Shoemaker, Thomas H. (Thomas Howard), 1851-1936

Thomas H. Shoemaker (1851-1936) was a resident of Germantown and author of "The Inhabitants of Germantown of Chestnut Hill in 1809,"which was published in volumes fifteen and sixteen of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. He was an informal Germantown historian and recognized, in the late 1880s, that his hometown's landscape was changing. Many of the local old colonial homes were being torn down in favor of shops and row houses, and Shoemaker wished to somehow document the disappearing buildings. In 1888, Shoemaker met artist John Richard, who had already begun making pen and ink drawings of many old Germantown houses. Shoemaker took to opportunity to work with Richard and began collecting his works. Unfortunately, Richard died several months after their first meeting, and Shoemaker decided to carry on the documentation process using photography.