Greenwood
Knights of Pythias Cemetery
Historic Preservation Effort
I am trying to gather support for my nomination of Greenwood Cemetery
to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. This property
was
the Solly family farm which was owned by my great-great-grandparents
Robert Wood Solly and Eliza Esher from 1832-1869. I have many,
many
family members buried on its grounds. Being placed on the Historic
Register is the only thing which could save this house from being
demolished and the cemetery paved over for a condominium complex.
I
would very much appreciate your sending a signed copy of this letter
to the Commission in support of saving Greenwood. Please feel
free
to print as many copies as you need -- every
signature counts
If you wish you could attend the Commission meetings to show support.
They are:
May 19 at 10:00 a.m.
June 14 at 9:00 a.m.
Both meetings at the Commission offices in their
18th Floor conference room.
Philadelphia Historical Commission
Attention: Mr. Richard Tyler
1515 Arch Street, 13th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
RE: Nomination of Greenwood Knights of Pythias Cemetery
Dear Mr. Tyler:
I am writing to you in support of the nomination of Greenwood
Knights of Pythias Cemetery to the Philadelphia Register of Historic
Places. One by one, our historic sites are being irretrievably
lost.
This property is important as it is representative of the great
estates which Frankford once had. Of the 40 18th century estates,
only two are left with their grounds. Greenwood is one of those
two
estates.
Greenwood is particularly notable because of its ownership by
Dr. Benjamin Rush and his wife, Julia, who owned the property from
1781 to 1792. Dr. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of
Independence and founding father of our country. As I am sure
you
are aware, Dr. Rush's two other residences in Philadelphia have been
demolished. It is therefore even more imperative that Greenwood
Cemetery be preserved.
Please give the nomination of Greenwood Knights of Pythias
Cemetery your full consideration for inclusion in the Philadelphia
Register of Historic Places.
Very truly yours,
(your name)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Saving history, that's what we do," he said. "It's the moral
requirement of every living soul to care for the gravestones of the
dead." - John Walters
Volunteer of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness at
http://raogk.rootsweb.com/
There are Boyds buried in this cemetery. They are:
7 Grace Greenwood McCoy b: 28 March 1871
+ Lewis Brown
8 Grace Brown b: 28 March
+James A. Boyd m. 1 November
1924 in Philadelphia, PA
9 Grace
Boyd
+ K.W. Waters
9 Patricia
Boyd
9 Florence
Elizabeth Boyd
+Vernon LeRoy Powell m: 12 June 1948 in Elkton, MD
*2nd Husband of Grace Brown:
+Harry W. Funck m: Aft 1927
8 Florence Brown
+ Unknown Boyd
|
Solly Farm circa 1860-69
|
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~solly/pages/greenwood.html
I am adding cemetery records from the microfilm at HSP as I get the
chance. The Boyd plot is at G87. I have about half the
Deeds for
the property's chain of title online and will be adding the rest
shortly.
"Saving history, that's what we do," he said.
"It's the moral
requirement of every living soul to care
for the gravestones of the
dead." - John Walters