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On February 3rd, 1696, there was born to Hans Caspar and Anna Catharina Wii$ter a son Caspar, in the village of Hilspach, some six niiles from Heidelberg, in the then Electorate of the Rhenish Palatinate. I'he father was a huntsman, or forester, in the service of the Prince Palatine, and the office seems to have been hereditary in this family, as Caspar would have inherited it and been assured a comfortable living, for Hans Caspar is said to have offered to resign in favor of his son, if the latter would relinquish his intention of emigrating. Caspar preferred making his own way in America, and it is related that he gave up his share of the patrimony to his sisters, asking that his father give him an outfit and pay his passage to this country. The first we know of Caspar after leaving the Fatherland, is his arriv31 in Philadelphia, September 16th, 1717. His possessions consisted of his clothing. a double barrelled gun and a pistareen; the gun is still preserved by one of the family and is curious enough to warrant mention. The barrels are not side by side, but one above the other; each is provided with a flash pan as in an ordinary flint lock, that for one barrel being axially opposite to that for the other; these two barrels revolve on a pin extending backward from between the barrels and entering the stock, each is brought successiveiy uppermost to be acted on by a lock with its single hammer, flint and trigger, which three pieces are unfortunately lost, but formerly were fast to the stock. It is told that his first work here was helping to harvest apples, for which he was paid in as many of them as he could eat and carry away ; these apples, with some bread bought with the pistareen, made the immigrant's first meal here. Later he was employed by a soap and candle maker to wheel ashes ; afterwards he worked at making buttons of metal, wood and horn, and in his marriage certificate is described as a button maker. There seems to be no evidence of the present spelling of the name Wistar before 1721, when the above Caspar took an oath of allegiance to King George, so that it is not known how early he assumed the new form which again appears when in 1724 a bill was passed to better enable Caspar Wistar and others to trade and hold lands in the 4 THE WISTAR FAMILY. Province. Two years later we again find him mentioned by 11ame in a list of the principal merchants. In 1725 he seems to have been interested, though not actively, in the manu­ facture of iron. On May 25th, 1j26, he married Catherine. the daughter of Dirck Jansen, who lived in Germantown, and ,vas prominent there in the early years of the last century. Catherine's mother was Margaret, the daughter of Hans Millan, who owned property in Germantown between 1683 and 1689, and \"\"ho built the \Vyck House about 1700. While travelling in New Jersey on business connected with button making, Caspar noticed some sand similar to that used in Germany for making glass, and determined to try its manu­ facture here. Not having money enough he borrowed capital, and so started the first glass works in America in 1739 or !740. which after his death, were carried on by his son Richard. It is about this time that the following is related of our ancestor. Having been nominated to some political office, bis opponent, hoping to mortify him and prevent his election, hired a man to wheel ashes near the polls on election day. Caspar sa~... the trick, and saying, "Friend, thee does not know how to wheel those ashes properly, I will show thee,'' threw off his coat and ,vheeled the ashes about. The result was the people carried him on their shoulders and he was elected without a dissenting vote. Little is known of his later life, except that he was a prosperous merchant. At the time of his death, which occurred March 2rst, r752, he was living on the North side of High Street, now Market, behveen Front and Third. This property was bought in Ii43, and in the deed he is described as merchant. His will, made February 13th, 1752, giving his trade as brass button maker, makes among other bequests the half of his tools and materials used in this trade to his \\Tife, the other half to his son Richard, who also gets the land and glass house with its tools in New Jersey, on condition of his giving yearly, \\.,.bile he holds the same, to his brother Caspar some seven hundred feet of glass and three and a half gross of bottles, both of various specified sizes. The other children are left money and land in different places. To his sister, Maria Barbara Hitner, is bequeathed a piece of plate to cost .£10, and to his nephew, 1\,Iartin Ulmer, £20. One hundred guilders is also directed to be paid, on the arrival of €-ach in Philadelphia, to the children of his brother Lodavick \Vistar, and his sisters Dorothy Grushown and Albertina Ulmer. His wife, brother-in-law Richard Johnson, kinsman David Deshler and son Richard, are appointed executors. Hans Caspar and Anna Catharina had other children, of whom the following is a record taken from the Register of the Evangelical Lutheran Chu:,:-ch of Neckar-Gemiind, THE WISTAR FAMILY.