Deborah Fisher Wharton
Encyclopedia
Deborah Fisher Wharton was an American
Quaker minister
, suffragist, social reformer and proponent of women's rights
, and the mother of industrialist Joseph Wharton
.
She was one of a small group of dedicated Quakers who founded Swarthmore College
. She was a contemporary and friend of Lucretia Mott
and had many of Mott's sympathies but did not actively pursue the women's rights cause, rather she was a proponent of liberal Quaker spirituality.
, who was involved in early transatlantic trade and started the first packet line of ships regularly carrying goods between Philadelphia and London
. Her father was Samuel R Fisher
, who took on the shipping business and a large mercantile business in downtown Philadelphia. Her mother was Hannah Rodman, of a Quaker family from Newport, RI, also associated with shipping
.
stroll along the street. The family enjoyed the countryside and often visited their country estate called "The Cliffs
" several miles north of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River
.
favored simplicity and directness in their daily lives, contrasting with the more "worldly" urban (Orthodox) Quakers. In this respect the Fishers and Whartons stood out because they were wealthy and urban, but were nostalgic about living the farming life.
Deborah's father Samuel
bought a house at 336 Spruce Street in downtown Philadelphia as a wedding gift. Deborah raised her family in the house and lived there the rest of her life.
affairs including many committees. Deborah was recognized by their Meeting
at Ninth and Spruce Streets as a minister. She was involved in many causes, including helping the Indians
of upper New York state, the anti-slavery movement, and education of children. She defended Indians'
rights in Washington DC, and visited their reservations. Deborah and William successfully petitioned the city of Philadelphia to provide free education for blacks. William became one of the first directors of the Public Schools of Philadelphia and served in that capacity for twenty years.
from his father Charles Wharton in 1834, the year that her father died. It was a farm near the Cliffs
estate that she had grown up to love. The Whartons and their children spent many happy summers at Bellevue
, where they enjoyed the vegetable gardens, horse-drawn carriage trips and the cool of the nearby Schuylkill River
.
and Massachusetts
. During the Revolution
years, the Narragansett Bay
area became a battleground between the British
and the Americans allied with the French
, and the Newport economy suffered. After the war, Hannah Rodman married Samuel R Fisher
of Philadelphia and raised her family there. Although Deborah was a Philadelphian, she made the trip back to Newport many times, in later years with her children and grandchildren.
Education and Swarthmore
Like many women of her time, Deborah Fisher Wharton was kept at home by her duties as mistress of a large household and mother of ten children. But like most Quaker women of the time, she was especially interested in education. Deborah, together with
a small group of other Hicksite Quakers
from New York
, Philadelphia, and Baltimore
was a founder of Swarthmore College
, one of the first coeducational colleges in the country, and served on the original Board of Managers.
Deborah Fisher Wharton's family prospered. Her daughter Esther married Benjamin R. Smith, the son of educator Daniel B Smith of Philadelphia. Fisher's son, industrialist Joseph Wharton
became renowned for building a large business empire that included refining zinc, nickel, and iron.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Quaker minister
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, suffragist, social reformer and proponent of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, and the mother of industrialist Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
.
She was one of a small group of dedicated Quakers who founded Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
. She was a contemporary and friend of Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
and had many of Mott's sympathies but did not actively pursue the women's rights cause, rather she was a proponent of liberal Quaker spirituality.
Early years
Deborah Fisher was born into a wealthy Philadelphia Quaker family. Her grandfather was Joshua FisherJoshua Fisher
Joshua Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade and mapmaking as applied to nautical charts...
, who was involved in early transatlantic trade and started the first packet line of ships regularly carrying goods between Philadelphia and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Her father was Samuel R Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade. He owned a large shipping line that ran between London and Philadelphia, but was exiled and imprisoned during the Revolutionary War because of his Quaker beliefs.-Early years:Fisher was born in Lewes,...
, who took on the shipping business and a large mercantile business in downtown Philadelphia. Her mother was Hannah Rodman, of a Quaker family from Newport, RI, also associated with shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
.
Family, estate
Fisher grew up in downtown Philadelphia at 110 S Front Street. The neighborhood was busy and wealthy, and she remembered seeing famous neighbors including George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
stroll along the street. The family enjoyed the countryside and often visited their country estate called "The Cliffs
The Cliffs
The Cliffs is a historic country house located near 33rd and Oxford Sts. in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a Registered Historic Place.-History:...
" several miles north of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
.
Marriage
As a young woman Fisher was pious and interested in the cause of equal education and treatment of women. She married William Wharton in 1817 and together they pursued their interest in Quaker spirituality and simplicity, becoming part of the Hicksite Quaker movement. The Hicksite FriendsElias Hicks
Elias Hicks was an itinerant Quaker preacher from Long Island, New York. He promoted doctrines that embroiled him in controversy that led to the first major schism within the Religious Society of Friends...
favored simplicity and directness in their daily lives, contrasting with the more "worldly" urban (Orthodox) Quakers. In this respect the Fishers and Whartons stood out because they were wealthy and urban, but were nostalgic about living the farming life.
Deborah's father Samuel
Samuel Rowland Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade. He owned a large shipping line that ran between London and Philadelphia, but was exiled and imprisoned during the Revolutionary War because of his Quaker beliefs.-Early years:Fisher was born in Lewes,...
bought a house at 336 Spruce Street in downtown Philadelphia as a wedding gift. Deborah raised her family in the house and lived there the rest of her life.
Religious and social causes
Deborah and William and were involved in Quaker MeetingQuaker Meeting
Quaker Meeting may refer to:* Monthly meeting , the basic organisational unit in the Religious Society of Friends...
affairs including many committees. Deborah was recognized by their Meeting
Quaker Meeting
Quaker Meeting may refer to:* Monthly meeting , the basic organisational unit in the Religious Society of Friends...
at Ninth and Spruce Streets as a minister. She was involved in many causes, including helping the Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of upper New York state, the anti-slavery movement, and education of children. She defended Indians'
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
rights in Washington DC, and visited their reservations. Deborah and William successfully petitioned the city of Philadelphia to provide free education for blacks. William became one of the first directors of the Public Schools of Philadelphia and served in that capacity for twenty years.
Bellevue
William and Deborah received a gift of the Bellevue estateBellevue Mansion
Bellevue Mansion was a historic country house located between N. Marston and N. Etting Streets, off Allegheny Avenue, in North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
from his father Charles Wharton in 1834, the year that her father died. It was a farm near the Cliffs
The Cliffs
The Cliffs is a historic country house located near 33rd and Oxford Sts. in East Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a Registered Historic Place.-History:...
estate that she had grown up to love. The Whartons and their children spent many happy summers at Bellevue
Bellevue Mansion
Bellevue Mansion was a historic country house located between N. Marston and N. Etting Streets, off Allegheny Avenue, in North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, where they enjoyed the vegetable gardens, horse-drawn carriage trips and the cool of the nearby Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
.
Newport, RI
Wharton's mother, Hannah Rodman Fisher, came from a long line of Quaker families from Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. During the Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
years, the Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
area became a battleground between the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the Americans allied with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the Newport economy suffered. After the war, Hannah Rodman married Samuel R Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher
Samuel Rowland Fisher was a prominent Philadelphia merchant involved in transatlantic trade. He owned a large shipping line that ran between London and Philadelphia, but was exiled and imprisoned during the Revolutionary War because of his Quaker beliefs.-Early years:Fisher was born in Lewes,...
of Philadelphia and raised her family there. Although Deborah was a Philadelphian, she made the trip back to Newport many times, in later years with her children and grandchildren.
Education and SwarthmoreSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
Like many women of her time, Deborah Fisher Wharton was kept at home by her duties as mistress of a large household and mother of ten children. But like most Quaker women of the time, she was especially interested in education. Deborah, together witha small group of other Hicksite Quakers
Elias Hicks
Elias Hicks was an itinerant Quaker preacher from Long Island, New York. He promoted doctrines that embroiled him in controversy that led to the first major schism within the Religious Society of Friends...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Philadelphia, and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
was a founder of Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, one of the first coeducational colleges in the country, and served on the original Board of Managers.
Deborah Fisher Wharton's family prospered. Her daughter Esther married Benjamin R. Smith, the son of educator Daniel B Smith of Philadelphia. Fisher's son, industrialist Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
became renowned for building a large business empire that included refining zinc, nickel, and iron.