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Meta Coleman collection of du Pont family portraits

Creation: circa 1860-circa 1900
 Collection
Accession: 1968-021

Abstract

Margaretta “Meta” du Pont Coleman (1862-1938) was a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) in 1802. The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. She collected family portraits while compiling a family genealogy. This collection includes daguerrotypes, tintypes, ambrotypes and other early portrait photographs of various family members.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1860-circa 1900

Creator

Extent

37 item(s)

General Physical Description

7 photographic prints: daguerreotypes, 9 photographic prints: ambrotypes, 5 photographic prints: tintypes, 9 photographic prints on cabinet cards, 6 photographic prints and 1 painting: miniature in case.

Biographical Note

Margaretta “Meta” du Pont Coleman (1862-1938) was a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) in 1802. The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company.

She was the eldest child of Antoine Bidermann du Pont (1837-1923) and Ellen Susan Coleman (-1876). Meta's siblings include T. Coleman du Pont (1863-1930), president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (1902-1915) and U.S. senator (1924-1928), and Zara du Pont (1869-1946), known for her work in women's suffrage, labor activism, and social causes.

After the death of her mother in May 1876, Meta du Pont resided for several month with her grandmother at “Goodstay” in Wilmington, Delaware, returned home to Louisville, and attended boarding school in Philadelphia from October 1878 through May 1879. Upon her return from boarding school, Meta du Pont lived in her father's home in Louisville “Central Park,” and was responsible for running the household, and had an active social life consisting of visits with friends, attending parties, plays and dances, and ice skating.

In May 1888, Meta du Pont married a first cousin, Bannen Coleman (1856-1898), a Louisville businessman associated with her brother T. Coleman du Pont and her father. They had three children: Arthur Moxham Coleman (1890-1931), Greta Clare Coleman (1891-1952) and Alfred Victor Coleman (1893-1967).

After her husband's death, Meta du Pont Coleman continued to reside at “Central Park” in Louisville. By the first decade of the twentieth century, she had moved to Massachusetts and lived in the Boston area. She was interested in genealogy and collected family memorabilia and information until her death in 1938.

Scope and Content

Portrait photographs of members of Coleman, du Pont, Morgan, O'Callaghan, Baldwin, and Phillips families, circa 1850-1900. Includes portraits of T. Coleman du Pont (1863-1930) and "Little Betzie," African American child of slaves, circa 1861.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Related Material

du Pont family material, 1817-1938 (Accession 1089), Manuscripts and Archives, Hagley Museum and Library

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Collection assembled by Margaretta ("Meta") du Pont Coleman (Mrs. Michael B. Coleman) along with genealogical information now in Manuscript Accession 1089.

Related Names

Subject

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Meta Coleman collection of du Pont family portraits
Date:
2013
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400