Hanmore, John
Title
Hanmore, John
Description
John Hanmore, a Philadelphia manufacturer, moved his family to a new home on Cooper Street during the 1880s. His death changed the family's fortunes.
Biographical Text
John Hanmore and his wife, Eleanor, together with two adult daughters and two grandchildren, were among the first residents of new Cooper Street row houses built between Front Street and Delaware Avenue in 1883. They moved to 65 Cooper Street in Camden from a middle-class, managerial neighborhood of Philadelphia, demonstrating the appeal of Camden as a commuter suburb for the larger city across the Delaware River.
The Hanmores' new home was arguably the most desirable of the newly built, three-story homes, standing on the corner of Front and Cooper immediately west of the open square of the Cooper family mansion (later Johnson Park). The Hanmores filled their new home with walnut, oak, and mahogany furniture, installed window boxes for flowers, and added bay windows to the side of their row house that faced the square. One of the adult daughters, Elizabeth Hanmore, offered art lessons for schoolgirls. For John Hanmore, commuting from Camden to his work as a Philadelphia manufacturer of boiler and pipe coverings was likely easier and shorter than before—across the ferry to his business location on Delaware Avenue instead of a streetcar ride of more than 20 blocks from his earlier home at 2323 Green Street in Philadelphia.
The family’s presence on Cooper Street proved to be a short one, however, because of John Hanmore’s sudden and unexpected death from a heart attack in 1885. The Camden County Courier described his last moments with dramatic flair: "The deceased had been out riding with his daughter on the evening of his death, and returned about eight o'clock, sat down to the supper table with the rest of his family in apparently good spirits. He was just in the act of handing a cup to his little [grand]daughter when suddenly he fell from his chair to the floor. The members of the family came to his assistance, and raised him up, but life was extinct. Death was caused by paralysis of the heart, induced by consumption."
The family remained at 65 Cooper Street for three years longer, but thereafter the property served as a boarding house until its demolition to allow for the 1913 construction of a new office building headquarters for the Victor Talking Machine Company.
The Hanmores' new home was arguably the most desirable of the newly built, three-story homes, standing on the corner of Front and Cooper immediately west of the open square of the Cooper family mansion (later Johnson Park). The Hanmores filled their new home with walnut, oak, and mahogany furniture, installed window boxes for flowers, and added bay windows to the side of their row house that faced the square. One of the adult daughters, Elizabeth Hanmore, offered art lessons for schoolgirls. For John Hanmore, commuting from Camden to his work as a Philadelphia manufacturer of boiler and pipe coverings was likely easier and shorter than before—across the ferry to his business location on Delaware Avenue instead of a streetcar ride of more than 20 blocks from his earlier home at 2323 Green Street in Philadelphia.
The family’s presence on Cooper Street proved to be a short one, however, because of John Hanmore’s sudden and unexpected death from a heart attack in 1885. The Camden County Courier described his last moments with dramatic flair: "The deceased had been out riding with his daughter on the evening of his death, and returned about eight o'clock, sat down to the supper table with the rest of his family in apparently good spirits. He was just in the act of handing a cup to his little [grand]daughter when suddenly he fell from his chair to the floor. The members of the family came to his assistance, and raised him up, but life was extinct. Death was caused by paralysis of the heart, induced by consumption."
The family remained at 65 Cooper Street for three years longer, but thereafter the property served as a boarding house until its demolition to allow for the 1913 construction of a new office building headquarters for the Victor Talking Machine Company.
Time period on Cooper Street
c. 1883-1885
Location(s) - Cooper Street
65 Cooper Street
Location(s) - Other
2323 Green Street, Philadelphia (previous address)
7 S. Delaware Avenue (business address)
7 S. Delaware Avenue (business address)
Occupation
Manufacturer of felt coverings for pipes and boilers
Birth Date
c. 1825
Birthplace
Newburgh, New York
Death Date
April 4, 1885
Associated Individuals
Eleanor Hanmore (wife)
Elizabeth Hanmore (daughter)
Mary Gerard (daughter)
May / Marie Gerard (granddaughter)
Roy Gerard (grandson)
Elizabeth Hanmore (daughter)
Mary Gerard (daughter)
May / Marie Gerard (granddaughter)
Roy Gerard (grandson)
Sources
Camden and Philadelphia City Directories (Ancestry.com)
New Jersey and U.S. Censuses (Ancestry.com)
Death of John Hanmore reported in Camden County Courier, August 7, 1885; legal notice for construction of bay windows published in Camden Courier-Post, March 31, 1885; art lessons advertised in Courier-Post on various dates in 1884 and 1885; public sale of household contents advertised in Courier-Post, June 6, 1888.
New Jersey and U.S. Censuses (Ancestry.com)
Death of John Hanmore reported in Camden County Courier, August 7, 1885; legal notice for construction of bay windows published in Camden Courier-Post, March 31, 1885; art lessons advertised in Courier-Post on various dates in 1884 and 1885; public sale of household contents advertised in Courier-Post, June 6, 1888.
Research by
Charlene Mires
Posted by
Charlene Mires
Collection
Citation
“Hanmore, John,” Learning From Cooper Street, accessed May 8, 2024, https://omeka.camden.rutgers.edu/items/show/37.