Robert T. Trump, 82, fine-arts dealer

Robert Townshend Trump, 82, formerly of Whitemarsh and Tiverton, R.I., an antiques and fine-arts dealer who restored Society Hill homes in the 1950s and 1960s, died Sunday, March 22, of a stroke at the Quadrangle in Haverford.

The son of Robert Williams and Elizabeth Townshend Trump, Mr. Trump grew up in Whitemarsh on a small farm near St. Thomas' Church. He is descended from Quakers who helped found Germantown, he told The Inquirer in 2013.

He was an expert in American Federal furniture and a champion of the early Philadelphia cabinetmaker Joseph B. Barry, his family said.

Mr. Trump found and placed 18th- and early 19th-century furniture in museum collections and historic sites such as Mount Vernon and Winterthur.

During the early days of the urban revival in Philadelphia, Mr. Trump spearheaded restoration of more than a dozen historic homes in Society Hill.

Press accounts indicate that he preserved the 18th- and early 19th-century houses to rescue them from decay and to jump-start the neighborhood hit hard by the Great Depression. "He helped to make Society Hill the place it is today," said his son, Michael Trump.

Among the homes he restored were Bell's Court, a stretch of trinities built from 1813 to 1815, and the Barclay House at 217 Delancey St.

As the number of homes available for restoration dwindled, he began the transition to an antiques dealer, procuring early hardware for Independence Hall.

Besides his son, Mr. Trump is survived by his wife, Sandra Snowden; daughters Tacy and Lillie Buck; and two grandsons.

A celebration of Mr. Trump's life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 28, at St. Thomas' Church, 610 Church Rd., Fort Washington. Burial is private.