Humphrey Morrey
1st Mayor of Philadelphia
In office
1691–1701
Preceded bynone
Succeeded byEdward Shippen
Personal details
Bornc.1650
England
Died1716 (aged 65–66)
Philadelphia,
Province of Pennsylvania, British America

Humphrey Morrey, or Murrey (c. 1650–1716) was the first mayor of Philadelphia under William Penn's 1691 charter.[1] He was not elected, but rather was appointed by Penn.[2] He was a multi-generational ancestor of Paul Robeson, an American singer, actor, and political activist.[3]

Career

In 1683, Morrey came to Philadelphia in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania, where he worked as a merchant. Three years after arriving in Philadelphia, in 1685, he was appointed justice of the peace. In 1687 and again in 1690, he was chosen to the provincial assembly.

First mayor of Philadelphia

In the charter of March 20, 1691, under which the City of Philadelphia was incorporated, Morrey was appointed by William Penn, the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, as the city's first mayor. Morrey served for ten years in the position, which was then an uncompensated and volunteer position. In 1701, Morrey was succeeded by Edward Shippen, the city's second mayor, who was appointed by William Penn to a one-year term, and was then re-elected to a second term by the Philadelphia City Council.

Morrey was one of the fifteen founders of present-day Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Montgomery, Thomas Harrison (1900). A History of the University of Pennsylvania from Its Foundation to A. D. 1770. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co.
  2. ↑ The Pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, Volume 18, by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1894
  3. ↑ "The Montiers: An American Story", WHYY website. Last retrieved 08/27/2019. https://whyy.org/montiers-american-story/
  4. ↑ "A Brief History of Cheltenham", Historic la Mott website, last access 08/27/2019. https://historic-lamott-pa.com/a-brief-history-of-cheltenham/
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