Samuel Powell (d. 1756)

Samuel Powell was an important individual in the early days of the settlement of Philadelphia. A founder of the Carpenters’ Company, he was known locally as the ‘rich carpenter’. A member of the Society of Friends, Samuel was acquainted with the religious founders of Pennsylvania.  Powell's marriage in 1700/1 to the prosperous orphan Abigail Wilcox was witnessed by the leading members of the colony’s earliest period including William Penn, Edward Shippen, Samuel Carpenter, and David Lloyd (among others). He figured among early Philadelphia’s Quaker elite and was associated with other early Philadelphia families such as the Pembertons and the Bradfords.  Powell became a Regulator of Party Walls and Partition Fences in 1712 and, "being a Man remarkable for his Care in promoting Regularity in the Buildings" (Carl Bridenbaugh, Rebels and Gentlemen: Philadelphia in the Age of Franklin, Philadelphia: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1942), was soon elected to the Common Council (1717 and 1729).

Due to his early financial successes, Powell was able to invest in the growing city and help determine its expansion. He became a large speculative builder and owned over ninety properties in Philadelphia at one time. He also successfully delved into lucrative foreign trades. His descendants belonged to the upper eschelon of Philadelphia society due to their forebearers professional success. Samuel Powell, the grandson of the carpenter, was a close associate of Benjamin Franklin and belonged to his intellectual clubs from the 1760s on. Samuel Powel is best remembered for serving two terms as Philadelphia’s mayor and also for his elegant Georgian townhouse that still exists today.

Partially written by Roger W. Moss, Philadelphia Architects and Builders website. 

Carl Bridenbaugh, Rebels and Gentlemen: Philadelphia in the Age of Franklin, Philadelphia: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1942.