Byberry, Philadelphia

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Byberry, Philadelphia - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 40°06′00″N 74°58′05″W / 40.1°N 74.968°W

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Township of Byberry
Former Township
Township of Byberry Location of Byberry Show map of Philadelphia Township of Byberry Township of Byberry (Pennsylvania) Show map of Pennsylvania Township of Byberry Township of Byberry (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°06′00″N 74°58′05″W / 40.1°N 74.968°W / 40.1; -74.968
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	215, 267, and 445

Byberry is a neighborhood in the far northeast section of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Originally it was incorporated as the Township of Byberry and was the northeasternmost municipality of Philadelphia County before the City and County were consolidated in 1854. Its approximate boundaries are the Poquessing Creek to the north, Woodhaven Road to the south, the Roosevelt Boulevard to the west, and Thornton Road to the east.

Byberry had a strong abolitionist presence and may have been an original stop on the Underground Railroad. Today, the area occupied by the township is mostly synonymous with the neighborhood of Somerton, as the neighborhoods of Byberry and Somerton tend to overlap.

History

A township in the extreme northeastern part of the County of Philadelphia; bounded on the east and northeast by Poquessing Creek and Bucks County; on the northwest by Montgomery County; and on the west and southwest by the Township of Moreland.

Its greatest length was estimated at 5 miles (8.0 kilometres); its greatest breadth, 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 kilometres); area, 4.700 acres (0.01902 km²). The area was originally settled in the mid-17th century by Swedes. In 1675, four young, single brothers, Nathaniel, Thomas, Daniel and William Walton, arrived at Newcastle from England and, having first prospected the land in the neighborhood of the Delaware River, chose this area along the Poquessing Creek to settle. They gave it the name Byberry, in honor of their native town, near Bristol, in England.

They were joined after the arrival of the ship Welcome in 1682, by Giles and Joseph Knight, John Carver, John Hart, Richard Collett and their families, and others. Byberry was the birthplace of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The township was established at a very early date after the coming of William Penn. It contained very few villages at the time of consolidation, and was the most rural of all the townships of Philadelphia County. Byberry Crossroads, once called Plumbsock, and Knightsville were the principal villages.

Notable people

Reverend Thomas Hall, Loyalist Anglican cleric who emigrated back to England and subsequently served as the chaplain in Livorno, Italy. He was the cousin of Benjamin Rush and the nephew of Rev. Samuel Finley.
Harriet Forten Purvis, abolitionist and suffragette
Robert Purvis, father of the Underground Railroad

References

Chronology of the Political Subdivisions of the County of Philadelphia, 1683–1854 (Daly, John; Weinberg, Allen (October 1966). Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions (Second ed.). Philadelphia Dept. of Records.)
Information courtesy of ushistory.org
Incorporated District, Boroughs, and Townships in the County of Philadelphia, 1854 By Rudolph J. Walther - excerpted from the book at the ushistory.org website

Communities of Philadelphia

Former municipalities are below.

Sections and
Neighborhoods

Lower North	Badlands Belfield Brewerytown Callowhill Cecil B. Moore El Centro de Oro / Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow N3RD Street North Central Northern Liberties North Philadelphia East North Philadelphia West Poplar Sharswood South Lehigh Spring Garden Stanton Strawberry Mansion Yorktown
Upper North	Allegheny West Badlands Franklinville Glenwood Hunting Park Nicetown–Tioga Olde Kensington Swampoodle West Kensington
Olney-Oak Lane	East Oak Lane Feltonville Fern Rock Koreatown Logan Ogontz Olney West Oak Lane

Northwest

Lower Northwest	Andorra East Falls Manayunk Parkland Roxborough Wissahickon
Upper Northwest	Beggarstown Cedarbrook Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister

Northeast

Near Northeast	Burholme Castor Gardens Crescentville Fox Chase Frankford Holme Circle Holmesburg Juniata Lawndale Lexington Park Mayfair Oxford Circle Rhawnhurst Ryers Tacony Wissinoming
Far Northeast	Academy Gardens Ashton-Woodenbridge Bustleton Byberry Crestmont Farms Millbrook Modena Park Morrell Park Normandy Parkwood Pennypack Somerton Torresdale Upper Holmesburg Winchester Park
River Wards	Bridesburg Fishtown Harrowgate Kensington Olde Richmond Port Richmond

Former
Municipalities

Cities	Philadelphia (Center City)
Boroughs	Aramingo Bridesburg Frankford Germantown Manayunk West Philadelphia Whitehall
Districts	Belmont Kensington Moyamensing Northern Liberties Penn Richmond Southwark Spring Garden
Townships	Blockley Bristol Byberry Delaware Germantown Kingsessing Lower Dublin Moreland Northern Liberties Oxford Passyunk Penn Roxborough

Footnotes

As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.

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