Sidney George Fisher

Sidney George Fisher (March 2, 1809 – July 25, 1871) was a Philadelphia lawyer, farmer, plantation owner, political essayist and occasional poet. Early life and education Sidney George Fisher was the eldest of three sons born to James Logan Fisher and Ann Eliza George. His father died when he was five and his mother when he was 12, leaving Sidney and his brothers a considerable inheritance. The three boys—Sidney, James, and Charles—went to live with their aunt Sarah Logan at the family's ancestral home, Wakefield, in Germantown. He was educated at Germantown Academy and Dickinson College. Career Fisher read law under Joseph Reed Ingersoll, and prospered as a lawyer, but by the mid-1850s he was practicing law only when it pleased him, and took up more congenial pursuits. Though he begrudged the practice of law, he had friends and relatives in the legal profession, whom he aided infrequently when his assistance was requested. Fisher wrote several books and delivered numerous talks. Of considerable interest was his highly sought after diary, full of keen, witty and unabashed observations—and often criticisms—about individuals from society, national politics, and his own day-to-day activities. He was largely disconnected from the world of work, except for when he reluctantly agreed to practice law. He did not need to make money (though he never felt his income sufficient), so his views of land speculation and the war against the Second Bank of the United States, the panics, and the commercial activities of those around him are particularly thought-provoking.