3405 Hamilton Street
The
History of the Building
The
northern edge of this property was part of the northern boundary of the
Bingham-Baring estate.
“This
building was probably built in three stages. 3405 is a… three-story Italianate
house stuccoed circa 1905 Colonial Revival porch. 3403 is a circa 1880
three-and-one-half story brick house; gabled front with stick style detail;
Circa 1905 Colonial Revival porch, later partially enclosed. The middle bay
between buildings is also approximately circa 1880. It is a two-and-one-half
story brick projecting bay with slate shingled mansard.”
(Inventory of
Buildings in Powelton from the application submitted to the National Register of Historic
Places, 1985)
Previous Residents
of 3405 Hamilton Street
1862 Directory:
Horace Hill, clerk, Philadelphia Bank, Hamilton abv 34th
The 1860 census and the
1861 directory show Horace Hill, his wife and child living at 3504 Hamilton St.
1864, September: Deed transferred from James Kirkpatrick (dec'd)
to Rebecca Kirkpatrick.
The deed for the twin, 3403, was
transferred at the same time. Rebecca Kirkpatrick lived next door at 3403 Hamilton St. in 1870.
1870:
Horace Hill 37 Bank clerk; real estate: $12,000,
personal: $1,500
Mary S. Hill 34
Elizabeth Wiggins 65 Born
in N.Y.
Horace G. Hill 11
Margaret Vockin 40 Domestic
servant; born in Hesse Dormstadt
Mary Janner 21 Domestic servant
Horace Hill and Mary S. Wiggins were
married about 1858.
1872, October: Deed transferred from James Kirkpatrick to Mary
Gillespie.
1873, June: Deed transferred from Mary Gillespie to Mary
Gillespie.
1880:
Horace Hill 47 Banking
Mary S. Hill 44
Horace G. Hill 21 Student
George E. Hill 15 At
school
Elizabeth Wiggins 75 Mother;
widowed; born in N.Y.
Annie Maloney 22 Servant;
born in Md.
Horace G. Hill graduated from
Jefferson Medical College in 1882. His thesis was entitled “The Germ
Theory in its Relation to Preventive Medicine.”
He became a member of
the Philadelphia Medical Society in 1885. He was living at 314 N. 33rd
St. In 1886, he married Maria Louisa Bennett of 3410 Race St. and they moved to 3416
Baring St.
1883 Directory: George E. Hill, clerk at 326 Walnut St.
1886, July 24: Death of Elizabeth Lynsen Wiggins, 81
years old, of 3405 Hamilton St.
1886: Marriage of Maria Louisa Bennett of 3410 Race St. and Horace G. Hill
They moved to 3416 Baring St. He was a physician.
1887: Marriage of Martha Lewis and George Everett Hill
At time of the 1900 and 1920
censuses, they lived in Orange, Essex, New Jersey with their five sons. George
was a sanitary engineer. After the death of Mary Hill, Horace Hill lived with
them for a while.
1890 Directory: Horace Hill
1893: Mr. and Mrs. H. Hill of 3405 Hamilton
street, are at the seaside. They will return at the end of the month.” (Inquirer,
Sept. 10)
1894: George H. Hill and Horace Hill were both members of the New
England Society of Pennsylvania
George H. Hill, 3601 Baring St., was probably Horace Hill’s nephew.
1894, January: “Mr. Horace Hill has resigned the office of
assistant cashier [of the Philadelphia National Bank] and retired from
connection with the bank after a long service of thirty-nine years.” (Phila.
Inquirer Jan. 12)
1894, Feb.: “Mr. and Mrs. Horace Hill, of 3405 Hamilton
street, have sailed for Europe on the steamer Augusta Victoria. They
will land at Genoa, and from that point make a tour of Europe. They expect to
be abroad about two years.” (Phila. Inquirer Feb. 25)
In 1900, Horace and Mary Hill lived
at 4810 Belmont Ave. He stated his parents were born in Maine, she said her
father was born in N.J., her mother in N.Y. They had been marred 44 years, she
had had 3 children, 2 were surviving. He listed his occupation as auditor. In
1903 Horace Hill, Public Accountant and Auditor in the city of Philadelphia is
listed in the Minutes of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA as auditor
of five different sets of books/accounts etc. Mary Scott Hill died Jan. 15,
1906 and George died Oct. 10, 1916.
In 1918 and 1921, the Hill’s great grandson and great granddaughter, Julia and Louisa Alexander, were born at 3417 Race St.
1895 Directory: Edward N. Johnson, insurance, 202 Mutual Life
Building, h 3405 Hamilton
The 1890 directory lists him at 222
N. 32nd St.
1898 Blue Book: Mr. and Mrs. Neal Johnson
1900:
Edward N. Johnson 49 Insurance
agent; born in N.J., father in
Matilda Johnson 44 married one
year, no children; born in N.J.
Catherine Kelly 27 Servant; father
born in
(ED 539, 14B,
incorrectly labeled 3407
1901, May: Deed transferred from Henry P. Ford, executor of will
of Mary Gillespie, to Willis B. & Emma F. Rutter.
In 1900, they lived at 811 N. 39th
St.
1904 Directory: Edward N. Johnson resident manager, Security
Trust & Life Insurance Co.
1910:
Willis B.
Rutter 35 Wholesale merchant; owner, free of a
mortgage
Emily Rutter 34 Married 15 years, 1 child
Edna Rutter 12
In 1900,
they lived at 811 N. 39th St.
1915 Directory: Willis B. Rutter, egg dealer at 3018 Market
1917-’18
Draft
Registration: Willis
Breneman Rutter, 3405 Hamilton St. He was self-employed as a wholesaler of
butter and eggs at 2946 Market St. He was born Dec. 19, 1872.
In 1920, they were next door at 3403 Hamilton.
1920:
Willis Breneman Rutter 46 Commission
merchant; owner with a mortgage
Emma F. Rutter 45
Edna M. Rutter 21
1921, June: Deed transferred from Willis B. & Emma F. Rutter
to Anna M. Miller, wife of Thomas E. Miller.
For a biography of Thomas E. Miller,
see the Powelton
History Blog, (Feb. 2, 2013).
1923 Directory: C. W. Maxwell, physician at 616 S. 15th St. and
3405 Hamilton St.
1924: “Ex-Congressman and Mrs. Thomas E. Miller Celebrates Golden
Wedding Anniversary.
“Society was out in full Tuesday
evening, February 26, at the magnificent residence of ex-Congressman and Mrs.
Thomas E. Miller, No. 3405 Hamilton street, the occasion being the celebration
of the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding. During the afternoon, preceding
the Golden Wedding, their immediate family had held a reunion in which
twenty-two members of the family participated....
“A delightful feature of the
reception was the re-enactment of the wedding. On February 26, 1874, Miss
Eleanor Bennett with five other young women acted as bridesmaids. Tuesday night
Miss Bennett stood while the Rev. F. I. A. Bennett, rector of the Calvary P. E.
Church, Washington D.C., went through the wedding ceremony. The Rev. Dr. Wm.
Lloyd Imes, pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, played the wedding
march. The family stood in the receiving line, and guests in the number of
about two hundred congratulated the couple.
“The house was appropriately
decorated in all the varying shades of gold (yellow). One of the striking
pieces of beauty being a bouquet of roses, tinted golden. There were fifty of
these.
“Congressman and Mrs. Miller were
married in Charleston, S.C., in Old St. Mark's P. E. Church by the Rev.
Seabrooke, and prominent citizens of Charlestown were present at the ceremony.
Among the guests present, many of whom were from out of town – Washington D.
C., New York City, Atlantic City, Gary Ind., Nashville, Tenn., and Minden,
Nebraska. [were]...
“Ex-Congressman Miller is a
celebrated character in Philadelphia, where he has lived for a number of years,
and has prominently identified himself with all that goes to make for the
betterment of our community, and especially our particular group. Mr. Miller
was graduated at Lincoln University in the class of 1872, and is perhaps one of
the oldest living graduates of that celebrated institution.” (Phila. Tribune, Mar. 1, 1924, p. 5)
Rep.
Thomas E. Miller (1849-1938)
Thomas Ezekiel Miller was one of the
last black Congressmen from S. Carolina before the restrictive Jim Crow laws
disenfranchised a large proportion of the black population. He was educated at
Lincoln University (Class of 1872) and the law school of the University of
South Carolina (where he was in the last graduating class to enroll blacks). He
was elected to three terms in the S. Carolina House of Representatives and to
one term in the S.C. Senate. He was also elected to the 1895 South Carolina
Constitutional Convention where he was an outspoken opponent of the imposition
of the poll tax and literacy requirement for voters. Thomas and Anna Miller
returned to live in Charleston, S.C. sometime in the early- to mid-1930s. She
died there in 1936. He died in 1938.
1926:
“DRY ENFORCEMENT PLUNGES CITY HALL INTO CONTROVERSY”
The article includes the following:
“Interesting comments… were made by
ex-Congressman Thomas E. Miller of South Carolina regarding the failure to
secure more convictions of bootleggers in the local courts…. Mr. Miller, who is
a strong Prohibitionist, has been a resident of Philadelphia for the past five
years and he just completed today a month’s service as a juryman before Judge
Charles E. Bartlett…” After praising Judge Bartlett ,
he noted that: “The entire panel of jurors were fair and always rendered their
verdict, pro or con, agreeing with the Judge’s charge and the testimony. All
races that make up the citizenry of Philadelphia were represented on the jury,
and they never at any time discussed a case or rendered a decision because of
the nationality or the race strain of the defendant.” He went on to state that
“There is a hue and cry that bootleggers cannot be convicted and it’s a shame
that such statement should come from responsible citizens… The responsibility
for the acquittal of bootleggers rests with the magistrates and the very
important police officers – and the Police Department represents all races in Philadelphia and they are all alike when they testify in
relation to the bootleggers.” (Inquirer, Dec. 24)
1930:
Thomas
Miller 80 Owner; Negro; born in S. C.; married at
age 25; owner, house valued at $14,000
Anna
Miller 75 Negro, born in S. C.; married at age 21
Charles
W. Maxwell 50 Son-in-law; Physician with his own practice; Negro; born in
S.C.; married at age 29
Pansy
Maxwell 44 Daughter; Negro; born in S.C.; married
at age 22
Dr.
Charles W. Maxwell, Jr. (c1953)
Charles W. Maxwell, Jr. was the son
of South Carolina state Senator Henry J. Maxwell who was also the first black
postmaster in the U.S. He was a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University and a
1904 graduate of Howard University Medical School. He did post-graduate
training at the University of Pennsylvania. He had a medical practice in
Sumter, S.C. until the 1920s. By 1935, Charles and Pansy Maxwell had moved to
616 S. 15th St. (His nephew, who was named after him, founded the
William Penn Business Institute.)
1936, Nov. 18: Title for one-half share transferred to Margaret A.
Edwards, Helen Miller Edwards, Catherine Edwards, Joseph Clinton Edwards,
Thomas Miller Edwards, and one-half share to Pansy Maxwell by Thomas E. Miller,
executor of will of Anna M. Miller.
1940: not enumerated
in this census
1941, Dec. 18: Title transferred to Wilfred S. Hemsley and
Catherine Hemsley
Wilfred S. Hemsley and Catharine
Edwards were married in 1938 in New Jersey.
1942 WWII Draft Registration: Wilfred Scott
Hemsley, Naval Dept., Phila. Naval Yard
He was born July 7, 1905 in
Nanticoke, MD. Married to Catharine Hume Hemsley. Their son, Sherman Hemsley
(1938-2012) was an actor who was best known for his role as George Jefferson on
“All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” When he got his big break on Broadway
in “Perlie,” he was living at 3301 Baring St. and working at the Post Office.
1950 Directory: Wilfred S. Hemsley
He died in 1975. He was living in
Atlantic City, NJ. Catharine died in 1983.
1967 Reverse Directory: D. M. Reilly
<
3409 Hamilton 3403 Hamilton >
Revised: 12/10/2021