American Material Culture Commons^™

John Wister (1829-1900), Active Iron Industrialist, Raymond Dilissio

People and Places

John Wister was born on July 15, 1829 at Belfield (now sometimes called the Peale House), located here on campus. John was born to William Wister and Sarah Logan Wister; Sarah’s father, William Logan Fisher, originally bought the house from colonial painter Charles Wilson Peale. John was the second oldest of six boys in the family.

Peale And Jefferson: Correspondence From Belfield, Dave Tavani

People and Places

The correspondence between Charles Willson Peale and Thomas Jefferson, while Peale lived at Belfield, is a very interesting window into the lives of two great American men. Peale and Jefferson were friends from revolutionary times--in fact Peale painted Jefferson’s portrait. Jefferson initiated the correspondence with a letter to his friend Peale dated August 20, 1811 and also wrote the last surviving letter, which is dated August 26, 1820.

Three Centuries On The South Campus, James A. Butler

Local History Essays

(Reprinted from La Salle: A Quarterly La Salle University Magazine, Fall 1998)

The story of the south campus begins, as any settlement of a new country must, with the land itself. Early in the eighteenth century, the horseback rider exploring his 500-acre "plantation" acutely felt what we in our cars scarcely notice: La Salle’s property, approached from the south, rises as a formidable hill. And the rider observed, as we no longer can, two pristine and swift-moving creeks--one following the line of present-day Belfield Avenue and the other that of Ogontz Avenue.

Charles Willson Peale At Belfield: "Your Garden Must Be A Museum", Kateryna A. Rudnytzky

Local History Essays

Famous colonial portrait painter Charles Willson Peale ("second only to Benjamin Franklin as Philadelphia’s 18^th century Renaissance man") lived at Belfield Mansion—still standing—from 1810 until 1821. Belfield Mansion, partly dating from 1708, is one of the oldest university buildings in use in the country.

Frances Anne Kemble (1809-1893), Natalie Karelis

People and Places

Frances Anne Kemble was born into a theatrical family in London, England, on November 27, 1809. Her roots in the theater were well established at her birth, her aunt being the renowned actress Sarah Siddons and her father, Charles Kemble, the renowned Shakespearean actor.

The National League For Woman's Service, Lydia Stieber

People and Places

St. Mutien’s Christian Brothers’ Residence, located on La Salle University’s South Campus, was once one of the busiest centers in Germantown. In 1917, this building was known as "Little Wakefield" and was a demonstration center for one of most active branches of the National League for Woman’s Service.

Sarah Logan Fisher Wister (1806-1891), Monica Shields

People and Places

Sarah Logan Fisher Wister was born May 18, 1806 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Her parents were William Logan Fisher and his first wife, Mary Rodman. Little, if anything, is known about her childhood because the authors of the greatest quantity of information known about her were her son and her granddaughter.

William Rotch Wister (1827-1911), Dave Stanoch

People and Places

William Rotch Wister, born on December 7, 1827, was raised along with his siblings at the Belfield estate. William derived his "Rotch" name from the Rodmans and Rotches, relatives in Massachusetts who were the first people to settle the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.

Ella Eustis Wister Haines (1879-1969), Kristen Terranova

People and Places

Ella Eustis Wister was born on August 30, 1879 to William Rotch Wister and Mary Rebecca Eustis, at Mrs. Wister’s mother’s home in Milton, Massachusetts.

Sarah Logan Wister Starr (1873-1956), Jeff Thompson

People and Places

Named after her grandmother, Sarah Logan Fisher, Sarah Logan Wister was born in Pierre County, Duncannon, near Philadelphia in 1873. Her Father John Wister descended from the wealthy Wisters of Philadelphia, while her mother descended from James Logan, Secretary to William Penn during the early colonial period.

"Waldheim" And Its Inhabitants, Justin Cupples

People and Places

Remnants of the foundation of the former "Waldheim" mansion are still in existence. One can still trek into the small patch of woods between the Neumann Halls Dormitory and the La Salle University commuter parking lot, and take a gander at the ruins of the home of historically significant people.

John Caspar Wister (1887-1982), Andy Gwiazda

People and Places

John Caspar Wister, who was, as the Philadelphia Inquirer so aptly described him, the "dean of horticulturists" in the UnitedStates, was born on March 19, 1887, to William Rotch Wister and Mary Rebecca Eustis in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.

William Logan Fisher (1781-1862), Michelle Dillin

People and Places

William Logan Fisher, industrialist, author, and "Philadelphia patriarch" bought the "Belfield" estate from the Peale family in 1826. He lived at "Wakefield" and established the Wakefield Mills Manufacturing Company. In its prime, the Wakefield Mills, powered by steam and water, produced an estimated nine-tenths of all hosiery and fancy knit goods in the United States.

Mary Channing Wister (1870-1913): An Unknown Legend, Eric M. Augenstein

People and Places

Most articles and stories about Mary Channing Wister start out like this: "Mary Channing Wister, the wife of the novelist Owen Wister, author of The Virginian. . . ." For some people, being affiliated with a famous spouse or other family member is a great honor. There is much more to Mary Channing Wister, though, than just having a famous husband.

Wisters And Fishers In The Civil War, Jen Merritt

People and Places

The Wister and Fisher families who lived on or near what is today La Salle's campus were prominent members of their community and many of them served diligently during the Civil War.

Frances Anne Wister (1874-1956), Bob Delp

People and Places

One of the first leadership positions that Frances Anne held was as vice president of the Women’s Civic Club of Philadelphia (c. 1907). She served as vice president for the rest of her life, except for a period of seven years (1922-29), when she served as its president. It was her sister, Mary Channing Wister, who founded the Women’s Civic Club, but when she died, Frances Anne continued it and kept it running. The Civic Club was responsible for bringing about electric street lighting to the city of Philadelphia.

Home Where "The Mansion" Was, James A. Butler

Local History Essays

(Reprinted from La Salle: A Quarterly La Salle University Magazine, Spring 1994)

The Wister Family owned four homes on the Belfield estate. Two buildings survive: "Belfield"--or "Peale House"--itself, and the "Mary and Frances Wister Fine Arts Studio" (built by the William Rotch Wisters in 1868). The William Rotch Wisters' stunning second house, "Wister," was built in 1876 on the side of Clarkson Avenue opposite from the Arts Studio; "Wister" was donated to Fairmount Park in 1949 and demolished in 1956.

The Remarkable Wisters At Belfield, James A. Butler

Local History Essays

Reprinted from La Salle: A Quarterly La Salle University Magazine, Spring 1994

The history of the nineteenth-century Wisters at "Belfield" encompasses three adjoining properties--and begins (perhaps appropriately for a future university campus) with a teenager who defied her father.