Sarah "Sally" Wister

Born July 20, 1761, Sarah "Sally" Wister was a Quaker who kept a journal during the American Revolution. She was the eldest daughter of Lowry (Jones) and Daniel Wister, a Philadelphia wine merchant, and she had six siblings—Elizabeth, Hannah, Susannah, John, Charles, and William. In her early years, Wister attended a school for girls founded by Quaker philanthropist Anthony Benezet, where she attained a basic education and some higher classical and literary studies. At school, Wister made many friends with other girls from prominent Quaker families, but her closest acquaintance was Deborah Norris. A teenage girl when the American Revolution began, Wister kept a diary which spans nine months of the war (September 1777 to June 1778). Addressing her entries to her friend Norris, she recounted her family’s plight as pacifist Quakers supporting the Patriots. These entries illuminate an often-overlooked minority of Quakers who supported the American cause through non-violent support, like housing soldiers and privately celebrating victories.

After the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the British Army occupied Philadelphia. During the nine months covered in the journal, the Wisters lived about 27 miles north of the city, in Gwynedd (now North Wales borough in Montgomery County), hoping to avoid the worst of wartime occupation. Wister’s journal began on September 25, 1777, with an account of the Philadelphia militia asking for aid from her family. Although the Wisters were in Germantown during the Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777), she did not recount the event to Norris, other than to remark, "The British had left Germantown, and our army were marching to take possession" (Wister 322). The Wisters hosted the Maryland troops commanded by General William Smallwood between October 19 and November 1, 1777, many of whom appeared in her writings as handsome gentlemen described in extensive detail. Wister showed particular interest in "Major Stodard" (thought to be Lieutenant William Truman Stoddert, General Smallwood’s nephew), and they spent much time together throughout the soldiers’ quartering. Despite friendly interactions and multiple mentions in her journal, Stodard permanently departed the Wister residence on December 13. Sally never saw him again.

Wister’s entries of the final weeks of 1777 and 1778 covered many war-related events that occurred near Gwynedd. For example, on December 5, 1777, she mentioned her terror at the opening of the Battle of White Marsh, which occurred six miles from the family’s home and reminded her of the Battle of Germantown. During the winter, the Wisters briefly housed two more American officers whom the children often subjected to practical jokes. Their departure coincided with the removal of General Washington’s army from the area to set up an encampment at Valley Forge in December 1777. Wister’s journal ended on June 20, 1778, after Wister wrote, “We have heard an astonishing piece of news! The English have entirely left the city! It is almost impossible!” (Wister 59). The Wisters returned to Philadelphia in July of that year. 

Although Wister continued to write until 1797, her entries shifted to devotional writing and poetry, reflecting the more religious-minded emphasis of her later years. She never married and she died on April 21, 1804. She is buried at Friends Arch Street Meeting House Burial Ground in Philadelphia. Her brother, Charles, received her diary following her death and shared it with Deborah Norris, the childhood friend whom Wister addressed in her writings, who also became an avid historian and memoirist later in life. Wister’s diary is integral to understanding daily life during wartime and how the Revolution affected children and young adults. Bloodshed and scarcity became everyday occurrences, leaving those who experienced them "reconciled to such things" (Wister 463).