Edward Roberts

Edward Roberts (1680 – 1741) was a colonial mayor of Philadelphia. Upon emigrating to the United States he became a prosperous merchant and landowner. He served as Mayor of Philadelphia from 1739 to 1740.

Background Roberts was born in Llanvawr, Merionethshire, Wales, the third son of , a prominent Quaker preacher.

In 1736, he was one of the signers of the Articles creating the Union Fire Company to develop what would become the first volunteer fire department in the United States in Philadelphia. He was elected Mayor on October 2, 1739. His daughter Jane, would marry William Fishbourne, mayor of Philadelphia. His daughter, Susannah Elizabeth, married doctor Thomas Bond in 1735. Mary married Mordecai Yarnall.

In 1741 Roberts died in Philadelphia County, now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.