author
D. W. (David W.) Belisle
1820–1886
A 19th-century journalist and storyteller, he wrote frontier adventure fiction as well as a detailed history of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. His career also reached into local public life in Camden, New Jersey.
1 Audiobook
The American family Robinson : or, The adventures of a family lost in the great desert of the West.
by D. W. (David W.) Belisle
About the author
Born in 1820 and dying in 1886, D. W. Belisle is generally identified in library records as David W. Belisle. He is best known for The American Family Robinson; or, The Adventures of a Family Lost in the Great Desert of the West, a popular mid-19th-century adventure novel that reflects the era’s fascination with westward expansion.
Belisle also wrote History of Independence Hall in 1859, showing a strong interest in American history and patriotic memory. Records of his work suggest a writer who moved comfortably between fiction, local history, and even music publication.
A Camden, New Jersey, local-history source describes him as a journalist, notes that he worked for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, published the Camden Journal, and served in public office there. No clearly verified portrait surfaced in the sources I checked, so a profile image is omitted.