Biddle family


The Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was descended from English immigrants William Biddle and Sarah Kempe, 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 of lands in West Jersey, they settled first at Burlington, a city which developed along the east side of the Delaware River.
William Biddle, 3rd, and John Biddle, two third-generation brothers, moved from Mount Hope 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. The family became prominent in business, political and cultural affairs of the city.

Family members

Branch of William Biddle, 3rd (1698–1756) and Mary Scull (1709–1789)