Sarah Anne Worthington King Peter (10 May 1800,

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, ...

- 6 February 1877,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

) was an American philanthropist and patron of the arts.

Life

Sarah Anne Worthington was born on May 10, 1800, at Chillicothe, Ohio. Her father,

Thomas Worthington Thomas or Tom Worthington may refer to: *Thomas Worthington (Douai) (1549–1627), English Catholic priest and third President of Douai College *Thomas Worthington (Dominican) (1671–1754), English Dominican friar and writer *Thomas Worthington (g ...

, was

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, from 1814–18, and also served in the United States Senate. She attended private schools in Frankfort, Kentucky, and in Washington, D.C. On May 15, 1816, she married Edward King, son of

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...

of New York. In 1831, she and her husband moved from Chillicothe to Cincinnati, where he died on February 6, 1836. Following Edward King's death, she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to be near two of her children attending Harvard. In October 1844, she married William Peter, British consul at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. During her residence at Philadelphia, she founded on December 2, 1850, the

Philadelphia School of Design for Women in Philadelphia Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain ( ...

, now

Moore College of Art and Design Moore College of Art & Design is a private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1848 by Sarah Worthington Peter as the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, and was renamed the Moore College of Art & Design in 1989. ...

. She attended St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia at Third and Pine during this time. William Peter died on February 6, 1853.Meehan, Thomas. "Sarah Peter." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 18 June 2016 Returning to Cincinnati, she spent most of her remaining years as a patron of art, and in works of charity and philanthropy, and established the Ladies' Academy of Fine Arts. Sarah Peter became a Catholic convert at Rome in March, 1855, being instructed there by

Gaspard Mermillod Gaspard Mermillod (22 September 1824 – 23 February 1892) was a Swiss Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite a lengthy investiture conflict with the Calvinist Canton of Geneva, he served as Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva from 1883 t ...

. The foundations of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

, the Little Sisters of the Poor in Cincinnati and other institutions owed much to her generosity. In 1862, she volunteered as a nurse, and went with the sisters who followed General Grant's army in the southwest after the Battle of Pittsburg Landing.

References

Sources

*King, ''Memoirs of the Life of Mrs. Sarah Peter''(Cincinnati, 1889); *''Catholic Telegraph'' (Cincinnati), files; *''Freeman's Journal'' (New York), files. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Sarah 1800 births 1877 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Moore College of Art and Design 19th-century American philanthropists