf dated 5 August 2019.