Caspar Wistar 'The Elder'

Casper Wistar

• formerly Wüster aka Wister
• Born 3 Feb 1696 in Waldhilsbach, Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden, Heiliges Römisches Reich
• Died 21 Mar 1752 at age 56 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Son of Hans Caspar Wüster and Anna Catharina Müller
• Husband of Katharine Johnson (Jansen) Wistar — married 25 May 1726 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Biography

https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=1
Oldest of nine children.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/W%C3%BCster-10

1. Hans Caspar (1696), to Philadelphia 1717; m. Anna Catharina Jansen.
2. Dorothea (1697), m. Johannes Gansshorn of Bammental in 1720.
3. Maria Barbara (1700), m. (1) Johann Georg Bauer of Meckesheim 1719; m. (2) Johan Georg Hitner of Inlangen 1733.
4. Anna Barbara (1702), m. Johannes Epler of nearby Gaiberg.
5. Albertina (1703), m. Johannes Ulm of Langerbrucken 1722.
6. Maria Margaretha (1707-1714).
7. Johannes (1708), m (1) Salome Zimmerman 1731 at Philadelphia; m. (2) Anna Catharina Rubinkam 1737; m. (3) Anna Thoman 1771.
8. Johann Ludwig (1711-1741).
9. Georg Bernhard (1713)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_Wistar_(glassmaker)

Caspar Wistar (born Wüster) (February 3, 1696 – March 21, 1752) was a German-born glassmaker and landowner in Pennsylvania. One of the first German colonists in Pennsylvania, he became a leader of that community and prospered in land transactions. He was the grandfather of Caspar Wistar, the physician and anatomist after whom the genus Wisteria is named.

Biography He was born in Hilsbach (Waldhilsbach), Rhenish Palatinate in Baden, the son of a forester.[1] Wistar served as a foresters' apprentice, but government reforms limited his professional opportunities, so he decided to emigrate to the United States.[2] He arrived Pennsylvania in 1717 (according to his memoir, with only nine pennies to his name)[2] and worked at various manual trades, including soapmaking and the manufacture of brass buttons.

He became a British subject in 1724 and joined the Religious Society of Friends (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 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.[3] 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 Younger.
• (one other son)
• Rebecca Wistar; married Samuel Morris, a figure in the American Revolution.
• Margaret Wistar
• (two other daughters) Other descendants include Isaac J. Wistar, figure in the American Civil War and founder of the Wistar Institute. Caspar Wistar was also the great-uncle of diarist Sally Wister.[4] Wikipedia

See also Wistarburgh Glass Works

The Wistarburgh Glass Works , also known as the United Glass Company, was the first successful glass factory in the United States. It was also the first joint venture enterprise in the US. It operated from 1739 until 1782.

Background Casper Wistar (1696–1752) moved from Berks County, Pennsylvania, where he had owned iron forges, to Philadelphia in 1717. He began professionally crafting brass buttons, which he then took a business trip to sell in Salem County, New Jersey. There, upon visiting the township of Alloway and noticing its abundance of items applicable to glass manufacture - i.e. white sand, clay and wood, and accessible water from the nearby Deep Run and Alloway Creeks[1] - he became inspired to open a glass factory in the area.

Wistar bought about 2,000 acres of land some eight miles from Salem, New Jersey,[2] and began the construction of his factory in 1739; it became the first commercially successful glass factory to operate in America.[3][4][5] He first arranged with John Ladd on a lease of fifty acres that had 18,000 cords of wood on it.[6] He then arranged to have certain experienced professional European glass artisans come to America to build and operate the factory, brokering for the workers with European agents.[6]

Wistar had homes built near the factory for additional workers, with a mansion being provided for the factory's foreman. The mansion also served as a convenient place for Wistar to stay during his business trips to the factory from Philadelphia. A company store was also constructed there for the workers' needs. It served as a place of credit for the workers and was used in exchange for wages. The store also served the local residents in Alloway.[3]

Joint venture Wistar began a profit sharing arrangement with four professional European glass makers, C. Halter, S. Griessmeyer, J. Wentzel, and J. Halter. To motivate their continued support, he set up a joint venture between the five members; this was the first cooperative manufacturing joint venture business in America. The umbrella company was called the United Glass Company, and consisted of three separate entities. Wistar was the primary share holder. He held two-thirds majority ownership in each of the three entities. The four European artisan glass makers held one-third ownership, and shared in the loss and profits of the three companies. The first entity under the umbrella company was between Wistar and Wentzel, the second entity was between Wistar and Halter, and the third entity was between Wistar and two artisans, Griesmeyer and Halter. The joint venture remained in effect until Wistar's death.[7][8][9]

History Wistar's factory made glass bottles at about 15,000 per year. The bottles were made in the Waldglas style. Waldglas, a greenish-yellow glass with impurities, was an inexpensive traditional method that had been made in Europe since the Middle Ages. The primary production of the facilities, however, was in window glass; at the time it was the main source of window glass for the Colonies.[3] Wistar had unlimited access to white silica sand, as well as other necessary materials, and the company's success was further aided by the low taxes in New Jersey at the time; Wistar was easily able to obtain more assets for the business.[11]

Wistar ran his business affairs from Philadelphia, spending little time in Alloway. He was friends with Benjamin Franklin,[3] and made the glass globes for Franklin's electrostatic machines that were used for electrical scientific research.[10] Franklin had built several of his machines, which used the glass globes, for Cadwallader Colden and Lewis Evans, for which they paid between ten and twelve pounds each.[12]

Because Wistar lived in Philadelphia he was aware that English Law forbade the manufacture of certain items that were in competition with imported products from England. Consequently, he downplayed the profitability of his glass business.[12] When Wistar died his son Richard inherited the glass factory. Richard also mostly ran the business from Philadelphia, but he worked on increasing the volume and making additional glass products to sell. Like his father, he also did not work with the furnaces nor the molten material to make the glass products, instead relying on hired artisans for this. The glass enterprise was in operation until early 1781 when Richard died. His son John took over the business and mismanaged it, leading ultimately to its failure. The company closed its doors December 29, 1781.[13]

Emigrated from the dominions of the Elector Palatine in 1717

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K8MW-W2L

Caspar Wistar established the first successful glass manufacturing business in North America.

References;>| https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=1

Caspar Wistar (born Hans Caspar Wüster) was born in Waldhilsbach, a community in the Electoral Palatinate (now part of the southwest German state of Baden-Württemberg), in 1696 and was the oldest of nine children. His father, after whom he was named, worked as the forester, a government-appointed, hereditary position, in Amt Dilsberg near Heidelberg. His mother was Anna Catharina Müller