Where There's a "Will" - William Lake Forman (1829-1919)

Weccacoe Fire Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 In the 19th century, the engine house was the center of social life for working-class men in the area. Membership in a fire company granted men social status, authority, and legitimacy within their own neighborhoods and ethnic groups. There were seven fire companies in Southwark; the brigades were volunteer, and their members drawn from and aligned with competing ethnic and political groups. The apparatus used to fight fires was often purchased with their own funds.
  The following is our first glimpse of William Lake Forman’s involvement in the volunteer fire company in his neighborhood:

8 December 1863 – (Philadelphia Inquirer) WECCACOE FIRE COMPANY - A SPECIAL meeting will be held in the Hall of the Company this (Tuesday) evening, at 7 1/2 o'clock.

WM. L. FORMAN, Assistant Secretary [Typo:WM. J. FORMAN] 

From The Philadelphia Inquirer

On Monday, October 16, 1865, the Philadelphia Fire Department held a grand parade through the streets of Philadelphia. Consisting of fire companies from Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Albany, Newark, Pittsburgh, and several other cities, thousands of firemen paraded with their steam fire engines, hose carriages, ambulances, and bands down an estimated ten-mile route crowded with spectators. According to a New York Times article on October 17, 1865, the parade lasted from 10am to 6pm and "not a scene of disorder occurred on the route."  

Artist's rendition of Grand Parade

From the Illustrated New Age, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tues, Oct 17, 1865: 

The Firemen's Parade. A Procession Over Ten Miles in Length. Twenty Thousand Fireman in Line.

[Each individual division is mentioned and described] Eleventh Division Marshal - H. J. McIntyre Aids - H. Allman, Wm. H. Woodward WECCACOE ENGINE, No. 19 Marshal - Joseph R. Lyndall Assistants - Robert G. Pidgeon, Wm. B Lambden, Wm. L. Foreman, Benj. Watkins, Thos. Broom, Jr., David S. Bennett, Chas. P. Lyons, John H. Roach, Chas. Griffenburg, Aaron P. Hackett, Joseph Brown. Three hundred men, newly and tastefully equipped in black pants and coats, and red shirts and New York hats; they marched six abreast, followed by their two hose carriages, each being drawn by two horses. Their steamer, which is an Amoskeag, was drawn by six horses, beautifully caparisoned for the occasion. Decorations of every imaginable nature adorned the engine.

Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine

In advance of another planned event, we find this in The Evening Telegraph, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 22 Aug 1867, Mr. W. L. Forman, of the Weccacoe Engine Company, offered a resolution forbidding any burlesque apparatus being drawn in the line of procession. He said such things have had their day . . . The resolution was unanimously adopted.

burlesque: a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

In July 1868 the new officers of the Fire Company are listed including Secretary, Wm L. Forman. The Weccacoe Fire Company served from 1800 until 1871 when Philadelphia founded its own paid fire department. By the way, the firehouse got its name from the Lenni Lanape Indians from Delaware, who called the area home. They dubbed it Weccacoe, or Wicaco, which translates to “pleasant place.”