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Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°08′38″N 75°06′57″W / 40.14389°N 75.11583°W / 40.14389; -75.11583
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Willow Grove
North York Road in downtown Willow Grove
North York Road in downtown Willow Grove
Nickname: 
The Grove
Willow Grove is located in Pennsylvania
Willow Grove
Willow Grove
Willow Grove is located in the United States
Willow Grove
Willow Grove
Coordinates: 40°08′38″N 75°06′57″W / 40.14389°N 75.11583°W / 40.14389; -75.11583
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyMontgomery
TownshipAbington, Upper Moreland
Area
 • Total
3.6 sq mi (9 km2)
 • Land3.6 sq mi (9 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
269 ft (82 m)
Population
 • Total
15,726
 • Density4,400/sq mi (1,700/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
19090
Area code(s)215, 267, and 445
GNIS feature ID1193673[2]

Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 13,730 at the 2020 census. It is located in Abington Township and Upper Moreland Township.[3] Willow Grove was once known for Willow Grove Park, an amusement park that was open from 1896 to 1976, now the site of Willow Grove Park Mall. Willow Grove is considered an edge city of Philadelphia, with large amounts of retail and office space.[4] It was a stop on the network for fugitive enslaved people, known as the Underground Railroad, in the mid 19th century.[5]

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove was located northwest of the Willow Grove CDP in Horsham Township.[6] NAS JRB Willow Grove transitioned into Horsham Air National Guard Station in September 2011.[7]

Willow Grove is located 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Allentown and 13 miles (21 km) north of Philadelphia.

History

[edit]

The place was on the route of an old Lenape trail to New York and developed into a typical colonial crossroads, with inns, stables, blacksmiths, and wheelwright shops. William Penn granted land to physician Nicholas More and the tract became known as the "Manor of Moreland" and later, Moreland Township. The place dates to the year 1711 when the Old York Road was laid out from Philadelphia to New Hope where the Delaware River was crossed at Coreyell’s Ferry. In 1792, mapmaker Reading Howell was said to remark upon the abundance of "willow trees in the marshy land" and the name "Willow Grove" stuck. During the American Revolution, inn keeper Joseph Butler, proprietor of the Red Lion Inn at Willow Grove tended to wounded American soldiers. He was later arrested by the British and held prisoner in Philadelphia.[8]

In 1778, British troops under Lt. Col. Abercromby marched through Willow Grove to the Battle of Crooked Billet in Hatboro.

19th century

[edit]

By 1850, the village was a major crossroads and stage coach stop with five stage lines a day. George Rex, a blacksmith from Germantown, had developed the Mineral Springs Inn in the early 19th century. The springs contained a high concentrate of minerals, like iron and sulfur, which had a reputation of curative powers. There was a recreational park with walking trails and gardens, mineral spring water baths and stables for 100 horses.

It was likely at these stables that the Irish emigrant Thomas Carolan (1806-1870) found work as a blacksmith and farrier. In 1847, he and his wife, Elizabeth Smyth (1817-1876) and children had fled the Great Hunger in Ireland aboard the Patrick Henry.[9] They came from a village in County Meath, Ireland, called Drumbaragh, next to Balrath, in the orbit of Kells. They arrived, after 34 days at sea aboard the Patrick Henry, on July 27, 1847, at the offices of Grinnell, Minturn & Co. at the South Street Seaport, in New York on the East River. They soon made their way to Willow Grove.

By 1850, they are living in the center of the village, in a log cabin on the corner of the Manor of Moreland, a few doors down from the noted blacksmith Mennonite Isaac Lippin Rittenhouse (1795-1876), who likely contracted with the Mineral Springs Inn.[10]

Atlas of the Properties Along the North Pennsylvania, Bound Brook, and Pennsylvania Railroads, William Baist, 1891

Case study

[edit]

The Carolans were rare in rural Montgomery County, where the Irish-born population was just 5% of the total in 1850, while across the border to the immediate south, in Philadelphia, the Irish-born population was more than 17%.[11]

The Carolans were clearly the beneficiaries of a relationship with an elderly couple who were members of the Society of Friends. The Quakers George Spencer (1787-1876) and his wife Mary Thomas (1800-1889) took the Irish Catholic family in over the next two decades. The couple may have connected with the family through charity networks when they arrived in New York City. The Spencers helped enslaved people on the Underground Railroad.[12]

"George was an estimable and cultured man, whose home, for more than sixty years, was a center of Friendly hospitality," according to a genealogy. "George took the homestead in 1814. He and his wife Mary had no issue."[13]

Quakers were at the center of regional relief efforts, as early as November 1846, through the Philadelphia Society of Friends Famine Relief Committee (and the non-denominational Philadelphia Irish Famine Relief Committee), both of which were formed to collect food, money, and clothing.[14][15][16] In fact, the ship on which the Carolans arrived in America, the Patrick Henry, was used during the relief effort with shipments to Ireland from U.S. cities including Brooklyn, New York.[17][18][19][20]

In the 1860s and into the 1870s, Carolan children were living with the elderly couple in the original Spencer farmhouse, which still stands about a mile northwest of the center of Willow Grove. It was erected by George's grandfather Jacob Spencer in 1744.[13][21]

The Carolans' second son was named "Spencer" to honor George and Mary for their generosity with the family when they first arrived in the region.

George Spencer left the Carolan's daughter Anna Elizabeth Carolan (1858-1930) $50 in his will. He left the same amount to Pennsylvania-born Elizabeth C. Moore (1842-), a "mulatto," who lived with the family in the 1860s and 1870s. That amount would be worth more than $1,500 in "real price" today.[22][23]

Today, the Spencer homestead is the American Legion Post 308 and was featured on the television series, Ghost Hunters, as the site of paranormal activity.[24]

The Carolans likely joined a Catholic Church in Philadelphia, one of the closest and newest parishes was St. Vincent de Paul in Germantown, about nine miles southwest. Another one about the same distance was in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood and opened in 1855. It was called Saint Mary's and was the project of John Middleton, a wealthy Quaker who had converted to Catholicism. Another older church was 11 miles away to the southeast in Frankford. St Joachim was established in 1845, after the Nativist Riots and was connected to a mission church called Saint Mary’s Congregation of Jenkintown, in 1863, which organized into Immaculate Conception, which was much closer for the family.[25][26]

In 1869, the Carolans left the Spencer farm outside Willow Grove for Fitzwatertown, nearly two miles due south. On August 22 that year, the eldest son Michael Carolan (1844-1906), married Annie Larner (1852-1901) at Immaculate Conception. With his new bride, he moved most of the family later that fall, including his parents, into Abington Township, just to the east of Fitzwatertown, onto the farm of Garrett Kendrick.[27] The youngest daughters stayed in the Spencer farmhouse with George and Mary. Mixhael is a "blacksmith" with a personal estate of $600 a few doors down from Hendrick with personal estate of $4,000 and real estate of $30,000. His 16-year-old brother, Thomas Spencer Carolan (1852-1915), is a laborer but likely helping his older brother out in his shop.

Michael's father, Thomas, died at the new home in February 1870, of consumption.[28] He was 64 years old. That June, Michael and Annie's first child Kate was born. She died two months later, the first of 11 deaths of the couple's children, many of them perishing from infant disease.

In 1876, after Michael's mother Elizabeth died, the family moved to the center of Fitzwatertown.[29] They lived a few doors from Samuel Conrad, who owned the gristmill in the center of the village.

The Carolan brothers, Thomas and Michael, inherited the father's ancient trade: Michael purchased land for a shop in Dreshertown and then moved to Franklinville; Thomas Spencer purchased land, opened a shop and built row houses in West Oak Lane.[30]

The Spencers are interred at the Horsham Friends Cemetery in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

In 1896, Willow Grove Park was established by the owners of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company as an escape from the hot summers in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad erected a station in Willow Grove. Soon it became a popular music venue where band leaders like John Phillip Sousa drew as many as 50,000 people a day to the concerts. The park later featured amusement rides and, for a time, was referred to as the “Music Capital of the World."[8]

Demographics

[edit]

As of the 2010 census, the CDP was 81.4% White, 8.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.9% Asian, 1.1% were Some Other Race, and 2.3% were two or more races. 3.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.[31]

As of the census[32] of 2000, there were 16,234 people, 6,389 households, and 4,255 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,485.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,731.9/km2). There were 6,582 housing units at an average density of 1,818.7 per square mile (702.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.57% White, 6.58% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.06% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.57% of the population.

There were 6,389 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,378, and the median income for a family was $62,163. Males had a median income of $40,393 versus $32,451 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,740. About 2.8% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
199016,325
200016,234−0.6%
201015,726−3.1%
202013,730−12.7%
[33]

Economy

[edit]

Asplundh Tree Expert Company is based in Willow Grove. China Airlines operates the Philadelphia Mini Office (Chinese: 費城營業所 Fèichéng Yíngyèsuǒ[34]) in Building 39G at 2300 Computer Avenue in the Willow Grove CDP and in Upper Moreland Township.[35][36][37]

Infrastructure

[edit]

Transportation

[edit]
A SEPTA Regional Rail train on the Warminster Line stopping at the Willow Grove station

Willow Grove is served by the Willow Grove Interchange (exit 343) along the east–west Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 276), which connects to Pennsylvania Route 611. Major roads serving Willow Grove are Pennsylvania Route 611 (Old York Road/Easton Road), Pennsylvania Route 263 (York Road), Pennsylvania Route 63 (Moreland Road), Fitzwatertown Road, Terwood Road, Davisville Road, Easton Road, and Old Welsh Road.[38]

Willow Grove is served by the Willow Grove station on SEPTA Regional Rail's Warminster Line, which runs between Warminster Township and Center City Philadelphia. The community is served by five SEPTA bus routes, with a transit hub at the Willow Grove Park Mall. The Route 22 bus runs between Olney Transportation Center in North Philadelphia and Warminster via Willow Grove and the Route 55 bus runs between Olney Transportation Center and Doylestown via Willow Grove.[39] Both the Route 22 and 55 buses have several trips from Olney Transportation Center that terminate at the Willow Grove Park Mall.[40][41] The Route 95 bus runs between the Willow Grove Park Mall and Gulph Mills. The Route 310 and Route 311 buses connect the Willow Grove station and the Willow Grove Park Mall to business parks in Horsham.[39]

Norfolk Southern Railway's Morrisville Line freight railroad line passes through Willow Grove, running parallel to the south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.[38][42]

Utilities

[edit]

Electricity and natural gas in Willow Grove is provided by PECO Energy Company, a subsidiary of Exelon.[43][44][45] Water in Willow Grove is provided by Aqua Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Aqua America.[46] Trash and recycling collection in the Willow Grove area is provided by the respective townships. Cable, telephone, and internet service to the area is provided by Xfinity and Verizon. Willow Grove is served by area codes 215, 267, and 445.[47]

Health care

[edit]

Jefferson Health–Abington operates the Jefferson Health–Willow Grove (formerly Abington Health Center–Willow Grove) health center in Willow Grove. The health center, which was founded in 1983, consists of four buildings and offers outpatient hospital services including healthcare programs, medical and administrative offices, and conference and educational facilities.[48]

Education

[edit]

The CDP is divided between two school districts: Upper Moreland School District (for portions in Upper Moreland Township), and Abington School District (for portions in Abington Township).[49]

Upper Dublin School District is another area school district.[citation needed]

The area Catholic school is Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School in Willow Grove and Upper Moreland Township. Queen of Angels was formed in 2012 by the merger of St. David in Willow Grove and Our Lady Help of Christians in Abington.[50]

History

[edit]

The place was on the route of an old Lenape trail to New York and developed into a typical colonial crossroads, with inns, stables, blacksmiths, and wheelwright shops. William Penn granted land to physician Nicholas More and the tract became known as the "Manor of Moreland" and later, Moreland Township. The place dates to the year 1711 when the Old York Road was laid out from Philadelphia to New Hope where the Delaware River was crossed at Coreyell’s Ferry. In 1792, mapmaker Reading Howell was said to remark upon the abundance of "willow trees in the marshy land" and the name "Willow Grove" stuck. During the American Revolution, inn keeper Joseph Butler, proprietor of the Red Lion Inn at Willow Grove tended to wounded American soldiers. He was later arrested by the British and held prisoner in Philadelphia.[8]

In 1778, British troops under Lt. Col. Abercromby marched through Willow Grove to the Battle of Crooked Billet in Hatboro.

19th century

[edit]

By 1850, the village was a major crossroads and stage coach stop with five stage lines a day. George Rex, a blacksmith from Germantown, had developed the Mineral Springs Inn in the early 19th century. The springs contained a high concentrate of minerals, like iron and sulfur, which had a reputation of curative powers. There was a recreational park with walking trails and gardens, mineral spring water baths and stables for 100 horses.

It was likely at these stables that the Irish emigrant Thomas Carolan (1806-1870) found work as a blacksmith and farrier. In 1847, he and his wife, Elizabeth Smyth (1817-1876) and children had fled the Great Hunger in Ireland aboard the Patrick Henry.[51] They came from a village in County Meath, Ireland, called Drumbaragh, next to Balrath, in the orbit of Kells to South Street Seaport, New York, and then to Willow Grove. By 1850, they are living in the center of the village in a log cabin on the corner of the Manor of Moreland, a few doors down from the noted blacksmith Mennonite Isaac Lippin Rittenhouse (1795-1876), who likely contracted with the Mineral Springs Inn.[52]

The Carolans were the beneficiaries of Quaker George Spencer (1787-1876) and his wife Mary Thomas (1800-1889), who may have connected with them through charity networks when they arrived in New York City. The Spencers helped enslaved people on the Underground Railroad.[53] The Philadelphia region's Quakers were at the center of relief efforts, as early as November 1846, and through the non-denominational Philadelphia Irish Famine Relief Committee that was formed to collect food, money, and clothing.[54][55]

In the 1860s and into the 1870s, Carolan children were living with the elderly couple in the original Spencer farmhouse, which is west of the center of Willow Grove, and was erected by George's grandfather Jacob Spencer in 1744.[56][57] Upon his death in 1876, George Spencer left Anna Elizabeth Carolan (1858-1930) and Pennsylvania-born Elizabeth C. Moore (1842-), a "mulatto," $50 each, which is worth more than $15,000 in compensation today.[58][59] The Carolans' second son, born in 1852, was named "Spencer" to honor George and Mary for their generosity with the family when they first arrived in the region.

Today, the Spencer farmhouse is the American Legion Post 308 and was featured on the television series, Ghost Hunters, as the site of paranormal activity.[60]

In 1869, Michael (1844-1906), first-born son of Thomas and Elizabeth (three-years-old when he emigrated from Ireland with them), moved most of the family, including his parents, to a farm 2.5 miles south of the Spencer Farm, just to the east of Fitzwatertown, Montgomery County. There, 25-year-old Michael worked beside his 16 year-old brother, Thomas Spencer Carolan (1852-1915), "apprentice to blacksmith," in the shop that Michael established. Their father died on the farm in February 1870 of consumption at age 63. The brothers inherited his ancient trade: Michael purchased land for a shop in Dreshertown and then moved to Franklinville; Thomas Spencer purchased land, opened a shop and built row houses in West Oak Lane.[61]

The Spencers are interred at the Horsham Friends Cemetery in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

In 1896, Willow Grove Park was established by the owners of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company as an escape from the hot summers in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad erected a station in Willow Grove. Soon it became a popular music venue where band leaders like John Phillip Sousa drew as many as 50,000 people a day to the concerts. The park later featured amusement rides and, for a time, was referred to as the “Music Capital of the World."[8]

Notable people

[edit]
[edit]
  • In the song "Please Don't Tell My Father That I Used His 1996 Honda Accord To Destroy The Town Of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania In 2002", by pop punk band Pet Symmetry, Evan Weiss (also of Into It. Over It.) describes his actions vandalizing Willow Grove as a teenager.
  • In the American comedy-drama "The Goldbergs", the main cast visits the Willow Grove Park Mall in numerous episodes.
  • U.S First Cat Willow is named after the town.
  • The television series Ghost Hunters filmed an episode in the American Legion Post 308 to the west of Willow Grove in an episode titled "Unexplained Phenomena," which aired in Season 5, Episode 24 on December 9, 2009. "The team probes an 18th-century farmhouse in Willow Grove, Pa., where spirits allegedly play with the lights and cast large, dark shadows."

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "Willow Grove". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Willow Grove CDP, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 22, 2024. - 2010 map, 2000 index map (pages here). 1990 county index map with Willow Grove CDP on pages 47, 48, 56, and 57.
  4. ^ Huber, Robert (March 2017). "The Promised Land?". Philadelphia Magazine. pp. 76–79, 128–134.
  5. ^ Jasuta, Jill (January 8, 2017). "38. Willow Grove". Harriet Tubman Byway. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "streets.gif Archived February 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
  7. ^ "Former Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove". www.bracpmo.navy.mil. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Momorella, E. A Brief History of Willow Grove. Upper Moreland Township Pennsylvania. No date.
  9. ^ Carolan, Michael. How My Ancestors Begin Their American Dream. Medium.com. July 27, 2022.
  10. ^ U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Moreland Townland, Thos. Carolan family Dwelling No. 189, Isaac Rittenhouse family Dwelling No. 182. For a while Rittenhouse followed farming in Montgomery County near Hatborough; later he moved to Germantown again, where he died; his children were Sarah, Susanna, Elizabeth, Peter, Mary, Charles and Samuel. Isaac was a descendent of William Rittenhouse, a papermaker who established the first papermill in the North American colonies. Isaac "possessed a great deal of ingenuity; he was the inventor of and made the first swelled ax to force out chips in felling trees.".
  11. ^ 1850 US census, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
  12. ^ "The Underground Railroad in Central Montgomery County". www.friendsjournal.org. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Jenkins, Howard Malcolm (October 27, 2022). Genealogical Sketch of the Descendants of Samuel Spencer of Pennsylvania. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 978-1-01-572200-2.
  14. ^ Strum, Harvey. Pennsylvania and Irish Famine relief, 1846–1847.
  15. ^ "Irish (The) and Ireland". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  16. ^ "Learn About the Great Hunger at Ireland's Great Hunger Museum". ighm.org. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "Famine Relief from Brooklyn by Harvey Strum, Ph.D." Article Archive of the New York Irish History Roundatable. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  18. ^ A September 1847 shipment contained: "70 barrels of flour; 34 barrels of meal; 5 boxes barley; 5 barrels of wheat; 51 barrels of rye flour; 3 barrels of beans; 1 barrel of peas; 14 packages of clothing; 179 barrels of corn; 2 barrels of pork; and 8 barrels of sundries."
  19. ^ Strom, Harvey. Famine relief from an ancient Dutch city. The Hudson River Valley Review, 2006.
  20. ^ Ireland), Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends (Dublin (1852). Transactions of the Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends During the Famine in Ireland, in 1846 and 1847. Hodges and Smith.
  21. ^ 1860 U.S. census, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Moreland Township. George Spencer household.
  22. ^ measuringworth.com. Measured as production workers compensation it equals more than $15,000 today.
  23. ^ Pennsylvania, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com. Will and Last Testament of George Spencer, 1876.
  24. ^ Ghost Hunters "Unexplained Phenomena" Season 5, Episode 24 Aired December 9, 2009. "The team probes an 18th-century farmhouse in Willow Grove, Pa., where spirits allegedly play with the lights and cast large, dark shadows."
  25. ^ "Home". Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  26. ^ "History". ICC. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  27. ^ Atlas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1871. by G.M. Hopkins & Company.
  28. ^ US census, mortality schedules, 1850 to 1880
  29. ^ United States Census, 1880; Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
  30. ^ Research by Michael Charles Carolan. The Carolans' first son Michael, born in 1844 at Springville, Kells, County Meath, was named for his paternal great-grandfather, a flax weaver and farmer. He also has the name of his uncle, who remained in Ireland during the Great Hunger.
  31. ^ Census 2010: Pennsylvania. Usatoday.Com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
  32. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  33. ^ "Census 2020".
  34. ^ "北美洲地區 Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine." China Airlines. Retrieved on April 24, 2010
  35. ^ "Branch Offices North America Archived 2011-11-28 at the Wayback Machine." China Airlines. Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
  36. ^ "Willow Grove CDP[permanent dead link]." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
  37. ^ "Maps-Township-Buildings.pdf." Upper Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
  38. ^ a b Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (PDF) (Map). PennDOT. 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  39. ^ a b SEPTA Official Transit & Street Map Suburban (PDF) (Map). SEPTA. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  40. ^ "Route 22 bus schedule" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  41. ^ "Route 55 bus schedule" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  42. ^ Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Region Timetable 1, August 4, 2008
  43. ^ "PECO: Company Information". PECO Energy Company. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  44. ^ "Electric Service Tariff" (PDF). PECO Energy Company. July 17, 2017. p. 4. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  45. ^ "Gas Service Tariff" (PDF). PECO Energy Company. August 30, 2017. p. 2. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  46. ^ "Rates and Rules Governing the Distribution of Water" (PDF). Aqua Pennsylvania. March 11, 2013. p. 3. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  47. ^ Area Code 215 and 267 Map (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  48. ^ "Abington Health Center-Willow Grove Guide to Services". Abington-Jefferson Health. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  49. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Montgomery County, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 22, 2024. - Text list - 2010 map and text list
  50. ^ "2012 Catholic grade school consolidations/closings". Catholicphilly.com. July 15, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  51. ^ Carolan, Michael. How My Ancestors Begin Their American Dream. Medium.com. July 27, 2022.
  52. ^ U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Moreland Townland, Thos. Carolan family Dwelling No. 189, Isaac Rittenhouse family Dwelling No. 182. For a while Rittenhouse followed farming in Montgomery County near Hatborough; later he moved to Germantown again, where he died; his children were Sarah, Susanna, Elizabeth, Peter, Mary, Charles and Samuel. Isaac was a descendent of William Rittenhouse, a papermaker who established the first papermill in the North American colonies. Isaac "possessed a great deal of ingenuity; he was the inventor of and made the first swelled ax to force out chips in felling trees.".
  53. ^ "The Underground Railroad in Central Montgomery County". www.friendsjournal.org. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  54. ^ https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/download/62361/61656/69606
  55. ^ https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/irish-the-and-ireland/
  56. ^ Jenkins, Howard Malcolm (1904). Genealogical sketch of the descendants of Samuel Spencer of Pennsylvania. Cornell University Library. Philadelphia Ferris & Leach.
  57. ^ 1860 U.S. census, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Upper Moreland Township. George Spencer household.
  58. ^ measuringworth.com. Measured as production workers compensation.
  59. ^ Pennsylvania, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, ancestry.com. Will and Last Testament of George Spencer, 1876.
  60. ^ Ghost Hunters "Unexplained Phenomena" Season 5, Episode 24 Aired December 9, 2009. "The team probes an 18th-century farmhouse in Willow Grove, Pa., where spirits allegedly play with the lights and cast large, dark shadows."
  61. ^ Research by Michael Charles Carolan. The Carolans' first son Michael, born in 1844 at Springville, Kells, County Meath, was named for his paternal great-grandfather, a flax weaver and farmer, and his uncle who remained in Ireland during the Great Hunger.
  62. ^ Terruso, Julia (October 14, 2020). "Jill Biden's Philly 'grit'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  63. ^ Edwin Hallowell at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-02-14
  64. ^ Adam Bernstein. "Enolia McMillan; First Woman to Lead NAACP". The Washington Post, October 26, 2006 p. B7
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