Edward Roberts (1680 – 1741) was a colonial mayor of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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 Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

,Welsh settlement of Pennsylvania
by Browning, Charles Henry Publication date 1912 Publisher Philadelphia, W. J. Campbell Pages cited 95- 105 the third son of , a prominent

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

preacher. 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. 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 Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, w ...

. Roberts became a freeman of Philadelphia in 1717. That year, he served as a town councilman. In 1736, he was one of the signers of the Articles creating the

Union Fire Company Union Fire Company, sometimes called Franklin's Bucket Brigade, was a volunteer fire department formed in Philadelphia in 1736 with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin. It was the first firefighting organization in Philadelphia, although it was fo ...

to develop what would become the first volunteer fire department in the United States in Philadelphia. 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 Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's closest friends. His daughter Jane, would marry William Fishbourne, mayor of Philadelphia. His daughter, Susannah Elizabeth, married doctor Thomas Bond in 1735. Mary married Mordecai Yarnall. In 1741 Roberts died in Philadelphia County, now

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

References

External links

1787 document of ten lots of land previously owned by Edward Roberts
Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Edward 18th-century mayors of places in Pennsylvania Mayors of Philadelphia People from colonial Pennsylvania Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 1680s births 1741 deaths American Quakers Welsh emigrants to the United States