Weigley, Emma Seifrit

Emma Seifrit Weigley is a retired Professor of Nutrition and author of many publications on the topic. She has worked as a hospital dietitian, a community nutritionist providing in-house consultations, renal dietitian at a dialysis center, as well as an instructor at Albright College, Drexel University, New York University, Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Weigley received her Master of Science in Nutrition from Drexel University in 1956. In 1960 Weigley was the winner of an essay contest sponsored by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) on the topic, "Changes in Beliefs and Dietary Practices in Pregnancy". The success of the essay led to her appointment on the History of Nutrition and Dietetics Committee of ADA from 1961 to 1967. While in this position she was co-editor of "Essays on the History of Nutrition and Dietetics" which commemorated the 50th anniversary of ADA in 1967.

In 1967, Weigley married Russell F. Weigley (1930-2004), who was a professor at Temple University, prominent historian and a Trustee of American Philosophical Society (APS). They had two children, a son, Jared and a daughter, Catherine. Emma Weigley has continued to be involved with the Society.

She received her Doctorate in Nutrition from New York University in 1971. Her dissertation was on Sarah Tyson Rorer and the history of dietetics. The bulk of the research was collected from 1965 to 1970. A revision of this thesis, more focused on Rorer's biography than the original, was published by the APS in 1977 as "Sarah Tyson Rorer: The Nation's Instructress in Dietetics and Cookery".

Sarah Tyson Rorer (October 18, 1849 - December 27, 1937) was a dietitian, educator, author, and editor of numerous publications. During her lifetime, she was a household name, famous for her popular cookbooks.

Sarah Tyson Heston was born in Richboro, Pennsylvania to Charles Tyson Heston, a Physician and Chemist, and Elizabeth (Sagers) Heston. Her grandfather was William Penn Heston a descendant of Colonel Edward Heston of Hestonville Pennsylvania. Rorer was raised in Buffalo and Aurora, New York, where she graduated from the East Aurora New York Academy in 1869. She would often work in her father's laboratory and was very interested in chemistry. In 1870, she moved to Philadelphia with the intention of studying pharmaceutical medicine; however, decided it was not for her. She married William Albert Rorer in Philadelphia on February 23, 1871. They had two sons, William A., (Billy) born December 1871, and James B., born December 1876. A daughter, Anne Elizabeth, was born in April 1873, but died before her second birthday.

After Rorer married, she enrolled in cooking classes at the New Century Club. She excelled as a student and was asked to teach at the school in 1882. She also began teaching at the Women's College of Medicine. In 1884, she founded the Philadelphia Cooking School on Chestnut Street, where she worked as the principle for the school for eighteen years and educated more than 5,000 students.

She worked as the editor of several publications, first Table Talk from 1886 to 1892, then Household News from 1893 to 1897, at which point the magazine changed its name to the Ladies Home Journal, and she continued on as editor from 1897 until 1911. In addition to her work as editor and columnist, she published many cookbooks and nutritional pamphlets. She became extremely popular and was even referenced in a Broadway musical in 1924.

Rorer participated in three World Fairs. At the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and the Louisiana Exposition in 1904, she demonstrated her model kitchen. In 1925, she was honored at the Chicago World's Fair for all of her work.

Rorer lost her wealth in the Great Depression. She became ill due to injuries she sustained from a fall. In 1932, a group of her former students gathered to discuss her financial situation, and decided to establish a pension fund. In June 1933, the Sarah Tyson Rorer Pension Fund was established to assist her. One former student, Clara Dulan, was instrumental in the creation of the organization, and received assistance from the wives of two members of the faculty at the Kent School, Caroline Cameron and Elizabeth Woodward. They acted as the Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

Rorer died in 1937 in Colebrook Pennsylvania, unable to recover from injuries caused by a second fall.

From the guide to the Emma Weigley Collection of Sarah Tyson Rorer Papers, 1880-1976, (American Philosophical Society)