The Memoir of William Vaux was written in 1894 and recounts the life of the Doylestown, Pennsylvania man who was born in Philadelphia to British immigrants in 1825. The memoir covers his early family life, being sent out to work for Quaker farmers in the country at age seven, his teenage years working for farmers and learning the shoe making trade. He was an entrepreneur and described his businesses, houses and other buildings he bought and sold, his financial hardship in the 1870s. He also joined the home guard during Robert E. Lee's invasion at Gettysburg in 1863, though he did not see combat.

Pvt. William Henry Vaux was born on March 20, 1825 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Richard Vaux Sr. (1792 – 1878) and Mary Ann Collins Vaux (1797 – 1874). Richard was born in Yorkshire, England and immigrated to the United States in 1816. Mary was born in Kent, England. The couple married sometime in 1824. They had at least seven children together, of which William was the second. The couple’s other children included Margaretta Vaux (1824 – 1906), Richard Vaux Jr. (1826 – 1896), Sgt. George Washington Vaux (1829 – 1864), Thomas Collins Vaux (1835 – 1919), Elizabeth S. Vaux Garner (1838 – 1932), and Matilda May Vaux (b. 1842).

William married Mary Henry Vaux on April 11, 1849 at Mary’s sister’s house. The couple had six children together; Margaret Vaux Hoffman (1850 – 1919), William Henry Vaux Jr. (1851 – 1926), Charlotte “Lottie” Vaux (1853 – 1923), Charles Vaux (1857 – 1861), Halsey Vaux (1862 – 1881), and Mary Ann Vaux  (1863 – 1898).

William and Mary owned a store and operated a farm while raising their small children. Times became tough with the outbreak of the Civil War. William enlisted in the army in the summer of 1863 with his neighbor and friend, Halsey Gibbs. William and Halsey were discharged on August 4, 1863 due to expiration of the terms of enlistment.

William returned to operating small family businesses, working them for a few years before selling them to a family member or friend to start something new.

William Vaux died on August 23, 1895 at the age of 70. He is buried in Doylestown Cemetery in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

The Memoir of William Vaux was written in 1894 and recounts the life of the Doylestown, Pennsylvania man who was born in Philadelphia to British immigrants in 1825. The memoir covers his early family life, being sent out to work for Quaker farmers in the country at age seven, his teenage years working for farmers and learning the shoe making trade. He was an entrepreneur and described his businesses, houses and other buildings he bought and sold, his financial hardship in the 1870s. He also joined the home guard during Robert E. Lee's invasion at Gettysburg in 1863, though he did not see combat. Vaux records his family losses, illnesses, and a trip to Europe with his friend. The end of the memoir becomes more of a record of business transactions.