Caroline Hansell (1822-1849) and Sarah Ann Hansell (1817-1863)
Philadelphia, PA
Caroline and Sarah Ann are daughters of Thomas Hansell, turner (1786-1865) and
Mary Steiner (1789-1829).
Caroline Hansell was born in 1822. Around 1843 she married Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt.
Caroline and Jacob had two children. In 1849, Caroline died, age 27, of tuberculosis. She
was buried in Lot 475 in Monument Cemetery, Philadelphia, a plot owned by her brother
William F. Hansell.
Sarah Ann Hansell was born about 1817. Around 1850 she married her sister’s widower Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt. Sarah Ann and Jacob had two children. In 1863, Sarah Ann
died, age 46, of tuberculosis. She was buried near her sister in Monument Cemetery.
Caroline’s children are:
Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt, born 1844
Henry Summers Eckfeldt, born 1846
Sarah Ann’s children are:
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt, born 1852
Jacob Summers Eckfeldt, born 1857
Who is Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt and why is his middle name Senfft? And why do these
kids have middle names of Summers?
There are families and circumstances lurking in the background here, so I’ll start with
the fellows who voyaged from Europe to start new lives in Pennsylvania.
Peter David Hansell (1724-1786) arrived in Philadelphia between 1750 and 1754.
Where he came from is speculative. Peter David Hansell lived in Upper Darby, Blockley and
Kingsessing. One of his sons, William Hansell, lived in Darby. After William’s death in
1800, his widow and children moved into Philadelphia. In the early 1800s one of William’s
children, Thomas Hansell (father of Caroline and Sarah Ann), married Mary Steiner (in St.
Michael’s Lutheran Church) and lived with Mary’s father Frederick Steiner on North Alley
near the corner of 5th Street.
1810 John
Paxton Map
Hansell, Senfft & Eckfeldt families lived in the vicinity of North Alley (St.) and 5th Street.
th
The dotted area east of 5 Street #72 is the still-existing Christ Church Burial Ground
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Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
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A native of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Jacob Eckfeldt (1733-1818) sailed into Philadelphia
on the ship Chance in September of 1764. Jacob set up a blacksmith and machine shop in
the Northern Liberties then he moved to the city center. His great claim to fame is the early
work he and his descendants did for the new United States Mint. For a span of 133 years,
one Eckfeldt or another would be associated with the U.S. Mint. Much is written about the
Eckfeldt family elsewhere.
The salient points are these: In the early 1800s, Jacob Eckfeldt and his family lived
near the corner of 5th Street and North Alley. Jacob Eckfeldt married three times and had
numerous children. Jacob’s second wife, Elizabeth Kunkle, had about five children, one being Michael Eckfeldt (1779-1833).
The Hermann Sommer (1699-1767) family arrived in Philadelphia September 1754
on the ship Edinburgh. This Sommer family hailed from Hoch-Weisel, Hesse Darmstadt,
Germany. I don’t know what Hermann did or where he lived. His death is recorded in the
St. Michael’s/Zion church records.
One of Hermann’s sons was Johann Heinrich Sommer (1742-1798) whose name
eventually transitioned to Henry Summers. Henry married Catharina Dessinger in 1766.
Henry was a brewer and lived on Noble Street, between 2nd and 3rd, in the Northern Liberties
ward of Philadelphia. One of Henry and Catharina’s children was Henry Summers (17801857). I can see Henry, Jr. driving a wagon load of beer barrels from Noble Street, south
into the city center, passing through North Alley with a delivery for the travern keeper
George Senfft.
1810 John Paxton Map
Sommer residence - Northern Liberties
George Senfft (1752-1821) entered into an indenture on November 4, 1771 as a
servant for Godfrey Twells of Philadelphia. The indenture book shows that George had arrived in Philadelphia on a ship sailing from Rotterdam. George was to serve 2 years and 9
months. Godfrey Twells was involved in the brewery business.
George must have picked up a thing or two during his indenture. Early Philadelphia
records list George as a brewer/innkeeper/tavernkeeper. By the early 1800s, George Senfft
was a tavernkeeper at 25 North Alley. Most importantly, George married Charlotta Phillipina and they had about seven children, all girls, two of whom are:
Elizabeth Senfft (1782-1880) - in 1799 married Henry Summers (the fellow who delivered the beer)
Catherine Senfft (1785-1851) - about 1804 married Michael Eckfeldt (the guy who
lived across the street)
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Michael Eckfeldt and Catherine Senfft had a dozen or so children. The one we are
concerned with is Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt (1821-1902). Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt would marry
the Hansell sisters, Caroline and Sarah Ann.
If your eyeballs have rolled into the back of your skull by now from too much information, here is a simple chart linking these families.
Hermann Somer + Anna Elisabeth Anschicks
/ (1699-1767)
(1708-1749)
/
|
Jacob Eckfeldt
+
Elizabeth Kunkle
George Senfft + Charlotta Phillipina
Henry Summers + Catharina Dessinger
/ (1733-1818)
1742-1785 / / (1752-1821)
(1758-1840)
/
/ (1742-1798)
(1743-1829)
/
|
|
|
|
Michael Eckfeldt
+
Catherine Senfft
Elizabeth Senfft
+
Henry Summers
/ (1779-1833)
(1785-1851) /
/ (1782- 1880 )
(1781-1857) /
|
|
Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt (1821-1902)
presumably no children
married (1) Caroline Hansell (1822-1849)
married (2) Sarah Ann Hansell (1817-1863)
Henry Summers and Elizabeth Senfft apparently did not have children, or at least no
children survived. Elizabeth’s sister, Catherine Eckfeldt, had twelve. Henry and Elizabeth
Summers were especially close to their nephew Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt, perhaps because
Jacob’s father Michael Eckfeldt died in 1833 when Jacob was 12 years old. Henry Summers would provide a home for Jacob and his motherless children and would provide for the
Eckfeldt/Hansell children’s inheritance via his will, leaving them real estate he had purchased in Byberry.
Now I know how Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt got his
middle name and why three Hansell/ Eckfeldt children are
named after their aunt and uncle Summers. The child
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt was clearly named after his maternal grandfather.
Oddly, or maybe not, the four families regrouped
at 13 Street by the 1820s/1830s and lived within two
blocks of each other.
th
- The immigrant Jacob Eckfeldt retired and
moved to 13th Street. Eckfeldt died in 1818
and his son Michael Eckfeldt and wife Catherine Senfft headed the Eckfeldt household.
- Henry Summers and his wife Elizabeth Senfft
purchased property on 13th Street near the
Eckfeldts, where they lived with the retired
George Senfft and his wife Charlotta.
- Thomas Hansell moved to 13th and Budden’s
Alley by 1831 and continued on with his turning business.
1875 Map by G.M Hopkins
Race = Sassafras Street
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Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
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Finding Caroline Hansell - The Women of Aunt Anne Hansell’s Will
There were hints here and there that suggested Caroline was related to the families
involved in her marriage to Jacob S. Eckfeldt. After an extensive search into the Eckfeldt,
Summers and Senfft families, complete with numerous pieces of paper scotch-taped together (superimposed with color-coded pointing arrows trying to make connections), I gave
up. In the nick of time ancestry.com put will and probate records on line. It was a great,
ironic and laughable surprise to discover Caroline was actually a Hansell!
Caroline’s Aunt Anne Hansell (born 1785), sister of Caroline’s father Thomas
Hansell, signed her will on March 11, 1847 and died on March 15, 1847 at the home of her
deceased brother, William Morris Hansell. Anne’s nephew William Frederick Hansell was a
witness and her nephew James Steiner Hansell was appointed executor.
Aunt Anne, who never married, left her possessions to her two sisters, a sister-inlaw, 15 nieces, a nephew’s wife and one grand-niece and provided identification for each
woman. This women-only will is truly a genealogical gem.
By my count, the
will devised 72
silver teaspoons.
The square
brackets include
my notes.
•
Hannah Forman, sister, $100, silver fruit knife and my best cloak and best coat.
[Hannah Hansell wife of Samuel Forman]
•
Ann Hansell, widow of Morris Hansell, $50. [Morris Hansell the hatter, brother to
Anne Hansell]
•
Hannah Hansell, wife of James S. Hansell, silver soup ladle. [James Stiner Hansell,
nephew to Anne Hansell, son of Thomas Hansell]
•
Sarah Ann Hansell, daughter of Thos Hansell, half dozen new silver teaspoons, unfinished bureau cover worked by my sister Hannah.
•
Emeline Hansell, daughter of Thomas Hansell, half dozen new silver teaspoons,
white counterpaine, unfinished bureau cover, worked by Thos. Hansell deceased.
[Thomas Hansell deceased died in 1841 and is a son of Thomas Hansell and brother
to Emmeline]
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•
Sarah Jane Young, daughter of Morris Hansell deceased, half dozen silver teaspoons, my patty pan patchwork or quilt. [Sarah Jane Hansell wife of John Llewellyn
Young, Jr.]
•
Mary Ann Hogan (daughter of Morris Hansell deceased) a half dozen new silver teaspoons, best one of the two feather beds (which formerly belong to William M.
Hansell), together with bolster and two pillows. [Mary Ann Hansell married Mr. Hogan about whom I know nothing]
•
Hannah Hansell, daughter of Morris Hansell deceased, half dozen new silver teaspoons, pair of blankets, marked A.H. and a mahogany framed looking glass also
marked A.H. on the back.
•
Elizabeth Matthews (daughter of John and Sarah Matthews) my best bedstead, my
best bed and bedding and a quilt with red lining. Also my best set of China with the
large waiter belonging to the set and a large blue dish, recently purchased. [Sarah
Morris Hansell, Anne Hansell’s sister, married John Matthews, Jr.]
•
Lydia Hansell (daughter of William M. Hansell deceased) my silver cream jug together with a new bracelet the value of which shall not exceed the price of a half
dozen teaspoons such as my other nieces shall get.
•
Margaretta Hansell (daughter of James Hansell) a bracelet which shall not exceed in
value the price of a half dozen tea spoons such as my other nieces shall get. [James
Hansell the clockmaker, brother of Anne Hansell]
•
Caroline Eckfeldt (daughter of Thos Hansell), Emma Boller, Ellen Richards, Henrietta French, Catharine French and Sarah Hansell (daughters of James Hansell)
and Eliza Ella Dent (daughter of William M. Hansell deceased) each respectively a
half dozen new teaspoons.
•
Ella Hansell (daughter of James S. Hansell) the sum of $10. [Anne’s grandniece Ella
Hansell was three years old when she received this bequest]
•
Sarah Matthews, sister, all the rest, residue and remainder of my personal estate.
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Caroline Hansell and Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt on North Juniper Street
By the time Caroline and Jacob were courting, about 1840, all the families were in
place on 13th Street.
Thomas Hansell and family, including his daughters Caroline and Sarah Ann, were
living at 114 North 13th (corner of Budden’s Alley).
Heading north on 13th, you would pass St. Stephens Cemetery, cross Race (Sassafras) Street and shortly on the left would be Jacob’s house at 130 North 13th. Jacob’s father
Michael Eckfeldt (carpenter) died in 1833, but his mother Catherine Senfft Eckfeldt and assorted siblings were in residence.
Catherine Eckfeldt’s sister Elizabeth Senfft Summers and her husband Henry Summers were located practically next door at 134 North 13th. Henry purchased this property in
1809. By 1820, Henry had retired from the brewery business. He ran a grocery/dry goods
store at 13th Street for a while and then went into the plumbing business (“pumps, hydrants,
baths, bath heaters, water closets put up in the best approved manner”). The Senfft parents
lived here. George Senfft, retired innkeeper, died in 1831. His wife Charlotte died in 1840.
The paper trail for Caroline is sparse. The first mention of Caroline Hansell is an entry in the Old St. George Methodist Episcopal Church records. Caroline had been admitted
as a member on May 5, 1843. (Jacob S. Eckfeldt was a long-time member of this church.)
The couple must have married in 1842 or 1843 and set up housekeeping on North
Juniper Street, not far from the Hansell, Eckfeldt and Summers homes on 13th Street. In
1838 Uncle Henry Summers had purchased a lot on the west side of North Juniper Street
and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is where the young couple lived.
The 1844 baptism of Jacob and Caroline’s first child, Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt, is
entered in the West York Street Methodist Episcopal Church records. Their son Henry Summers Eckfeldt was born 1847.
Caroline Eckfeldt died July 18, 1849, age 27, from tuberculosis. Her funeral was
held at Ontario Street between Parish and Poplar near 13th which indicates the family had
moved up North Juniper Street which turns into Ontario. Caroline was buried in Monument
Cemetery in a lot owned by her brother William F. Hansell.
Caroline’s daughter would name her first child Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford and
Caroline’s sister Emmeline would name her second daughter Caroline Eckfeldt Sinclair.
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Jacob S. Eckfeldt and the U.S. Mint
Philadelphia city directories for 1843 through 1848 list Jacob S. Eckfeldt living at 142
North Juniper Street. Jacob worked as a machinist at the “family firm,” the U.S. Mint in the
Mint’s second building located on the corner of North Juniper and Chestnut. Jacob’s short
tenure at the Mint did not afford him a footnote in history as an Eckfeldt associated with the
U.S. Mint. But work there he did, along with his better-known Eckfeldt relatives.
The 1847 Philadelphia City Directory shows this line-up of Eckfeldts.
•
Adam Eckfeldt (1769-1852) is Jacob’s uncle. Adam had officially resigned from
the U.S. Mint in 1839 but continued working there (free of charge) until a few
days before his death in 1852.
•
Catharine is Jacob’s mother, Catharine Senfft Eckfeldt
•
George Eckfeldt (1805-1864) is Jacob’s brother, foreman of the machine shop
and later the coining room at the U.S. Mint
•
Jacob R(eese) Eckfeldt (1803-1872) is Jacob’s cousin, son of Adam Eckfeldt
•
William Eckfeldt is Jacob’s brother who was in the fire hose manufacturing businesses
Just to round out Eckfeldt-related U.S. Mint employees in this time period, William
Ewing DuBois (1810-1881) married to Susanna Eckfeldt, Jacob R. Eckfeldt’s sister, was assistant assayer in 1847. The DuBois family lived at 133 North 13th.
You could probably set your clock by the passage of
Eckfeldts strolling down North Juniper Street on their
way to work.
Second U.S. Mint building, corner of Chestnut & Juniper Streets. In
use from 1833 to 1901.
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This chart displays the payroll of the Philadelphia Mint as of January 31, 1844.
Jacob’s brother George is foreman in the machine shop. Jacob’s pay of $1.90/day or
$49.40/month translates into a six-day work week. When the U.S. Mint first opened and the
work was accomplished by horse and man power, the workdays, at least in the summer,
were 11 hours which included two meal breaks.
Perhaps with the introduction of this labor-saving
steam powered coin press in 1836, these long hours were cut
back.
This press was imported from France. Franklin Peal
tweaked the design and then the in-house machinists got to
work making more of these machines (Jacob on the job).
The press in on display at the American Numismatic
Association Museum in Colorado Springs.
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Jacob S. Eckfeldt would move to Byberry, 14 miles from the city center. The 1850
through 1900 census sheets for Byberry list Jacob with his occupation as farmer.
The Philadelphia city directories tell a different story. During the 1860s and 1870s,
Jacob S. Eckfeldt is listed living in either downtown Philadelphia and one instance Byberry,
occupation machinist, U.S. Mint as place of employment.
ƒ
1863 - Jacob S. Eckfeldt, machinist, US Mint, 1212 Race (home of cousin Jacob
R. Eckfeldt)
ƒ
1867, 1868, 1869 - Jacob S. Eckfeldt, machinist, 1937 Poplar. Aunt Elizabeth
Summers is also listed living here.*
ƒ
1873 - Jacob S. Eckfeldt, machinist, 1929 Coates (home of his son-in-law Alonzo
Rutherford)
ƒ
1876 - Jacob Eckfeldt, US Mint, Byberry, 23rd Ward
ƒ
1878 - Jacob S. Eckfeldt, 1929 Fairmount Avenue (home of his son-in-law
Alonzo Rutherford)
*1937 Poplar Street was also home to the Edwin Harrington family. Born in Stockbridge, Vermont, in 1825, Edwin’s first business in Philadelphia was Harrington & Haskins,
machinist’s tools, located at North 15th & Pennsylvania Avenue. The partnership dissolved in 1869
and the firm was then known as Edwin Harrington
& Son. The company employed about 200 workers. Harrington Hoists exists today, located in
Manheim, Pennsylvania.
Is it a coincidence that two like-minded machinists lived at the same address? Did
they know each other; was Jacob connected with Edwin in some way?
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Summers and Eckfeldts Move to the Country
One day Uncle Henry Summers was sitting in the parlor reading the classifieds in the
Public Ledger. “Elizabeth,” he said, “how would you like to move to Byberry?”
FARM FOR SALE (NEAR BYBERRY MEETING HOUSE) - Will be sold at Public Sale, on the premises, on 21 day, 19th of First month, at 1 o’clock, PM, the FARM, for many years occupied by David
Comfort, in Byberry Township, Philadelphia County,
fourteen miles from the city, containing 55 acres, 5 of
which are woodland, 6 of meadow, the rest first quality
farm land. The buildings consist of a two-story stone
dwelling house with four rooms on a floor, besides attics and wash house, a large milk vault communicating
with the well, ice house ready filled, stone barn with
stabling, good cow shed, frame wagon house, hen
house, &c. An excellent orchard of choice fruit, pears,
cherries, plums, &c. This property, being of moderate
size, situated in the midst of a beautiful and highly improved neighborhood, contiguous to places of worship,
schools, mills, stores &c, offers inducements to a purchaser seldom met with. If desired, a considerable part
of the purchase money may remain secured on the
premises in the usual way. Further particulars and
terms made known at the time of sale, by JESSE
WEBSTER, Auctioneer.
1/7/1846 Public Ledger
On August 25, 1847, Henry Summers, “late brewer now plumber,” and wife Elizabeth, sold the 13th Street property to Alexander Summers, “late carpenter now grocer” (a relation? I don’t know), for an illegible amount of money. Two days later Henry Summers,
“gentleman,” purchased the Byberry property from Earl and Sarah Shinn for $5,815. (Sarah
Shinn is the daughter of David Comfort, former owner of the Byberry property).
In 1850, Byberry, located in the 23rd Ward of Philadelphia, population 1,100, was a
small village 14 miles northeast from the city proper. Access was easy--straight up the Bristol Turnpike or via the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad with a stop at Andalusia Station, and
then along the Byberry & Andalusia Turnpike for three miles. Byberry was settled by Quakers in the 1600s and by the 1840s had all the amenities described in the ad.
Why did Uncle Henry move to Byberry: Henry Summers was 66 years old and
maybe it was time to retire or perhaps he knew someone in the area.
The stone dwelling house came with some history. When Uncle Henry purchased
the property, the dwelling was already considered an “ancient” house. At one time it was
used as a Quaker meeting house.
Byberry would be home to the Summers, Jacob S. Eckfeldt and his two motherless
children and in time to his second wife, Sarah Ann Hansell and their two children, as well as
Jacob’s brother John and assorted relations and helpers.
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1895 Bromley Map
The 1850 census shows the Summers/Eckfeldt family.
1850 - Byberry, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 8/27/1850
Year: 1850; Census Place: Byberry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M432_824;
Page: 115B; Image: 237
Henry Somers (69)
Elizabeth Somers (65)
Jacob Eckfieldt (28)
John Eckfieldt (40)
Henry Somers Eckfieldt (4)
Elizabeth S. Eckfieldt (6)
Alexander Will (23)
Henry Summers
Elizabeth Senfft Summers
Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
John is Jacob’s brother
Henry Summers Eckfeldt
Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
farmer
laborer
laborer
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 11
Sarah Ann Hansell
Sarah Ann Hansell married Jacob in the latter part of 1850 or in 1851 when she was
33 years old. Sarah Ann was now both aunt and stepmother to her sister’s children. Sarah
and Jacob’s first child, Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt, was born September 22, 1852 and the
second boy, Jacob Summers Eckfeldt, was born June 27, 1857.
Henry Summers died in 1857. Elizabeth Summers was granted a life estate in the
property, so the extended family continued on in Byberry. In 1860 the busy house hold is
this.
1860 - Philadelphia Ward 23
Precincts 11-12, Philadelphia
Post Office: Somerton
Jacob Eckfelt (37)
Sarah Eckfelt (36)
Elizabeth M. Eckfelt (16)
Henry S. Eckfelt (13)
Thomas S. Eckfelt (10)
Jacob Eckfelt (2)
John Eckfelt (49)
Jemima Crossdale (43)
Elizabeth Somers (76)
David Gilbert (21)
Year: 1860; Census Place: Philadelphia
Ward 23 Precincts 11-12, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1174; Page:
976; Image: 544; Family History Library
Film: 805174
farmer, $600 personal
estate
attending school
attending school
attending school
farm laborer
$900 real estate
$500 personal estate
farm laborer
Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
Sarah Ann Hansell Eckfeldt
Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt
Henry Summers Eckfeldt
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt
Jacob Summers Eckfeldt
Jacob’s brother
Jemima Croasdale was adjudged an “idiot“
from birth. Croasdale is a long-time family
name in Byberry. She may have boarded
here at state expense.
Elizabeth Summers
Sarah Hansell died in Byberry on March 31, 1863 from tuberculosis, the same disease that killed her mother and her sister Caroline. Her funeral was held at Jacob’s
brother’s house (William Eckfeldt, hose manufacturer) in Philadelphia and Sarah was buried
near her sister Caroline in Monument Cemetery.
The three clues to Sarah’s identity are this death notice, her burial site in her
brother’s (William F. Hansell) plot in Monument Cemetery, and the name of her first child,
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt.
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At age 42, Jacob did his part in the Civil War, serving a three month term in the 44th
Pennsylvania Militia, Company B.
In the 1860s and 1870s, Jacob’s name appears in Philadelphia directories, working
as a machinist. Meanwhile back in Byberry, either Jacob’s brother or his sons were running
the farm. I have no idea if the land was actually farmed to produce money for the family or if
it just meet the needs of the household. There is a clue in Henry Summer’s estate papers
whereby money was received from Jacob S. Eckfeldt for rent of the farm.
Byberry Property After 1870
The 1870, 1880 and 1900 census sheets follow. A year after Sarah Ann Hansell
died, Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt married his third wife, Rebecca Alexander, on May 11, 1864.
The wedding took place at his brother William’s house in downtown Philadelphia. The marriage is recorded in the 19th Street Methodist Episcopal Church records. Their first child,
Fanny J. Eckfeldt, was born May 23, 1865 and she died before 1870. Their second child,
Margaret G. Eckfeldt was born in August of 1867. Margaret would marry George K. Knight
in 1905.
By the 1880 census, Elizabeth Summers, 98, was a few weeks short of passing on.
The first Eckfeldt/Hansell child, Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt, had married Alonzo P. Rutherford and this couple divided their time between Philadelphia and Byberry. Henry Summers
Eckfeldt married and lived next door to the Byberry homestead.
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt headed for California in the 1870s and his brother Jacob
Summers Eckfeldt disappeared into the landscape until I was able to pick up a paper trail
starting in 1899 in California.
Uncle Henry Summers Legacy
In 1855 Uncle Henry, as they say, “got his affairs together” and executed his will.
In 1838, Henry and Albert Hughes, his partner in the plumbing business, had purchased a large lot on the southwest corner of 15th and Vine (formerly called Schuylkill 8th
and Vine). Henry’s will bequeathed a piece of this lot to his wife’s niece, Mary Pierie, a
daughter of Abigail Senfft and Charles Pierie.
Henry left the Byberry land and house to his wife for her natural life. When she died,
the property would go to “my relation Jacob S. Eckfeldt, son of Michael Eckfeldt deceased”
for his life. After Jacob’s death, the property would be bequeathed outright to Jacob’s two
sons, Henry Summers Eckfeldt and Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt. The two sons would be responsible for paying their sister Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt $52 per year until she married.
In 1855 when Henry made his will, the children ranged in age from 3 and 11 years, so Henry
was really planning ahead to provide some security for his niece and nephews.
Just six months before Henry died, a third son would be born to Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt and his wife Sarah Ann Hansell, Jacob Summers Eckfeldt. This son Jacob was not included in the will.
The executors for Henry’s will are his wife, his Byberry neighbor Silas Vanartsdalen
and his nephew George W. Pierie (brother of Mary Pierie above).
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Henry Summers died December 22, 1857.
Samuel Overn is the husband of Jacob’s
older sister Elizabeth Eckfeldt.
12/15/1857 Philadelphia Inquirer
Elizabeth Senfft Summers lived on
and on until she died in 1880 at the
ripe old age of 98.
7/20/1880 Philadelphia Inquirer
Jacob S. Eckfeldt died in 1902
and the encumbrance of his life
estate on the Byberry property
came to an end.
3/23/1902 Philadelphia Inquirer
Prior to 1902, Jacob’s son Henry Summers Eckfeldt, who was to inherit under Uncle
Henry’s will, had died. The Byberry property was sold June 12, 1903 by Henry Summers
Eckfeldt’s widow and surviving children and Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt. The buildings and
50± acres sold at auction for $4,400. The deed was sent to California for Thomas Hansell
Eckfeldt’s signature.
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Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
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Byberry Census - 1870, 1st and 2nd enumerations
1870 - Philadelphia Ward 23,
District 76, Philadelphia
First Enumeration
Post office: Byberry
July 19, 1870
Jacob Eikfeldt (49)
Rebecca Eikfeldt (44)
Henry Eikfeldt (23)
Thomas Eikfeldt (17)
Jacob Eikfeldt (13)
Maggie Eikfeldt (3)
Elizabeth Sommers (88)
David Peirce (72)
Alonzo Peirce (24)
Lizzie Peirce (25)
Carrie Peirce (2)
Mary Hagar (16)
Ellen Smith (18)
Year: 1870; Census Place: Philadelphia
Ward 23 District 76, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1410; Page: 250A; Image: 504; Family History Library Film:
552909
farmer, $10,000 real
estate, $600 personal
property
keeping house
farm hand
farm hand
at school
at home
no occupation
custom house bldr
$1,000 personal property
keeping house
Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
Jacob S. Eckfeldt’s 3rd wife
Henry Summers Eckfeldt
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt
Jacob Summers Eckfeldt
Jacob & Rebecca’s daughter, Margaret
Elizabeth Senfft Summers
David Pierie, died 7/28/1870, age 74, in
Byberry, buried in William Penn Cemetery
in Somerton. Elizabeth Summers’ sister
Abigail married Charles Pierie. David is
probably a relation.
Alonzo Rutherford married Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt in 1867
Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt Rutherford
Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford
domestic
domestic
1870 - Byberry and Moreland
nd
(2 Enum), Philadelphia
November 17, 1870
Year: 1870; Census Place: Byberry and
Moreland (2nd Enum), Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1438; Page:
699A; Image: 405; Family History Library
Film: 552937
Jacob S. Eckfeldt (49)
Harriet S. Eckfeldt (24)
Thomas H. Eckfeldt (18)
Jacob S. Eckfeldt, Jr. (13)
Elizabeth Somers (88)
Rebecca Somers (44)
Ellen Smith (18)
Maggie Eckfeldt (3)
Jacob S. Eckfeldt
this must be Henry Summers Eckfeldt
Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt
Jacob Summers Eckfeldt
Elizabeth Senfft Summers
Rebecca Summers
domestic
Jacob and Rebecca’s daughter Margaret
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Byberry Census - 1880 and 1900
1880 - Philadelphia, Ward 23,
Byberry & Andulusian Pike
June 9, 1880
Jacob Eckfeldt (58)
Rebecca Eckfeldt (54)
Maggie Eckfeldt (12)
Elizabeth Sommers (98)
Alonzo Rutherford (35)
Elizabeth Rutherford (36)
Carry Rutherford (13)
Mabel Rutherford (5)
Alice Rutherford (4)
Mary Rutherford (2)
Mary Egan (22)
Katey Egan (18)
Year: 1880; Census Place: Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1182;
Family History Film: 1255182; Page: 7A;
Enumeration District: 460; Image: 0602
farmer
adopted mother
son-in-law
daughter
granddaughter
granddaughter
granddaughter
granddaughter
servant
servant
keeping house
at school
boarder
custom house broker
boarder
boarder
boarder
boarder
boarder
domestic
domestic
next door: Henry Eckfeldt, wife Mary, children Rachel,
Alonzo, Elizabeth, Ida, Mary
1900 - Philadelphia, Ward 35,
Gravel Pike Road
June 2, 1900
Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia
Ward 35, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll:
1477; Page: 1B; Enumeration District:
0905; FHL microfilm: 1241477
Jacob Eckfeldt (73)
Rebecca Eckfeldt (74)
Maggie Eckfeldt (32)
head, retired
wife
daughter
b. March 1821
b. March 1826 2 children/1 living*
b. August 1867 - Margaret E. Eckfeldt,
daughter of Jacob S. Eckfeldt and Rebecca, married 1905 George R. Knight,
brother of Roberts Knight who married Rachel Eckfeldt daughter of Henry S. Eckfeldt
Bessie Eckfeldt (23)
granddaughter
George Knight (26)
Bernard Smith (47)
boarder, farmer
servant
b. June 1876 - probably Elizabeth Eckfeldt,
daughter of Henry S. Eckfeldt and Mary
Deshong
b. Jan 1874
b. July 1852
* child not living: Fanny J. Eckfeldt born
May 23, 1865 to Jacob and Rebecca Eckfeldt; she probably died by 1870
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The Children and Grandchildren of Caroline Hansell and Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
Caroline and Jacob’s first child Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt (1844-1887) married
Alonzo Potter Rutherford (1845-1918) in 1867. Alonzo grew up in downtown Philadelphia.
He was a notary public for the majority of his working career. His name is associated with
many banks in town and he surely knew a wide range of business men. Alonzo and his offspring were noted in the society columns of the local Philadelphia newspapers.
Alonzo’s parents were John Rutherford, Jr. (1806-1866) who worked as a clerk or
accountant associated with banks and Elizabeth Gihon Cormick (1809-1874). Alonzo had
six sisters and one older brother.
John Rutherford, Jr. owned a vault at Monument Cemetery. Twenty-nine people, the
majority young people, were interred there, the earliest in 1843. This might be a start for
anyone interest in tracking down the early Rutherford family. Alonzo moved his father from
the Rutherford vault shortly after his mother died in 1874 and both parents are now interred
at Woodlands.
Alonzo’s brother Horace B. Rutherford (1840-1909) served a three years in the Civil
War in the 106th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Company K. He mustered out as a 2nd
Lieutenant. (After the war Horace also worked as a notary public. Horace married but did
not have children.) In 1864, 19 year old Alonzo served a three month stint in the volunteer
unit Hastings’ Keystone Battery.
Alonzo and Elizabeth married after the war. Where/how these two met is unknown.
The newly-weds lived in downtown Philadelphia, first with Alonzo’s family at 1832 Wallace
Street and then addresses near
19th and Fairmount. The 1870 and
1880 census list the Rutherfords in
both downtown Philadelphia and
visiting with Elizabeth’s family in
Byberry.
Elizabeth died early, age 42, from tuberculosis, the same disease that killed her
mother and her step mother/aunt Sarah Hansell Eckfeldt. She didn’t live to see her girls
marry and her only son was just six years old when she died.
Alonzo and Elizabeth honored their families by the names they gave their children.
The first child Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford was named for
Elizabeth’s mother Caroline Hansell Eckfeldt.
Caroline married Heston Bates. Heston earned a living as a
draughtsman and then as an accountant and auditor. The couple
had one son. Caroline died early as the result of an accident at age
53. She slipped on ice near her home and fractured her leg. Blood
clots formed and caused her death.
Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford Bates
held by erallin - Bates tree at ancestry.com
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Elizabeth G. Rutherford lived only seven weeks. Perhaps she was named after
Alonzo’s mother.
The third child, Mabel Sinclair Rutherford, was given the middle name Sinclair in
honor of the third Hansell sister, Emmeline, who married a Sinclair. Mabel was married for
15 years when her husband died in 1910 and left her with one son. The widow Mabel Harris
would team up with her sisters Alice and Mary.
Fourth was Alice Bailey Rutherford, Bailey being
the married name of Alonzo’s sister Rebecca.
(Rebecca’s second child was named Alice; the
child died at age two in 1860).
Alice “ran away” to New York and married V. Floyd
Campbell, famous illustrator, in 1904. This unconventional marriage made headlines in the newspapers. Tragically, their first born died at birth and
then V. Floyd died from tuberculosis a year later.
In 1906, after the death of Campbell, Alice was
living with her sister Mabel Harris in Island Heights,
New Jersey. Out for a walk one morning, she
leaped into the water to save a young boy who had
fallen off a pier. National headlines declared “Fully Dressed, Leaps and Saves Drowning
Boy - Widow of Cartoonist Finds herself in Grip of Fear-Crazed Child, but Finally Gets Him
Ashore.”
Alice married E. Bartol Hall, Jr. in 1909. Hall’s first marriage had ended in a headline-making divorce. Hall’s younger wife Emma Kirk ran away with the Reverend Benjamin
Q. Denham.
The fifth girl was Mary Toy Rutherford, Toy being the married name of Alonzo’s sister Mary. Mary’s second marriage made headlines: “Son Weds as Parents Sail on High
Seas - Graham L. Wilson and Miss Rutherford Married Romantically at Hotel Amid Friends.”
One can only read between the lines. Mary and her first husband were divorced in October
1904 (announced in a newspaper column titled Court Cudgels Cupid). Three months later
Mary and Graham married just after Graham’s parents left for a world voyage.
In 1925-1930 Graham Wilson purchased property on Pine Island in Florida. Graham
built a large house called “GraMar Villa” and two matching “his and her” boathouses on the
shoreline. Across the street Graham built a cottage for Mary’s sister Mabel Harris. Alice
and E. Bartol Hall had a house next door! Mary sold the property in 1945 and today her villa
is known as Tarpon Lodge (check it out at traponlodge.com).
Winters were spent fishing for which Mary received many
accolades, especially for landing this 145 pound tarpon in
1929.
Mabel, Alice and Mary are all buried in the same cemetery in Florida.
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Alonzo must have handed out cigars to celebrate the birth of his only son, John
Jacob Rutherford. I have to think John Jacob was named to honor his father’s father, John
Rutherford, Jr. and his mother’s father, Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt. John was just six years old
when his mother died, but he had five older sisters to care for him.
Twelve year old John, his
sisters Mary, Mabel and Alice,
and his father A.P. are among the
thousands of visitors to the 1893
World’s Fair in Chicago. The
Rutherford family signed in during
their visit to the Pennsylvania
State Building.
6-25-1893 Philadelphia Inquirer
The Pennsylvania State
Building (left) was a replica of Independence Hall. The original
Liberty Bell was on exhibit.
Pennsylvania State Building at the 1893 World’s Fair
Like his father, John became a notary public. By 1920, John, wife Harriet Bieler and
two children moved nine miles out of Philadelphia to Llanerch in the township of Haverford,
Pennsylvania. A trolley line had opened in 1898 which provided easy transportation to
John’s office in downtown Philadelphia.
1925 Philadelphia Directory
Probably unbeknownst to him, John and his Hansell heritage had come full circle.
Back in the 1750s, his maternal Hansell 3rd and 2nd great grandfathers lived in Upper and
Lower Darby before their descendants hitched up the horse and wagon and moved east into
Philadelphia. Now John, aided by advanced transportation, was living just north of Upper
Darby, making a daily 18 mile round trip commute to Philadelphia.
John and Harriet named their first child John Jacob Rutherford, Jr. Continuing this
tradition, the name has been passed down through the generations and today young John
Jacob Rutherford V is the holder of this honored name.
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Caroline and Jacob’s second child is Henry Summers Eckfeldt (1846-1885). This
child was named after Uncle Henry Summers. As far as I can tell, Henry was born in Byberry, farmed in Byberry, and died in Byberry.
In 1870 Henry married Mary Odenheimer Deshong, daughter of Maurice W.
Deshong (1808-1876) and Rachel Kirk (1818-1903). On the 1880 census sheet, Henry,
Mary and their kids are listed living next to his father Jacob S. Eckfeldt in Byberry. Henry’s
occupation is farmer. One can assume he worked the Eckfeldt/Summers property but beyond that I don’t know.
Henry died in 1885, age 39. Cause of death
is listed as “softening of the brain.”
ƒ
Here is Henry’s father Jacob S. and
Jacob’s third wife Rebecca.
ƒ
Henry and his wife Mary are next listed.
ƒ
Maurice S. and Henry S. are sons of
Henry and Mary.
ƒ
Elizabeth Senfft Summers.
This branch of the family certainly kept a lower profile than their Rutherford cousins.
Of Henry and Mary’s children, Maurice and Henry on the above headstone died early. The
oldest girl Rachel married J. Roberts Knight (construction foreman) in 1894 and by 1900 the
widow Mary and the rest of her kids were living in Philadelphia. The child Elizabeth married
Edward Bell (civil engineer) in 1906.
The four youngest children, Ida, Mary, Fanny and William, lived together for the rest
of their lives and are buried together. Ida was a bookkeeper, Mary kept the house, Fanny
worked as a stenographer and William was a traveling salesman. In fact, this whole family,
with the exception of the daughter Elizabeth who died in New Jersey, is buried in the William
Penn Cemetery located in Somerton, just outside of Byberry.
The second child, Alonzo R. Eckfeldt, was born in 1873. I have found no references for Alonzo’s middle name. I expect he was named after Alonzo Rutherford.
Alonzo married when he was 53, after his mother died and his younger sisters and
brothers were making their own way. His bride was the widow Mary Maylandt Heintz. Mary
had two teenage children. Alonzo and Mary were together for 34 years, up to Alonzo’s
death in 1960. Alonzo had purchased a lot at the William Penn Cemetery where he shares
a headstone with his wife Mary and her parents.
Alonzo worked as a machinist and later as a marine engineer, the first Hansell descendant in my line to make a living on the water. In the early 1920s, Alonzo signed on as
1st Assistant Engineer on the SS Lockport which sailed to Buenos Aires. He was 2nd Assistant Engineer on a trip to Belgium on the SS Anaconda.
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In the late 1890s and into the turn of the century, Alonzo was employed by the City of
Philadelphia, most notably on the city’s three ice boats which kept the Delaware River open
in the winter months. During the Spanish American War of 1898, the Navy Department
leased Ice Boat No. 3 and renamed it SS Arctic for the duration of the conflict. Alonzo and
two of his fellow ice boat employees were assigned to the Arctic, Alonzo as 2nd Class Machinist.
The SS Arctic served as a refrigerator ship and made one trip to the Delaware
Breakwater and back, via New Castle and Lewes, Delaware. The boat was decommissioned on August 23, 1898 and Alonzo went back to his old job.
For this three month volunteer stint in the State Naval Militia, Alonzo qualified for a
pension, for which he made an application in 1930.
This photo of the Arctic (a/k/a Ice Boat No. 3) is held by the U.S. Naval Historical
Center.
The photo was taken circa July-August 1898 and shows the officers and crew. (We
are to note the 60-pounder breech-loading rifle, converted from a Civil War vintage Parrott
gun.)
Look for the 25 year old, 5’ 3”, 140-pound, blue-eyed, light-haired fellow and that will
be Alonzo!
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The Children and Grandchildren of Sarah Ann Hansell and Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
The two children of Sarah Ann, Thomas and Jacob, headed west! These are the first
Hansell descendants in the line I am following who moved to the west coast--one to the
Napa Valley and the other to an itinerant life in northern California.
There was an economic depression in the U.S. from 1873 to 1879. Maybe the west
coast seemed more promising. In California Thomas worked as a carpenter, a skill he could
have learned from his grandfather Thomas Hansell or his Hansell uncles James and Edwin.
Jacob worked in mining and for the railroad. At the least he needed a strong back or a set
of mechanical skills he would have learned from his father.
Each child inherited a share of money from the 1867 sale of grandfather Thomas
Hansell’s property at Budden’s Alley. Maybe with this legacy in their pockets, the brothers
headed west to make new lives for themselves.
Jacob never married but Thomas named his first child Alonzo Rutherford Eckfeldt
which would indicate a pretty close relationship with, or at least great admiration for, his half
sister’s husband. Alonzo was only 10 years older than Thomas. Maybe Alonzo somehow
facilitated this move to California.
Getting to California was pretty easy by the
mid 1870s. Railroad tracks crossed the country and
a regular train would get you to California in seven
days, or one could board the Transcontinental Express in Philadelphia and make it to California in
about four days.
A traveler could go via the Panama
route, a trip that would take about 40 days. A
ship like the SS Colon would sail from the Philadelphia harbor to the Isthmus of Panama. A railroad train moved passengers, mail and goods
45 miles across the isthmus to the Pacific and
another ship would complete the voyage to San
Francisco.
Steamship Colon
Sarah Ann and Jacob’s first child was Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt (1852-1923). The
child was named after Sarah Ann’s father Thomas Hansell. There must have been many
trips from Byberry down to Budden’s Alley in Philadelphia for these two to get to know one
another.
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In the 1870 Byberry census, Thomas and his half brother Henry are listed as farm
hands. Henry went on to take over the Byberry farm; apparently Thomas had other ideas.
One clue to why Thomas traveled to the west coast has to do with where there is a
U.S. Mint there is probably an Eckfeldt! Five Philadelphia first cousins were in San Francisco at one time or another.
The first Eckfeldt cousin to work at the new
branch of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco was John M.
Eckfeldt (1831-1874). The California Gold Rush was
in full swing and it was safer and more efficient to mint
coins in California than send the gold back east to
Philadelphia. John and his father George J. Eckfeldt
(1805-1864; brother of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt) set up
the machinery at this new branch in 1854. George returned to Philadelphia and John was appointed the first
coiner.
John’s tenure at the Mint was problematic.
Two years into his job a great amount of gold went
missing. Court actions ensued but nothing was ever
proven. John continued to work at the Mint in one capacity or another until the day he
committed suicide in 1874. In 1891, Eckfeldt’s friends and relatives would be shocked to
learn that a quantity of gold (95% of the amount “lost” in 1856) would be found during the
excavation of the basement of the house where John Eckfeldt died.
In 1855 John enticed his sister Catherine Eckfeldt and her husband Frederick Miley
Benner to come to California. Mr. Benner worked at the U.S. Mint for 40 years.
Catherine’s sister Margaretta Eckfeldt and her husband Edward M. Hooper arrived in
San Francisco in the late 1860s. In 1880, Mr. Hooper was a furnace builder and helper at
the U.S. Mint, working alongside his brother-in-law Mr. Benner in the Melter & Refiner’s Department.
Around 1868, cousin William Henry Eckfeldt (1844-1925)
moved to San Francisco from Philadelphia. This William was the
son of William Eckfeldt (1812-1874, Philadelphia hose manufacturer, brother of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt). When Thomas Hansell
Eckfeldt’s mother died in 1863, her funeral was held at William Eckfeldt’s home.
William worked as a machinist at William T. Garratt & Co.
Garratt’s uncle William is reported to have established the first
brass foundry in Philadelphia. Like many others, Garratt was seduced to California by the gold rush but soon established a very
lucrative foundry.
1873 advertisement for W.T. Garratt & Co.
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So in 1880 there were three first cousins on hand to welcome Thomas to the west
coast--his older cousins Mrs. Benner and Mrs. Hooper, and, just eight years his senior,
cousin William H. Eckfeldt, still single, living in downtown San Francisco, working as a machinist for W. T. Garratt. I can see this young man giving his cousin Thomas the heads-up
to set out for California.
And to liven things up, in 1880 cousin Theodore Eckfeldt was in San Francisco living
with his sister Mrs. Benner. If Theodore was a story teller, he had stories to tell. Theodore
had been in Shanghai for the past 15 years. His last two years in China were spent locked
up in the U.S. Consulate jail for embezzling Russell & Co. which had employed Theodore as
a ticket agent. This is a complicated story that ultimately earned Theodore a place in the
U.S. Congressional Records and a pardon from President Rutherford B. Hayes. Russell &
Co. estimated Theodore skimmed $27,000 from ticket proceeds. Read more about Theodore in the End Notes.
No matter how he traveled to California or who, if anyone, was on hand to greet him,
the 1880 census finds Thomas living in the bunkhouse at the Alonzo Clark (1848-1923)
ranch in the Berryessa Valley, just outside of Monticello.
From San Francisco Thomas could take a steamer to Vallejo, followed by a train to
Napa. Then it was overland by stagecoach 24 miles to the Berryessa Valley. The lithograph below could have been Thomas arriving in the thriving berg of Monticello (population
around 100). In addition to Mr. Peacock’s hotel, there were two general stores, two blacksmith shops, a carriage and harness shop, and one saloon.
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The valley must have been an awesome sight to Thomas. Eleven miles long and
two to three miles wide, thousands of acres were planted in wheat, barley and hay. Orchards and vineyards were numerous. Quite different from the Eckfeldt/Summers smallscale farm of 50 acres back home in Pennsylvania.
Berryessa Valley, unknown date, posted at Berryessa Valley Exhibit Organization
Alonzo Clark’s father Abraham was lured to California during the gold rush in 1852.
Mining did not work out for him but he felt promise in this new land and moved his family
from the mid-west to California 1864. In time the family prospered and Papa Abraham acquired close to 10,000 acres in the Berryessa Valley. In 1876 Abraham Clark cultivated
8,500 acres, raised 500 hogs, ran 175 head of cattle and used 75 men working 140 mules
and horses to manage the fields.
Alonzo married, started a family and was working 700 acres which, in 1880, produced wheat and barley. On Alonzo’s parcel were an orchard and a small vineyard.
Alonzo’s brother Norman lived next door and father Abraham was down the road.
In 1880, 17 men lived in the bunkhouse on Alonzo’s property. Most were single, laborers or farmers, ranged in age from 19 to 59 and came from all over the U.S. George
Mathews from New York was the hostler, looking after the horses and mules. Tom from
China was the cook. The brothers Robert and John Cage were locals from Yountville.
Thomas is listed as “Hanset Eckfelt” on the census sheet.
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Two months after the census, Thomas registered to vote which clarified his vital statistics: Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt, 27 years old, born in Pennsylvania, carpenter, local residence Monticello.
It’s left to our imagination what Thomas did here with his carpentry tools. There
could be any number of building projects for the Clarks. In 1880, Abraham Clark constructed a 22 room mansion (shown below). Maybe Thomas lent a hand.
Lithograph of Abraham Clark ranch, Smith & Elliot 1883
Meanwhile, the Albert Bassett (1818-1902) family moved from Haywards, California
to Lower Lake in Lake County, about 40 miles as the crow files north of Monticello. Somehow, Thomas bridged this gap and on November 26, 1885 he married 19 years old Jeanette
Bassett (also known as Nettie). The newly-weds lived in Lower Lake for the next three
years.
Thomas and Nettie moved to West Winters in Yolo County sometime after the birth
of their son, Alonzo Rutherford Eckfeldt in 1887. The 1892 voter’s list places Thomas in
West Winters and gives this description: 39 years old, 5’ 5” tall, blue eyes, brown hair.
Their daughter Mary Geneva was born in West Winters in 1889. By 1900 the family
moved to St. Helena in the Napa Valley where they lived out the rest of their lives.
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In 1900, St. Helena was described as a lovely, orderly town, population about 1,600.
The Eckfeldts lived on Hunt Avenue at the corner of Edwards Street. Thomas worked as a
carpenter. Newspapers and other sources are silent on the particulars. The 1920 census
describes Thomas as a cabinetmaker. By 1920 the company T H Eckfeldt & Son, carpenters, was formed.
Nettie on the other hand was a busy woman about town. The 1908 St. Helena Directory lists her as a teacher at the Union High School. Nettie belonged to the Eastern Star
and the Rebekah Lodge. This interesting clipping appeared in a 1905 San Francisco newspaper under summer resort listings:
I wish this obituary were longer on achievements and shorter on Thomas’s last illness.
Jeannette outlived her next two husbands,
Henry G. Crafts and Archibald Henry McArthur.
Jeannette is buried in Eckfeldt plot at the St. Helena
Public Cemetery under the name Jean McArthur.
10-12-1923 Weekly Calistogian
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The first child of Thomas and Jeannette was named Alonzo Rutherford Eckfeldt in
tribute to Alonzo Rutherford, the husband of Thomas Hansell’s half sister Elizabeth Eckfeldt.
Alonzo Rutherford must have been an influence in Thomas’s life.
Alonzo inherited the blue eyes and brown hair of his father and he, too, was a carpenter, married and lived his life in
St. Helena. Alonzo and Mary did not have children so the name
Eckfeldt in this line stopped here.
2/2/1965
Napa Valley Register
The second child was Mary Geneva Eckfeldt,
known as Geneva.
Geneva married Edward L. Bonhote, local garage mechanic. Geneva and Eddie are featured in the
Images of America publication “St. Helena.” Geneva
was one of the first librarians at the new Carnegie Library. In 1920, Geneva and Ann Hoehn set up a Millinery Parlor at Geneva’s home.
When he was 86, Eddie Bonhote was honored
by the town of St. Helena for his service to the community.
5/22/1942 Weekly Calistogan
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The second child of Sara Ann Hansell and Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt is Jacob Summers
Eckfeldt (1857-1927), his name honoring his father and Uncle Henry Summers.
In the 1870 Byberry census, 13 year old Jacob is attending school. That is the last
sighting of this young man until he turns up in California in 1899. There is a 30 year gap
here which I have not been able to fill.
I followed Jacob around California through the California Voter Registration lists and
a few railroad pay records.
Finding work on a railway in California was
not a problem.
July 1901 San Francisco Call
In 1897, the Sierra Railway Co. started work on its 57 mile main line from Oakdale to
Tuolumne. Initially, 400 men and 300 horses and mules worked dawn to dusk, seven days
a week. Jacob worked for the railway at the end of 1899, just as the track was being completed.
J. Eckfelt, laborer
9 days work at $1.60/day
Board
Store
Total Due
Balance
check issued 12/13/1899
$14.40
- 6.20
-1 .10
$7.30
$7.10
1900 Voters list - Shasta County: Jacob S. Eckfeldt, age
43, Fielding, Iron Precinct
Fielding places Jacob on the side of Iron Mountain in
Shasta County during the height of its copper mining days.
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In 1897, Mountain Copper Company, Ltd. of London was the controlling entity of the
mines and railway on Iron Mountain and the smelting plant in Keswick. One Charles W.
Fielding was the corporate officer on the ground.
A company town called Iron Mountain was established on the side of the mountain
near the mine openings. It was an extensive complex with individual houses for management, cottages for families, office buildings, a store, hospital, and bunkhouses. Oh yes,
there was a tennis court and a baseball field! Named after Mr. Fielding, a post office operated here from 1897 to 1903. The 11 mile Iron Mountain Railway transported copper ore
from the mine to a smelting plant in Keswick. The railroad was something of an engineering
feat, climbing 1,850 feet on a sinuous course of 10.65 miles utilizing 26 trestles, a tunnel,
loops and switchbacks.
Though a successful mine until after World War II, it was an environmental disaster
from the start. Open roasting of the ore prior to smelting poured tons of sulphur into the atmosphere which laid waste to all vegetation with ten miles. Today the mine is an active
superfund cleanup site.
It’s anyone’s guess what Jacob did here--probably mining or railway work. The 1900
census sheets for Iron Mountain list, among others, about 160 men, most miners, living in
bunkhouses. Jacob is not among them.
National Park Service, 1915 Shasta Route Geologic & Topographic Map
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1903 Voters list - Shasta County: Jacob Sumers Eckfeldt, age 45, French Gulch,
French Precinct
This voter’s list entry with Jacob’s middle name firmed up my assumption that this
was my guy. French Gulch exists today and its post office has been in businesses since
1856.
Spurred on by the gold fever of 1849, a
group of intrepid French-Canadian prospectors
hiked over the Trinity Alps in northern California.
Working their way down Clear Creek, they discovered gold and French Gulch got its name.
Over time, 37 gold mines operated around
French Gulch.
When Jacob arrived in French Gulch,
gold fever was still raging through the community.
6/6/1902 San Francisco Call
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The 1910 census finds Jacob S. Eckfeldt, single, miner, age 52, rooming at the
Temple Hotel in Redding, California.
Jacob’s home in 1910 - Temple Hotel, Redding, California
This hotel was run by Henry Clineschmidt, a German immigrant who did well for himself in the hotel business in Shasta County.
Clineschmidt died in 1919 and his obituary paid tribute to his humanitarian contributions: “The Temple Hotel in time became a sort of miners’ home. The proprietors were the
friends of the poor. Nobody was turned away hungry, and in case of sickness good care as
given.”
There are seven other miners listed in the 1910 census living at the Temple Hotel.
Two of the same miners are living there in the 1920 census.
Three more California railroad employment records are available for Jacob. He
worked as a laborer on the Maintenance of Way work crew for the Southern Pacific Company. On April 15, 1917 he netted $3.50 for 20 hours work near Marysville. April 30, 1917,
Jacob grossed $25 for 120 hours work, $11.16 of which went to Mrs. B. Thompson, presumably for bed and board. April 15, 1918 Jacob worked in the Shasta Division. Here his
pay had increased to $0.275 per hour, up from previous payments equating to $0.20/hour.
In a 1921 Oregon directory, Jacob turns up living in Rieth, track cleaner for the Grant
Smith Construction Company. The Oregon-Washington Railway had shops located in Rieth
and all the men listed in the directory were employed by either the railway or the Grant
Smith Construction Company.
Jacob’s death certificate: died August 23, 1927 at the County Hospital in Ukiah from
stomach cancer. His name is given as Jake Eckfelt, date of birth June 27, 1857 in Pennsylvania, parents unknown. The certificate noted he had been in California for 27 years and in
Ukiah for one month. He is buried somewhere in Ukiah.
Can’t help but wonder if every once in a while Jacob caught a train to St. Helena for
Sunday dinner with Thomas and Nettie.
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 32
End Notes
I have not provided specific footnotes. This is not intended for publication. On the other
hand, I haven’t plucked this information from thin air; there is a source for all this material. My interpretations and attributions may be incorrect. If anyone wants to know where any information came
from, just let me know!
Nancy Ettensperger
P.O. Box 86
Underhill, Vermont 05489
Hansell Family Book by Ed Bradford. See this work for descendants of Peter David Hansell
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~edbradford/ed/books/hansell.pdf
Ed has kindly posted my Hansell narratives here:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~edbradford/ed/additional.htm
Newspapers at GenealogyBank.com, ChroniclingAmerica.loc.gov, Accessible-Archives.com, Active
Paper digital newspapers at Penn State
Hathi Trust Digital Library
FamilySearch.com
Ancestry.com
Archive.org - Philadelphia City Directories
Find-a-Grave.com
Maps to find your way around Philadelphia in the 1800s:
Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network http://www.philageohistory.org/geohistory/
Philadelphia County Deed Indexes and Deeds
Plats (http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/)
Deed and Plat Indexes (http://philadox.phila.gov/phillyhistoricalindex/)
Deeds (http://phila-records.com/historic-records/web/)
The Families
Jacob Eckfeldt tree at ancestry.com: Knight Green Potter Macomb
Tree (knightpackaging)
http://person.ancestry.com/tree/10411447/person/-351648159/facts
A prior advertisement, in the spring of 1773, offered a 100 dozen
sickles for sale. That must have kept everyone busy all winter.
There are numerous sources for the Eckfeldt family/U.S. Mint.
Mary Ann Schaefer has sorted out the Sommer/Summers families who arrived in Philadelphia in 1752
and 1754. If you are a descendant, check out her work!
http://www.yesteryours.net/mann/Mannidx.html
http://mann-genealojist.blogspot.com/
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 33
Record of indentures of individuals bound out as apprentices, servants, etc., and of German and
other redemptioners in the office of the Mayor of the city of Philadelphia, October 3, 1771, to October
5, 1773, Mayor’s Office, Philadelphia, PA - page 20 George Senfft
Identity of Caroline Hansell
Anne Hansell’s Will - Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1990, Anne Hansell, Wills, No.
50-99, 1847, viewed at ancestry.com
Jacob S. Eckfeldt/Henry Summers
1844 U.S. Mint Payroll, Philadelphia: House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents:
13th Congress, 2d Session - 49th Congress, 1st Session - Google books
Photo of first steam-powered coin press: https://www.fi.edu/history-coin-press
Edwin Harrington: History of Windsor County, Vermont, Aldrich & Holmes, 1891, page 857
A History of the Townships of Byberry and Moreland in Philadelphia, Pa., Joseph C. Martindale,
1867 Eckfeldt references: pages 80, 106, 120, 199
Henry Summers Will: Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, Henry Summers, Philadelphia PA, Wills, No. 400-419, 1857, viewed at ancestry.com
Summers Deeds
th
Original Purchase of North 13 Street, Philadelphia, 1809: IC 19/161, Roll 87, 83.tif
th
Sale of North 13 Street, 1847: AWM 44/277, Roll 250, 643.tif
Purchase of Byberry property, 1847: AWM 45/143, Roll 251, 180.tif
Sale of Byberry property, 1902: WSV 206/275, Roll 2191
1849 Plan of the Townships of Byberry and Moreland, Philadelphia County by J.C. Sidney.
Note H. Summers, 55 A. His neighbor Silas Vanartsdalen would be a co-executor of Henry Summers’ will.
Rutherford Family
th
Horace B. Rutherford - pension papers are available. The History of the 106 Pennsylvania Infantry
Regiment can be viewed here:
http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/infantry/paregimentsnew3.html
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 34
The History of Battery A (formerly known as the Keystone Battery) and Troop A
by Logan Howard-Smith and John Fulton Reynolds Scott, 1912 - The Campaign of 1864, page. 48 available at archive.org
Odd-Ball Stories from Philadelphia
Mary Toy Rutherford married Graham Wilson. His very wealthy family gave rise to a few
quirky, only-in-Philadelphia stories that always catch my eye.
Graham Wilson’s father George B. Wilson and two business associates purchased the
Garrett Snuff Company for $1 in 1895 from William E. Garrett, Jr. William’s brother Walter had died
and William had no interest in continuing the company which had been in the Garrett family for over
100 years.
Walter Garrett died in 1895. The childless Mrs. Garrett (Henrietta Schaefer) lived another 30
years and died intestate. The rest of the bizarre story includes a fortune of $17,000,000 claimed by
26,000 would-be heirs, the exhumation of Mrs. Garrett’s casket in search of a will, and the discovery
by Jay Schwartz at a flea market of a film documenting this exhumation which was presented on a
th
Friday the 13 in the Laurel Hill Cemetery!
http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-13/entertainment/32649419_1_exhumation-flea-market-schwartz
Mrs. George B. Wilson (Edna Searing) was known as the Orchid
Queen. Her collection of 20,000 orchids was contained in 11 large
greenhouses situated next to her mansion at 4228 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
Her most famous orchid was Phalaenopsis Harriettae which had
the good fortune to be immortalized by E.B. White in a small essay titled
“Harriett” published in the “Talk of the Town” column of a 1928 issue of
the New Yorker.
Alonzo and the Ice Boat
Annual Report of the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, Year Ending 12/31/1898 (Google book) Alonzo and the ice boat
USS Arctic photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, found here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/arctic-2.htm
Sarah Ann Hansell Eckfeldt’s Boys Move to California
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 35
Library of Congress electronic resource: Handbook and Directory of Napa, Lake, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Luther L. Paulson, 1874
Monticello and Berryessa Valley a/k/a Rancho Las Putas:
http://www.gutenberg.us/articles/rancho_las_putas
1895 map of Napa County
https://www.loc.gov/item/2004629041/
California Digital Newspaper Collection: http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc
Follow the rise and fall of John M. Eckfeldt. Agricultural reports from the Berryessa Valley.
Gold rush excitement. Railroad employment opportunities. Happenings at the Temple Hotel.
Napa County Library - Digital Newspapers - Weekly Calistogian and Napa Valley Register
http://www.countyofnapa.org/library/databases/
1878 lithograph of Berryesa Hotel and other photos of the Berryessa Valley
https://vhc.smugmug.com/Berryessa-Valley/McKenzie-Family/
Berryessa Valley Exhibit Organization - photos and stories
https://www.facebook.com/BERRYESSA-VALLEY-EXHIBIT-767097649995856/
Smith & Elliot Lithograph of Abraham Clark farm:
http://bid.igavelauctions.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=4039346
History of Solano and Napa Counties, California, With Biographical Sketches…, Thomas J. Gregory,
1912, available at archive.org - biographies of Abraham Clark and his son Alonzo C. Clark
Settling the Sunset Land: California and its Family Farmers, 1850s-1890s”, Alexandra Kindell thesis,
2006 - references to interview with Abraham Clark
http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1908/
St. Helena Images of America booklet by St. Helena Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing, 2010
West coast railroad employment records and California Voters Lists at ancestry.com
Dottie Smith - Shasta County Historian
http://shastacountyhistory.com/
Historic Data Inventory of the Shasta County Interlakes Special Recreation Management Area by
Dottie Smith for the Bureau of Land Management, 1995
Iron Mountain Railway
http://www.pacificng.com/template.php?page=/roads/ca/imry/index.htm
1915 Shasta Map:
http://npshistory.com/publications/geology/bul/614//images/sheet9.jpg
___________________________________
Descendant Trees for Caroline Hansell and Sarah Ann Hansell
Henry Summers Lot 310 at Monument Cemetery, Philadelphia
The Senfft Sisters of Philadelphia
The Summers Give the Eckfeldts a Run for the Money
Theodore W. Eckfeldt (1837-1893)
Endpage - Hansell Cousins
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 36
Descendants of Caroline Hansell
1 Caroline Hansell b: 1822 in Philadelphia, PA d: Jul 18, 1849 in North Ontario St., Philadelphia, PA Age at
death: 27 est. Burial: Lot 475, Monument Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
.. +Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt b: 1821 in Philadelphia, PA m: Abt. 1843 d: Mar 19, 1902 in Gravel Pike, Byberry,
Philadelphia, PA Age at death: 81 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
...... 2 Elizabeth Summers Eckfeldt b: Jun 11, 1844 in Philadelphia, PA d: Mar 30, 1887 in 1981 Fairmount,
Philadelphia, PA Age at death: 42 Burial: Sect. G, Lot 282-Ext 284, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia,
PA
.......... +Alonzo Potter Rutherford b: Nov 4, 1845 in PA m: 1867 d: Aug 2, 1918 in PA Age at death: 72 Burial:
Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford b: Mar 28, 1868 in PA d: Feb 20, 1922 Age at death: 53 Burial: Ivy
Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
................... +Heston Bates b: Jul 15, 1868 in PA m: Nov 6, 1889 d: Jul 1, 1942 Age at death: 73 Burial: Ivy
Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 Rutherford Stockton Bates b: Oct 22, 1890 in PA d: 1962 Age at death: 72 est.
............... 3 Elizabeth G. Rutherford b: Dec 20, 1872 in PA d: Feb 8, 1873 Age at death: 0 Burial: Sect. G, Lot
282-Ext. 284 Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Mabel Sinclair Rutherford b: Aug 24, 1874 in PA d: 1954 Age at death: 80 est. Burial: Fort Myers
Cemetery, Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
................... +George Irving Harris b: 1873 in PA m: Oct 1895 d: Mar 9, 1910 in Detroit, Michigan Age at
death: 37 est. Burial: Northwood Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 George Irving Harris b: 1898 d: Aug 1965 Age at death: 67 est. Burial: Fort Myers Cemetery,
Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
............... 3 Alice Bailey Rutherford b: Jun 4, 1876 in PA d: 1948 Age at death: 72 est. Burial: Fort Myers
Cemetery, Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
................... +V. Floyd Campbell b: Oct 4, 1873 in Michigan m: Nov 16, 1904 in Manhattan, NY d: Apr 21, 1906
in Morton, Delaware Co., PA Age at death: 32 Burial: Sect. G, Lot 282-284, Woodlands Cemetery,
Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 Alice Rutherford Campbell b: Jul 17, 1905 d: Jul 17, 1905 Age at death: 0 Burial: Sect. G, Lot
282-284, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
............... *2nd Husband of Alice Bailey Rutherford:
................... +Edward Bartol Hall b: 1872 in NY m: 1909 in Philadelphia, PA d: Nov 17, 1936 Age at death: 64
est. Burial: Fort Myers Cemetery, Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
............... 3 Mary Toy Rutherford b: Jan 20, 1878 in PA d: 1960 Age at death: 82 est. Burial: Fort Myers
Cemetery, Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
................... +Edward Albert Darby b: Nov 14, 1873 in PA m: Apr 21, 1897 Divorce: Oct 1904
............... *2nd Husband of Mary Toy Rutherford:
................... +Graham L. Wilson b: Jun 11, 1874 in NY m: Jan 12, 1905 d: Mar 21, 1937 Age at death: 62
Burial: Fort Myers Cemetery, Fort Myers, Lee Co., FL
............... 3 John Jacob Rutherford b: Aug 13, 1881 in PA d: Jun 15, 1962 in PA Age at death: 80 Burial: Sect.
G, Lot 282-284, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
................... +Hannah Harriet Bieler b: Jan 8, 1884 in PA m: 1906 d: Nov 13, 1971 in Santa Monica, CA Age at
death: 87 Burial: Sect. G, Lot 282, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 John Jacob Rutherford, Jr. b: 1910
....................... 4 Mary Elizabeth Rutherford b: 1915
Descendants of Caroline Hansell
...... 2 Henry Summers Eckfeldt b: 1846 in Philadelphia, PA d: Apr 6, 1885 in Byberry Rd, Byberry,
Philadelphia, PA Age at death: 39 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
.......... +Mary Odenheimer Deshong b: Jan 18, 1844 in PA m: Dec 8, 1870 in Philadelphia, PA d: Feb 8, 1921 in
5013 Griscom St, Frankfort, PA Age at death: 77 Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia,
PA
............... 3 Rachel Deshong Eckfeldt b: Sep 21, 1871 in PA d: Mar 19, 1956 Age at death: 84 Burial: William
Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
................... +J. Roberts Knight b: Dec 23, 1870 in PA m: Apr 4, 1894 in Philadelphia, PA d: Oct 15, 1926 Age
at death: 55 Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 Margaret Eckfeldt Knight b: Nov 18, 1895 d: Jan 25, 1906 Age at death: 10 Burial: William
Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 Henry Deshong Knight b: Aug 1, 1897 d: Sep 16, 1920 Age at death: 23 Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
....................... 4 Robert Alonzo Knight b: Sep 24, 1898 d: Aug 1971 Age at death: 72 est. Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Alonzo R. Eckfeldt b: Feb 6, 1873 in PA d: Sep 22, 1960 Age at death: 87 Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
................... +Mary Maylandt Heintz b: 1888 m: 1926 d: Sep 7, 1965 Age at death: 77 est. Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Maurice S. Eckfeldt b: 1874 in PA d: Oct 7, 1875 Age at death: 1 est. Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Elizabeth S. Eckfeldt b: Jul 14, 1876 in PA d: Feb 1976 in Mullica Hill, NJ Age at death: 99 est.
................... +Edward Bell, Jr. b: May 3, 1878 in PA m: 1906 d: Aug 23, 1946 in Johnstown, Cambria Co., PA
Age at death: 68 Burial: Bellwood Cemetery, Blair Co., PA
....................... 4 Mary Deshong Bell b: 1913
....................... 4 Clarence Deshong Bell b: Nov 6, 1916
............... 3 Ida Garde Eckfeldt b: Feb 9, 1878 in PA d: Sep 7, 1971 Age at death: 93 Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Mary Emma Eckfeldt b: Nov 5, 1879 in PA d: Apr 15, 1948 Age at death: 68 Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Henry S. Eckfeldt b: 1880 in PA d: Nov 6, 1895 Age at death: 15 est. Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 Fanny Louisa Eckfeldt b: Nov 9, 1882 in PA d: Feb 1975 in Wilmington, New Castle Co., Delaware
Age at death: 92 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
............... 3 William Winder Eckfeldt b: Oct 21, 1884 in PA d: Nov 1973 in Wilmington, New Castle Co.,
Delaware Age at death: 89 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
Descendants of Sarah Ann Hansell
1 Sarah Ann Hansell b: 1817 in Philadelphia, PA d: Mar 31, 1863 in Byberry & Andalusian Turnpike, Byberry,
PA Age at death: 46 est. Burial: Lot 475, Monument Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA
.. +Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt b: 1821 in Philadelphia, PA m: Abt. 1850 d: Mar 19, 1902 in Gravel Pike, Byberry,
Philadelphia, PA Age at death: 81 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philadelphia, PA
...... 2 Thomas Hansell Eckfeldt b: Sep 22, 1852 in Philadelphia, PA d: Oct 2, 1923 Age at death: 71 Burial: Lot
20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
.......... +Jeannette Basset b: Dec 17, 1866 in Missouri m: Nov 26, 1885 in Lake County, CA d: Mar 12, 1952
Age at death: 85 Burial: Lot 20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA (Jean McArthur)
............... 3 Alonzo Rutherford Eckfeldt b: Apr 30, 1887 in Lower Lake, CA d: Feb 21, 1965 Age at death: 77
Burial: Lot 20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
................... +Mary B. Howell b: Dec 31, 1898 in California m: Abt. 1925 d: Dec 4, 1979 Age at death: 80
Burial: Lot 20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
............... 3 Mary Geneva Eckfeldt b: Oct 21, 1889 in Winters, CA d: May 20, 1942 Age at death: 52 Burial:
Lot 20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
................... +Edward Louis Bonhote b: May 5, 1884 in California m: Sep 23, 1912 d: Dec 1, 1972 Age at death:
88 Burial: Lot 20, Block 20, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
....................... 4 Louis Eckfeldt Bonhote b: Jan 12, 1915 in California d: Apr 10, 1999 Age at death: 84 Burial:
Niche A, Tier 3, Unit 4, St. Helena Public Cemetery, St. Helena, CA
........................... +Barbara Elaine Collins b: Aug 28, 1913 in California m: Unknown d: Dec 25, 1968 in Eureka,
CA Age at death: 55 Burial: St. Bernard's Cemetery, Eureka, CA
................................ 5 Suanna Marie Bonhote b: Jun 10, 1947 in California
................................ 5 Mary Geneva Bonhote b: Jan 27, 1949 in California
................................ 5 James Edward Bonhote b: Jan 28, 1950 in California
....................... 4 Aileen Eloise Bonhote b: May 17, 1916 in California d: Jul 1, 2009 in Oregon Age at death: 93
........................... +Lucien Frank Saviez b: Feb 28, 1911 in California m: Jun 27, 1935 d: Jul 30, 1979 in
Calistoga, Napa Co., CA Age at death: 68 Burial: Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, St. Helena,
CA
................................ 5 Lucia Ann Saviez b: Mar 3, 1938 in California
................................ 5 Steve Saviez b: Jan 9, 1947 in California
...... 2 Jacob Summers Eckfeldt b: Jun 27, 1857 in Philadelphia, PA d: Aug 23, 1927 in Ukiah, Mendocino Co.,
CA Age at death: 70 Burial: Aug 24, 1927 Ukiah, Mendocino Co., CA
Henry Summers - Lot 310 Monument Cemetery
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, Monument Cemetery, Broad and Berks
Streets, viewed at ancestry.com
Henry purchased this lot by at least 1843. Who are these people laid to rest here? The
fourth one down is Henry, himself. I am sure Henry intended to have his wife by his side, but she is
buried in the William Penn Cemetery in Somerton, nearby to Byberry where she died in 1880. At
least her bones and headstone are still in place. Monument Cemetery gave way to urban pressures.
ƒ
James H. Halliday - Henry Summers’ wife’s sister Mary Senfft married John Orr. The Orr’s
daughter Mary Jane married James H. Halliday who died in 1843. Moving on, Mary Jane
married second Lewis Brechemin. Their daughter Rosaline Brechemin married Bowness
Briggs who was a freight agent. Finally, Col. L. Brechemin (lower right hand corner) is some
sort of a relative who inherited responsibility for this lot.
ƒ
Charlotte Eckfeldt - sister of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
ƒ
Sarah Eckfeldt - sister of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt
ƒ
George Senfft and his wife Charlotta were removed from St. Michael’s Cemetery in 1874
when the church and cemetery property were sold for redevelopment. George died in 1821
and Charlotta in 1840.
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 40
The Senfft Sisters of Philadelphia
George Senfft arrived in Philadelphia in 1771. George married Charlotta Phillipina in about
1777. The Pennsylvania Births and Christenings 1709-1950 records at FamilySearch list six children,
all girls. The children who survived are noted in George’s will abstract. An abbreviated and superficially researched descendant tree for George and Charlotta follows.
SENFFT, GEORGE. Philadelphia, Penna.
July 21, 1820. February 27, 1821. 7.272.
Estate of my wife: Charlotta Phillipina Senfft, and at her decease to my children:
Elizabeth, wife of Henry Summers, Catherine, wife of Michael Eckfeldt, Abigail, wife
of Charles Pierrie, Mary, wife of John Orr.
Exec: Wife: Charlotta Phillipina.
Wit: Jacob F. Walter, John Hains or Heins.
No obit for George, but his death certificate is indexed under “Mr. George” at FamilySearch.
George’s wife Charlotta died April 22, 1840. Her funeral was held at the home of Henry
Summers.
Elizabeth Senfft (1782-1880) who married Henry Summers was the eldest sister and we
know about her life and her involvement with her sister Catherine’s children, particularly Jacob Senfft
Eckfeldt.
1799 Marriage Notice - Elizabeth Senfft
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
1880 Death Notice - Elizabeth Senfft Summers
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 41
The Senfft Sisters of Philadelphia (cont’d)
Catherine Senfft (1785-1851)
married Michael Eckfeldt around
1804. Michael was a carpenter;
he died at the relatively young
age of 54 from tuberculosis.
In 1824, Michael narrowly escaped death aboard the steamboat Aenta, traveling from Washington, NJ to Philadelphia. The ferry’s new-fangled, high-pressure steam engine blew up, killing eight
and injuring Michael and others who were sent to hospital.
Catherine and Michael’s first child George J. Eckfeldt is a known name at the U.S. Mint.
Their eldest daughter Elizabeth married Samuel Overn who was the first steward of the newlyestablished Girard College which provided education for poor, young male orphans. A future Hansell
child was to greatly benefit from this institution. The Overn’s house was also the venue for marriages
and funerals for the Eckfeldt/Summers/Overn families.
The son William was quite well known in the fire hose manufacturing business. Two girls
died early from tuberculosis (Charlotte and Sarah) and are buried in Henry Summers’ plot at Monument Cemetery. The child John joined the Eckfeldt/Summers family in Byberry, working on the farm.
Apollonia Senfft (1787-1882) married Charles Pierie in 1807/1808. Apollonia was known as
Abigail or Abbey. Charles was a coachmaker.
The whole family lived together from start to finish (married daughter and her family included)
and then arranged themselves in an orderly manner in the graveyard of the Church of St. James located at 3227 West Clearfield Street in Philadelphia. Apollonia died at age 96, almost as long-lived
as her sister Elizabeth Summers who died at 98. The son George W. Pierie was co-executor of Uncle Henry Summers’ will.
Mary Senfft (1792-1861) married
John Orr (born in Ireland) in
1815/1816. John was a coachmaker
John Orr died early (age 48) from tuberculosis. There may be more Orr children; I picked up
the family in the 1850 census. The daughter Mary Jane’s first husband was buried in Henry Summers’ plot at Monument cemetery.
Descendant tree for the Senfft sisters follows.
Nancy Ettensperger - March 2016
Caroline Hansell & Sarah Ann Hansell
Page 42
The Senfft Sisters of Philadelphia
1 George Senfft b: 1752 age at mrg: 25 est. d: February 4, 1821 Age at death: 69 est. Burial: German Lutheran
Burial Ground, 5th & Cherry, Phila./1874 moved to Lot 310, Monument Cemetery, Phila. Occupation:
Brewer/inn keeper/tavern keeper
.. +Charlotta Phillipina b: 1758 m: abt. 1777 age at mrg: 19 est. d: April 22, 1840 Age at death: 82 est. Burial:
German Lutheran Burial Ground, 5th & Cherry, Phila./1874 moved to Lot 310, Monument Cemetery, Phila.
...... 2 Elizabeth Senfft b: 1782 age at mrg: 17 est. d: July 6, 1880 Age at death: 98 est. Burial: William Penn
Cemetery, Somerton, Philad., PA
.......... +Henry Summers b: 1780 m: June 19, 1799 Rev. Helfenstein, German Reformed Church age at mrg: 19
est. d: December 22, 1857 Age at death: 77 est. Burial: William Penn Cemetery, Somerton, Philad., PA
Occupation: Brewer/dry goods/plumbing business/gentleman farmer
...... 2 Catherine Senfft b: 1785 age at mrg: 19 est. d: December 18, 1851 Age at death: 66 est. Burial: Lot 518,
Monument Cemetery, Phila., PA
.......... +Michael Eckfeldt b: 1779 m: abt. 1804 age at mrg: 25 est. d: July 9, 1833 Age at death: 54 est. Burial:
St. John's Lutheran Church/1924 moved to North Laurel Hill, Sect. Y, Grave 53 Occupation: Carpenter
............... 3 George J. Eckfeldt b: 1805 d: 1864 Age at death: 59 est. Occupation: U.S. Mint - foreman of the
Coining Room
................... +Mary Ann Boston
............... 3 Elizabeth Sarah Eckfeldt b: 1807 d: 1883 Age at death: 76 est.
................... +Samuel Overn Occupation: First Steward of Girard College
............... 3 Charles Perry Eckfeldt b: 1808 d: 1890 Age at death: 82 est. Occupation: Probably worked in the
hose manufacturing business
................... +maybe Margaret Parkhill
............... 3 John William Eckfeldt b: 1810 d: 1887 Age at death: 77 est. Occupation: Farmer in Byberry
............... 3 William Eckfeldt b: 1812 d: 1875 Age at death: 63 est. Occupation: Fire hose manufacturer
............... 3 Charlotte Philippina Eckfeldt b: 1814 d: 1855 of TB Age at death: 41 est.
............... 3 Mary Witmer Eckfeldt b: 1816
............... 3 Julianna Eckfeldt b: 1819 d: 1910 Age at death: 91 est.
................... +Samuel Cooper
............... 3 Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt b: 1821 d: 1902 Age at death: 81 est. Occupation: U.S. Mint machinist/farmer in Byberry
................... +Caroline Hansell
............... *2nd Wife of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt:
................... +Sarah Ann Hansell
............... *3rd Wife of Jacob Senfft Eckfeldt:
................... +Rebecca Alexander
............... 3 Sarah Elizabeth Eckfeldt b: 1823 d: 1848 of TB Age at death: 25 est.
............... 3 Adam Eckfeldt b: 1826 d: 1879 Age at death: 53 est. Occupation: Machinist
................... +Sarah Melvina Hooper
............... 3 Catherine Eckfeldt b: 1827 d: 1900 Age at death: 73 est.
................... +Edward G. Erdmann
The Senfft Sisters of Philadelphia
...... 2 Apollonia (Abigail) Senfft b: February 1, 1787 d: October 30, 1882 Age at death: 95 Burial: Church of
St. James the Less, Lot 301
.......... +Charles Pierie b: 1771 d: November 7, 1854 Age at death: 83 est. Burial: Church of St. James the Less,
Lot 301 Occupation: Coachmaker
............... 3 James S. Pierie b: January 8, 1809 d: January 15, 1882 Age at death: 73 Occupation: Coach painter
............... 3 George W. Pierie b: May 11, 1810 d: July 22, 1885 Age at death: 75 Burial: Church of St. James the
Less, Lot 301 Occupation: Watch case maker
............... 3 Mary E. Pierie b: November 13, 1811 d: August 20, 1879 Age at death: 67 Burial: Church of St.
James the Less, Lot 301
............... 3 Margaret Pierie b: September 30, 1815 d: February 17, 1881 Age at death: 65 Burial: Church of St.
James the Less, Lot 301
................... +John Garde b: April 10, 1816 d: August 1, 1869 Age at death: 53 Burial: Church of St. James the
Less, Lot 301 Occupation: Silversmith
............... 3 John Pierie b: August 29, 1818 d: August 1, 1869 Age at death: 50 Burial: Church of St. James the
Less, Lot 301 Occupation: Engineer
...... 2 Mary Senfft b: abt. 1792 d: November 11, 1861 Age at death: 69 est. Burial: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Sect.
W, Lot 112
.......... +John Orr b: 1788 d: August 1, 1836 Age at death: 48 est. Burial: Union Burial Ground Occupation:
Coachmaker
............... 3 Arthur Orr b: 1817 Occupation: Machinist
............... 3 Mary Jane Orr b: 1821
................... +James H. Halliday
............... *2nd Husband of Mary Jane Orr:
................... +Lewis Brechemin
............... 3 John W. Orr b: 1824 Occupation: Chair maker
............... 3 Arabella Apollonia Orr b: 1829 d: 1891 Age at death: 62 est.
............... 3 Henrietta Summers Orr b: 1832
................... +Samuel A. Wertz
The Summers Give the Eckfeldts a Run for The Money
The Eckfeldt family is practically synonymous with the U.S. Mint. The descendants of the
immigrant Jacob Eckfeldt who worked at the Mint are well known. I think the Summers had about the
same level of family representation at the U.S. Mint as the Eckfeldts. Here is the line-up.
#1 Martin Summers (1740-1804)
Martin was born in Bavaria and arrived in Philadelphia with his father and siblings in 1754.
When he started his job at the U.S. Mint, Martin was living on Carpenter’s Street (runs east to west
th
th
from 6 to 7 between Market and Chestnut). It was just a few minutes’ walk from home to the U.S.
Mint on North 7th above Market.
By some accounts, Martin Summers started his job as night watchman in
1793. Martin’s partner was Nero, a 60-pound “savage brute” of a dog, purchased
in January of 1793 for $3. With the dog by his side and armed with a loaded pistol and a dirk and a darkened lanthorn (left) for those moonless nights, Martin
and Nero made the rounds every hour between 6 PM and 5 AM. In case of
emergency, the arsenal in the Mint contained a musket and bayonet, two pistols
and a sword.
By 1799, Martin Summers is known as the doorkeeper of the U.S. Mint
which presumably meant a change to the day shift, working 5 AM to 6 PM.
Martin’s descendants would work at the U.S. Mint until 1899.
#2 Philip Summers (1770-1824)
Philip is the son of #1 Martin. One source reports he took over his father’s job as doorkeeper
when #1 Martin died in 1804. In 1800, Philip purchased a vacant lot at the corner of Chestnut and
Sixth. In the deed Philip identified himself as a cordwainer. City directory listings for Philip, shoemaker at Chestnut and Sixth, continue for the decade.
From 1811 and probably until his death in 1824, Philip can be found working at the U.S. Mint
as a melter. Three of his sons would work at the Mint as well.
#3 Martin Summers (1797-1860)
Martin is the son of #2 Philip. Martin started at the Mint in
the early 1820s. At his death in 1860, everyone from the U.S.
Mint was invited to attend his funeral.
Martin was presented with a silver pitcher for his contributions to the Mint and his aid to Richard S. McCulloh. Engraved on
the front: “Presented to Martin Summers March 1852 by Richard
S. McCulloh, melter and refiner of the US Mint April 1846 to Dec.
12, 1849.” On the back: “As a token of esteem inspired by his
integrity, zeal and skill as a gold melter in the Mint and in recent
workings of a new method of refining gold.” The pitcher sold at
Worthpoint.com in September 2008.
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The Summers Give the Eckfeldts a Run for The Money (cont’d)
#4 George Summers (1799-1870)
George is the son of #2 Philip. He started his
career at the Mint in the early 1840s as a refiner/melter.
All the officers and employees from the U.S. Mint were
invited to attend his funeral.
#5 Henry Summers (1806-1845)
Henry is the son of #2 Philip. Henry was at the
Mint in the early 1840s until his death in 1845, working
as a gold melter. (After his death, his enterprising wife
th
went into business, Summers & Elliott, milliners, 12 and
Sassafras.)
Smelting Room 1876
#6 George W. Summers (1826-1893)
George is the son of #4 George. He started at the Mint about 1850. He is last noted working
there in 1885 as a helper in the Melter and Refiners Department (under the thumb of his brother William G.).
#7 William G. Summers (1828-1899)
William is the son of #4 George. He was employed at the U.S. Mint from 1856 to 1899, a
total of 43 years during which time he missed only five days of work. He started as a helper in the
melting room and rose to foreman.
When William died, his short obit invited employees of the Mint to his funeral. He received
quite the write-up in the March 1, 1899 Philadelphia Inquirer: “Handled Billions. Death of William G.
Summers the Mint’s Oldest Employee.”
The Summers U.S. Mint dynasty came to a halt. William G. Summer’s only son William W.
Summers took up the bookkeeping profession.
John Summers
A John Summers worked at the U.S. Mint between 1820 and 1833, first as a pressman and
then as a minter. #2 Philip did have a son John born in 1808 who appears to have decamped to Iowa
as a missionary after 1841. It seems unlikely the missionary John worked at the Mint, so I can’t attach this John to any particular family.
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The Summers Give the Eckfeldts a Run for The Money (cont’d)
There are two other Summers, Matthias and Rachel, who worked at the Mint. Their family
connections are unknown.
Sumers & Zolinger, labourers
In 1793 payments were made to Sumers & Zolinger-labourers. The names are also listed as
Mat., Math., Matthew, Mathias and Mattias Sumers and Jn. and Jna. Zolinger.
Possibly Sumers is one workman, Matthias Summers. There is a 1793 city directory listing
nd
for a Matthias Summers, labourer, 380 North 2 Street.
Rachel Summers and Sarah Waldrake
Rachel and Sara were hired on October 10, 1795. Not only were these two the first women
to work at the U.S. Mint but also the first women hired by the Federal Government. Rachel and
Sarah were employed as coin adjusters at 50 cents a day.
The job entailed filing down coins to meet a certain weight. The
women left the mint by 1801 and one source states “they were
very efficient, trustworthy and better suited to use a small
thumbnail file than men.” This source also states the women
were hired at a low wage because “a man would take no less
than $1.20 for the same job.” The women were paid 44% of a
man’s wage ($0.50 vs. $1.20). Two hundred and twenty years
later we now make 78%. Only 22% to go!
Summers Sons-in-Law
I don’t know if the men got the jobs after they married or met their wives while on the job.
Elizabeth Summers, daughter of #1 Martin, married Lodewyk Sharpe (1770-1842). Sharpe
was clerk to the Chief Coiner.
Sarah Margaret Summers (1826-1874), daughter of #3 Martin married Thomas L. Clark
(1825-?) who worked at the Mint. The only job description I can find for Thomas is weigher.
____________________________________
This research was jumpstarted by Mary Ann Schaefer, researcher of the Sommer/Summers families. She
alerted me to the fact that Martin Summers (uncle to Henry Summers who married Elizabeth Senfft in this narrative) was the doorkeeper at the first U.S. Mint. This odd little fact was intriguing.
http://www.yesteryours.net/mann/Mannidx.html
http://mann-genealojist.blogspot.com/
A History of George Summers of Douglass and Lower Dublin Townships, Montgomery County, PA, G. Byron
Summers. Available at archive.org: https://archive.org/details/historyofgeorges00summ
Report of Professor R.S. McCulloh, to the Secretary of the Treasury, Upon Refining Gold with Zinc, 1852
https://books.google.com/books?id=HLwNMRxEBOkC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Ron Guth at coinfacts.com. Transcription of early U.S. Mint records in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
http://www.coinfacts.com/mint_history/mint%20history.htm
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The Summers Give the Eckfeldts a Run for The Money (cont’d)
The Carpenter’s Street Neighborhood
Every one of #1 Martin Summers’ neighbors on Carpenter’s
Street was notable. As provided by the 1793 Middle Ward
Septennial Census/1800 Middle Ward Federal Census/1801
& 1802 Philadelphia City Directories:
ƒ
Martin Summers, watchman. The 1799 directory
states his title in full: doorkeeper, US Mint.
ƒ
Lewis Young, innkeeper - Mr. Young kept The
Washington Tavern located on the northwest corner
th
of South 6 and Carpenter’s. The tavern was later
called the Falstaff Hotel. Left: Frank Taylor drawing
Horse and cart exiting brewery entrance onto
South 6th St. Man is crossing Carpenter’s St.
ƒ
William Gray, brewer. A brewery had been located here since 1700, built by Joshua Carpenter whose
estate encompassed the entire block. William Gray purchased the brewery in 1772.
ƒ
James Martin - Martin was the Sergeant at Arms for the Pennsylvania State Legislature.
ƒ
John Bernard, comedian - Bernard was a famous comedian in England. He came to Philadelphia in
1797 at the invitation of the manager of the Chestnut Street Theater (located on the corner of South 6th
and Chestnut) and lived in Philadelphia for six or seven years. Bernard became friends with then Vice
President Thomas Jefferson.
ƒ
William Lace, coach spring maker - At the west end of Carpenter’s Street, Lace’s home/factory was loth
cated at the corner of Carpenter’s and South 7 Street.
In 1802 Martin Summers purchased a dwelling on the north side of Cherry Street between 7th and 8th. Still
close to the U.S. Mint but out of the bustle of the theater/tavern/brewery district of Carpenter’s Street.
Security at the First United States Mint, John Dirnbauer, Numismatic Commentary, Fall 2015
http://johndirnbauercoins.com/mnc.html
The Earliest Female U.S. Mint Employees, The E-Sylum: Volume 18, Number 29, July 19, 2015, Article 12,
Wayne Homren, Editor
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n29a12.html
Watchdogs of the Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov/about/history/Pages/watchdogs.aspx
Some Women behind Our Money, Walt Ostromecki
http://digital.ipcprintservices.com/article/Some_Women_behind_Our_Money/373447/36249/article.html
The Walter J. Husak Collection Auction Catalog #460 edited by Mark Van Winkle, 2008
Partial view at Google Books. See pages 220 (Martin Summers) and 381 (Philip Summers).
1795 U.S. Mint Payroll and other information in the Illustrated History of the U.S. Mint, 1885
https://archive.org/stream/illustratedhisto00evan#page/12/mode/2up
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Theodore W. Eckfeldt (1837-1893)
Theodore Eckfeldt’s trials and tribulations in Shanghai are documented here:
Congressional Series of United States Public Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1878,
Vol. 2, No. 31. View at hathitrust.org. Index to testimony Page 951.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3985876;view=1up;seq=1
Theodore William Eckfeldt is the son of George J. Eckfeldt (1805-1864) and Mary Ann Boston (1810-1855). His brother is John M. Eckfeldt (1831-1874). The girls of the family all married and
are Catherine Benner, Emily Peddrick, Margaretta Hooper, Marie Hibbs and Martha Wolbert.
Theodore has been accused of various shenanigans at the U.S. Mint. Predicated on his future behavior of acquiring easy money, it seems possible he was the fellow peddling some unofficial
1804 dollars and other coins in Philadelphia in the late 1850s. There is no evidence he was employed at the Mint and I don’t see him skulking around the building after hours manufacturing coins,
but I do see a fellow who took an opportunity to make some extra cash. This is all speculation.
What we do know is this. In 1860, Theodore was working as a clerk and living with his father
th
and sisters on North 12 just above Wallace Street in Philadelphia. In the latter half of 1860 he married 17 year old Marion Edith Rowand, eldest daughter of Charles Linville Rowand and Letitia Mitcheltree Johnston. Marion had been educated at the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies in Bethlehem,
PA. Their three-month old child Charles Harold Rowand Eckfeldt died August 1, 1861 and his funeral
was held at the Rowand home.
At some point Theodore left Philadelphia for California. His brother John and his sister Catherine Benner were living there at this time.
In March 1863 Theodore sailed from San Francisco on the barque Emily Banning (Captain John F.
McKennon at the helm), arriving in Shanghai at the beginning of May 1863. At the end of May, Theodore was
meeting a friend at the International Hotel and was present
at the shooting death of Captain McKennon. Theodore
was called on to testify at the trial, at which time he was
described as an employee of Russell & Co.
2-24-1863 Daily Alta California - San Francisco
Back in Philadelphia, in 1864 Theodore’s wife Marion started a court action for divorce and
Theodore’s father died. Three properties were sold to settle George Eckfeldt’s estate and the May
1867 deeds were signed on Theodore’s behalf by his sister Marie Hibbs who held power of attorney
granted to her by a letter from Theodore in 1865.
What Theodore got up to in Shanghai can’t be corroborated, except for his membership in the
Masons and his employment with Russell & Company. Read the congressional hearing testimony at
the above link for a glance into Theodore’s years in Shanghai. Theodore’s job was as a ticket agent
for the 17 steamships of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company for which Russell & Company
were the general agents.
In February of 1876, rumors around Shanghai related Theodore had embezzled money from
his employer but he was waiting for funds from Philadelphia to make restitution, at which time Russell
& Co. would allow him to leave Shanghai. (One can only imagine what his sisters and their husbands
thought when the telegram arrived asking for money!)
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Fueled by his on-going abuse of power and a personal animosity toward Theodore, Oliver B.
Bradford, Vice Consul in Shanghai, coerced Russell & Company to file charges against Theodore.
Bradford, acting as judge and jury in an irregular way, found Theodore guilty and sentenced him to
three years in jail in May 1876 (with time off for months already served). A check for around $6,000
did arrive, but Bradford coerced Theodore to sign the check and Bradford dispersed the funds as he
saw fit.
Theodore did admit his guilt. Various amounts of money were quoted as being taken. A full
investigation revealed the amount to be 20,194.75 taels which is roughly equivalent to $27,000, as
reported in the accounts of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company for year 1876. (What did he do
with all that money?)
President Rutherford Hayes tapped Guilford Wiley Wells to take the post of Consul General in Shanghai and to investigate accusations
made against George F. Seward, previous Consul
General in Shanghai, and Oliver B. Bradford, currently Vice Consul. Wells arrived in Shanghai in
September 1877. He found both men implicated
in “A Startling Record of Fraud, Injustice, Tyranny
and Extortion,” as the newspapers headlined.
Wells found Bradford guilty on one charge, postal
fraud, and sent him to jail in November 1877.
(Presumably Bradford was incarcerated in the
Consulate jail with Theodore which is a marvelous
melding of irony and some revenge for Theodore.
I wonder if they had much to say to each other.)
U.S. General Consulate, Shanghai, 1880
Wells soon realized he was being stone-walled by Washington in his effort to bring a full array
of charges against Seward and Bradford. He quit his post, returned to the US and was in Washington, D.C. in April 1878 to testify to his investigations in Shanghai. In May 1878, Theodore was
granted a pardon by President Hayes. Bradford and Seward were recalled to Washington where the
hearings continued through the year with an aim toward impeachment. The impeachment process
was swept under the rug by the beginning of 1879 and Seward and Bradford “retired” to private life.
One amusing tale from the hearings was testimony by L. B. Ring. Mr. Ring was in charge of the jail
when Theodore was incarcerated. He gave Theodore a hard time and was eventually sacked by
Wells for this behavior. But, Ring testified that when he had to escort two men to their court hearing,
Theodore and his cellmate would take care of matters in the jail during his absence!
After all that, in the 1880 census, Oliver Bradford turns up in Idaho along with his brother-inlaw Ira F. Crowell (sea captain), occupation gold miners! Oliver was probably avoiding his dad who
was the well-known abolitionist and minister Arthur Bullus Bradford (1810-1899), first US Consul to
Amoy, China, appointed by Presidential Lincoln in 1861. George F. Seward (nephew of William H.
Seward, secretary of state under Lincoln) went on to become president of the Fidelity and Casualty
Company of New York. Llewellyn Bicknell Ring, the keeper of the United States Consular Jail, who
had apparently been in Shanghai as a sort of young-man’s “knocking” about the world adventure, resumed his career as a newspaper man in Neillsville, Wisconsin. So goes politics in Washington.
Guilford Wiley Wells (soldier, lawyer, statesman), who was instrumental in unearthing this
rat’s nest in Shanghai (and thereby creating a political atmosphere that undoubtedly aided Theodore’s pardon) built a good law practice and enjoyed life in Los Angeles.
And Theodore? My first post-China sighting of him is registering on the California Voters List
April 17, 1879. In the 1880 census he is living with his sister Catherine Benner in Oakland. Another
sister, Margaretta Hooper, was living nearby as was the family of his deceased brother John.
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Back in Philadelphia, Theodore is listed in a group of 20 people participating in a confirmation
ceremony on April 15, 1881 to become members of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church located at
the corner of 12th and Cherry Streets. The 1882 city directory places Theodore living with the family
of his father’s youngest brother Adam Eckfeldt (1826-1879) at 1610 Mt. Vernon Street. Uncle Adam
had recently died, but aunt Sarah Melvina Hooper Eckfeldt headed the household and some of her
children were still in residence. The youngest, Frank, was 12 when his uncle arrived on the scene.
Frank named his first child Theodore which suggests a fondness for his uncle. Theodore found employment as a clerk and lived with his aunt until his marriage.
Theodore’s first wife Marion Rowand had obtained a divorce and remarried (Pablo Cantero,
M.D.) by the time Theodore returned to Philadelphia. While in Shanghai, Theodore reportedly had a
Chinese wife and children. In 1889 Theodore married Mary E. Langer (1850-1923) eldest daughter of
Philip Joseph Langer and Catherine Hess. Mr. Langer, a native of Baden, Germany, came to Philadelphia in 1838 and ran a successful retail bakery. The most notable child in the family was Mary’s
brother Philip J. Langer who fought in the Civil War aboard the Monongahela. There were apparently
no children and Mary never remarried after her four years with Theodore. During her last two years,
Mary resided in the Lutheran Home for Orphans and the Aged, run by the Evangelical Lutheran
Church.
Theodore died March 29, 1893 at the home of Mary’s sister and brother-in-law Elizabeth and
Edward Weaver. Theodore was buried with his parents in Monument Cemetery. Perhaps foreseeing
the destruction of Monument Cemetery, in 1930 Theodore’s sister, Marie Hibbs, arranged for her parents George and Ann, her brother Theodore, and her stillborn child James Hibbs to be interred in
Westminster Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
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These cousins came from the same basic mold!
Ella Hansell (Lippincott)
b. 1844
held by Nancy Ettensperger
Ella Lippincott (Williams)
b. 1874
provided by Ruth Nichols Mason
Mary S. Hansell (Rudolph)
b. 1849
nicholsgenealogy.info
Robert Charles Rudolph Collection
Mary Toy Rutherford (Wilson)
b. 1878
passport photo at ancestry.com
Caroline Eckfeldt Rutherford (Bates)
b. 1868
held by erallin (Bates Tree), ancestry.com
Mary Geneva Eckfeldt (Bonhote)
b. 1889
St. Helena (Images of America)
St. Helena Historical Society, CA