Early Settlers of Llanerch
Here is a snippet of the 1897 atlas of the Main Line Railroad from the Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network. I will attempt to provide information regarding each landowner listed in Llanerch at the time.
Mary R. Albertson
Mary R. Albertson (née Hodgson) was born in April 1836 in Pennsylvania. She was a Quaker and the wife of Henry Albertson, a dry goods salesman. He died in 1895, and she inherited the majority of his property, including pretty much all land in Llanerch with the exception of the housing of those who had their own properties on Llanerch, and she possessed stock in the Springfield Water Company. Most of the land that she owned was undeveloped, and surrounded all roads covered in the project excluding Valley, which didn't exist at the time, and including Pembrey, which did exist but merged with East Park Road.
In 1880, her family resided in Upper Darby, and by 1900, she was living in Ithaca, New York. She didn't own any buildings in Llanerch except for 17 East Park Road, and it is unclear if she ever lived in it or not. In 1904, she sold 300 Lansdowne Road to William L. Garland for $4,250. She died later that year.
Her husband's obituary sheds some light on his life, and he is referred to as the "founder of Llanerch".
Philadelphia Times, June 8th, 1895, page 2
N.B. Crenshaw
It is actually somehwat inappropriate that the map say this land belongs to Nathaniel Bacon Crenshaw, because that is not the case. N.B. Crenshaw was an employee or executive of the Girard Trust Company, a precursor to the now-defunct Girard Bank. In 1897, he gave George W. Deans the contract to build 11 two-story houses on the property owned by the bank. He held this position until at least 1900. He was born in 1865 in Richmond, Virginia, and moved to Pennsylvania to attend Haverford College. He died in Baltimore in 1903 after suffering from a long illness.
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 18th, 1903, page 16
Morgan Davis
Although he never really lived in Llanerch, the property of Morgan Reese Davis, Sr. ended where Llandillo Road is now, and Davis is still important to the history of Llanerch, and he is the namesake for Davis Road, which was the only named interior road of Llanerch at the time of the 1897 atlas. The other sides of his estate were bound by Darby and Manoa Roads. He was born around Chester County in 1832, the son of Err Davis and Mary Pawling. He lived in Llanerch at the time of the 1880 census as a farmer after having purchased the estate from a seperate Davis family, and did so through the 1900 census. More information about his farm (nicknamed Davilla farm) can be found here.
In 1903, his estate had been robbed of a team of horses. The assailants were caught and his property was returned. He passed away in 1905 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery (Pennsylvania, not Virginia). It's not clear to me where exactly Davis lived while on his estate, but one of the buildings is still standing, that being 11 East Mercer Avenue, which Zillow states was built in 1740. Another old home on the property is 20 East Langhorne Road, which Zillow states was built in 1870.
Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11th, 1903, page 5
1902 Directory
For other information regarding Llanerch residents around the turn of the century, you can check out the 1902 Directory on Delawarecountyhistory.com, which contains 20 households and their occupations.
Charles S. Taylor
Although not on the 1897 map, I would be remiss if I did not mention Charles Shoemaker Taylor, who was quite involved with the real estate of Llanerch in the first two decades of the 20th century. He was born in 1850 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later moved to Haverford, living on 836 Buck Lane, a beautiful brick estate built in 1896. He was incredibly wealthy. Below are a list of properties involving Taylor's ownership:
In 1901, Taylor purchased the lot which, in 1905, would have 101 Tenby Road built atop it. He sold it to the Brown family in 1905 for $6,175.
In 1903, Taylor sold 14 Tenby Road to Emma Litzenberg.
In 1906, Taylor sold 113 Tenby Road to the Kirchers for $1,000.
In 1907, Taylor sold eight lots to Emma C. Bergdoll for $13,000. 5 Llandaff Road was eventually built on the property.
In 1907, Taylor sold 111 East Park Road to the Johnson family.
In 1907, Taylor sold the plot of 313 Lansdowne Road to Samuel Holt for $530.
In 1907, Taylor sold the plot of 315 Lansdowne Road to Frank Dutton for $550.
In 1908, Taylor sold a lot to William Heritage for $1,200 on Llandaff Road. It's unclear what property it was.
In 1908, Taylor sold 109 Tenby Road to Georgie McKean for $1,150.
In 1908, Taylor sold 309 Lansdowne Road to Freeman Taylor (no relation?)
The 1913 atlas lists Charles S. Taylor as the owner of 112 Llandaff Road and 314 Lansdowne Road.
In 1913, he sold land to Charles Raymond, who lived on 302 Bewley Road.
In 1913, he sold 302 Davis Road to the Marsh family for $1,100.
In 1914, he sold 303 Davis Road's plot to Joseph McCready for $1,150.