Catherine Wistar Bache (1805-1886) was the point of connection between two of Philadelphia's most illustrious families of the late eighteenth century. Daughter of the physician Caspar Wistar, in November 1797 she married Dr. William Bache, who was the son of Richard Bache and the grandson of Benjamin Franklin. Primarily letters to Mrs. Bache (wife of Dr. William Bache) of Philadelphia, from Mrs. David Hosack (nee Mary Eddy), Mrs. Elizabeth Trist, and Mary Jones. The letters are personal and concern family life, activities of husbands, etc., with many references to Caspar Wistar, There are comments on diseases, education (at William and Mary College), war, and politics. References are also made to the deaths of Richard Bache and Caspar Wistar, and to Benjamin Franklin's Stockado (a musical instrument).

After emigrating from Germany to Philadelphia in 1796, Peter Adolph Grotjahn established himself within the city's mercantile community, trading opportunistically both inland and coastwise as far as the Caribbean. In 1812, he began publishing a commercial newspaper, Grotjan's Philadelphia Public Sale Reports and he became increasingly active in local Democratic Party politics. The APS copy of Peter Grotjahn's memoir is a typescript copy of an original volume held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Written for his grandchildren, the memoir begins with a relatively brief genealogical discussion, but concentrates on his personal and political life and commercial experiences prior to 1817. The last section of the autobiography was completed posthumously from notes, and includes extracts from Grotjahn's diary as late as 1844.