137 Elfreth's Alley

He lived here with his wife and two small sons until his death of yellow fever in 1793 at the age of 35.  Widow Rachel Elfreth continued living in the house with her children until her own death in 1802; after, her mother lived in the house and cared for the Elfreth sons.

While the Elfreth family played a large part in the early history of the house, the McLaughlin family held just as important a place in its later history.  John McLaughlin and his wife Ann immigrated to America from Ireland in 1845 with their infant son Martin.  By the 1880s, they had had three more children and were renting House 137; they purchased the house in 1890.  Son Martin worked as a fireman for the city of Philadelphia, and his brother James was a police officer.  After their parents’ deaths, Martin and his siblings, Sarah, Edward, and James continued to live in the house.  Edward later married, bringing his wife and daughter to live in House 137 with his brothers and sister.  Kathleen McLaughlin – Edward’s daughter and John and Ann’s granddaughter – owned the house until the 1950s, sixty years after the family purchased it.

Look above the door and find the “busybody” attached to the second floor window.  This system of three mirrors mounted outside the window allows someone inside to see who is coming up and down the street, as well as who is knocking at their door!