Business

This man is the central figure in an “extended family” business that began in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. The family roots go back to 1642 in Massachusetts,…

Of all the thousands of burials in this cemetery, this must be the only one of a well-to-do Philadelphian who dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania to buy a…

Conditions in Scotland brought the Purves family to America sometime around the War of 1812. Alexander preferred to say in his later years that he was born in Andover, Massachusetts,…

Everybody knows “you can’t take it with you” and that no hearse has ever pulled a U-Haul trailer. Henry learned that material things are only temporary and a good life…

Whether it’s linen or tweed or cotton and silks, Philadelphia and Ireland share a “common thread,” and that is textile manufacturing. James Connelly left his homeland and did his part…

Some people are suspicious of paper money. John found that paper brought him money, and lots of it. Some people think recycling was the invention of the environmental activism of…

This man was the richest person to be buried at Mount Moriah, worth more than $130 million in today’s dollars. John enjoyed it while he had it, but knew he…

This is the story of a lad born in Ireland who, with his friends, came to Philadelphia to be grocers. Ironically, he was born the same year as the Great…

Sometimes it’s not just one thing that makes a person’s life particularly notable, but a number of unrelated but interesting facts. One is that, before this man turned 46 years…