- Sarah Logan Wister Starr
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Sarah Logan Wister Starr (1873 - August 21, 1956) was a prominent member of Philadelphia society in the early 1900s and a dedicated humanitarian.
Contents
Family
Named after her grandmother, Sarah Logan Fisher, Sarah Logan Wister was born in Pierre County, Duncannon, near Philadelphia. Her father, John Wister, was descended from the wealthy Wisters of Philadelphia, while her mother was descended from James Logan, Secretary to William Penn during the early colonial period.
Sarah had three sisters. The first, Jane Boas, died in 1869 at age three before any of the others were born. Elizabeth was born next, followed by Sarah and the youngest, Margaret. Sarah was a figure admired by her sister Margaret, and was seen as the opposite of Elizabeth who was more wild and unpredictable. Even as a young woman, Sarah was dignified and proper and "held high the banner of family morality."
Married Life
In 1901, at age 28, Sarah married James Starr, a mining official also descended from James Logan. James graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1891 and later earned a degree of Mining Engineering from Towne Scientific School in 1892. James was most well known for his collection of Chinese stamps.[1]
Mary Meigs, Sarah’s niece, describes Sarah’s and Elizabeth’s choices in husbands:
“They selected for husbands, businessmen who were as much alike as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Their names were Stewart and Jim, both had benevolent faces and handlebar moustaches, and, at parties, chewed on their cigars and listened to their wives… ‘Jim of course never speaks if he can help it…speaking is against his principles’… ‘Jim actually interrupts!’ But his little flare of rebellion was quickly extinguished and I remember only his good-natured silences while Aunt Sarah’s tongue reeled out like a string with a colourful kite dancing at the end.[2]
Later, Meigs describes Sarah’s marriage as "dreary…like a man and wife yoked together like a couple of oxen, plodding along in gloomy silence or to the sound of a monologue."[3]
Homestead
The Starr's "Chinese Garden" in 2010. The Chinese characters are still visible to the door's right.
After the death of her mother in 1922, Sarah received ownership of the Belfield Estate, a Philadelphia homestead that had been passed down through the Wister family for years, and which had once been owned by the artist Charles Willson Peale. Elizabeth, the oldest sister was extremely upset that she was not given possession of Belfield, and her desire led to a feud between the two sisters that lasted for 30 years, until the death of Sarah’s husband brought them partially back together.
When Sarah took possession of the estate, a number of changes were made. Telephone and electricity were added by means of underground wires, so as not to disturb the beauty of the garden. Belfield saw the opening of Twentieth Street, which led to a restraining wall nine hundred feet long and in some places fourteen feet high in order to provide security and protection from heavy traffic and passersby. James added a series of water and rock gardens. Sarah herself added a garden of 100 hybrid tea roses. After their return from China in 1933, a section of the garden was dedicated to the Chinese taste. “A plastered stone wall, separated by a tiny hip roof and an entrance to it is made through a large vase-shaped gate, on one side of which appears, in red, the Chinese characters which denote the year, month, and day of its erection.”[4] The garden also holds an orange and a lemon tree taken from the orangery of Butler Place when Owen Wister sold it. Belfield Estate is now part of La Salle University’s campus.
Service to the Community
Throughout her life, Sarah Logan Wister Starr maintained a life dedicated to service of her country and humanity. From 1921-1941, Sarah served as President of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. She was the President of the Colonial Dames for many years, as well as President of the Women’s Permanent Emergency Association of Germantown, which was founded over 60 years earlier by her grandmother, and revived during World War II.
She gained honorary degrees from both Ursinus College in 1933 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1941.
She was an Associate Trustee of the Board of Libraries at Penn. She founded the Zoe Valley Library at Chester in Nova Scotia, where her family had summered since 1874.
She also served as the State Vice-Chairman of the World-War-One-era National League for Woman's Services, as well as the chairman of the Germantown Branch. Her efforts gained over 2 million dollars for the relief of Belgian children. She was also chosen to become the chairman of the Women’s Committee of the Liberty Loan for the Federal Reserve District. As president of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, she set up a $300,000 Wister Fund in honor of her parents.[5] This fund was used for the erection of new buildings on the site purchased in 1953 at Falls of Schuylkill by the College.
With Frances Anne Wister and her cousin Anne Wister, she helped produce a magazine called "The Sparrow."[5] In June 1917, Mrs. James Starr, chairman of the Germantown women’s committee, led the first loan parade for the Liberty Loan campaign, where several hundred women marched from the Woman’s Club of Germantown to the grounds of the Germantown Academy.[6] For the first time, women had charge of booths on the streets where loan subscriptions were received. In 1937 she was an emissary of Pennsylvania Tercentenary Commission of Sweden and was later honored there by the King.[7]
Along with all of these high-ranking positions, Sarah was also a former Chairman of the Germantown Branch of the Civic Club, and belonged to the Acron Club, the Print Club, Sedgely Club, Germantown Historical Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Assembly, Athenaeum Society, Fountain Society and the Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.
Historical Preservation
Sarah valued the presence of historical landmarks for their place in American history as well as in her personal history. In 1938, she wrote an article entitled, “History of Stenton” which records the genealogy of those who lived at Stenton, the Logan family estate, and tells of the importance of the mansion in American History, citing her chief source as her grandmother and other relatives. Most important, however, would be her "History of Belfield", a brief pamphlet which records the history of the Belfield Estate from the time of Charles Willson Peale, until it came into her possession.
References
- ^ Obituary. James Starr (Germantown Historical Society. Origin Unknown).
- ^ Meigs, Mary. The Box Closet. Talonbooks, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1987. p. 33
- ^ Meigs, Mary. The Box Closet. Talonbooks, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1987. p. 193
- ^ Starr, Sarah Logan Wister. History of Belfield. Philadelphia, PA, 1938. p. 15
- ^ a b Germantown Crier, August 1954.
- ^ Hocker, Edward W. Germantown. Edward W. Hocker, Philadelphia, PA, 1933.
- ^ Obituary. Sarah Logan Wister Starr. (Germantown Historical Society. Origin Unknown).
External links
Categories:- 1873 births
- 1956 deaths
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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