Biography

10/15/1792 - 07/04/1864

Benjamin Crispin (D2) Philadelphia County 1841-1843

Early Life:

Benjamin Crispin, born, October 15, 1792, Lower Dublin Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; son of Silas and Esther Dougherty Crispin; Lower Dublin Academy; married, Maria Foster, 1816, children, William Crispin, Benjamin Franklin Crispin, Thomas H. Crispin, Colonel Silas Crispin; lieutenant, Pennsylvania Militia, 1822; saddler; appointed, justice of the peace, Byberry Township, Lower Dublin Township and Oxford Township (now, Philadelphia), Philadelphia County, 1823-1837; court appointed, director of public schools, Lower Dublin, 1828-1832; trustee, Dublin Academy, 1837-1838, president, Dublin Academy, 1838-1864; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1837-1840; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1841-1843; elected, Senate Speaker, 1843; elected, 23rd Ward, first common councilman, common council, Philadelphia, 1854; first commissioner, Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company; died, July 4, 1864, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; interment, Emmanuel Resurrection Episcopal Church Cemetery, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Founder, Emanuel Church, Holmesburg, serving 20 years as vestryman, eight years as accounting warden, Diocesan Convention representative, 1854-1860; founding member, president, trustees, Holmesburg Athenaeum Association; chairman, building committee, organized, Crispin Burial Ground Community, (Crispin Cemetery Corporation).

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Appointed, justice of the peace, Byberry Township, Lower Dublin Township and Oxford Township (now, Philadelphia), Philadelphia County, 1823-1837.

Court appointed, director of public schools, Lower Dublin, 1828-1832. 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1837-1840.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 2nd district, Philadelphia County, 1841-1843; elected, Senate Speaker, 1843. 

Elected, 23rd Ward, first common councilman, common council, Philadelphia, 1854.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Legacy: 

Born, Lower Dublin Township, also known as Dublin Township, is a defunct township that was in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The township ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854.

The Act of Consolidation, of February 2, 1854 (P.L. 21, No. 16), the Pennsylvania General Assembly that created the consolidated City and County of Philadelphia, expanding the city's territory to the entirety of Philadelphia County and dissolving the other municipal authorities in the county. The law was enacted by the General Assembly and approved February 2, 1854, by Governor William Bigler. This act consolidated all remaining townships, districts, and boroughs within the County of Philadelphia, dissolving their governmental structures and bringing all municipal authority within the county under the auspices of the Philadelphia government. Additionally, any unincorporated areas were included in the consolidation. The consolidation was drafted to help combat lawlessness that the many local governments could not handle separately and to bring in much-needed tax revenue for the State.

Board of education, renamed, Holmesburg Public School, Benjamin Crispin Elementary School, 1906. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold "Senate Members "C". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Benjamin Crispin (1792-1864) - Find a Grave Memorial