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Coffin plate · primary-source record

Samuel Ford

circa 31 August 1819 (computed from age at death) – 8 Feb 1826

From a newspaper account quoting the original coffin plate

Editorially verified

At-a-glance facts

Record type

Coffin plate

Date of death

8 Feb 1826

Date of birth

circa 31 August 1819 (computed from age at death)

Age at death

6 years, 5 months, 8 days

Plate found in

Pennsylvania, United States

The coffin plate

Inscription transcription

Samuel Ford
Died February 8. 1826
Aged 6 years, 5 months, 8 days
Transcription from the Ancestors at Rest archive.

About this record

This is a newspaper article, not a photograph of the coffin plate itself. In 1911, workmen unearthed a small casket while digging the foundations of the old Eleventh Street Opera House, on a site formerly occupied by a church and graveyard; most bodies were moved when the graveyard was cleared in 1850, but this one was apparently left behind. The brass plate's inscription was legible enough to be quoted in the article. Coroner Ford (a surname coincidence — no known family relation to the deceased) declared the case did not concern him, and it was expected the Board of Health would arrange removal of the casket.

1820 Pennsylvania Census

I went and had a hunt for the family of Samuel Ford 1819 ~ 1826 in the 1820 Pennsylvania Census on Ancestry.com. I found several individuals of interest as you can see below.

NameLocation
Eliza FordNorthern Liberties Ward 6, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Edward FordPhiladelphia Middle Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jacob FordPhiladelphia Middle Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jane FordPhiladelphia New Market Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jacob FordPhiladelphia North Mulberry Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FordPhiladelphia North Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
John FordPhiladelphia North Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
William FordPhiladelphia North Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
George FordPhiladelphia South Mulberry Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wm FordPhiladelphia South Mulberry Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
David FordSouthwark, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thomas FordSpring Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Record submitted by

Original contributor unknown — Was it you? Let us know

Source & citation

Source type
Original photograph
Provenance
From the Ancestors at Rest archive — founded 2004 by Brian and substantially built out across two decades by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy.
Transcribed by
Ancestors at Rest archive — original contributor not recorded.
Last verified
2026-05-12
Permalink
/records/coffin-plates/ford-samuel-1826/
Image vs transcription
Both — the coffin plate's inscription is reproduced within the newspaper article photographed here; no separate photograph of the plate itself

Citation: "Find Old Coffin," newspaper account (1911) — quoting the brass coffin plate of Samuel Ford (8 Feb 1826), preserved in the Ancestors at Rest archive (https://ancestorsatrest.com/records/coffin-plates/ford-samuel-1826/ : accessed [your access date]).

The original contributor of this record is not preserved in the archive. If you transcribed this plate, please get in touch so credit can be restored.

More from the archive

Matched automatically from the archive’s name and place indexes — research leads, not confirmed relations.

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