A Guide to the duPont Family Papers WLU.Coll.0169

A Guide to the duPont Family Papers WLU.Coll.0169


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Washington and Lee University, University Library Special Collections and Archives

Washington and Lee University, Special Collections Staff

Repository
Washington and Lee University, University Library Special Collections and Archives
Identification
WLU.Coll.0169
Title
duPont family papers 1897-1950
Quantity
33 Linear Feet
Creator
Du Pont, Alfred I. (Alfred Irénée), 1864-1935
Creator
Du Pont, Jessie Ball, 1884-1970
Language
English

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the Head of Special Collections.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], duPont Family Papers (WLU Coll. 0169), Special Collections and Archives, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA.

Processing Information

The original finding aid was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the History Associates Incorporated in 2001. Edits to this description for injest into ArchivesSpace were made by Graham McKemy and Mattie Clear in 2023.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

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Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Series 1.1: Biography
Biography
1897-1950English
Scope and Contents

This series is related to the duPont genealogy in France and the United States, family relics, and tributes to Alfred I. duPont. It also includes correspondence and notes and galley sheets by Marquis James in preparation for publication of his biography, "Alfred I. duPont: The Family Rebel."

Immediate Family
1909-1935English
Scope and Contents

This series contains correspondence and legal documents relating to Alfred's relationship with his three wives and his children. His detailed correspondence with his adopted daughter Alicia through her childhood and early married years in Europe present an especially detailed picture of the lifestyle and spending habits of an extremely wealthy family. Alfred also carried on a lifelong correspondence with his daughter Madeleine who settled in Munich, Germany. Letters exchanged with his brother Maurice document the rise and fall of the powder business, other business activities, and numerous social events. Alfred's especially candid letters with his older sister Marguerite, whom it is said, was the only person he feared, reveal his most intimate thoughts and activities.

Extended Family
1902-1935English
Scope and Contents

This series is made up of Alfred's extensive correspondence with cousins, nieces, and nephews, many of whom received his financial support. These included members of his third wife Jessie's family whom he adopted as his own. In his letters to his children he was especially warm and lighthearted, showing a side of his character which was not always evident in adult relations.

Friends
1908-1935English
Scope and Contents

This series consists of correspondence between Alfred and his closest friends throughout his lifetime. Principal correspondents include James Hackett, a noted, flamboyant actor; Jimmy L. Dashiell, musician, entrepreneur, and one-time business manager of the duPont Company; and Dr. Charles Hanby, friend, family physician, and collaborator in many charitable enterprises.

Politics
1909-1935English
Scope and Contents

Records contain correspondence regarding the operation of the Wilmington Morning News and other newspapers and their duPont influenced editorial policy. Other records related to E. M. Davis and T. W. Jakes, political informants on the duPont payroll, and Alfred's views on women's suffrage, World War I, welfare reform, and a host of other topics.

Business
1903-1935English
Scope and Contents

Business records document the early days of the duPont Powder Company at the turn of the century to its breakup in 1915. Included is correspondence between Alfred, his cousin,Frank Cazenove Jones, and his brother, Maurice duPont. The details of the duPont family lawsuit are covered, including the reports of lawyers and private detectives. Banking ventures, the Nemours Trading Co., a variety of business and real estate ventures, and Alfred's 1912 activities in Paris are included.

Personal
1902-1935English
Scope and Contents

Intimate details of the duPont family are documented. Subjects include: deafness, storage of furs, jewels, purchase of antiques, intimate articles, home furnishings, clubs, personal views, poetry, and musical compositions by Alfred.

Mechanical
1905-1935English
Scope and Contents

This series deals with Alfred's vast interest and knowledge of automobiles, pumps, machinery, and gadgets. It documents his lifelong preoccupation with the design and construction of yachts, particularly the Nenemoosha.

Nemours
1906-1935English
Scope and Contents

Alfred's Delaware estate, Nemours, was another lifelong project. These records document earliest plans and stages of construction. Correspondence with contractors describes details of decorations, placement of monuments, water systems, supervision of staff, purchase of antiques, decorating, landscaping, supplies, and operation of the "Blue Ball" farm as part of the estate.

Charities
1910-1935English
Scope and Contents

The wide variety of duPont charities is documented. The record begins with Alfred's earliest doling out of small payments to the needy in his community to the establishment of hospitals and the reform of the welfare system for the state of Delaware. Alfred's increased interest in charities during the Great Depression is documented.

Florida
1927-1934English
Scope and Contents

Florida records include correspondence with Edward Ball, Alfred's brother-in-law and business manager. Included are banking reports and records related to construction and upkeep of Epping Forest as well as Nemours.

Nemours Papers
15 Linear Feet
Inclusive 1831-1947Bulk 1915-1935English
Custodial History

The Alfred I. Du Pont Nemours papers consist of those Du Pont manuscripts which were maintained at Nemours, the family estate in Wilmington, Delaware. At some point they were shipped to the offices of the Jessie Ball Du Pont Religious, Charitable and Educational Fund in Jacksonville, Florida. As designated by Jessie Ball duPont in her will, the Nemours papers were donated to Washington and Lee University, along with the duPont family papers located in Jacksonville. Because of their distinct provenance it was decided to process the papers from Nemours as a separate series rather than integrating them into the Alfred I. Du Pont Jacksonville papers or into the Jessie Ball Du Pont Papers.

Scope and Contents

The Nemours Papers are part of the Du Pont Family Collection and consist of 15 linear feet of records dating from 1831 to 1947. The bulk of the material dates from 1915 to 1935 and reflects the business, financial, and family affairs of Alfred I. duPont (1864-1935). In addition, the Papers include some of the records of Alfred's second wife, Alicia Bradford Maddox duPont (1875-1920), and his third wife, Jessie Ball duPont (1884-1970).

Document types include personal and business correspondence, as well as legal documents, which relate primarily to patents and to several lawsuits in which Alfred I. duPont was involved. Business and financial records relate to family matters, such as Alfred I. duPont's guardianship of Alicia Amory Maddox, as well as to professional interests such as mining. The Papers include printed materials, such as clippings, pamphlets, and magazine articles. They also contain a large number of photographs documenting the family and social lives of Alfred I. and Jessie Ball duPont.

The Alfred I. duPont Nemours Papers have been arranged as six series: Correspondence, Business and Financial Records, Legal Records, General, Printed Materials, and Photographs.

Arrangement
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Jessie Ball Du Pont Papers
English
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