PETER, Sarah (Worthington) King, philanthropist, was
born in Chillicothe, Ohio, May 16, 1800; daughter of Gov. Thomas
and Eleanor (Swearingen) Worthington, and granddaughter of Robert
Worthington of Berkeley county, Va. She was married in 1816 to Edward,
son of the Hon. Rufus King (q.v.), and made her borne in Cincinnati,
Ohio. Her husband died and she was married secondly, in 1844, to
William Peter, British consul at Philadelphia, Pa., and during her
residence in that city, she established the School of Design for
Women, which was opened, Dec. 2, 1850. She returned to Cincinnati
after the death of Mr. Peter in 1853, and established the Ladies'
Academy of Art, which became the Art School of Cincinnati. She was
converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1856, making nine pilgrimages
to Rome, on special visits to the Holy Father, and founded at least
twenty sisterhoods and convents in the archdioceses of Philadelphia
and Cincinnati. She purchased paintings and other works of art in
Europe for the Cincinnati art school, and statues of saints which
she presented to different Catholic churches. She bequeathed her
wealth to charitable institutions and died at Cincinnati, Ohio,
Feb. 6, 1877.
The Twentieth Century Biographical
Dictionary of Notable Americans:
Volume IV
Peterkin, George William
