Joseph Francis Tripician

Joseph Tripician was born Tripiciano in Sicily and emmigrated to western Pennsylvania with his father, a stonecutter, and family in 1902 or 1903.

His love and respect for local history is revealed in this brief summary of his life from the dedication of Massacre at Duffy's Cut by William E. Watson and J. Francis Watson (The History Press, 2018):

This book is dedicated by the authors to Joseph F. Tripician, their maternal grandfather, who was a Sicilian immigrant railroader and who started out as a stonemason and eventually became executive assistant to the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and retired as that company's director of personnel. He instilled an interest in history in us and preserved the railroad's file on Duffy's Cut so that this history could be recovered.

The Duffy's Cut Project uncovered the story of the deaths, in 1832, of 57 Irish railroad workers building the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, a section of the "Main Line of Public Works", predecessor to the Pennsylvania Railroad. The project resulted in two books, a memorial in Laurel Hill West cemetery and a PBS documentary.

Tripician and his young family moved to Narberth in 1930. When he stepped down from Narberth Borough Council in 1970, he was its longest serving President (16 years), and, at 20 years, the second longest serving member overall.

Updated April 18, 2025.