Kensington: An Annotated Bibliographic Guide
This bibliography of the study of Kensington History was originally compiled by the staff of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), in collaboration with the Kensington History Project's Torben Jenk, Kenneth W. Milano, and Rich Remer. The annotatons were for the most part contributed by the Kensington History Project. What I hope to do in this space is add to HSP's bibliography and make it more comprehensive for amatuers and scholars alike. The call numbers were supplied by HSP and are referenced to their collection. All of the below items are available at HSP's library. This bibliography came about when the HSP collaborated with the Kensington History Project in publishing "Old Kensington," a compilation of articles on Kensington's history that were published in the Society's Pennsylvania Legacies, Vol. 2 No. 2. November 2002. This magazine is for sale, click the link above under "Products and Books for Sale." As time allows, I will further supplement this bibliography with other sources that I mined at the voluminous stacks of HSP's library and eventually I hope to add other institution's collections.
Published Sources:
Alcock, Sarah. A Brief History of the Revolution with a Sketch of the Life of John Hewson. Philadelphia: Mrs. Sarah Alcock, 1843. [Kensington’s Revolutionary War hero and America’s first calico printer of fabrics. You can read my article on him located under the Kensington Biographies section on the menu at left.] Gh .658 B8533
Ball, William. Brief of the Title of the Estate of William Ball. Philadelphia: 1858. [Deals with the settlement of the William Ball estate. Ball purchased “Hope Farm” from Anthony Palmer in 1729. Palmer had built the "Hope Farm Estate" over a number of years starting in 1704. Ball named his Mansion House “Richmond Hall” hence leading to the current Philadelphia neighborhood later being called Port Richmond.] Wk* .31 v.2
Barker, Charles R. A Register of the Burying-Grounds of Philadelphia. [Kensington information in volume two, pp. 106-107.] Ph 20A:2
Catrambone, Jamie and Harry C. Silcox., eds. Kensington History: Stories and Memories. Philadelphia: Brighton Press, c1996. [Factual and oral histories of Kensington. This is the first project of the Kensington History Project. Chapter One of this book is located under the Kensington History section in the menu to your left, entitled, "Kensington and the Founding of Philadelphia."] UPA/Ph F 158.68 .K42 K4 1996
Cramp, Charles. Memoirs of Churches in Old Kensington: Shipbuilders Paramount in Numbers and Influence in the “Old Brick” and “Chandler’s”; Five Notable Vaughan Families. Philadelphia: Public Ledger, 1836 (reprint 1909). [Son of William Cramp, founder of Cramp's Shipyard, Charles Cramp's articles are very interesting for the history of the neighborhood.] UPA/Pam F 158.68.K46 C734 1909a
Cramp, Charles. Old Kensington District and Its Memories: Numerous European Settlers Before the English Occupation. Philadelphia: 1909. UPA/Pam F 158.68 .K46 C73 1909a
Cramp’s Shipyard: The William Cramp & Son’s Ship & Engine Building Company, 1830; the I.P. Morris Company, 1928; the Kensington Shipyard Company, 1900. Philadelphia: 1910. Wf* .996 v.6
A Digest of the Acts of Assembly and the Ordinances, of the Commissioners and Inhabitants of the Kensington District of the Northern Liberties: for that Government of that District. Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1832. UPA/Ph KFX 2139 .K46 A6 1832
Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen. Memoir on the history of the celebrated treaty made by William Penn…Philadelphia: M’Carty & Davis, 1836 [Perhaps the most complete discussion on the plausibility of the Treaty Tree legend.] UPA/Ph F 152 .D89 1970z
Evangelical Home Mission Society of Kensington: Constitution and By-Laws. Philadelphia: 1852. Wh* .99 v.1
Eve, Sarah. Extracts from the Journals of Miss Sarah Eve, 1772-3. Philadelphia: Collins, 1881 (reprinted from the PMHB v. 5, p.198). UPA/Ph F 152 .E85 1881
Feldberg, Michael. The Philadelphia Riots of 1844: A Study of Ethnic Conflict. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1975. [The Kensington Riots of 1844 are covered in this work.] UPA/Ph 158.44 .F44 1975
Gauer, David W. Vaughan Shipwrights of Kensington, Philadelphia: Their Van Hook & Norris Lineages and Combined Progeny. Decorah, IA: Anundsen Pub. Co., c1982. [Important for the study of Kensington shipwrights and shipbuilding. Gauer descended from these families. There a number of photographs as well.] Fa 929.2 V364g 1982
Grant, Karen…[et al.]. Fishtown - A Slice of Life: 300 Years in Philadelphia, 1682-1982. Philadelphia: Fishtown Civic Association, 1982. [Published by a local neighborhood group, includes some nice old illustrations.] UPA/Ph F 158.68 .F44 F6 1982
Heinrich, Thomas R. Ships for the Seven Seas:Philadelphia Shipbuilding in the Age of Industrial Capitalism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1997. [This volume looks at shipbuilding along the Delaware River, in particular there is much on Kensington's Cramp Shipyard.] UPA/Ph VM 299.6 .H45 1997
Feind, Ernest, N. A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington: 418 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, Organized March 23, 1814. Philadelphia, 1939. [A short history of this church, it is the second oldest in Kensington and is still in operation.] Wg* .399 v. 5
A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington in Philadelphia. Philadelphia,1964. UPA/Ph BX 9211 .P5 F576 1964
Kensington: A City Within a City, Historical and Industrial Review. Philadelphia: Keighton Printing House, 1891. [Illustrated, a business biography of the neighborhood with surname index. Lists many of the local businesses, brief bios, and description of shops and businesses, in some cases very good. Since there is no 1890 census, its useful in conjunction with the city directory for 1890.] UPA/Ph F 159 .K3 K3 1891
Kensington Day Nursery: 6th Annual Report. Philadelphia, 1888. Wj* .424
Kensington Hospital for Women: 124 W Diamond Street, Norris Square Instituted 1883, Incorporated June 1887; Non-sectarian. Philadelphia, 1888.[See the material on this hospital to the left in the menu under "Kensington area Hospitals."] UPA/Pam RA 981 .P5 K43 1888
The Kensington Massacre. Philadelphia: S.C. Atkinson, 1845. Pam JC 585 .R47 no.1 Laughlin, H.H. Causes of the Kensington Riots Explained: In a Series of Letters to the Honorable Daniel O’Connell. Philadelphia: A.H. Rowand, 1845. [Deals with the Kensington Riots of 1844] Wq* .929 v.1.
McKearin, Helen. Bottles, Flasks and Dr. Dyott. New York: Crown Publishers, 1970.[This is a good book the history of Dyottville and Dr. Dyott's glassworks, also good for those who collect these items. It was located where Gunnar's Run (Aramingo Avenue) emptied into the Delaware River.] Dc .4241 M193
Molmer, Joseph S. Kensington: From the Beginning to Consolidation. 1854 [One of the earlier chroniclers of Kensington's history.] UPA/Ph F 158.68 .F7 M73 1968
Needles, Samuel. The Governor’s Mill, and the Globe Mills, Philadelphia. Philadelphia:Collins, 1884 [Extracted from Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, v. 8, p. 279-299 & 377-390. Offers a good history of this colonial mill, located about what would be today's 3rd Street and Girard Avenue.] UPA/Ph HD 9858 .P5 N43 1884
Palmer, Anthony. Anthony Palmer to William Ball, April 22, 1729. (Grantor Rolls p.528-530, microfilm) [This deed is the purchase by Ball from Palmer of “Hope Farm," it details the conditions on which Ball was to purchase the property that became Port Richmond.] XD Pa Ph 96
Popkin, Susan A. & Roger B. Allen. Gone Fishing! A History of Fishing in River, Bay, and Sea. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Maritime Museum, 1987. Wn .83481 P828
Robson, Charles. The Manufactories and Manufacturers of Pennsylvania in the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Co., 1875. [Has some biographies and illusrations of Kensington manufactuers and their businesses.] Ref HD 9727 .P4 M3 1875
Robinson, James. The Philadelphia Directory for 1804: Containing the Names, Trades and Residences of the Inhabitants of the City, Southwark, Northern Liberties, and Kensington. Philadelphia: John Oswald, 1804. [Offers the first breakout section for Kensington in the city directories.] Wa .01
Scharf, J. T., & Thompson Westcott. History of Philadelphia, 1609 – 1884. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts, 1884. (three volumes) [The standard 19th century work for Philadelphia history, contains many references to Kensington's history.] Ref F 158.3 .S4 1884
Scott, Robert F. Historic Presbyterian Churches of Kensington and the Northern Liberties: Address by Robert F. Scott at the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Friends of Old Pine Street, at the First Presbyterian Church of Kensington, April 28, 1964. Philadelphia, 1964. UPA/Pam BX 9211 .P5 S36 1964
Scranton, Philip. Proprietary Capitalism: The Textile Manufacture at Philadelphia, 1800–1885. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983. [Early period of textile manufacturing in Kensington. One chapter is entitled "Kensington at Mid-Century, 1850," and details the textile manufacturers in what today would be South Kensington, from Girard up to about Berks Street, Front to 6th Street.] Ref HD 9858 .P5 S35 1983
Seder, Jean. Voices of Kensington: Vanishing Mills, Vanishing Neighborhoods. Ardmore, PA: Whitmore Pub. Co, 1982. [Oral history of Kensington mill workers and shopkeepers, a very well done oral history project. Seder's parents owned the Craftex Mill in Kensington.] UPA/Ph HD 8039 .T42 U667 1982
Shane, Dennis J. The History of the Kensington Burial Ground, Palmer Cemetery, Founded in 1732. Philadelphia: Smith-Edwards-Dunlap Co., 1977. [While not the best, it's one of the few items ever written on this famous cemetery that still is open for business.] UPA/Ph F 158.61 .K46 S53 1977
Stutz, Bruce, Natural Lives, Modern Times, People and Places of the Delaware River. New York: Crown Publishers, 1992. [Excellent chapter or so on this fellow travelling the Delaware River and stopping off at riverfront communities. He stops in Fishtown and talks to some locals.] UPA F 157 .D4 S78 1992
Supplement to the Digest of the Laws, Ordinances, and Resolutions of the Kensington District of the Northern Liberties. Philadelphia: J. Harding, 1848. KFX 2139 .K46 A6 1848
Swindells, William. Annals of the Kensington Methodist Episcopal Church,Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1893. [One of the only things published on this, the oldest church in Kensington, has a number of photos, includng a picture of John Hewson, Kensington's Revolutionary War Hero.] UPA/BX 8481 .P5 K46 1893
Tarr, Elihu D. Digest of Acts of Assembly Relating to the Kensington District of Northern Liberties and of the Ordinances of the Corporation. Philadelphia: Isaac Ashmead, 1847. UPA/Ph KFX 2139 .K46 A6 1847
Vaux, Roberts. Memoir on the Locality of the Great Treaty Between William Penn and the Indian Natives in 1682. Philadelphia. Va .62 v.1
Walther, Rudolph J. Happenings in Ye Olde Philadelphia 1680-1900. Philadelphia: Walther Printing House, 1925. [There is a index that was published for this work, otherwise you'll simply have to page through it. There are a number of Kensington/Fishtown tidbits in here.] UPA/Ph F 158.3 .W15 1925
West, George Montgomery. Hear Both Sides: Being a Statement of the Controversy Respecting the Destruction of the Church in Kensington. Philadelphia, 1837. Wg* .899 v.1
Wilson, John G. Exposition of Facts Relating to the Union Wesleyan Church, Kensington: Both Sides Reviewed. Philadelphia, 1837. [Deals with the split in the Kensington Methodist Episcopal (Old Brick). Those that left Old Brick founded Union Wesleyan, which later became Pilgrim Congregational.] E* .593 v.II
Watson, John F. Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania, in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, J.M. Stoddart & Co. 1877. (three volumes) [These volumes have a lot of information on Kensington throughout them.]It's a standard oldtimer for Philadelphia history, written in a folksy way.] Ref F 158.3 .W75 1877
Worthington, Robert. Robert Worthington to Anthony Palmer, January 27th 1730. (Grantor Rolls p. 363-365, microfilm) [This deed shows Palmer buying the lot for the future town of Kensington. Worthington was an innkeeper who sold the Fairman Mansion and the surrounding 191 1/2 acres to Palmer.] XD Pa Ph 96
Manuscript Materials:
Allaire, Alexander. Indenture, 1765. [Printed indenture, July 26, 1765, for a public burying ground, granted by Alexander Allaire, and others to Emanuel Eyre and others in Kensington, Northern Liberties, Philadelphia.] Collection 892, Am .30950
Ball families. Papers, 1676-1879. [Ball was an important early landowner in Kensington, then called Shackamaxon. There is a rent roll in this collection which might be of use genealogical speaking.] Collection 28
Bower, S.D.S. Bower Family of Philadelphia. Gen Bo 4
Frankford Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Records, 1843-1885. [Records of the Frankford Mutual Insurance Company, located in the Frankford district of Philadelphia. Most of the buildings described are in the Frankford, Bridesburg, and Kensington sections of Philadelphia County.] Collection 1906
Hewson, Col. John. Part of His Diary About His Escape from British to N.J. Sept. 20, 1778. (autographed manuscript) [Kensington’s Revolutionary War hero’s escape from the British.] Society Collection
Kensington papers, 1890-1891, 1907, 1927. [Papers include photographs of the area and local industries including F. & J. Bodine, Glass Manufacturers; Henry Bouteau Hardware, Cutlery and Nail Warehouse; Henry Disston: Keystone Saw, Tool and Steel Works; Dreifus & Co, Inc.; Glass Works of T.W. Dyott; John J. McCarron, Horse Shoer; Parke & Tiers Brass: Bell and Iron Founders (Pt. Pleasant); and Wilson, Childs & Co: Philadelphia Plantation and Road Wagon Works.] Collection 2148
Kensington register, ca. 1812. [Copies of deeds, surveys, road records, list of property holders, and other items. Focuses mainly around the area of Frankford Avenue, going north several blocks.] Collection 340
The Lighthouse. Records, 1893-2000. [The Lighthouse, a settlement house, was founded as a social center for the mill workers of the Kensington section of Philadelphia. It shortly expanded to include a Boys' Club, Men's Club, Girls' Club, Women's Club, Baldwin Day Nursery, and a several other activities, with the boys' sports program as its most viable activity. Also includes, Old Timers' Association minutes, and the Lighthouse Beneficial Society minutes.] Collection 1970 (finding aid available)
MacPherson family. Correspondence, 1766 (1766-1813) 1855. [MacPherson was another large estate owner in Kensington; his estate became the McPherson Library in Kensington. His colonial mansion was torn down and the library built. John MacPherson, Jr., served as Richard Montgomery's aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War.] Collection 1688
Miscellaneous Government Records, 1664-1950. Philadelphia (Pa.). Courts. Grand Jury. Minutes, 1844. [This jury considered many of the cases arising from the anti-Catholic riots of 1844 in Kensington and Southwark.The cases give the name of the accused, witnesses if any, the charge of the crime, and if known, who it was committed against. Also mentions if it was thrown out and sent for prosecution.] Collection 1855
Norris family. Papers, 1742-1860. [Most of Isaac Norris’ Fairhill & Sepviva Plantation would become the District of Kensington. The Fairhill Estate, Norris' country home and garden, was roughly from Norris Street north to Lehigh Avenue,and from Germantown Avenue east to Frankford Avenue. The Sepviva Plantation, Norris' working plantation, was located from roughly Norris Street north to Lehigh Avenue, and from Frankford Avenue east to Aramingo Avenue, then Gunnar's Run.] Collection 454
Northern Dispensary of Philadelphia for the Medical Relief of the Poor. Records, 1816-1904. [The Northern Dispensary was chartered in 1817 for the purpose of furnishing gratuitous medical assistance to those who, though not destitute, could not afford medical care.] Collection 1687
Palmer Cemetery. Interments 1859-1887, 1884-1978; Vault Book 1871-1874; Minutes 1889-1913. [The records previous to 1859 do not exist, they either never existed or were lost in a fire.There are current records for the years 1979 to present that are kept by the trustees of the cemetery.] XR 805
Images:
Breton, William L. Treaty Ground of William Penn and the Indian Natives, 1682 of Shackamaxon, now Kensington, 1830 watercolor, 13 x 18.5 cm. [Today's Penn Treaty Park] Bb 862 B756 #14.
Easton, Alexander. Dyottsville Glass Works, 1858 lithograph, 13 x 22 cm. [On the Delaware River, where Aramingo Avenue would have deadended if not cut off at Girard.] Stauffer Collection v. 1 p.56.
Herline, Edward and Daniel Hensel Die Katholische St. Peter's Kirche Zu Philadelphia. On Der Funften Und Franklin Strasse, 1857 lithograph, 19.5 x 15 cm. [St. Peter's Church, 5th Steet & Girard Avenue) Ba 131 S149
Old Log Cabin. Yeakle Residence, Germanton Ave. and Mermaid Ave. Campbell Collection, v.36 p.73-76.
Queen, James. Empire Hook & Ladder Company, No. 1, Instituted February 6th 1851,1851 lithograph, 38 x 59 cm. Bc 832 E55
Rease, William H. Penn Steam Engine & Boiler Works Foot of Palmer Street Kensington, Philadelphia, 1859 lithograph, 41 x 62 cm. Bc 38 R288
Rosenthal, Max. Reliques of William Penn in Philadelphia in 1864. Six Scenes: Penn's House in 2nd St.; House in Letitia St.; Brewhouse at Pennsbury; Penn's Manor; Treaty with the Indians, 1864 lithograph, 26 x 36 cm. Bb l8 R8l5
Schell, Francis H. Episcopal Hospital (Late Leamy Estate), 1858 lithograph,14 x 23 cm. [in Philadelphia Views] [Front Street & Lehigh Avenue] Wa .154 p.27
Sinclair, Thomas S. Franklin Iron Work: Franklin Str. Between Second and Front Sts., Kensington, Philadelphia, 1842 lithograph, 47 x 58 cm. [This would presumably be Girard Avenue, which use to be called Franklin Street west of Front] Bc 35 S967
Maps:
Kensington - Her Official Boundaries & Neighbors before Absorption by Philadelphia in 1854. [Compiled from old records and presented to members of the 18th Ward Council by George Baker, Christmas 1950. This is fairly good map by a local guy from Fishtown.] Of 621 [1950] a
Lukens, John. A Draft of Twelve Lots of Ground Situate in Kensington, Belonging toSamuel Palmer. Of 621 1768
Map of Kensington. [Estate Map of Anthony Palmer, showing lots and who they were inherited by, or who was renting them, it dates from right after Palmer's death in 1749, circa 1750.] Logan Papers p.77
Smart, James. Series of Twenty-four Maps and Enclosed Descriptions Entitled “Neighborhoods of Our City” Which Ran in the Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin from March 1, 1964-January 17, 1965. Of 600 1964-1965 Surveys of Lands in Prince-Queen-Palmer Cherry Streets Area in Kensington. Of 621 [1800] a-e
Uhle, John C. Map of Lands Granted Timothy Scrath and Others in the Kensington Area. Of 621 S [1750]