Call Number:

05

Repository:

Yardley Historical Association

Extent:

1.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1950-1980 (bulk) and 1855-1981 (inclusive)

Creator:

Belville, Catherine Reading, 1897-1995

Abstract:

Catherine "Kitty" Reading Belville (1897-1995) was born in Yardley, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Belville was a 1919 graduate of Swarthmore College, and established the Belville Scholarship there in 1982 in honor of her parents. Having a strong interest in history, Belville was a member of the Colonial Yardley Association (predecessor of the Yardley Historical Association). The Catherine R. Belville family papers, 1885-1981 (bulk 1950-1980), mostly consist of the personal papers of Catherine R. Belville, including correspondence, diaries, ephemera, and photographs, as well as some papers relating to the Belville family. Many of the materials relate to Belville's time as a student at Swarthmore College and her continued association with the school. Also included are materials relating to the Colonial Yardley Association, genealogy research, and Yardley history research.

Catherine "Kitty" Reading Belville (also spelled "Belleville") was born in Yardley, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1897 to Robert Chambers Belville, Jr. (1868-1957) and Margaret (Marguerite) Moore Klein (b. 1872). She had a younger brother, Robert Chambers Belville, III (1898-1976). Belville spent most of her life in Yardley as well as Trenton and neighboring Hamilton, NJ, and was a 1919 graduate of Swarthmore College. There, Belville was involved in athletics, student government, and contributed to the college newspaper, The Phoenix. In 1982, Belville established the Belville Scholarship in honor of her parents, which is awarded annually to an incoming student of particular promise.

Belville had a strong interest in history. She was a member of the Colonial Yardley Association, the predecessor of the Yardley Historical Association, and she conducted a fair amount of genealogy research as well as research on Yardley history, including its historic houses and buildings. Belville died in Haverford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in 1995.

Through Margaret M. Klein who purchased the property in 1893, the Belville family owned Lanrick Manor (established circa 1806 by Cornelius Vansant) in Yardley for close to 90 years. Lanrick Manor is an historic house that serves as a well-preserved example of an early 19th century Federal style residence, executed in Bucks County field stone. Catherine and her sister-in-law, Mary S. Belville, sold the property in 1982.

The collection mostly consists of the personal papers of Catherine R. Belville as well as some papers relating to the Belville family. Many of the materials, including correspondence, ephemera, and college course notes, relate to Belville's time as a student at Swarthmore College and her continued association with the school. There is also correspondence and ephemera relating to other organizations with which Belville was affiliated or to which she donated money. Also included are calendar diaries (1965-1979, incomplete); diaries of trips to Europe; photographs of family and friends; family autograph albums, 1855-1880s; grocery lists; and a typescript for "Small Town Child" and related correspondence. Also included are materials relating to the Colonial Yardley Association, notes on Yardley-area houses and buildings, genealogy research, and items relating to Yardley history.