Free African Society Making a Difference
By Carlton
Maybach
The
Free African Society is helping yellow fever patients in Philadelphia. Dr.
Benjamin Rush, one of our leading physicians, believes that Africans cannot
contract the yellow fever. Because of this, he said that Africans should work
and help the fever patients. Africans are now in hospitals and other care
facilities taking care of yellow fever patients. They are working as nurses,
cart drivers and grave diggers.
“This
is the best option for these most desperate of times,” said Dr. Rush.
Every
day the death toll rises from this horrible sickness. Up to 20 people a day are
dying from this illness.
The Free
African society was created in 1787 by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones as a
non-denominational religious organization to serve the spiritual, economic and
social needs of Philadelphia’s African community.
“We visited upwards of twenty families on the first day,” said
Allen, a Methodist preacher. “They were scenes of woe indeed! The Lord was
plentiful to strengthen us, and removed all fear from us.”
Dr. Rush
said the help of the Africans has been valuable. “They have been of great use
during this grave crisis and are helping us as best as they can,” said Dr. Rush.
Some of
the locals think that this might be a turnaround of the yellow fever, while
others are skeptical about help from Africans.
“The
Free African Society is a joke and I’d rather die than be cared for by them,”
said Jacob Ross, a citizen of Philadelphia.
Dr. Benjamin Rush and Dr. Jean Deveze: Saviors of Philadelphia?
By Nicholas Christian
Dr. Benjamin Rush and
Dr. Jean Deveze have helped Philadelphia in their darkest time. They created
the bleeding method to assist patients suffering from yellow fever. Dr.
Benjamin Rush treats an average of 100 fever patients per day. Locals look upon
Dr. Benjamin Rush and Dr. Jean Deveze as heroes during this crisis for their
tremendous amount of help concerning this problem.
Dr.
Benjamin Rush has enlisted the help of the Free African Society to assist fever
patients. Rush believes that Africans are immune to the yellow fever. Dr.
Deveze has helped by using his residence, Bush Hill, during this crisis as
facility to care for yellow fever patients and hiring trained nurses to help
the patients.
Locals are thankful to Dr. Rush and Deveze for their
service to Philadelphia.
“Dr.
Deveze and Rush saved my child,” said Clarice Dickens.
They
have taught other doctors and church officials the bleeding technique, in which
doctors remove bad blood from the body, to help quicken the pace of healing for
Philadelphia’s people.
“We are just doing our part to help the good
people of Philadelphia in their grave crisis,” said Dr. Deveze. They are doing
their very best to help Philadelphia and locals are starting to regain hope
that they will survive this epidemic.
Yellow Fever Expanding
By Richard Boster
The census states that the
dreaded yellow fever is taking the lives of 20 Philadelphians per day on
average. The people of Philadelphia as well as Pennsylvania have suffered the
greatest from this terrible plague. Philadelphia has been barely surviving with
the daily death tolls that keep going higher and higher. Adults and children
alike have been getting ill and dying.
The symptoms for yellow
fever are a high fever, uncontrollable bilious
vomiting of blood and or food, and the obvious symptom in which the sick
patient’s skin and eyes turn yellow.
“This dreaded yellow fever
has taken the lives of both my mother and my husband”, said Matilda Crocker.
Even the usual treatment for curing yellow fever, which is cutting the patient
and emptying them of their diseased blood, has had little effect on the vast
number of infected people.
Local clergy believe that
the yellow fever is caused by the folly of
people’s sins. Doctors can do little for patients except try to offer some
comfort. The respected physician Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, has advised those who can to flee the city. Those
who have the means have taken his advice and retreated to country estates. Even
our elected officials have fled the city.
The hospitals are overflowing with fever
patients and local churches have started housing the sick. Some who have fallen
ill die in the streets alone without anyone knowing.
There seems to be no stopping
the fever. “Almost everyone in Philadelphia seems to have lost hope”, said local
nurse Evangeline Pickett. Philadelphia is becoming poor from lack of trade and merchants
coming to our fever stricken city. Philadelphians wonder: Is this the end of our
once prosperous city?
Universalist Church Builds New Church on Lombard Street
August
17, 1793
By
Nathaniel Clay
The First Independent
Church of Christ has erected a new building on Lombard Street. The church,
which is also commonly called Universalist, raised money to buy the property
this summer. Forty-nine members of the church raised 400 pounds. Property was
purchased on the south side of Lombard Street, 100 feet west of Fourth Street
for the amount of 500 pounds.
The deed was made in trust to Thomas Francis,
Israel Israel, Anthony Cuthbert, Thomas Fitzgerald, Elisha Gordon, James Moore,
and John Vannest.
The church previously
met at Mason’s Hall and also the Anatomical Hall. Because of the growing
congregation, members felt it necessary to relocate and build their own church.
The church is not a
grand structure. The walls have no plaster and the seats are plain benches. The
pulpit is a rough platform made by the local shoemaker and mast-maker.
Rev. Moses Winchester, a
minister of the Universalist church, said the church believes in “one God,
infinite in all his perfection and one mediator between God and Man, Jesus
Christ.”
Mrs. Mary Ellet,
daughter of Israel Israel, said she is looking forward to worshipping in the
new building.
“The Lodge Alley, where
we were meeting previously, was terrible,” she said. “I am happy we have a
place to call our own to worship.”
Rev. Hugh White, a
member of the Universalist and a schoolmaster, recently succumbed to the yellow
fever, which is taking the lives of our citizens every day.
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