Walter Ramsey Connison
The Connison family was from Ireland, living in the Sharswood section of Philadelphia, just north of Girard College. Walter had a younger brother and sister, and his father was an…
Read MoreJohn Black Rodgers
John’s mother was his father’s second wife. Charles’ first wife died while delivering the last of seven children during their ten years of marriage. On top of that tragedy, five…
Read MoreJohn James Morrow
The most fundamentally important thing to someone is their name. John received his middle name in honor of his father, James, but while most documents used his formal name, everyone…
Read MoreFrank Albion Sanborn Siddall
Having a bedroom to yourself was something most children couldn’t imagine if they grew up in a row house in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia. Frank and his…
Read MoreOle Lauritz Jespersen
Denmark was Ole’s home and Danish was his language until he came to New York City in 1889 at age 21. He remained single the rest of his life but…
Read MoreDavid Hindman Cochran
David grew up in the Mill Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia, the son of a salesman and his wife, with an older brother and sister. By age 18 he was…
Read MoreJoseph Edward Mahaney
In the years just before and after the dawn of the 20th century a letter carrier and his wife had eleven children while living in the East Germantown section of…
Read MoreWilliam Henry Dougherty
The youngest of nine children, Bill was born when his parents were in their 40s. Bill’s father was a Civil War veteran and served for a time as a city…
Read MoreThomas W. Dougherty
The Doughertys had nine children and the five who were living with them in 1900 were all boys. The only girl had just married and moved out. Because Tom was…
Read MoreDaniel Webster Zeising
Daniel’s ancestral roots were in Germany and his family had strong ties to books. His father was a printer and publisher most of his life, and two of his three…
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