The Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an Old Philadelphian family descended from English immigrants William Biddle (1630–1712) and Sarah Kempe (1634–1709), who arrived in the Province of New Jersey in 1681. Quakers, they had emigrated from England in part to escape religious persecution. Having acquired extensive rights to more than 43,000 acres (170 km2) of lands in West Jersey, they settled first at Burlington, a city which developed along the east side of the Delaware River.[1]
William Biddle, 3rd (1698–1756), and John Biddle (1707–1789), two third-generation brothers, moved from Mount Hope (1684) near Bordentown, also on the east side of the Delaware, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1720s and 1730s. They constituted the first generation of the Philadelphia Biddle family, which became involved in the business, political and cultural life of Pennsylvania and the United States.[1]
Mary Deborah Baird (1829–1900), endowed Biddle University, married distant cousin Henry Jonathan Biddle (1817–1862) who was a grandson of Clement Biddle
Joseph Cadwalader Biddle (1805–1884) married Elizabeth Cook (died 1899)[4]
William Biddle married Anna W.?
Frederick Davis Biddle married Estelle Warne Harbeson
Eric Harbeson Biddle (1898–1993), businessman and diplomat, assisted Franklin D. Roosevelt during the creation of the United Nations[5][6] and the United Nations Establishment Commissions[7][8] (married Katherine Rogers, the daughter of Colonel John I. Rogers).
Eric Harbeson Biddle Jr. (1928–2012), CIA Section Chief, later immigration lawyer[9]
John "Jack" Biddle
Maurice R. Biddle (1932–1999), jazz composer and pianist, also advertising executive in Philadelphia and New York City
Clement Biddle (1740–1814), American Revolutionary War soldier, helped organize the "Quaker Blues" volunteers, deputy quartermaster general of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey militia, married Rebekah Cornell (born 1755) daughter of Gideon Cornell
Francis Biddle (1775–1775)
Thomas Alexander Biddle, Sr. (1776–1857), married Christine Williams (1780–1861)
Clement Biddle (1810–1879), prominent Philadelphia lawyer, served during the Civil War in Landis' Battery, Pennsylvania Militia Light Artillery.
Thomas Alexander Biddle Jr. (1814–1888), married Julia Cox (1819–1906). He was the senior partner of the firm of Thomas A. Biddle & Co., bankers and brokers, and a director of the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company, the Allentown Iron Company, the Equitable Life Insurance Company, and other corporations.
Henry Jonathan Biddle (1817–1862), married distant cousin Mary Deborah Baird (1829–1900), who endowed Biddle University. He served as a captain in the Union Army during the Civil War; he was mortally wounded during the battle of New Market Cross Roads
Jonathan Williams Biddle (1855–1877), served during the War with the Plains Indians. He was killed at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana when his regiment charged a camp of Nez Perce Indians.
Henry Jonathan Biddle (1862–1928), Oregon/Washington engineer, businessman, and philanthropist. In 1915 he bought the Columbia Gorge landmark Beacon Rock and developed a trail to its peak; his children Spencer and Rebecca donated it to Washington as a state park.
The Washington Post; August 17, 1933 "Helen Avis Howard Engaged To Anthony J. Drexel, Jr. Dr. and Mrs. Clinton Howard, of Atlanta, have announced the engagement of their daughter. Miss Helen Avis Howard, to Mr. Anthony Joseph Drexel 3d, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Joseph Drexel, jr., of Philadelphia."
The New York Times; October 14, 2004 "Nicholas Duke Biddle, 83, Scion Of Wealth Who Helped the Poor. Nicholas Duke Biddle, scion of two prominent American families who helped refugees from Cuba and Caribbean, dies at age 83. Mr. Biddle was originally named Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle III, after his father, Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr., a prominent diplomat."
Citations
^ a bJordan, John W. (2004). Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania. Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 161–189. ISBN 9780806352398. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
^"Marks John Biddle". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
^"Edward W. Biddle (1852–1931)". Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections. Dickinson College. 2005.
^Volunteer, PAGenWeb. "Obituaries, Death Notices, and Funeral Notices – Bi-Bl". montgomery.pa-roots.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^"Records relating to Eric H. Biddle's missions to Great Britain". US National Archives. Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
^Eric H. Biddle (March 1935). "What Price Insecurity". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 178: 48–52. doi:10.1177/000271623517800108. JSTOR 1019769. S2CID 143600484.
^"Oral History Interview with Ambassador John J. Muccio". Interview transcript. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
^Thomas C. Blaisdell Jr. (1991). India and China in the World War I era, New Deal and Marshall Plan, and University of California, Berkeley. University of California, Berkeley. pp. 169, 171. Interviewed 1987–1988 by Harriet Nathan
^Bernstein, Adam (October 31, 2012). "Eric H. Biddle Jr., former CIA employee, dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
^"BIDDLE, Edward – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Duke". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^"Obituary: Livingston 'Toby' Biddle | BocaBeacon.com". Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
^"Biddle". Pittsburgh Live. Retrieved November 27, 2017.[permanent dead link]
^"Craig Biddle, Socialite and Tennis Star, Dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 23, 1947. p. 14. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
^"BIDDLE, Charles John – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^"BIDDLE, Richard – Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^Transactions of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. College. 1916. p. 11. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
^"Deaths BLAINE, KATHARINE MORTIMER". The New York Times. April 17, 2003. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
^Times, Special To The New York (June 25, 1972). "Miss Biddle Betrothed To Thomas G. Reeves". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
^Times, Special To The New York (August 13, 1972). "Christine Biddle Is Wed To Thomas G. Reeves". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
^Philadelphia, St Andrew's Society of (1907). Historical Catalogue ... with Biographical sketches of deceased members, 1749-1907. Printed for the society. p. 163. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
^"DEATH LIST OF A DAY.; Cadwalader Biddle" (PDF). query.nytimes.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
External links
The Biddle Family Papers, documenting the personal, professional and social life of members of the Biddle family from 1683–1954, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
William & Sarah Biddle's MOUNT HOPE, West Jersey (1684-2007/8) William Biddle House, Kinkora, Burlington County, NJ
Nicholas & Sarah Biddle's MELMAR, Pennsylvania (1910–) Melmar Historical Marker