Freedom

In 1910, the City of Brotherly Love had a little over 1.5 million residents, only 84,569 of whom were Black. By 1920, that latter number had increased by 58%. One woman was willing to make it clear that in Philadelphia, neighborhoods should be open to everyone.

It was 1914. After Emilie (Hetschel) Goller inherited her father’s estate, she used $7,500 of the funds to purchase 1818 West Venango Street. And then she set off a firestorm, advertising the home for rent only to “colored” families. Her husband explained that she “inherited the desire to help the negro race, along with about $60,000, from her father, who made his money in a tobacco plantation in the South mainly through the work of Africans.” He further claimed that the will stipulated that “she must spend some of the money to help colored people.” The previously lily-white neighborhood protested, but then decided to simply remain silent.

The will was also silent: it contained no such stipulation. Emilie’s motives are otherwise unknown. It is unclear how long the Black family remained in the home; within a few years, it was apparently again occupied by a white family.

Four years after Emilie dared to rent a home in a white neighborhood to a Black family, a Black woman moved into a white South Philadelphia neighborhood and the crowd was not silent. The Philadelphia Race Riot of 1918 followed.

Emilie was born 3 January 1878 to Otto and Barbara Hetschel. A native of Germany, Otto volunteered to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. Emilie married Herman Goller on 22 May 1897. Herman predeceased her, as did their children. Emilie died 3 December 1974. She was survived by one granddaughter.

Emilie stood on the right side of history before she had the right to vote. Although in earlier years, Philadelphia “seemed designed—destined even—for social, economic and racial integration,” by the time she purchased 1818 West Venango and rented it to a Black family, the city was quickly segregating.

She wanted freedom for every Philadelphian, and to remedy past wrongs. If you haven’t already, it’s time to ask yourself: on which side of history will you stand?

Sources:

All websites viewed 14 December 2026.

1910 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 961, sheet 2B, dwelling 47, family 49, John Culbertson; imaged, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449573_01079). Every household on the block was white, although a few Black servants lived in select homes.

1920 U.S. census, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ED 1331, sheet 6A, dwelling 113, family 128, Cornelius Rholfs; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRNT-W22). The neighborhood demographics remained as enumerated in 1910.

“Rents Home to Negroes Despite Others’ Protest,” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 16 September 1914, p. 1, col. 6; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/164122360). Particularly when quoting from historical documents, genealogists use the terms used at the time the documents were created.

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Will Book 2:96–97, Otto Hetschel, 1914; imaged, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9B2-QJDS).

“Principals in Triple Elopement,” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 11 August 1917, p. 3, cols. 3–4; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/162311177). Three young couples eloped; the article cites one man’s address as 1818 West Venango Street.

“U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3693/records/22783509), entry for Emilie Goller (1878–1974), no. 188-36-9618, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866–1938,” database and images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1200/records/177330), entry for Otto Hetschell; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

“New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Records, 1670–1965,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61376/records/900686831), Emilie Hetschel–Heremann Goller, 1897.

FindAGrave (www.findagrave.com/memorial/63342475/george-herman-goller), memorial 63342475, George Herman Goller (1903–1952), citing Egg Harbor City Cemetery, Egg Harbor City, New Jersey; maintained by Pastor Rachelle R. Card-Wells Bobenmoyer (50763189).

“Whitaker,” The Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Inquirer, 10 August 1972, p. 32, col. 8; imaged, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com/image/180037440).

“Emilie Goller,” The Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 3 December 1974.

Emilie’s granddaughter died 31 December 2023. “Pauline ‘Polly[‘] Schnepf,” Burlington County Times (www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/obituaries/psom0684042), posted online 9 January 2024.

Will Mack, “The Philadelphia Race Riot (1918),” Black Past (https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/1918-race-riot-philadelphia-pennsylvania-1918).

Ken Finkel, “Roots of Hypersegregation in Philadelphia, 1920–1930,” Philly History (https://blog.phillyhistory.org/index.php/2016/02/roots-of-hypersegregation-in-philadelphia-1920-1930).