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
Thomas J. Ashmead 12
Albert S. Ashmead 10
Walter K. Ashmead 7
William H. Ashmead 4
Clarence H. Ashmead 4
Emi Ashmead 2
Elizabeth Ashmead 1
yr. 4 mons.
Sarah Graham 79 [Mother-in-law]; real estate: $25,000
Eliz Mack 19 Servant; born in Ireland
The 1856 and 1858
directories list them at 3509
Spring Garden St. which they owned.
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.
Albert
Sydney Ashmead (1826-1916)
1867-’68: Albert S.
Ashmead was a student of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His preceptor was S. R. Skillern (3419 Hamilton 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
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.
Walter Kittera Ashmead died in 1881.
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.
Emeline Ashmead married Algernon
Thomas Bristow, a surgeon, June 17, 1891.
They lived in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Elizabeth Ashmead married John
Sharpless Garrigues in 1885.
1873: Albert Ashmead
was embroiled in a dispute with the First Presbyterian Church of Mantua (later
the Northminster Presbyterian Church) over muddy sidewalks. The church suspended him from the sacraments
until he apologized for allegedly submitting a petition anonymously and for
denying he sent it. For more of the
story see the Powelton
History Blog.
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
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
1883, Margaretta, John
and Thomas, and William lived at 3717 Hamilton St.
with their mother, who was now widowed.
Samuel was living at 3618 Powelton Ave.
and was working as a bookkeeper. The
next year he was listed as a physician at 307 N. 37th
St. and by 1887, he
was at 201 N. 35th St.
In 1892, Helen E. Latta married
Benjamin P. Obdyke. She was living at 3719 Hamilton 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)
A similar biography and photo are
available for Samuel W. Latta on the page for 3626
Baring St.
For a listing of some of the other
central figures in the Pennsylvania Railroad who lived in Powelton, see the Powelton
History Blog.
Thomas Love Latta
(1865-1961)
U. Penn baseball team, 1887
Thomas Love Latta, William J.
Latta’s younger brother, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in
1887. The Penn
Archives gives the following: “Thomas Love Latta (September 24,
1865-January 1961) entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1883 as a freshman
in the Class of 1887. He was the son of William Sutton Latta, M.D. and Margaret
Eckert Whitehill. Latta compiled a very
distinguished record in collegiate baseball, playing the position of
catcher….As captain of his class baseball team during his sophomore year, Latta
led his team through an undefeated season. As a sophomore he was also a member
of his class teams in football and tug-of-war team. And again he played on
Penn's collegiate baseball team, referred to as the ‘Baseball Nine….’ Latta
also served as one of the athlete models for Eadweard Muybridge's landmark
study, Animal Locomotion. A student in
the science departments, Latta became a contractor and civil engineer after
leaving the University of Pennsylvania. Later on he was a life trustee of the
Presbyterian Hospital and President of the Children's Cruise and Playground
Society. At the time of his death in January of 1961, he was Penn's oldest
living alumnus.”
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.
1888, Jun. 18: Death of Jesse W. Thatcher, Jr., 5 months years
old, of 3500 Hamilton St., of "effusion of the brain"
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
Elizabeth “Bessie” (Blakey) Thatcher and
Robert Fraleigh 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
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
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
Harry G. Haring married Ulia Thomas
in 1917. It was his second
marriage. He was first married to Amelia
Stoneback who died in 1915. They had two
children.
The Delp sisters were from Hatfield,
Montgomery Co.,
George Standring died in 1925 when
they were living at 310 N. 33rd St.
1921: Stewart Dickson, 2nd yr. student at
1930: 3500
Henry G.
Haring 71 Owner, house valued at $10,000
Ulia Haring 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.
1942 Draft Registration: Francis Xavier Earley, born Jan. 1, 1881
(age 61), 5’5” 154 lbs., working for James Spear Stove & Heating, 3430
Chestnut St.
From about 1907 into the 1920s, he
lived with his parents at 3411 Baring St.
1950 Directory: M. Bernard Cooper
1968 Directory: R. R. Fernandez, 1st floor
P. J. Stone, 2nd floor
<
3422 Hamilton 3502 Hamilton >
Revised 4/28/2023