Charles Stewart Wurts (d. 1857) was a prominent and prosperous wholesale dry goods merchant in Philadelphia. He married Mary Van Uxem (1802-1877), the daughter of Jacques Jean (James) Van Uxem (1746-1824) and Rebecca Clark (d.1806). Charles Stewart Wurts and Mary Van Uxem had four children: Louisa, Mary, Henrietta, and Charles Stewart Wurts II. Charles II married Martha Haskins and, second, Mary S. Wood and had three children: Mary, Anna R., and Charles Stewart III. Charles S. Wurts II studied medicine in Paris, but did not seriously pursue a medical career after returning to America. The Wurts' summer home, located in Belvidere, New Jersey, was reminiscent of a Gothic villa.

Charles Stewart Wurts III also studied medicine and practiced his profession at 1701 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. He married Elizabeth Wister in 1892. They had four children: Mary Stuart, Charles Stewart IV (who used the suffix Jr.), John Wister, and Elizabeth Fisher. Charles IV, born in 1901, was a student at the Episcopal Academy, graduating in 1919. John Wister Wurts also attended Episcopal Academy. Mary Stuart married Samuel Grey Dayton.

Around 1909 Dr. and Mrs. Charles Stewart Wurts III bought and moved into a house at 926 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, a narrow four story row house, that was part of a series of buildings called “Portico Row” because of their classically canopied entrances. Thomas Ustick Walter, a distinguished Philadelphia architect, built these houses over the course of three years, 1831-1833. There was ample space on four floors to raise the Wurts' four children, and the house remained in the family until Mrs. Wurts died in 1953. Over time, the Wurts' neighborhood had changed from one where affluent middle-class families lived in elegant houses to an area where some of the houses were subdivided into small rental units.

In 1977, Peter and Alice Dayton Strickland bought her great-grandparents' home at 926 Spruce Street. (Alice was the granddaughter of Mary Stuart and Samuel Grey Dayton, and the daughter of Samuel Grey Dayton, Jr.) By 1980, the Stricklands were renting out space in the upper floors and working on restoring the place in anticipation of opening it as a house museum called the “Wurts House.” They hoped to complete their restoration work by 1988 and then to run the place as a living museum while also residing in the house. Planning to show how a well-to-do middle class family lived and furnished its home in 19th and early 20th centuries Philadelphia, the Stricklands decorated the house using period pieces from the family, donations from friends, and purchases. Some of the furniture they assembled shed light on several lesser-known furniture makers from Philadelphia. Unfortunately and for various reasons, the Wurts House project was not a successful venture.

This collection of papers focuses on the activities of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Stewart Wurts III and their families during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Philadelphia. It includes records from a wide variety of sources, including social groups, financial institutions, civic organizations, schools, historical societies, scientific organizations, the Franklin Institute, Laurel Hill Cemetery, churches, political groups, benevolent societies, and various businesses. In addition, there are copies of wills of prominent Philadelphia residents, as well as information on hotels and restaurants assembled from Wurts and Wister family travels, and journal articles about Philadelphia architecture and taverns. The largest group of papers relates to the Episcopal Academy, the school attended by the sons of Charles Stewart and Elizabeth Wister Wurts. Included are Commendation Day programs, academic report cards, graduation programs dating from 1913-1919, and the school's catalog, 1915-1918. Further, the collection has reproductions of the original draft of the Declaration of Independence, distributed by John Wanamaker in celebration of Washington's Birthday, in 1913.

Some of the papers relate to Elizabeth Wister Wurts' family, including penmanship copy books kept by her sister Sarah Logan Wister; items from her uncles Francis and William Wister; and other items from Sarah Logan Wister and her husband James Starr.

The collection is housed in four boxes and consists of 53 folders. The first box contains family papers covering social events and schooling. The second box holds papers on Philadelphia related business, organizations, institutions, architecture, religious bodies, etc. dating from the last part of the 19th century into the 20th century. Box three houses two printed wills, papers on miscellaneous organizations, and information on non-Philadelphia topics. The fourth box has papers on membership in the Academy of Natural Sciences and reproductions of the Declaration of Independence.

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Purchased from Peter Strickland

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Repository code: DeWint File name: col544.xml Abstract: The papers cover four generations of the families of men named Charles Stewart Wurts, all of Philadelphia. The papers shed light on the social life of upper middle class residents of the city. Extent: 1 foot Date range: 1847-1952, bulk dates 1900-1919 Related materials: Language: English Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera Winterthur, DE 19732 (302) 888-4853 Wurts Family Papers Col. 544 Creator: Wurts Family Title: Papers Dates: 1847 - 1952 (bulk: 1900-1919) Call No: Col. 544 Acc. No: 00×23 Quanity: 1 cu. ft. Location: 36-I-4