The Wisters were a distinguished, long-standing Philadelphian family that contributed to the area's history for over 300 years with ties to numerous other prominent families within the region. Caspar Wistar (1696 - 1752) and his brother John Wister (1708 - 1789) were born Caspar and Johannes Wuster in Germany and landed in Philadelphia in 1717 and 1727 respectively. While the Wistar portion of the family was respected in their own right and referenced within this collection, The Wister Papers focus on the Wister family. Some of the many notable members include:

- Frances Anne”Fanny” Kemble (1809 - 1893) accomplished stage actress, author of Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, and author Owen Wister’s maternal grandmother

- William Rotch Wister (1827 - 1911) known as the “Father of American Cricket”

- Owen Wister (1860 - 1938) American writer best known for The Virginian, a novel influential in establishing the Western genre and cowboy ideal

- Mary Channing Wister (1870 - 1913) leading civic activist, women’s rights advocate, philanthropist, and wife of Owen Wister

- Sarah Logan Wister Starr (1873 - 1956) held numerous leadership positions in civic groups and served as president of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania from 1921 to 1941

- Frances Anne Wister (1874-1956) philanthropist, leader in the historic preservation movement, and one of the founders of the Philadelphia Orchestra

- John Caspar Wister (1887 - 1982) a recognized horticulturist, the Wisteria plant was named in his memory

- William Wister Haines (1908 - 1989) author, screenwriter, and playwright whose works include Command Decision and Slim

Through marriage the surnames of Haines, Blain, Logan, Fisher, and Wurts became interweaved within the Wister family’s genealogy. Like the Wisters, the Logan and Fisher families were prominent Quakers considered “Old Philadelphians,” “Perennial Philadelphians,” or one of the “First Families of Philadelphia” - a class of Pennsylvanians considered part of a wealthy establishment. The Haines family were known in the Philadelphia region as leaders in business, science, education, social reform, and philanthropy. The Blain and Wurts families were both prominent within Philadelphia’s afluent society.

Locations and buildings such as Belfield, Stenton, the Mary and Frances Wister Studio, and Grumblethorpe were significant to these families. The Belfield Estate, also called Peale House, was once home to American portrait painter Charles Willson Peale and served as the main residence for Wister family members. Stenton descended through six generations of the Logan family. The Mary and Frances Wister Studio was the house where the Wisters welcomed Mary Channing Wister and Frances Anne Wister. Grumblethorpe was built in 1744 by John Wister as a summer residence. While the family stayed elsewhere, it was taken over and used as a British headquarters during the Battle of Germantown in 1777.

The history of Belfield and its surrounding land continues with its present day owner - La Salle University. The university remembers the land’s previous owners in ways such as through exhibitions, tours, and publications. La Salle faculty member James Butler wrote broadly about Belfield and its residents, and encouraged students to do the same. La Salle University’s Digital Commons (https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/) houses essays written by Butler and his students about Belfield and its families. Butler also authored an account of Peale’s time at Belfield, “Charles Wilson Peale’s ‘Belfield’: A History of a National Historic Landmark 1684-1984.” The James Butler Local History Research Papers and Correspondence, located in La Salle's Special Collections, complement this collection with Butler's research and notes about the families and locations remembered within these items.