William Sansom Vaux

His ancestors were early Quaker settlers of the Province of Pennsylvania and amassed great wealth through their businesses.

Vaux left the Quaker religion at a young age and joined the Episcopal Church.

[3] In 1859, he purchased the James McBride collection of archaeological surveys, field notes and drawings of artifacts at a public auction.

[5] He bequeathed his mineral and archaeological collections to the Academy of Natural Sciences, along with his library and an endowment for their preservation.

[8] In 1986, his great-nephews donated his collection of Roman glass to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.