Joseph Christy

“There’s something about a man in uniform” is a good way to describe Joe Christy. When he married Sarah McCullen at age 21 he was wearing a conductor’s uniform on the trains. Three years later he became a Philadelphia police officer with an even more authoritative uniform. He wore it with pride for the next 37 years.

His mother, Martha, had Irish roots, his father’s were Scottish. When his father died in 1861 Martha had a houseful of six children under the age of 12, so life wasn’t easy. Four of them were boys so the oldest two, William and Joseph, probably did what they could to earn money.

Joe and Sarah’s newly-wed life together endured a tragic start as three children died during the 1870s. The oldest was Martha, born six months after their 1873 wedding. She died 22 months later of diphtheria, a bacterial infection. Pneumonia took Walter in 1878 after just four months of life. That same year they buried a stillborn baby, joining the others in the family plot at Mount Moriah.

Fortunately, they did have one child who outlived them. Mary was born in between Martha and Walter and lived to be 89 years old. In 1881 another daughter, Amanda, was born and lived 22 years before dying of exhaustion from epilepsy.

In late-19th century city politics, police officers were “appointed” by the mayor, and for Joe that day came on May 3, 1876. It was an exciting year to be responsible for the public’s safety; one week later the first of 10 million visitors would come to Philadelphia for the Centennial International Exhibition. Staged in Fairmount Park to celebrate 100 years of independence, it was the first official world’s fair to be held in this country. Perhaps Joe even caught a glimpse of President Ulysses S. Grant as he spoke at the opening ceremony.

Wearing that uniform represented something more than just authority to Joe. He liked being on patrol to show that officers were involved in the community. 

He worked his first dozen years out of the 20th and Fitzwater Streets station. After a good record of arrests, he was promoted to patrol sergeant in 1887, then transferred to the 20th and Federal Streets station for another dozen years. The last dozen were spent at the 15th and Snyder Avenue station, where he also served a short time in the Fire Marshal’s office.

He developed chronic kidney disease and that caused his death in late 1913 at age 62. Sarah was buried beside him 20 years later. The only child to outlive them was buried with her husband in another cemetery.