Caspar Wistar (glassmaker)
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the glassmaker Caspar Wistar. For the physician of the same name see Caspar Wistar (physician)Caspar Wistar (physician)Caspar Wistar was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometimes referred to as Caspar Wistar the Younger, to distinguish him from his grandfather of the same name.-Biography:...
.
Caspar Wistar (born Wüster) (February 3, 1696 – March 21, 1752) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born glassmaker and landowner in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He was the grandfather of Caspar Wistar
Caspar Wistar (physician)
Caspar Wistar was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometimes referred to as Caspar Wistar the Younger, to distinguish him from his grandfather of the same name.-Biography:...
, the physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and anatomist
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
after whom the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
is named.
Biography
He was born in Hilsbach (Waldhilsbach), Rhenish Palatinate in BadenBaden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, the son of a forester. He emigrated to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1717 and worked at various manual trades, including soapmaking and the manufacture of brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s.
He became a British subject in 1724 and joined the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(the Quakers) in 1726. He married Catherine Jansen in 1727; they had seven children. With the support of Quaker merchants and political leaders, he set up a glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
factory and began buying land and selling it to new immigrants from Germany. His land deals made him one of the richest men in Pennsylvania.
Caspar's brother John (born Johannes) emigrated a decade after Caspar did. While Caspar anglicized his name to "Wistar", John spelled his "Wister". The two each founded prominent Philadelphia-area families, and the difference in spelling persisted.
Descendants
Caspar Wistar and Catherine Jansen had seven children:- Richard Wistar (died 1781); married Sarah Wyatt. He was a leader in prison reform.
- Thomas Waln Wistar; married Mary Waln. Their son was Caspar Wistar the YoungerCaspar Wistar (physician)Caspar Wistar was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometimes referred to as Caspar Wistar the Younger, to distinguish him from his grandfather of the same name.-Biography:...
.
(one other son)
- Rebecca Wistar; married Samuel MorrisSamuel Morris (soldier)Samuel Morris was an American soldier in the American Revolutionary War.The grandson of Anthony Morris , he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, a figure in the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
- Margaret Wistar
(two other daughters)
Other descendants include Isaac J. Wistar, figure in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and founder of the Wistar Institute
Wistar Institute
The Wistar Institute is a biomedical center, with a focus on cancer research and vaccine development. It is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pa...
. Caspar Wistar was also the great-uncle of diarist Sally Wister
Sally Wister
Sarah Wister was a girl living in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. She is principally known as the author of Sally Wister's Journal, a first-hand account of life in the nearby countryside during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777–78, when she was sixteen.-Family and early...
.
Sources
- Milton Rubincam, "The Wistar-Wister Family: A Pennsylvania Family's Contributions Toward American Cultural Development", Pennsylvania History, Volume 20, Number 2 (April 1953), 142-164.
- Sally WisterSally WisterSarah Wister was a girl living in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. She is principally known as the author of Sally Wister's Journal, a first-hand account of life in the nearby countryside during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777–78, when she was sixteen.-Family and early...
's Journal: A True Narrative: Being a Quaker Maiden's Account of Her Experiences with Officers of the Continental Army, 1777-1779, Ferris & Leach, Philadelphia, 1902.
- Rosalind J. Beiler, IMMIGRANT AND ENTREPRENEUR: THE ATLANTIC WORLD OF CASPAR WISTAR, 1650-1750 (University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008).