Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 1

Biography: Joseph Martinez-Cardeza

Joseph Martinez-Cardeza’s father, Juan Martinez-Cardeza was born in Corunna, Spain on

October 1st, 1763. He arrived in America on December 20th, 1805 and was approved for
citizenship on September 19th, 1817. He was originally a government official in Spain but was
sent to the United States in 1805 by the Spanish king at the time, Charles IV. When he was
forced move to America1, he left his wife and his two daughters behind. He arrived on December
20th 1805. He moved to Philadelphia and lived there for the rest of his life. In Philadelphia he
met Joseph’s mother, Margaret Sproul, who was born on September 1st, 1802.

Joseph was born on August 18th, 1822 to Juan Martinez-Cardeza and Margaret (Sproul)
Martinez-Cardeza. His father, Juan, was of complete Spanish descent and he was the first of his
lineage to travel to America. His mother on the other hand had been living in America for
decades and was of Scottish descent. The pair had four children in total. Their first child was a
boy, named John Thomas Martinez-Cardeza and he was born on September 18th. On August
18th, 1822 the couple had another child named Joseph Martinez-Cardeza.They then had a
daughter who they named Margaretta Martinez-Cardeza on January 24th, 1824. Two years after
that they had their last child, James Martinez-Cardeza, on May 17th, 1828.

The family lived at 306 S. Second Street. Joseph most likely enjoyed an upper middle
class upbringing. This was because his father was originally a hidalgo2, meaning that he was
most likely very wealthy in Spain before he came to America. The family later moved to an
estate on Union Street. (Stevens)

Ten years after Joseph was born, on July 5th, 1832, tragedy struck. His father, Juan
Martinez-Cardeza, died at the age of 68. After his father’s death, Joseph’s mother, Margaret,
took custody of him, his little sister Margaretta, and his brother James. In order to keep his
children under the same roof, Juan gave the ownership of his estate on Union Street to Margaret.

In his will, Juan ordered for his executor to handle all debts and funeral expenses after his
death (Document 1). He also requested that his executor split his property in Spain among his
Spanish grandsons, if they were still alive, for he hadn’t had contact with any of them since he
had moved to America. He also requested that every minor listed in his will receive a grand sum
of 20,000 dollars upon turning 18 years old, which would estimate to around $540,0003 today.

He also wished for all of his children to be properly educated during their years as
minors. It can be assumed that this was done and all of his children were properly educated, at

1
He was most likely ordered to the United States, as there are many hints pointing that he still loved his
wife, it was improbable that he would have left her for no reason. He still remembers his family, even
though they had no contact within the last 20 years of Juan’s life.
2
A spanish noble or gentleman.
3
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices in 2017 are 2,599.7% higher than prices in 1840,
which is when Joseph would have received the money from his father’s will.
 Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 2

least for primary education. This can be seen through John Martinez-Cardeza’s medical
education. (Document 2)

Another interesting aspect of Joseph's family can be seen within Juans will. Juan and
Margaret were supposedly married within their lifetime, but there are many facts that point the
other way hidden between the lines of his will. Within Juan’s will, he would call his children
“natural children”4 instead of legitimate, there could be many reasons for this. It could’ve been
that Juan believed that their relationship shouldn’t legally exist since he had a wife and children
back home, or because he believed “natural” was the best thing he call them without calling
them legitimate because it wasn’t correct. This is supported by the lack of a marriage record.
Another clue within Juan’s will that pointed to this was the way he referred to Margaret. He
named her as the “the mother of my children”, instead of designating her as his wife. While their
marriage could’ve happened and Juan just chose to not acknowledge it, they are confirmed to be
Joseph Martinez-Cardeza’s parents (Document 1).

A few months after his father’s death, Joseph was baptized at St. Peter’s Church on
October 1st, 1832. His childhood went on uneventfully until five years after his father's death,
when Joseph chose a new legal guardian for himself so that he could have a male role model in
his life. He chose Washington J. Duffee to be his legal guardian. Joseph was allowed to make
this decision for himself because he was considered the man of the house after Margaret did not
take custody of his older brother John. There is no public documentation of Washington being in
Joseph’s life before he selected him to be his legal guardian. Washington must have had a large
role in Joseph’s life for him to choose him as his legal guardian but today it is left up to
speculation. It is very likely that Margaret moved on after Juan’s death, and a logical explanation
for the selection of Washington as his new legal guardian could be because he began dating
Joseph’s mother (Stevens).

After being his legal guardian for five years, Washington J. Duffee married Margaret
Martinez-Cardeza and became Joseph’s step father. This supports the theory that Joseph selected
Washington as his legal guardian because of a relationship with his mother. It also supports the
idea Margaret and Juan were never legally married because remarrying was frowned upon
greatly at the time. Margaret was never baptized by the church, most likely because she wasn’t
living with Juan in wedlock5, but after she married to Washington, she got baptized on 1854,
under the name Margaret Duffee, confirming the marriage and providing even more support to
the theory that maybe she wasn’t legally married to Juan and that Joseph and his siblings were
born out of wedlock (Document 1).

4
Natural children are children that biologically belong to a couple, but did not come from a marriage.
5
Churches back then were against living out of wedlock and it was very possible that they wouldn’t
baptize a person for that reason.
 Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 3

After being seperated from the family, John

Thomas Martinez Cardeza would go on to become a very
successful physician. He first went to St. Mary’s College
in Baltimore then later would go to the University of
Pennsylvania. At the University of Pennsylvania, he
graduated with a medical degree6 (Document 2). He would
start a collection of geological and numismatic specimens
that were worth at least $12,000 during 1857. That would
be around $323,962.41 today7. He was so successful that
he became a delegate of the American Medical
Association, which meant that he was part of a group that
decided the policies for hospitals throughout America. He
was also accepted into the Delaware Medical Society, one
of the oldest medical institutions in America. It was
formed only 12 days after George Washington took office.
This society was only for very successful physicians who
resided in Delaware (Document 12)

Unlike his older brother John, there was not a single record during Joseph’s life that
pointed to him having a higher education besides his primary schooling. Not only was there a
lack of record of a higher education, this assumption can also be made based on the fact that
Joseph was unemployed during his 20s. He never took on a skilled job during the entirety of his
life.

It can be assumed that Joseph moved out once he reached the age of eighteen because in
the next record shown for him, the Census of 1850, he is said to live on Scheets St. He most
likely bought this house with some of the fortune that he had received from his father’s death. He
was listed as a gentleman at that time, which meant that he most likely didn’t have any income
and that he was living off the money that his father passed down to him. (Document 3)

The census also suggests that there may have been something going on between Joseph
and his brother, John Thomas. This was because John Thomas’s future wife was named Isabella
Cardeza and an Isabella Cardeza was listed under Joseph's name in the census. It could’ve been
the same Isabella, but with the name Cardeza after it is very confusing. John Thomas’ Isabella
Cardeza would take the name Cardeza three years later when she married John Thomas. There is
no one within the Cardeza family named Isabella besides the one that John Thomas married. It is
unclear whether or not it is the same Isabella and it is very likely that this was just a typo from
the guy that conducted the census within his neighborhood. It can be assumed that Joseph was
living comfortably at the time even though he was listed as a gentleman8. (Document ) The
fortune left from his father made his life a very comfortable one.

6
He was on the alumni list at the University of Pennsylvania.
7
Bureau of Labor Statistics
8
A gentleman in this phrase is used as a saying that meant at the time that the person has no job.
 Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 4

In the year 1848, at 26 years old, Joseph joined the Freemasons9. He was a member of
lodge 51; the Philadelphia Masonic Temple10 (Goodman). Although this is most likely a very
important aspect of his life, the Freemasons are a very exclusive and secretive group, so there is
very little information to be found about Joseph's role in the society.

Soon after that he met Elizabeth (Johnson) Young, a widow. Elizabeth was originally
married to Howard Young, and they had a son before Howard died. Elizabeth and Joseph began
dating and were finally married on March 31st, 1853.

Elizabeth’s son who was born before Joseph Cardeza was named Howard John Young.
He became Joseph’s son in law, but Joseph never officially adopted Howard. However still took
the surname of Martinez-Cardeza and lived with Joseph for a while, as seen in the 1870 census.
(Document 5) There is little documentation of Joseph and Howard’s relationship but the
combination of the few documents portray an estranged relationship.

After marrying, he
moved to 18th st. above
Lombard and he lived there for
two years. While he was living
in his house on 18th st. he
would have his first daughter,
Elizabeth Martinez-Cardeza,
February 7th 1854. Joseph and
Elizabeth were most likely
content with their first child
since they waited 13 more years
until they would try having
more. The same year on July
26th, 1854 Joseph’s youngest
and dearest brother James
Martinez-Cardeza died at the
age of 26 (Document 7).

Then in 1856 he moved to 208 Green St. above 17th street. During this time he had an
office located on Broad and Prince and it was during this time that he finally got a job at the
Fairmount and Arch St. City Railroads as a ticketing agent (Document 5). The Fairmount and

9
The Freemasons are the largest, oldest international fraternal organization. They are known to hold
secretive ceremonies. Many important men were Freemasons, including George Washington and
Benjamin Franklin.
10
The historical masonic temple is considered “Masonic Wonders of the World”and is located on Broad
St. between City Hall and Arch St. Methodist Church
 Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 5

Arch St. City Railroads was an above average railroad company considering that it was making
$62,051.85 annually during 1863, which converts to $1,174,324.87 today11. (Document 11)

Then in 1858, two years later, Joseph would settled down at 1724 Green St, where he
would live with his family for a while. He would continue to live there for a decade before
moving for the last time in his life.

He was a hardworking man while he worked for the Fairmount and Arch St. City
Railroads. He was voted unanimously to the position of director and this most likely led to him
living an even more prosperous life (Document 6).

Other than being a hard worker, he also was somewhat philanthropic as noted by the
donation that he gave $5 to the Citizens’s Volunteer Hospital Association which can be
amounted to a $134.98 sum today (Document 9). He also took a volunteer management position
at that same hospital (Document 25)

Joseph Martinez-Cardeza had passion for history and science. He was recognized for
donating a large amount of minerals from his own collection to the Academy of Natural Sciences
in 1950 (Document 4). He also was a recognized director of meetings at the franklin institute
(Document 10). He was also well known in surrounding areas of philly, such as delaware
country, where a friend refers to him as a collector of American stone age artifacts (Document
13). Joseph became well known for his interesting collections of fossils and stones amongst his
peers in the railroad business and they respected him for his diligence in collecting and
maintaining his artifacts.

Then in 1867, he had twins, one a boy named Frederick Butterfield Martinez-Cardeza
and the other a girl named Alita Marie. Now to have twins is a good and a bad thing. Joseph was
probably filled with joy to hear that after trying another child, he was getting two instead.
However, this could’ve been a bad thing as twins are much more expensive to maintain than one
child, but with Joseph’s wealth, this was not much of a problem. It probably was a good thing,
considering that he got Elizabeth pregnant again later on in their lives.

In the year 1873, Joseph had another child, a daughter by the name of Juana Margarita
Martinez-Cardeza. Later that year, Joseph’s first daughter married Delaplain McDaniel on
November 18th, 1873. The next year, his son, Frederick, married Corinna Dominguez and they
would both live with Joseph.

Four years later he would move to a new house on 2316 Green St (Document 15). He
lived there with his wife and his extended family. He was quite wealthy, as he was still living
lavishly at the age of 55, still employing a nurse and 3 servants within a mansion, while still

11
Bureau of Labor Statistics
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supporting his extended family, such as his twins, his daughter and her husband; Joseph Herbert
Rastall, who she married on February 12th, 1878, as noted by the 1880 census. (Document 14 )

After that, Joseph lived a peaceful life until 1898, when his wife Elizabeth, died.
However, there was no obituary written for her that could be found. This could mean that Joseph
was so devastated by Elizabeth’s death, that he didn’t want to interact with anyone else. That
same year, his older brother, and the oldest of the siblings, John Thomas, died. This most likely
broke his heart and this was the moment from 1880 to 1900 that he quit his job, because on the
1900 census, he started to live within a rented house and he didn’t have an occupation (Stevens).

A year after that, Frederick and Corinna had a son, Frederick Butterfield Jr. Martinez-
Cardeza. While it was still during a troubled time for him, this might’ve given Joseph a form of
relief from his wife’s death (Stevens).

However, sadly nothing else happened for the rest of Joseph’s life. Old age crept up on
him (Document 17), and almost a decade after his wife’s death, Joseph Martinez-Cardeza was
diagnosed with uraemia12 and died of related complications on Thursday, January 23rd, 1908, at
age 86, in his home on 2316 Green street (Document 20, Document 22).

Joseph Martinez Cardeza was interred in the Woodlands Cemetery on January 30th, 1908
(Document 21). He died as the head of the Cardeza family, leaving behind his two sons and two
daughters. His funeral service was held St. Simeon's Protestant Episcopal Church. Joseph had
served in the Freemasons for sixty years and was one of the oldest members before his death,
therefore Freemason rituals were conducted at his funeral (Document 23).

It is not known if Joseph wrote a will before he died (no records of it could be found). It
could’ve been that he died intestate and that his property was distributed equally among all his
heirs, but if he did write a will, he would most likely give most of his estate to Frederick, because
Frederick was still living with him near the time of his death and was most likely the one that
helped take care of him. (Document 18 )

Thus concludes the life of Joseph Martinez-Cardeza.

Joseph’s sons and grandsons lived peaceful and relatively undocumented lives. Alita
would marry William Albert Stadelman, who was also an alumni from the University of
Pennsylvania, and they would have a son and two daughters (Document 16). Juana would have
three daughters but Frederick Butterfield IV. would outlive all of them and be the last person to
maintain the Martinez-Cardeza surname. (Stevens)

12
Uraemia is condition that commonly falls under the umbrella of “old age”. It is a condition caused by a
failure of the kidneys to filter blood adequately.
 Grana-Garriga, Hostvedt, Lareef, Liu, Obod 7

However his son in law, the one that he didn’t choose to adopt, Howard John Young
(Martinez-Cardeza)13, was somewhat successful. He managed to enroll into the University of
Pennsylvania. However, he dropped out as a freshman and instead chose to become a merchant.

The rest of the Martinez-Cardeza family was very successful in their lives. Most of them
did their own thing and lived their lives to the fullest.

John Thomas’s son, John Deveaux Martinez-Cardeza, would also graduate from the
University of Pennsylvania with a medical degree in the class of 187714, and would then work
alongside his father. He would also be somewhat as
successful as his father, as he was invited to join the
Delaware Medical Society as well. After John Thomas’s
death in 1898, John Deveaux took over his father’s
business.

Not only was Joseph’s older brother’s side of the

family successful, Joseph’s youngest brother, James
Martinez-Cardeza, would also have his own famous
family.

While James wouldn’t live to see his sons birth,

he and his wife would still be very successful. Charlotte,
James’s wife, would inherit the majority of her father’s
wealth. Her father was a wealthy textile manufacturer
who owned a mill in Philadelphia. Their family was very
prominent within the Philadelphia community. There was
a newspaper article written about them owning a very
Thomas Drake Martinez-Cardeza.
expensive yacht as well as being one of the favorite couples in
Philadelphia. James Warburton Martinez-Cardeza was also
another member of the Martinez-Cardeza lineage who attended
the University of Pennsylvania. He didn’t graduate though and
he left during his sophomore year. Even though he did not graduate, he still became a lawyer.
(Document 19)

James’s lineage didn’t stop there. James Warburton’s son, Thomas Drake (Document 26),
would become another alumni for the University of Pennsylvania. He and his mother, Charlotte,
boarded the Titanic, and they were aboard the vessel when it tragically sank. They were two of
the survivors of the Titanic incident. In the end when they returned to land, Charlotte sued the
Titanic company for losing all of her possessions, and demanded for them to pay her
$177,352.75, around 4 million dollars today.

13
He took the Martinez-Cardeza surname, even though Joseph would not adopt him to his family.
14
It was stated within the American Medical Dictionary, that while he did receive his medical degree that
year, he didn’t receive his Delaware license until 1901.
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(Document 24 )

That was not the end of James’s lineage, as Thomas Drake Martinez-Cardeza would also
contribute to the future research of hematologic. Thomas Drake would marry Mary Racine and
when Mary Racine developed a chronic blood disorder, they devoted their lives toward
hematology research. After Charlotte’s death, Thomas and Mary established the Cardeza
Foundation. The Cardeza Foundation provided $50,000 to hematology research per year for at
least 10 years. That is almost 9 million dollars in today’s money. While Mary did die due to her
chronic blood disorder, Thomas would devote the remainder of his estate, valued at 88 million
dollars in current U.S. dollars, 5 million at the time, to the foundation. This money was used to
establish a trust that supported the Cardeza Foundation (document 27).

Joseph was a very reserved man, considering the family that he came from. While, he
wasn’t as successful as the rest of his family, he still managed to get through life without much
of a problem. He went through life without a higher education, unlike most of his family, but
through his life, he managed to work his way up and become a director of a railroad company
and hold that title for many years (Document 8). In his life, he would raise four children,
including one set of twins with his wife Elizabeth. While he wasn’t a graduate of the University
of Pennsylvania, the owner of the largest yacht in Philadelphia, nor a survivor of the Titanic, he
was still very successful. He managed to start from the bottom of the system as a ticketing agent
of the Fairmount and Arch Street Passenger Railway Company, to a director of the company. He
was able to provide an upper-middle class upbringing for his close family members, and created
a life for his children in which they would be able to achieve anything in the country that they so
desired.