Philip Lawall

Visitors to Mount Moriah are curious about the lives of those whose remains are located in mausoleums. They’re certainly conspicuous because there are only about a dozen of them among the hundreds of thousands of other burials here. Mausoleums at Mount Moriah are small concrete or stone buildings in various architectural styles that house one or more above-ground crypts which contain one or more coffins. 

Three of these structures are visible from Kingsessing Avenue. Philip had this one built in 1914 for his wife and other family members. She died in 1907 but was relocated here when it was finished, as were three other relatives.

Philip’s family immigrated from Germany but, like many, they didn’t all make the trip together. Philip came to Philadelphia in 1860 with his father, Frederick (1814-1875). He had an older brother, Charles (1838-1904), who arrived two years earlier. There were two younger sisters, Katharine (1845-1917) and Elizabeth (1856-1927) who came later. Presumably their mother, Barbara, came as well but no other information on her life is available.

Another German immigrant, Catharina Kaiser, became Philip’s wife in 1868. She was almost seven years older and a recent widow with an eight-year-old son named Frank Orth. She brought along both of her parents to their home, as did Philip with his sister Elizabeth and their father.

Making bread and rolls (especially Kaiser rolls?) was Philip’s bread and butter. Lawall’s Bakery was on the first floor of their home at 1374 Ridge Avenue off of North Broad Street. It must have been a good business; the 1880 census shows Elizabeth living and working there along with two boarders who were also bakers.

Having a flare with flour seems to have run in the family. Charles was listed in the 1860 census working for a “master baker” before starting his own business. In 1871 Katharine married a German baker, William Rothermel. Then in 1882 Elizabeth also married a German baker, Philip Rapp. The Rapps also opened their home to two boarders who were bakers.

Catharina’s son, Frank, didn’t follow in the family business but, by coincidence, he married a woman of German descent named Catharina. Philip and his Catharina had no biological offspring together but they were close to their extended family. 

After Charles died in 1904, Philip helped his nephew, Frederick, take over his father’s bakery. Then Catharina died in 1907 and both of Elizabeth’s adult children died within the next 14 months. The 1910 census shows Elizabeth and Philip Rapp living with Philip Lawall and both men were retired, living on their own income. 

When Philip’s life drew to a close at age 83 he had outlived not only his wife and brother but also his stepson and his sister Katharine and her husband. After his death in 1925, Elizabeth felt there should be something more to honor her brother than just a surname over the door, so she had this monument placed next to the mausoleum. She died just 17 months later and her husband followed in 1928. 

So whose remains are in the Lawall mausoleum? The eight crypts are for Philip and Catharina, Katharine and William Rothermel, Elizabeth and Philip Rapp, and their two children. Philip’s father is buried in Section 129, as is Charles, his wife, and two of their eight children. 

Philip left an estate of $130,000 in personal property, or more than $2.5 million today after inflation. Out of that, $15,000 was set aside for Elizabeth and the remainder was distributed to nieces and nephews.

(For more stories about the people for whom the other two nearby mausoleums are named, see Joseph Pergolese and George W. Milliken.)