Week Three: The Research Begins!

       Though I began my time at Glen Foerd familiarizing myself with the MacAlaster, Foerderer, and Tonner family histories and attending meetings with Meg, I spent the majority of my first three weeks at Glen Foerd doing research. For now, my main task as an intern is to research the domestic workers that Glen Foerd once employed. One former butler, Arthur Laws, is of particular interest, both because he was one of the only (or possibly the sole) African American who worked in the house on a daily basis and because he was one of the only servants who commuted daily from the area around Temple University in North Philadelphia.

        I began my search for any and all information on Arthur Laws on ancestry.com. I searched for any census, military documentation, or church records that would provide a clue in the mystery that is the life of Arthur Laws. After piecing together information from many government documents, primarily censuses, I discovered a fair amount about this butler. First, that Arthur Laws was born in Richmond, Virginia around 1875. His parents, Daniel (b. ~1852) and Lusendia (b. ~1852, also known as Lucy, Leisey), were also born in Virginia and were likely slaves.

        Because a fire destroyed the 1890 census, it is difficult to tell exactly when Arthur arrived in Philadelphia, but was married here in 1899 to Mary G. Taylor. At this point in time, he was employed as a waiter. Around 1915, his daughter Ruth was born. About two years later, his son Robert was born. Mary died before 1920, possibly in childbirth. In 1920, Ruth Laws lived with Arthur’s neighbor and a fellow servant, Susie Williams. As of yet, I have not discovered any record of Arthur or Robert’s location in 1920.

       In 1924, Arthur married for a second time, to a Philadelphian named Elizabeth Grant. Elizabeth had several children, but as of 1930, lived with Arthur, Ruth, Robert, and her son Thomas, who was then twenty-one years old. Unfortunately I have not been able to track any member of Arthur’s 1930 household further, which is unusual as, judging by their ages, both Thomas and Robert should have WWII Draft Registration cards.

      I contacted The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Urban Archives at Temple University, and the Preservation Alliance about any helpful information they may have. I plan on visiting the Historical Society of Pennsylvania next week in search of any information about black domestic workers that could place Arthur in a broader historic context, the neighborhood Arthur resided in, etc. Lots of digging still needs to be done to fill in the pieces of this puzzle, but so far I am happy with the amount of information I uncovered in such a short period of time. Stay tuned—I will be updating this blog regularly on any Arthur related findings