Robert Waln Jr. (1794–1825)
Robert Waln Jr., the oldest son of merchant Robert Waln, was born in Philadelphia on 20 October 1794. Forgoing the family business, young Waln pursued a career as an author and poet. His most prominent work was The Hermit in America on a Visit to Philadelphia (1819), a satire of that city's elite. Waln's other publications included a history of China and an essay on a Quaker-run insane asylum.
"Robert Waln." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310001300/UHIC?u=viva_uva&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=1a3ba6d7. Accessed 9 June 2023.
William S. Hastings, "Robert Waln, Jr.: Quaker Satirist and Historian," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 76, Number 1 (January 1952), 71–80.
Jonathan Goldstein, "A Philadelphia Author Turns to China: Robert Waln, Jr., as America's First Sinologist," American Asian Review, Volume 21, Issue 3 (Fall 2003), 187–203.
Robert Waln Jr., The Hermit in Philadelphia: Second Series (Philadelphia: J. Maxwell and Moses Thomas, 1821).
Rhode-Island Republican (Newport), 7 July 1825, page 3, column 3 (Newspapers.com).
Robert Waln Jr. at Find a Grave.
Robert Waln Jr. at FamilySearch.