"The Rich Men of Kensington, 1865"

by Ken Milano

In 1865 a tax list was produced for the inhabitants of certain areas of Philadelphia. For what reason or purpose the list was made and how they determined whom to include on the list is unclear, but on this list appeared several of our stainglass window honorees. The title of the pamphlet "The Rich Men of Philadelphia; Income Tax of the Residents of Philadelphia and Bucks County, for the Year Ending April 30, 1865." From the title "Rich Men of Philadelphia" it would seem that they decided only to include those individuals whom they considered "rich." But there are obvious entries in the list where it doesn't appear that the individual made all that much money, so why and how they were included on the list is not very clear.

However, using the stated incomes on this tax list and comparing those incomes against what the value of that income would be in today's dollars, enables us to see just how wealthy or unwealthy, some of the stainglass window honorees were. Comparing dollars now to dollars 137 years ago is tricky business, but some economic historians have developed methods for doing so. A group called the Economic History Services has come up with various methods to determine the "relative" value of dollars yesterday to today. The method that I chose to look at today is called "The Unskilled Wage Rate."

“The Unskilled Wage Rate is good way to determine the relative cost of something in terms of the amount of work it would take to produce, or the relative time it would take to earn its cost. It can also be useful in comparing different wages over time. The unskilled wage is a more consistent measure than the average wage for making comparisons over time.”

An example of the way this method would work is the comparison of what Bath Ruth's income was in 1932 and what that income would be worth in today's world:

“Babe Ruth's salary in 1932 was $80,000. In 2001 the CPI (Consumer Price Index) was 13 times larger than it was in 1932 and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) deflator 11.4 times larger. This means that if we are interested in Ruth's purchasing power of housing or meals, then he was "earning" the equivalence of about $1,000,000 today, but the relative cost of (unskilled) labor is 39 times higher in 2001 than it was in 1932. So if we wanted to compare his wage to what someone selling hot dogs would earn, we could say his "relative wage" is over $3,000,000.”

Of the 419 taxables in the 18th Ward that were mentioned in this tax survey of 1865, 142 of them, or 33%, were making more then $1,000 per year. Using the unskilled wage rate method, it would mean that in 1865, there were 142 people in the 18th Ward Kensington, that were making more then $99,000 a year.

Of the highest income earners in Kensington's 18th Ward, there were:

8 people listed as making over $10,000

In 2002 the value of $10,000.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$109,000.00	$99,500.00	$994,000.00	$1,450,000.00	$11,400,000.00

20 people listed as making between $5,000 and $10,000:

In 2002 the value of $5,000.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$54,800.00	$49,700.00	$497,000.00	$727,000.00	$5,710,000.00

And 114 people making between $1,000 and $5,000:

In 2002 the value of $1,000.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$10,900.00	$9,950.00	$99,400.00	$145,000.00	$1,140,000.00

The people mentioned in this 1865 tax list who are stainglass honorees, or who were affiliated in some manor with the stainglass honorees mentioned in the talk I gave on the on the stainglass honoress, are the following:

William Afflerbach, the gunsmith, made $180.00.

In 2002 the value of $180.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$1,970.00	$1,790.00	$17,900.00	$26,100.00	$205,000.00

Frederick R. Buck's father-in-law, William Rue, the steam sawyer, was listed at $20.00, he obviously was retired by then.

In 2002 the value of $20.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$219.00	$199.00	$1,980.00	$2,900.00	$22,800.00

Conrad Clothier who went to work for Edwin H. Fitler at the cordage company was not listed, but Fitler was listed making $30,317.00.

In 2002 the value of $30,317.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$332,000.00	$301,000.00	$3,010,000.00	$4,410,000.00	$34,600,000.00

John Clouds, the alderman, made $1,068.

In 2002 the value of $1,068.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$11,700.00	$10,600.00	$106,000.00	$155,000.00	$1,210,000.00

William Cramp, the founder of Cramp shipyard was listed as making $11,243.00.

In 2002 the value of $11,243.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$123,000.00	$111,000.00	$1,110,000.00	$1,630,000.00	$12,800,000.00

William T. Eva, the one time minister for First Presbyterian, made $826.00.

In 2002 the value of $826.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$9,060.00	$8,220.00	$82,100.00	$120,000.00	$943,000.00

Jacob Peters, the superintendent at Globe Mill and then later at Star Mill, was listed as making $1,434.00.

In 2002 the value of $1,434.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$15,700.00	$14,200.00	$142,000.00	$208,000.00	$1,630,000.00

William C. Peters, the son of Jacob Peters, who went into the hardware business with James M. Vance, made $5,558.00.

In 2002 the value of $5,558.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$61,000.00	$55,300.00	$552,000.00	$808,000.00	$6,340,000.00

James M. Vance, who was partners with Jacob Peters' son William C. Peters, and who also married the Rev. Chandler's daughter, was listed with one of the highest incomes at $31,929.

In 2002 the value of $31,929.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$350,000.00	$317,000.00	$3,170,000.00	$4,640,000.00	$36,400,000.00

George Urwiler was listed as making $303.00.

In 2002 the value of $303.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$3,320.00	$3,010.00	$30,100.00	$44,000.00	$346,000.00

Alpheus Wilt made $4,103 at his mill and cabinet making business.

In 2002 the value of $4,103.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$45,000.00	$40,800.00	$408,000.00	$596,000.00	$4,680,000.00

And finally, Hugh Worrell, the real estate agent and collector, made $59.00.

In 2002 the value of $59.00 in 1865 is worth:

CPI	GDP Deflator	Unskilled Wage	GDP Per Capita	GDP
$647.00	$587.00	$5,860.00	$8,580.00	$67,300.00