Edward Roberts (mayor) explained

Edward Roberts (1680 – 1741) was a colonial mayor of Philadelphia. Upon emigrating to the United States he became a prosperous merchant and landowner. He served as Mayor of Philadelphia from 1739 to 1740.

Background

Roberts was born in Llanvawr, Merionethshire, Wales,^[1] the third son of,^[2]

Notes and References

1. https://archive.org/details/welshsettlemento00brow/page/45/mode/2up?q=roberts Welsh settlement of Pennsylvania
2. Book: Young, John Russell . Memorial History of the City of Philadelphia, from Its First Settlement to Year 1895: Narrative and critical history, 1681-1895 . 1895 . New York History Company . 239 . en.
3. Book: Bowden, James . The history of the Society of Friends in America . 1850 . London C. Giplin . Robarts - University of Toronto . 52, 252, 253.
4. Book: Hazard, Samuel . Pennsylvania Archives . Linn . John Blair . Egle . William Henry . Reed . George Edward . Montgomery . Thomas Lynch . MacKinney . Gertrude . Hoban . Charles Francis . 1880 . J. Severns & Company . 731, 729 . en.
5. “Articles of the Union Fire Company, 7 December 1736,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0024. [Original source: ''The Papers of Benjamin Franklin,'' vol. 2, ''January 1, 1735, through December 31, 1744'', ed. Leonard W. Labaree. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1961, pp. 150–154.]
6. Book: Lemay, J. A. Leo . The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 2: Printer and Publisher, 173-1747 . 2013-06-03 . University of Pennsylvania Press . 978-0-8122-0929-7 . 366 . en.
7. “From Benjamin Franklin to Hugh Roberts, 16 July 1753,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-05-02-0004. [Original source: ''The Papers of Benjamin Franklin,'' vol. 5, ''July 1, 1753, through March 31, 1755'', ed. Leonard W. Labaree. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1962, pp. 11–12.]
8. Web site: Hugh Roberts (68), APS Members Bibliography . 2024-11-12 . membib.amphilsoc.org.
9. Web site: Thomas Bond . 2024-11-12 . University Archives and Records Center . en.
10. Web site: Series 1: Mordecai Yarnall (1705-1772) family correspondence, 1757 - 1758 Archives & Manuscripts . 2024-11-12 . archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu.
11. Owen, R. (., (1959). ROBERTS, HUGH (1644? - 1702), Quaker. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 12 Nov 2024, from https://biography.wales/article/s-ROBE-HUG-1644 a prominent Quaker preacher.^[2] Roberts emigrated to the United States as a child when his father moved to the colonies in 1684 to bring his ministry to the people there.^[3] Roberts' father was a successful minister and property speculator upon arrival in Pennsylvania. Edward Roberts would inherit a 200 acre property, "Chestnut Hill" from his father, land that would later become part of Fairmount Park.

    Roberts became a freeman of Philadelphia in 1717. That year, he served as a town councilman.^[4]

    In 1736, he was one of the signers of the Articles creating the Union Fire Company to develop what would become the first volunteer fire department in the United States in Philadelphia.^{[5] [6]} He was elected Mayor on October 2, 1739. Roberts was said to use a seal that included "a rose, under a crown, between two human hearts" for his correspondence.

    Personal life

    He had four children, Hugh, Jane, Mary and Susannah Elizabeth. His son, Hugh Roberts (1706–1786) was a Philadelphia merchant known as one of Benjamin Franklin's closest friends.^{[7] [8]} His daughter Jane, would marry William Fishbourne, mayor of Philadelphia. His daughter, Susannah Elizabeth, married doctor Thomas Bond^[9] in 1735. Mary married Mordecai Yarnall.^[10]

    In 1741 Roberts died in Philadelphia County, now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

    External links

    • 1787 document of ten lots of land previously owned by Edward Roberts, Library of Congress