204 N. 34th Street

 

Description: Description: Description: Description: 204-206 34th-med
204-206 N. 34th St.

 

The History of the Building

 

200-206 N. 34th St.: “Both these buildings are three-story, four-bay red brick doubles. Horizontal bands of pressed brick ornament the building. Stepped bricks advance outward towards the flat roof line giving the appearance. of a slightly flared upper story. The houses have original wood porches. 204-06 has some altered posts, altered balustrades and roughcasted base.

(Inventory of Buildings in Powelton from the application submitted to the national register of Historic Places)

 

1969: The houses on the west side of the 200 block of 34th St. were saved from condemnation and demolition by an agreement between the Powelton Village Homeowners Association and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. (see Powelton Quarterly, vol 1(1); pp 1 &3.)

 

Previous Residents of 204 N. 34th Street

 

1878 Atlas shows the owner of 200-210 as Henry D. Justi.

            Henry D. and Elizabeth Justi lived at 3401 Baring St.

 

1882, May: Deed transferred from Henry D. & Lizzie (wife) Justi to Samuel P. Sadtler.

 

1883 Directory: Samuel P. Sadtler, chemist

                         Edwin B. Sadtler, student

            Samuel P. Sadtler was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania 1874-1891. Chamberlain’s history of Penn (vol. 1, 1901) gives: “Consulting Chemist and Professor of Chemistry, was born in Pine Grove, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1847. A son of Rev. Benjamin Sadtler, D.O., and Caroline Elizabeth (Schmucker) Sadtler, he is descended from some very distinguished clergymen in the Lutheran Church. His paternal grandfather, Philip H. Sadtler, came to this country from Homburg, Hesse, Germany, in 1799 and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. His maternal grandfather, Rev. Samuel S. Schmucker, D.O., was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in the Class of 1819 and afterward in 1826 founded the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, remaining in that institution as Professor of Theology until his retirement from active duty in 1864. He was also instrumental while in Gettysburg in founding the Pennsylvania College at that place. Professor Samuel P. Sadtler received his preparatory education at the High School in Easton, Pennsylvania, where his father was residing at the time. Entering the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg he graduated there as Bachelor of Arts in 1867. For one year he pursued post-graduate study at Lehigh University and then went to Harvard for a course of Science in the Lawrence Scientific School, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science, in 1870. Going abroad to continue his studies in chemistry he was graduated a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Goettingen in Germany in January 1871. For three years from 1871 he served as Professor of Chemistry and Physics in the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, and in 1874 he was elected to teach General and Organic Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania with the rank of Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He continued to hold this position until 1887, when he was made Professor of Organic and Industrial Chemistry. His connection with the University of Pennsylvania was severed in 1891 after a service in the Faculty covering a period of seventeen years. He resigned his Professorship to begin practice as a Consulting Chemical Expert in the field of industrial technology and to devote a larger share of attention to his work as Professor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, a position which he has held from 1878 to date. Since the year 1895 he has also been the honorary Professor of Chemistry in the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia. Professor Sadtler is a member of nearly all the prominent American, English and German Chemical Societies, including the Society of Chemical Industry. Since 1898 he has been Secretary of the American Philosophical Society. He has contributed many writings to scientific journals and is the author of a Hand-book of Chemical Experimentation, a Hand-book of Industrial Organic Chemistry, now in its third edition, and a Text-book of Pharmaceutical and Medical Chemistry, a work in two volumes now in its second edition. With Dr. H. C. Wood and Professor J. P. Remington, he is the joint author of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th editions of the United States Dispensatory. Professor Sadtler was married in 1872 to Mary Julia Bridges of Baltimore, Maryland. He has two sons.”

 

Prof. Samuel P. Sadtler

            Edwin Beale Sadtler was Samuel Sadtler’s younger brother. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1883. The 1894 Catalogue of Matriculates gives the following: “b. Easton, Penna., Apr. 10, 1862. a. Rev. J. P. Benjamin Sadtler, D. D., and Caroline E. Schmucker. Entered Soph. Class 1880. Φ. Κ. Ψ. Draughtsman. Suppt. of ship draughting Harlan and Hollingsworth Ship Bldg. Co., Wilmington, Del. m. Mary Moore, dau. George W. Sparks, Wilmington, Del. Address, 1012 Adams St., Wilmington, Del.”

 

1887 Directory: University of Penna., .... Samuel P. Sadtler, Ph.D. chemistry, Sadtler, Samuel P., professor., 145 N 10th, h 204 N 34th.

            The 1881 Directory listed Samuel P Sadtler, teacher and Edwin B. Sadtler, student, living at 3723 Locust.

            Sadtler Research Laboratories, founded in Philadelphia, PA in 1874 by Samuel P. Sadtler, has had a long history of serving chemistry. Samuel Sadtler received his bachelor's degree at Harvard and his Ph.D. at the University of Göttingen in Germany, having worked with Professor Bunsen (of "Bunsen Burner" fame). Work in Dr. Sadtler's company includes the now famous "99 44/100 percent pure" analysis of Ivory soap performed for Harley Procter at Procter & Gamble in 1881.

            “Fast-forwarding 60 years, the founder's grandson, Philip Sadtler, began generating and publishing reference data for use with IR spectrometers at the request of Richard Perkin and Charles Elmer, founders of the PerkinElmer company. The resulting green books of Sadtler reference spectra that grace many libraries and laboratories throughout the world gave way to the electronic era when Bio-Rad acquired Sadtler in 1978 and began publishing electronic databases two years later. Since then, the database collection has grown to its current impressive size.”

(KnowItAll U; Spectral Databases & Software Tools for Academic Research & Teaching. Bio-Rad. Bulletin #INF-96394, accessed Aug. 10, 2009.)

His obituary in the Gettysburg Compiler, Dec. 29, 1923, read:

Dr. Samuel P. Sadtler, eminent In the world of chemistry as author and professor. died after an illness of a year in the Presbyterian Hospital. Philadelphia, aged 76 years. He is survived by two daughters and two sons. Born at Pine Grove, Pa., he was the son or a Lutheran minister and grandson or the founder of Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, He was graduated from Gettysburg College in 1867 and then from Lehigh and Harvard and then took a course at University of Gottingen, Germany, returning to become professor of chemistry at Gettysburg college.

Later he filled chairs at the University of Pennsylvania and the College of Pharmacy, retiring in 1891 to establish himself as a consulting chemical expert. He wrote many authoritative articles on chemistry and physics, served a s chemical editor of theU. S. Dispensatory. and fo r 20 years

helped on the revision of the U. S. Pharrnacopae. He was president of the publication board of the Lutheran church. a trustee of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and a member of the Sons of Revolution, the Engineers and University Clubs of Philadelphia. He was also a member of the American Philosophical Society, the Franklin Institute and the Chemist Club of New York. He was the first president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He was the Ocherscausen Professor of Natural Sciences at Gettysburg College from 1871 to 1874. He married Julia Bridges, of Baltimore, in 1872.”

 

A biography of him and his father, Rev. Benjamin Sadtler, can be found in Virtual American Biographies. http://famousamericans.net/benjaminsadtler/.

 

1890 Blue Book: Prof. & Mrs. Samuel P. Sadtler

 

1894: Samuel Schmucker Sadtler graduated from the College of the University of Pennsylvania. He went on to get a B.S. degree from M.I.T.

 

1895 Directory: Samuel P. Sadtler, chemist, 1042 Drexel Building & v pres 1512 Chestnut, h 204 N. 34th

 

1897, February: Deed transferred from Samuel P. & Mary Julia (wife) Sadtler to James O'Brien.

 

1897, February: Deed transferred from James O'Brien to Mary F. Schall.

 

1897, July: Deed transferred from Mary F. Schall to Ellen F. Hayden.

            In 1880, Ellen Hayden lived in Hazel Township, Luzerne, Pa. She was born in Vermont. Her husband was a coal operator who was born in N.J. [?] and his parents were born in England. They had three children, including Percy (see below).

 

1900:

Percy H. Hayden          34        Lawyer; born Aug 1865; father born in Ken. [?], mother in Vt.; owner, free of a mortgage

Charlotte Hayden         25        Married 4 years

Henry Allen                 31        Servant; black; born in Ga

Julianna Allen              30        Cook; black; born in WDC, parents in Va

            In 1880, he lived with his parents (see above).

 

1910: not censused

 

1912, February: Deed transferred from James & Ellen (wife) Hayden to Harry J. & Alva (wfe) Koelher.

 

1912, February: Deed transferred from Harry J. & Alva (wfe) Koelher to James Gemmel.

 

1912, June: Deed transferred from James & Margaret Templeton Rankin (wife) Gemmel to Sole & Eva (wife) Rhode.

 

1919, July: Deed transferred from Henrietta Jordan to Edwin M. & Elizabeth C. (wife) Leavens.

 

1920, January: Deed transferred from Edwin M. & Elizabeth C. (wife) Leavens to John Kline & Eleanor Leitch (wife).

 

1920:

Edwin M. Leavens [Jr.]  55      Book publisher; born in N.Y.; renter

Elizabeth C. Leavens   51

Jane C. Leavens           45        Sister; clerk in a hotel; single; born in N.Y.

Walter R. Lefferts        58        Lodger; clerk for the RR.; born in Calif; parents in Pa.

Edwin M. Leavens m. Elizabeth C. Jordan at Philadelphia, Apr. 28, 1886.

            In 1910, they lived at 615 N. 34th St. They had been married 22 years and had 1 child who had died. Elizabeth’s mother, Henrietta Jordan, lived with them.

 

1925, August: Deed transferred from John & Eleanor Leitch (wife) Kline to George H. Borst.

 

1925, August: Deed transferred from George H. & Susan P. (wife) Borst to John F. Campbell.

 

1925, December: Deed transferred from John F. (widower) Campbell to Edward C. Fish & John J. Rutherford.

 

1930:

Edwin Walton             24        Musician; renting

Terry Walton               26

-- next household

Earl Backman              49        Baker

Elizabeth Backman      48

John Backman             24

 

1933, January: Deed transferred from Edward C. Fish & John J. Rutherford to Nathaniel Knowles, Frank A. Sartori, Trustees of the estate of Emily Baker Elliot.

 

1940:

Pauline R. Ernest         69        Widowed; 2 years of college; born in Germany; renting for $30 per month

Hibdetarale E. Ernest  36        Daughter; secretary for railroad co., earned $1,600 in 1939; single; born in Canada

_ next Hh.

Thomas C. Sykes         62        Percher in a textile mill, earned $1,800 in 1939; born in West Indies, lived in rural PA in 1935; 4 years of college; renting for $29

Elaine S. Sykes            47        Operator for ladies’ dress co., worked 21 hours in past week, earned $700 in 1939; born in NJ, lived in Vineland, NJ in 1935; 1 years of high school

_ next Hh.

John H. Harris             n/a      Widowed; renting

 

1942, November: Deed transferred from Nathaniel Knowles, Frank A. Sartori, Trustees of the estate of Emily Baker Elliot to Provident Trust Co. Trustee will of Emily Baker Elliot.

 

1945, March: Deed transferred from Provident Trust Co. of Phila., Frank A Sartori Jr. sur of Emily B. Elliot to Marcell & Matilda (wife) Maranzan.

 

1950 Directory: Marcel Maranzan

 

2006, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department list of unclaimed property listed Mathilda Maranzan at this address, although she may not have still lived here. (The Pennsylvania Bulletin, No. 06-1717.)

 

2009: It is now the home of ΑΕΠ fraternity.

 

<202 N 34th                                                                                                206 N 34th >

8/7/2022

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