ABC #025: Five Wister Men: William Rotch Wister, John Wister, BG Langhorne Wister, Rodman Wister, John Caspar Wister

It is very easy to get lost in the Wister family.  Anyone familiar with Philadelphia History probably knows about Caspar Wistar, who founded the Wistar Institute, and author Owen Wister, who wrote the first Western novel The Virginian and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.  But this was a large family.  There are 40 Wisters and 30 Wistars buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, along with 3 Wisters at West Laurel Hill.  

Today I am going to talk about four Wister brothers and one of their sons buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery. 

• William Rotch Wister was lawyer and founder of the Germantown Cricket club. 
• John Wister was founder and manager of a major iron works and a bank. 
• GEN Langhorne Wister was a colonel with the Bucktail Regiment during the Civil War, shot through the mouth at the Battle of Gettysburg. 
• Rodman Wister ran away from home to become a drummer boy. 
• John Caspar Wister, son of William Rotch, was considered the dean of horticulturists in the United States.