Byberry is a neighborhood in the far

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

section 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 ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Originally it was incorporated as the Township of Byberry and was the northeasternmost

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

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 Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

presence and may have been an original stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. 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 Poquessing Creek is a creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 a right tributary, right tributary of the Delaware River, that forms the boundary between Philad ...

and

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

; on the northwest by Montgomery County; and on the west and southwest by the Township of Moreland. Its greatest length was estimated at ; its greatest breadth, ; area, . The area was originally settled in the mid-17th century by

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

. In 1675, four young, single brothers, Nathaniel, Thomas, Daniel and William Walton, arrived at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and, having first prospected the land in the neighborhood of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, chose this area along the

to settle. They gave it the name Byberry, in honor of their native town, near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, 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 Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

, a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. The township was consolidated and established soon after the arrival of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

. Byberry Township initially consisted only of a few villages, 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 Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was the cousin of Benjamin Rush and the nephew of Rev.

Samuel Finley Samuel Finley (July 2, 1715 – July 17, 1766) was an Irish-born Presbyterian minister and academic. He founded the West Nottingham Academy and was the fifth president and an original trustee of the College of New Jersey (later renamed as ...

. * 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''
() *

courtesy o
ushistory.org
'

- excerpted from the book at the ushistory.org website {{Authority control Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Municipalities in Philadelphia County prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854 1854 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Northeast Philadelphia