GEORGE S. TEMPEST was born in Pennsylvania in March of 1869. He lived in Philadelphia virtually his entire life. As a boy, he went to Girard College, a boarding school for poor orphaned and fatherless boys. After finishing his education he secured a position as an officer with the Philadelphia police department.
When the 1900 Census was enumerated he was a member of the Philadelphia police department, and living at 2404 Catherine Street. He was then married, his wife Mary Burg Tempest having born four children, Mary, Frederick, Anna, and Eleanor. His sister Anna, and brother-in-law William Burg also lived with the family. By 1920 he had risen to the rank of Captain, and had moved to the next block, the family now residing at 2336 Catherine Street, his daughters, all still at home and working.
Camden changed to the commission form of government in 1923. It appears that George S. Tempest was hired to run the police and fire departments, as Commissioner Dr. David S. Rhone, who had no law enforcement experience, was having a difficult time contending with bootlegging, gambling, and other “Roaring Twenties” criminal activities. He was in charge of the police when the “voodoo doctor of Liberty Street,” Reyquew Hyghcock, came to the attention of law enforcement personnel.
George S. Tempest apparently left Camden’s service after the 1927 election, when General Winfield Price and and a Republican slate swept the races for Mayor and City Commission. He and wife Mary had moved to 25129 South 20th Street in Philadelphia. His daughter Mary was still at home, and working as a bank secretary. Daughter Eleanor and her husband George Bailey were also living there. George S. Tempest died of a stroke on January 31, 1931.
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