The Cassey House
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, was owned by the Cassey family for 84 years (1845–1929). The Casseys were a prominent, prosperous, African-American family living and working in Society Hill, Philadelphia, and most known for their activism in anti-slavery, abolition of slavery, anti-colonization (the repatriation of free blacks to Africa (Liberia)), and support for educational, intellectual, and benevolent organizations.
Joseph Cassey
Joseph Cassey (1789–1848) arrived in Philadelphia from the French West IndiesFrench West Indies
The term French West Indies or French Antilles refers to the seven territories currently under French sovereignty in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: the two overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the two overseas collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, plus...
some time before 1808. He prospered in the barber trade and as a perfumer, wig-maker, and money-lender. An 1823 engraved ad for Joseph Cassey's barber shop at 36 South 4th Street states, "Keeps a general assortment of perfumery, scented soaps, shaving apparatus, ladies work and dressing boxes, fine cutlery, fancy hair, pommade, “huil antique”, combs, &c."
Robert Purvis
Robert Purvis was an African-American abolitionist in the United States. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, educated at Amherst College, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia. Purvis and his brothers were three-quarters European by ancestry and inherited considerable wealth from...
, another African-American of note in Philadelphia. Among the properties that Cassey amassed were several in the neighborhood of his home near Society Hill, the back of the property at 243 Delancey Street, and a farm shared by Cassey and Purvis in Bucks County
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
known to have been visited by Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
where, she wrote, she was entertained handsomely. Cassey also owned property in Burlington County, New Jersey
Burlington County, New Jersey
There were 154,371 households out of which 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had...
. He was a landlord, at one point collecting rents from families totaling no less than 27 people living at 243 Delancey Street.
The 1820s and 1830s were the highest public profile years for Joseph Cassey in community service. He served as Treasurer to the Haytien Emigration Society of Philadelphia in 1824, a group recruiting free people of color to emigrate to Haiti. Supporting education was a strong priority with Cassey. In 1818, he served as an officer at the Pennsylvania Augustine Society which networked him with some of the strongest supporters on Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an resettlement.
The ill-fated “Canterbury Affair” of the 1830s saw Cassey supporting the transition of a school for local white children in Canterbury, Connecticut
Canterbury, Connecticut
Canterbury is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,692 at the 2000 census.-History:The area was first settled in the 1680s as Peagscomsuck, consisting mainly of land north of Norwich, south of New Roxbury, Massachusetts and west of the Quinebaug River and the...
, to a “High School for Young Colored Ladies and Misses”, as advertised in the Liberator abolitionist newspaper. The local townspeople rose up against the school teacher and threw her in jail, closing down the school permanently. Laws were enacted preventing students of color from outside the area to be educated within Canterbury. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident.
In the early 1830s, Joseph Cassey also funded the efforts to start a manual labor college in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, home of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, which met with resistance from the local townspeople, to the extent that they would “resist the establishment of the proposed College…by every lawful means”. In 1839, Cassey joined with colleagues, sailmaker
Sailmaker
A sailmaker makes and repairs sails for sailboats, kites, hang gliders, wind art, architectural sails, or other structures using sails. A sailmaker typically works on shore in a sail loft. The sail loft has other sailmakers. Large ocean-going sailing ships often had sailmakers in the crew. The...
James Forten
James Forten
James Forten was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman. He worked at many jobs, including dentist, carpenter, pastor and minuteman....
and lumber merchant Stephen Smith, to establish a ten year scholarship for poor but deserving black students at the Oneida Institute in upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which had a race-blind admissions policy.
Joseph Cassey was a noted abolitionist, anti-colonizationist, and intellectual activist. Introduced to William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
by James Forten
James Forten
James Forten was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman. He worked at many jobs, including dentist, carpenter, pastor and minuteman....
, Cassey became the first agent in Philadelphia of The Liberator, an early abolitionist newspaper from 1831 published in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
by Garrison. Cassey actively funded and distributed the newspaper in Philadelphia. He was appointed Vice President of the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. He was on the Board of the American Anti-Slavery Society
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was another freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had...
from 1834 through 1836 and Treasurer of the American Moral Reform Society from 1835–1841. He and wife Amy were founding members of the Gilbert Lyceum (1841) for scientific and literary interests, the first of its kind established by African-Americans and which included both genders. The Lyceum organized lectures on “Physiology, Anatomy, Chemistry & Natural Philosophy”.
Involved in the church, Cassey was a member at St. Thomas’ Church on 5th Street, active as an officer in the Sons of St. Thomas benevolent society and in the nondenominational Benezet Philanthropic Society. By 1840 he had amassed an estimated net worth of $75,000, mostly in real estate. He claimed only $2,000 in net worth to the census takers in 1847, excluding his real estate holdings. He retired and moved from his residence over his barber shop at 36 South Fourth Street to more elegant accommodations at 113 Lombard Street, not far from his friend James Forten
James Forten
James Forten was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman. He worked at many jobs, including dentist, carpenter, pastor and minuteman....
who was living at 92 Lombard Street (these addresses are from the former street numbering system). Cassey was one of the few men of color to retire to the status of “gentleman”. Upon his death in 1848, his will divided his estate between his wife, Amy, and six surviving children (5 sons, 1 daughter); Francis L., Joseph C., Alfred S., Peter William, Sarah, and Henry.
Amy Cassey
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1809 to Sarah and Rev. Peter H. Williams Jr., a leading Episcopalian minister, Amy Matilda Williams married Philadelphia businessman Joseph Cassey, a gentleman twenty years her senior in 1826. At the time she was only 17 years old. She was an early and active participant in the Antislavery Conventions of American Women (1837). As the household always employed at least one servant, Amy was free to devote considerable attention to the anti-slavery effort, including being active in the interracial Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.
Amy’s personal album resides in the collection at the Library Company of Philadelphia
Library Company of Philadelphia
The Library Company of Philadelphia is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of historically valuable manuscripts and printed material in...
and contains original drawings and writings by Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone
Lucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...
, William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
, Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
, Sarah Mapps Douglass, and members of James Forten
James Forten
James Forten was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman. He worked at many jobs, including dentist, carpenter, pastor and minuteman....
’s family, to name a few.
Six of her eight children survived infancy. When Joseph Cassey died in 1848, Amy remarried two years later to Charles Lenox Remond
Charles Lenox Remond
Charles Lenox Remond was an American orator, abolitionist and military organizer during the American Civil War...
and moved to Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, where she continued her work in abolition and civil rights. The days and hours leading to her death due to illness in 1856 are captured in the diary of young Charlotte Forten.
Rev. Peter William Cassey
Son Rev. Peter William Cassey was a barber, dentist, and bleeder in Philadelphia, later moving to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1853. Initially a successful barber with a shaving saloon in the basement of the Union Hotel, 642 Merchant Street, San Francisco, he relocated to San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
in 1860, where he founded the Phoenixonian (1861), the first secondary school in California for Black students, and the "Christ Episcopal Church for Black people". Peter and wife Anna taught at the Institute. Peter organized the Convention for Colored Citizens of California in Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
in 1865. In 1881, Rev. Cassey left San Jose to become the first black priest at St. Cyprian's Church in New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
.
Alfred S. Cassey
Son Alfred S. Cassey continued his father's legacy for being foremost in the ranks of the African-American elite of the day. A postal worker and performing musician, although his early trade was as a gilder, carver, and painter of ornamental work, Alfred was the first Chair of the American Negro Historical Society in 1897 and lived with his family in this house. He was active in the boycott campaign to end discrimination of black troops in 1864. Black soldiers at Camp William Penn were stationed in leaky tents while their white counterparts were housed in barracks, family members were not allowed to visit, black soldiers were paid $3 less than white soldiers, or only $10 per month, and had to provide their own clothing while military clothing was provided for white soldiers. Black soldiers were not allowed to ride the trolleys into town if the cars were full of white soldiers. This campaign led to the formation of the Pennsylvania State Equal Rights League in 1864.During the 1860s, Alfred signed the petition to singer Madame Mary Brown and the open Call to Arms during the Civil War. Along with Alfred, a Joseph W. Cassey (relation unknown, Alfred's son?) signed these same petitions. Alfred was active in the Masons of Philadelphia, was pall-bearer at the funeral of Colonel McKee in 1902, and donated many old concert programs to the William Dorsey Collection, now at Cheyney University.
Joseph C. Cassey
Son Joseph C. Cassey was principal bookkeeper to Stephen Smith and William Whipper, lumber merchants in Columbia, PennsylvaniaColumbia, Pennsylvania
Columbia, once colonial Wright's Ferry, is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg on the left bank Susquehanna River across from Wrightsville and York County. Originally, the area may have been called Conejohela Flats, for the many islands and islets in the...
, and notable African-Americans in Philadelphia. Joseph C. was credited with being one of the best accountants and businessmen in the U.S. in his era. He went on to own and run the leading lumber business in the Penn Yan
Penn Yan, New York
Penn Yan is a village in Yates County, New York, USA. The population was 5,219 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yates County and lies at the north end of the east branch of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes....
area of western New York.
Matilda Inez Cassey
Granddaughter Matilda Inez Cassey was a pianist, performing concerts in Philadelphia, and lived her whole life in the Cassey House.Deed records for the Cassey House
As for the Cassey holdings at 243 Delancey Street, formerly 63 Union Street, according to deed records, Joseph bought the back portion of the property in 1845. As no building was described in this deed, the stand-alone trinity probably was constructed under the patronage of Joseph Cassey. In 1866, the whole of 243 Delancey Street, with all buildings, including the main house and now the three trinities, was bought by Francis L. Cassey at a Sheriff’s sale. Francis transferred the property to Alfred’s wife, Abby A. Cassey, in 1871. Alfred S. and Abby Cassey were recorded to have lived there at least from 1867 to 1903 per Philadelphia City Directory records. Abby willed the property to Matilda Inez Cassey. The estate of Matilda, who likely lived her whole life in the main house, sold the property in 1917. The final Cassey interest in the property, one trinity, was sold by James G. A. Cassey in 1929. Copies of these deeds can be found at the Philadelphia City Archives and at the Blockson Collection, Temple University in the Cassey file. Deed records can be traced back to William Penn.Architectural Anchor to New Sweden in Society Hill
When the SwedesSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
bought the land for New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
from local Indian chiefs around 1638, property that later became Philadelphia, Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, and parts of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, they brought with them an architectural classic, the log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
. A lesser-known style of Swedish architecture, adopted by the English when they took over New Sweden in 1682, was the gambrel roof, a roof with two slopes, the lower slope steeper than the upper slope. While New Sweden may have lacked the money and architecturally savvy patrons to construct more elegant structures at the time, the simple design of the gambrel roof was relatively common and preferred by the merchant population of the day, as it maximized the floor space of the loft area.
A few remaining examples of this Swedish architecture can still be seen in Society Hill at 217 (Rhoads-Barclay House) and 243 Delancey Street (the Cassey House), believed to have been built in the 1780s and first formally deeded in 1810. This latter residence is actually an even rarer example of a half-gambrel roof with the original dormer window. Exceedingly few of these structures remain in the former colonies, let alone Philadelphia. Other half-gambrels can be seen at The Man Full of Trouble Tavern (1759), Drinker’s Court (1756), Bell’s Court (c. 1810), part of Bridget Foy’s roof, and behind the Nicholas Biddle (banker)
Nicholas Biddle (banker)
Nicholas Biddle was an American financier who served as the president of the Second Bank of the United States.-Ancestry and early life:...
House south of Washington Square (Philadelphia)
Washington Square (Philadelphia)
Washington Square, originally designated in 1682 as Southeast Square, is an open-space park in Center City Philadelphia's Southeast quadrant and one of the five original planned squares laid out on the city grid by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. It is part of both the Washington Square West...
.
Besides the uniqueness and historical significance of the half-gambrel roof design, the house is also an example of a “flounder house”, a residential structure with a tall, windowless side wall reminiscent of the eyeless side of the flounder and a half gable roof resulting in one wall being taller than the opposite wall. While more familiarly known as an early architectural style in historic Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, dating from the late 18th century, this brick flounder with half-gambrel roof, Flemish-bond façade, and walls two courses thick, is a classic example of a flounder house where the gable faces the street, the windowless side abuts the property line, and the structure is built on the street edge of the property leaving more space behind the home for a courtyard. As Alexandria was closely tied to Philadelphia by significant seaborne trade, it is not surprising that the two sister cities have very similar historical architecture.
Anachronistic changes to the house were made around 1965 by Adolph De Roy Mark, an architect instrumental in the 1960s restoration of Society Hill. He added a window on the side of the house, excavated a grotto in front of the house, added the two prominent courses of brick on the front façade, and created a loft area above the third floor.
The residence at 243 Delancey Street can be best viewed from the southeast corner of the intersection of Third and Delancey Streets.
External links
- Listing and photograph at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings