The Patient Work of Patient History: The Creation of Medical Records for Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Interments at the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia Burial Ground

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Bones and Burials in Philadelphia: The Arch Street Project’s Multidisciplinary Research" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As of Fall 2018, the remains of approximately 500 individuals have been recovered from a disturbed burial ground site at 218 Arch Street in the historic "Old City" district of Philadelphia. These are a fraction of the larger interred population. The Arch Street Project’s historical research team uncovered incomplete records for burials at the site totaling 2699 between the years 1702 and 1859. From among these records names and dates of death for 1659 individuals have also been recovered, along with assorted demographic, cultural, and medical information. Over the course of the past year, ASP researcher focused on seeking out further medical information for all known individuals buried at the site.

This paper describes the results of research conducted by the historical team of the Arch Street Project into the medical records of the 1659 individuals identified to have been interred at 218 Arch Street, Philadelphia. The resultant medical histories, gathered from physicians’ daybooks, account books, personal memoirs, and death records, are an unprecedented record of health and health care for early Philadelphia. This research model promises to inform similar burial site recoveries in the Philadelphia area and across the Eastern United States.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bones and Burials in Philadelphia: The Arch Street Project’s Multidisciplinary Research   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25998