David Jewett Waller, Sr.

David Jewett Waller Sr. (January 26, 1815 – December 7, 1893) was an American Presbyterian minister, entrepreneur, landowner and civic leader who lived in the American state of Pennsylvania. He also helped build several local railroads, such as the North and West Branch Railway and also owned many coal mines. By the time of his death, he was one of the most well-known people in northeastern Pennsylvania. He helped increasing the population and industrialization of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. He also organized and created a number of churches in Pennsylvania.

Waller was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and attended the Wilkes-Barre Academy, Williams College, and the Princeton Theological Seminary. He spent most of his life in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where he died. He was ordained in 1839 and attended General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church in addition to preaching in Columbia County. He retired from preaching in 1871 and most of his involvement in industrial and commercial work started at this point, including involvement in the railroad and the coal industries. Waller attended the Wilkes-Barre Academy and received good grades, despite what historian William M. Ballie called a "prickly" personality. Waller moved to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania in 1838. Waller also successfully convinced the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad to move its Bloomsburg station to his land on Market Street. to Democratic lawyer Francis Dolan Collins. although he was unable to convince Danville's businessmen to move their industries to Bloomsburg. In 1866, he was made one of three trustees of Bloomsburg's Board of Trade. In his two-column obituary in Bloomsburg's newspaper, it was stated that "No other man has left or probably will leave a greater impression on this community that he [Waller] did". There is a stained glass window that features Waller on a church in Bloomsburg. Approximately 20 of his sermons still survive. He was also the creator of the Waller Trust, which existed until the 1970s.