Contents 
Front Matter The Name of My City My Own Name Why We Went to London Bound for America On Board Ship Unknown Country The End of the Voyage Going Ashore Our First Shelter A Tedious Task Our Cave Home Completed How We Kept House Savages Come to Town What the Savages Wore Game in Plenty Sea Food News of the Factor Arrival of the Amity Going to Meet the Factor A Tiresome Journey Meeting Old Friends Roasting Turkeys Turning an Honest Penny A Place for the City Building the City A Bear Hunt The New Home Penn's Care for Colonists The First Baby How the Indians Live Indian Utensils and Tools Canoes of Bark Making Wampum The Beehive Huts Finishing the Cure Starting a Fire Cooking Indian Corn News of Penn's Arrival Our Humble Preparations The Welcome to Penn A Day of Festivities Penn Joins in the Sports More Serious Business What a Bake Oven Is Baking in the New Oven Penn Plans to Buy Land Penn and the Indians The Price Paid for Land Gratitude of the Indians Trapping Wild Turkeys New Arrivals Government by the People The Promise of a School Dock Creek Bridge The Nail Business Buying Iron in New York No Merrymaking after Dark Busy Days Enoch Flower's School End of Our School Days Settlement of Germantown New Laws in Our Own Town A Division of Opinion A Matter of History Boundary Lines The Governor's Following A Proud Departure The Settlement of Chester Dining in State Anchored off New Castle An Uncomfortable Night A Dull Journey In Lord Baltimore's City A Splendid Home A Question of Duty Amy of Maryland The Shops of Maryland The Result of the Visit Philadelphia Progresses Penn Goes Back to London

Stephen of Philadelphia - James Otis




The First Baby

It was while we were thus working to the best of our ability, women and girls as well as men and boys, to have matters progressing when William Penn should visit us, that the settlement was excited by news that a baby had come to the family of John Key, who was yet living in one of the caves on the river bank.

[Illustration] from Stephen of Philadelphia by James Otis

I had never believed the day would dawn when I should go out of my way to see such a thing; but this little fellow was the first to come from Heaven to our half-built city of Brotherly Love, and it seemed as if it was the bounden duty of every one to visit John Key's cave at least once, to look upon Philadelphia's first baby.

He wasn't anything wonderful to see, so far as I could make out; but the girls appeared to think that nothing like him had ever come into this world before, and I dare venture to say John Key's wife was heartily glad when the fever for seeing the baby died away, as it did in the course of two weeks.

Jethro and I were among the very first visitors, and even then I felt somewhat of shame to be running around after a baby, and, two days later, when the excitement was at its height, wild horses couldn't have dragged me there, because of the cave's being filled with women and girls during every minute of the day, until one would have believed that we of Philadelphia had nothing better with which to occupy our time.

I may as well set it down here that when our William Penn arrived, he gave to this first baby a piece of land near that street which was called Crown.