3409 Powelton Avenue
3409 Powelton Ave., 1886
The
History of the Building
Some sources list this as 3407 Powelton Ave.
Originally, the house was a fine example of the High Queen
Anne style designed by New York architect Bruce Price. It was gutted by fire in
1920 (see below).
“three-story
residential building; has retained its stone and brick sides, shingled
projecting bays and wood porch. The front has been altered to a brick facade
with paired windows with aluminum shutters set in aluminum siding.”
(Inventory of
Buildings in Powelton from the application submitted to the national register of Historic
Places, 1985)
Previous Residents of
1883,
April: Deed transferred from William Sellers, et al. to Jessie S. Colton.
1890:
Building permits and contracts granted for alterations: 8/13/1890 (v. 5, n. 32,
p. 481) Mr. Colton
10/22/1890
(v. 5, n. 42, p. 642) Mr. Coulton completed plans
1889-‘90
Blue Book: Mr. & Mrs. S. W. Colton, Jr.
1890, Aug.
1: Death of Sabin W. Colton, 3rd, infant years old, son of Sabin W.
Colton, Jr. and Jesse S. Colton at Beach Haven, N.J. Funeral services at 3409
Powelton Ave.
1900:
Sabin Colton 53 Banker;
father born in Mass., mother in N.Y.; owned free of a mortgage
Jessie S. Colton 45 Married 20 years, 5 children, 4
surviving; born in Ohio, father in Pa., mother in Ohio
Harold S. Colton 18
Mildred Colton 16
Ralph Colton 8
Susannah Colton 5
Blanch M. Dilley 34 Governess; single; born in N.Y., parents
in Vt.
Lizzie McClelland 27 Servant; born in Ireland, immigrated in
1890
Ellen Norton 28 Servant; born in Ireland
Jessie
Sellers was the daughter of Coleman Sellers. She grew up at 3301 Baring. When
she and her brother married in 1880, Coleman Sellers built twin houses for them
at 410 and 412 N. 33rd, directly behind his house. The Coltons
lived at 410 N 33rd
for only five years before moving to Powelton Ave.
For their genealogy: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8610132/person/-731815945
“Sabin W. Colton was born in 1853 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Pennsylvania shortly after he
graduated from high school. He is most famous for enduring a rifle shot to the
back of his skull, which supposedly did no harm whatsoever to his brain.”
(http://enc.slider.com/Enc/Sabin_W_Colton,_VI,_PhD,
July, 16, 2009)
“Sabin
Woolworth Colton, Jr. (March 18, 1847, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – January 29,
1925, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American investor. He was the only
private individual to ever own a chair on both the Philadelphia and New York
Stock Exchanges.
He
became an office boy in 1862 at a stock brokerage, later became a clerk there.
While a clerk there bought his own chair on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
His expertise was in underwriting the establishment of utility companies in
exchange for stock in those companies.
He
retired in 1910, having built a spacious family house, Longmeadow, in Gladwyne,
Pennsylvania, and an elegant Arts & Crafts-style summer house, Faraway, on
Eastern Point of Greening Island, Maine.”
(Wikipedia, July, 16, 2009)
“‘I never finished anything.’ Thus did Harold Sellers
Colton C[lass of]1904 Gr[aduate dgree]1908
[Univ. of Pennsylvania] describe the first 20 years of his life, including the
front end of his undergraduate career at Penn. For a man who would go on to
publish some 260 scientific papers, monographs, and books—becoming a charter
member of the Ecological Society of America along the way—that verdict would
hardly do as an epitaph. Yet there’s something apt about it. The man started
even more projects than his busy 89 years allowed him to complete. And this
past March, several of his successors in Penn’s biology department brought one of
Colton’s earliest endeavors to a new and unexpected conclusion, nearly a
century after it began in 1915.”
(see full article in PDF from
the Penn Gazette, July/Aug 2009.)
“Through architecture, the late Ralph L. Colton, of
Philadelphia, PA, gave to this world the benefits of his ability and training.
Comparatively young in his skilled profession, he accomplished much that is
noteworthy and he was held in high regard by his contemporaries. A member of an
early American family, prominent since early Colonial days he was the fourth of
five children born to Sabin W. Colton (#1818) and Jessie (Sellars) at
Wallingford, PA on 19 September, 1891. This made him a younger brother of Harold
Sellers Colton, who later built and owned the historic Colton House Retreat
Center outside Flagstaff, AZ (CFN, Vol. 1, Issue 3).
He
graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in 1913 and a second
B.S. in architecture in 1916. He was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.
1904: S.W.
Colton, Jr. (Yacht Owners. Blue Book of
American Shipping)
1906: S.W.
Colton, Jr.
(Transactions of the Sixth International
Congress on Tuberculosis, vol. 8 1906.)
1909: Harold
Sellers Colton, 3409 Powelton Ave.
(Bulletin of the Geographical Society of
Philadelphia. Geographical Society of Philadelphia, Geographical Club of
Philadelphia. 1909.)
1910: Harold
Sellers Colton, Ph.D., 3409 Powelton
(Summarized
proceedings ... and a directory of members. American Association for the
Advancement of Science. 1910.)
1910:
Sabin W. Colton, Jr. 63 Father born in Mass., mother in N.Y.;
owned free of a mortgage
Jessie S. Colton 54 Married 30 years; born in Ohio, father
in Pa., mother in Ohio
Susanna Colton 14
Harold S. Colton 28 University lecturer
Ralph L. Colton 18
Gertrude F. Palmer 34 Boarder; single; parents born in England
Amanda Johnson 23 Servant; born in Sweden
Mary Cagan 38 Servant; born in Ireland
Elvira Davis 57
Servant; born in Ireland
1912: Harold
Sellers Colton, Ph.D., 3409 Powelton
(Summarized
proceedings ... and a directory of members. American Association for the
Advancement of Science. 1912.)
1920:
Morris Wolf 36 Lawyer, general practice
Rose Wolf 24 Mother born in Kentucky
Edwin Wolf 8
Robert Wolf 5
years, 4 months
Anna Ruth 19 Chambermaid
Mary R Kelly 35 Cook; born in Ireland; immigrated 1902
Anny Henne 27 Governess; born in Switzerland; immigrated 1916
Note: Rose is his 2nd wife. They married in 1918.
“Morris Wolf (1883--1978) founded the firm that is now
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen in 1903 by boldly asking his law professor,
Horace Stern, to become his law partner. Wolf was independently wealthy and
practiced law only because he had a passion for using his first-rate legal mind
to solve his clients' problems, to whom he was fiercely loyal. He never lost
this consuming zest for the practice of law, which he imbued into his law firm
through his commanding intellect, his intense scholarly interest in the law,
his force of will, and his legendary ability to win the confidence of clients.
Wolf was a major force in the Philadelphia legal, business and Jewish
communities for three-quarters of a century.”
(Philly Lawyers Begin Third Century with First-Ever
'Hall of Fame.' Philadelphia Bar Association. News release 1/8/2002).
The firm began opened in 1903 with Wolf and Stern They got their 1904 big case, Bamett v. Philadelphia Market Company. “In this case, Stern
& Wolf represented a dissenting shareholder in a corporation that was party
to a merger. Stern & Wolf won the case in the lower court, after which the
defendant hired John G. Johnson to appeal to the state Supreme Court. At that
time Johnson was widely regarded as the greatest lawyer in the English-speaking
world. Despite his presence in the case, the state's highest court ruled in
favor of Stern & Wolf's client.”
(From the history of the firm, given on their website.
The firm has now disbanded, and the site is no longer available.)
Morris Wolf was the first president of the Allied
Jewish Appeal and later became the president of the Federation of Jewish
Charities.
(The
History of the Philadelphia Jewish Federation. by Kathryn Levy Feldman.
accessed Mar 29, 2009)
1920:
“COSTLY FURNITURE DESTROYED BY FIRE
“Goods crated for moving when flames swept Powelton
Avenue house
“STRUGGLE FOR FIREMEN
Fire at
1:20 o'clock this morning destroyed the interior of a brick dwelling at 3409
Powelton ave., causing a loss estimated at $20,000.
“There was
no one in the house at the time, but valuable furniture, crated to be moved,
was destroyed. The house formally was occupied by S. W. Coulton,
Jr., a retired banker.
“Patrolman Summy, of the Thirty-ninth street and Lancaster avenue
station, discovered the blaze. He saw flames belching from the basement windows
and licking their way up the side of the house.
“When
Engine Company No. 44 arrived and found the basement and first floor inflames.
The second alarm was given in a score of engine and truck companies fought to
save the structure and surrounding buildings.
“The
firemen battled with the blaze for more than an hour before it was finally
controlled. The fire swept the interior of the house, which is three and
one-half stories, brick and frame.
“The house
was sold to a man named Hewitt. The police do not know who own the furniture
which was destroyed in the fire. It has been created for shipment, all except a
billiard table on the second floor, each was ruined.
“It is
believed the fire originated in the basement. Neighbors say they saw a man at
the house yesterday morning, and it is believed ashes from the furnace may have
caused the fire.”
(Evening Public
Ledger, Nov. 12, 1920, p. 2)
1921,
January: Deed transferred from Jessie S. Colton, Jr. to La Grand E. Hewitt.
1922: The
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map identifies this as the Reeves Apartments. It shows
the porch extending across the front of the building.
1926,
December: Deed transferred from La Grand Hewitt and Madeline, his wife, to
Charles R. Hart.
1928, July:
Deed transferred from Elizabeth Purdy to Charles R. Hart.
1930:
Burgh Johnson 24 Cashier
[?]; born in S.C.; father in Tenn., mother in S.C.
Lida Johnson 21 Born
in S.C.
Burgh Johnson 2
yrs., 1 month
1940:
John Tannock 52 Janitor
for apt. house, earned $700 in 1939; born in Scotland; 6 years of school;
renting for $20/month
Jean Tannock 50 Born
in Scotland; 6 years of school
— next household
Enoch Green 65 Married; 4 years of college; renting for
$25/month
— next household
Cornelius Shotts Woodle 59 Single; 4 years of high school; lived in
Berkeley, Calif. in 1935; renting for $40/month
— next household
Thomas Van Des Anyan 64 Electrical engineer with railroad, earned
$3400 in 1939; born in Germany, lived in Lansdowne, Del. Co., Pa. in 1935; 4
years of college; renting for $38/month
Cate Van Des Anyan 65 Born
in Holland, lived in Lansdowne, Del. Co., Pa. in 1935; 2 years of high school
— next household
Hamilton A. Bailey 48 Manager of printing plant, earned $4500
in 1939; born in NY; 8 years of school; renting for $35/month
Edna L. Bailey 39 Sister; born in NY; 8 years of school
— next household
Edmond Leaming 27 Clerk
with oil firm, earned $1440 in 1939; born in NJ; 2 years of college; renting
for $40/month
Charles Kline 25 Partner; chemist, earned $1700 in 1939;
born in Washington, DC; 4 years of college
William Spencer 26 Partner; clerk for steel co., earned
$1500 in 1939; born in Minn.; 4 years of college
Schuyler Robbin 26 Partner; clerk jewelry co., earned $1200
in 1939; born in NJ, lived in Trenton, NJ in 1935; 4 years of college
— next household
Minnie Hortz 56 Machine operator for shirt mfg., earned $815 in 1939;
divorced; born in MD; 6 years of school; renting for $25/month
— next household
Wayne Parks 25 Driver motor express, earned $2000 in
1939; 4 years of high school; renting for $35/month
Margaret Parks 23 Four
years of college
— next household
Harold Wagoner 35 architect, building, earned $2500 in
1939; 4 years of college; renting for $20/month
Ruth Wagoner 28 Four years of high school
— next household
Ross J. Reeves 42 Draftsman at iron mfg. co, earned $2496
in 43 weeks of work in 1939; born in Missouri; 4 years of college; renting for
$35/month
— next household
Douglas Sevanson 19 Stock
controller for X-ray mfg., earned $700 in 1939; born in NJ; 2 years of college;
renting for $38/month
Charles H. Dannettel 22 Partner;
mail clerk at Ins. Co., earned $800 in 1939; born in MD; 1 year college
Benjamin F. Stansfield 23 Partner; claim clerk at delivery service, earned $720 in
1939; born in Minn. 2 years of college
Gertrude R. Mayhew 46 Educational secretary, earned $1740 in
1939; 2 years of high school; renting for $33/month
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3411 Powelton 3405 Powelton >
Revised 7/2/2022