author
Sampson Vryling Stoddard Wilder
1780–1865
A self-made merchant who crossed the Atlantic again and again for business, he later turned his energy toward religious and moral causes. His memoirs open a window onto early American trade, Protestant philanthropy, and everyday life between Massachusetts, Paris, and New York.
1 Audiobook
The Village in the Mountains; Conversion of Peter Bayssière; and History of a Bible
by Sampson Vryling Stoddard Wilder
About the author
Born in Massachusetts in 1780, Sampson Vryling Stoddard Wilder became a successful merchant during the early 1800s. Records about his life describe him operating his own trade business in Boston and traveling frequently to France for commercial work, experiences that helped shape both his career and his wide circle of connections.
Later in life, he was known not just for business success but also for his support of evangelical Christian efforts. Art museum and archival sources describe him as a wealthy merchant and gentleman farmer who promoted religious causes, and his own published memoir, Records from the Life of S. V. S. Wilder, preserves many of the events, beliefs, and relationships that mattered to him.
For listeners interested in the world behind older religious and moral writing, his life is part of the story. He moved through the worlds of commerce, travel, reform, and family memory, leaving behind a record that reflects both the ambitions and the convictions of 19th-century America.