Proposed Mortgage between Thomas Butler and the Rev. Peter Van Pelt
Philadelphia: John C. Clark & Son, 1844. 1 mortgage form printed and sold by John C. Clark & Son, Philadelphia. In Feb. 1844 Thomas Butler of Moyamensing Township, Philadelphia County, hairdresser, drafted a mortgage to Peter Van Pelt, guardian of William Pope Van Pelt, Julia Emma Van Pelt, and Elizabeth Drason Van Pelt, for $2,000 for a three-story brick house on the north side of Fitzwater St. and the south side of an alley running from Hubbell or Lisle St. to Russell St. (between 8th and 9th streets). This was not the final version of the mortgage since the date in Feb. is not filled in and it is not signed or sealed. The Rev. Peter Van Pelt (1798-1873) in 1827 became the rector of St. Thomas African Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, which was founded in 1792 as the first Black Episcopal Church in the United States. In 1830 he left to be Secretary of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and later taught at the Episcopal Divinity School in West Philadelphia. Thomas Butler, hairdresser, lived at 100 Fitzwater in the 1840s. He was a successful affluent Black barber who was a friend of James Forten (1766-1842), a Black abolitionist and successfull sailmaker in Philadelphia. Probably Van Pelt had come to know Butler when he was the rector of St. Thomas or in any event as a result of the connections he made at that time. It is unclear who the three Van Pelts were for whom Peter Van Pelt was acting as guardian in making this investment. In Very Good Condition: lightly soiled; just starting to separate along center fold; otherwise, solid. Very Good. Item #008310
Price: $95.00