The Biddle family was one of the most prominent families of Philadelphia for a very long time, and there had been a trace of some members of this family in Whitpain Township. Previously, I've done research on some members of the Biddle family in Whitpain and Ambler from both the John and William Biddle family lines, but it wasn't until recently I discovered another member of the Biddle family who also lived in Whitpain Township.
The Biddle Family Connection
The Biddle family was one of the most prominent families in Philadelphia. The first member of this family to arrive in the New World was William Biddle, I (1630-1712) from London, England to New Jersey in 1681. It was five years after he purchased a half share of the lands in West Jersey from William Penn and others. He built his Mount Hope estate in 1684 near Bordentown, NJ.
Fun Fact # 1: West Jersey was founded before the city of Philadelphia was founded.
Around 1730, his grandsons William, III (1697-1756) and John Biddle (1707-1789) embarked their to Philadelphia to engage in mercantile business, making them the first members of the family to settle in Philadelphia. John settled down with his family between Market and 2nd and 3rd Streets.
John's oldest sons Owen and Clement followed his footsteps in the mercantile business until the Revolutionary War broke out. It was Clement Biddle (1740-1814) who joined the cause to fight against the British army. He was one of the original signers of the 1765 Resolution of Non-Importation Made by the Citizens of Philadelphia. He co-founded the Quaker Light Infantry to defend the Conestogo Indians from the Paxton boys. Cement served during the New Jersey Campaign until he was appointed Deputy Quartermaster General of the Flying Camp with the rank of Colonel. After being an aid-de-camp to General Nathanael Greene, he was promoted to General by General George Washington.
As President, Washington appointed Clement to the US Marshal of Pennsylvania that got him involved in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.
Clement's namesake son Clement Cornell Biddle (1784-1855) joined the US Navy as a midshipman. After spending five years in the Navy, he returned to Philadelphia to study law. But he eventually returned to the military as captain of the Regiment of Light Dragoons, believing a war against the British would happen after the Chesapeake outrage of 1807. When the War of 1812 actually happened, Clement established a company called the "State Fencibles," and was named captain of the company. After the war ended, he devoted his time with political economics as an attorney.
Arthur Biddle (1852-1897) studied law under his father George Washington Biddle (1818-1897), who was a senior member of his law firm Biddle & Ward. Prior to this, Arthur studied at the Faires Classical Institute and Yale University. He spent time abroad in Germany where he studied philosophy at the University of Berlin.
In 1881, he co-wrote A Treatise on the Law of Stock Brokers with his elder brother George W. Biddle. Later on he wrote his own pieces:
A Treatise on the Law of Warranties in the Sale of Chattels (1884)
A Treatise on the Law of Insurance, Volumes 1 & 2 (1893)
Fun Fact # 2: The Biddle Law Library at the University of Pennsylvania was named in honor of his brother George. His other brother, Algernon S. Biddle, was a professor at the UPenn Law School.
In 1880, Arthur married his second cousin Julia Biddle (1858-1952). Julia was the daughter of Thomas Alexander Biddle (1814-1888)Â who originally owned the Blythwood estate in Whitpain Township on Morris Road.
Sad Fact # 1: Arthur's son Julian C. Biddle (1890- 1917) was a pilot of the Lafayette Flying Corps during World War I, and was killed in action near Dunkirk. The stain-glass window at the Church of Messiah was dedicated in his honor of his service.
The Styer Land
The Styger/Styer family came to America with Stephen Styger. He arrived in Germantown between 1712 and 1714, and moved out in 1727 to purchase 200 acres of land from Thomas Shute that is later known today as the southeastern part of Worcester Township.Â
After his death in 1736, his son Jacob Styer (1719-1777)Â took possession of his father's farm. It wasn't until 1768 he and his wife, Christina Spare, moved to Whitpain and built their home for their family. His sons Henry and John were given his land in his will. Henry was unmarried, but became the richest man in Whitpain Township. After he died, his brother John took possession of their father's farm of at least 140 acres.Â
John married Tacy Conard, and settled in his father's home. He even built a barn with a datestone inscribed the year "1792."Â
After John's death in 1816, his son Jacob acquired 119 acres of his father's land with a home and a saw mill. From there, his son Dr. Albanus Styer took possession of the land. He was the last Styer family member to hold onto this part of the land when he sold it to Thomas F.B. Wunder in 1886. It was after that year Dr. Styer moved to Ambler where he owned a farm on the main street of Butler Avenue.
It wasn't until 1899 the former Styer land was sold to Arthur Biddle's wife Julia for 15 acres. Her home was built one year later after the land was purchased. One of Philadelphia's well-known architecture firms, Cope & Stewardson, was responsible for the design of Julia Biddle's home in Whitpain.
In the early 1920s, Julia Biddle purchased her father's Blythwood estate, and then closed her Crossways estate to live at her Philadelphia home near Rittenhouse Square. Her son, Alfred Biddle (1885-1967), took possession of his mother's Crossways property. At the same time, he was living in the Blythwood estate with his family before moving into his mother in-law's place.
Aftermath
Fast forward to 1998 when Saly Glassman purchased the Kindle Hill Farm to help preserve the land for the community to use. She and her husband collaborated with the Natural Lands Trust and Wissahickon Trails in order to protect and preserve the land.
In 2015, the Wissahickon Trails created the Crossways Preserve to help expand the conservation effort by restoring the native species and wetland. It's possible the preserve was named after the Biddle estate.
Bibliography
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