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Edward Roberts (c.1680 – c.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.
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Roberts was born in Llanvawr, Merionethshire, Wales,[1] the third son of Hugh Roberts,[2] a prominent Quaker preacher.[3][1] 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.[4][1] 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.[1]
Roberts became a freeman of Philadelphia in 1717.[3] That year, he served as a town councilman.[5]
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.[6][7] He was elected Mayor on October 2, 1739.[3][5] Roberts was said to use a seal that included "a rose, under a crown, between two human hearts" for his correspondence.[1]
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.[8][9] His daughter Jane, would marry William Fishbourne, mayor of Philadelphia. His daughter, Susannah Elizabeth, married doctor Thomas Bond[1][10] in 1735.[citation needed] Mary married Mordecai Yarnall.[11]
In 1741 Roberts died in Philadelphia County, now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
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