Local History Collections
The Wister Family Collection
This collection is comprised of a range of materials relating to the prominent Philadelphians who are associated with the estates of Belfield, Little Wakefield, Wakefield and Wister in the Germantown area of Philadelphia. The bulk of this collection relates to Owen Wister (1860-1938), author of The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (1902), and to members of the Wister family.
In addition to an excellent selection of works about Germantown history, this collection includes books by and about Wister family members; as well as archival material such as photographs, scrapbooks, and correspondence. The collection includes ephemeral material, family-owned Bibles and genealogical information. Spanning five generations, this collection reflects the experiences of the family from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and both World Wars.
Researchers are encouraged to explore the Local History Guide and Abolitionism and Black Activism in the Belfield Neighborhood guides to learn more about the Wister family and related families.
Archival Collections
The personal papers of Sarah Logan Wister Starr and her husband James, chiefly concerned with the running of Belfield estate (1889-1992).
A small collection of papers of Sara Yorke Stevenson (1847-1921), archeologist, Egyptologist, civic leader, newspaper editor and columnist, and friend of Frances Anne Wister.
The papers of Ethel Langhorne Wister Chichester (1881-1977); including correspondence with her father Jones Wister (1839- 1917).
The papers of John Caspar Wister, an American horticulturalist (1887-1982), and his wife, Gertrude Smith Wister (1905-1999), an American horticulturalist; including correspondence, wartime diaries and day books, manuscripts of lectures and publications, and garden and landscape plans.
- Wister Family Papers
The Wister Family Papers includes primary source material pertaining to the Wister family, families related to the Wisters through marriage (Haines, Blain, Fisher, Logan, Starr, Wistar, and Wurts families), and residences significant to these families (Belfield, Butler Mansion, Grumblethorpe, Little Wakefield, Stenton, Wister house, and Wakefield). The collection contains letters, photographs, estate inventories, legal documents, maps, newspaper clippings, publications, and other primary documents.
- James Butler Local History Research Papers
James Butler, a La Salle English professor, conducted extensive research on the historic residences on La Salle University’s campus. He researched the families that once resided on what is now La Salle campus and related families by marriage, including Peale, Wister, Fisher, Butler, Haines, Blain, Logan, and Wurts families. The collection contains photocopies of primary sources that Butler amassed over several years, as well as his research notes. The collection also includes files related to Butler’s tours of Belfield and related events, his students’ essays on local historic properties and their residents, and correspondence with Wister family members.
- The Germantown History Collection
The Germantown History Collection includes primary and secondary sources related to Germantown, Pennsylvania, with an emphasis on historic properties and residents.
Records for all archival material in the Collection can be discovered in the Connelly Library Catalog.
Local History Exhibits and Essays
The notable former residents associated with the estates of Belfield, Little Wakefield, Wakefield and Wister, and the lives of the Wister Family are elaborated through a series of articles, papers, photographs and other research online:
- Belfield and Wakefield: A Link to La Salle's History
- Read essays on the historic places and fascinating people of our past.
- Philadelphia in the Civil War
This web exhibition features historic images of the sites and citizens of Philadelphia during the period of the Civil War, with specific focus on the individuals who lived on the land where La Salle University now stands.
