William Gouverneur Ramsay (1866-1916) was a civil engineer for railroads and explosives corporations, including Repauno Chemical Company, Great Northern, and DuPont Company. His wife, Caroline “Lena” Johnston Canby (1872-1958) was interested in cultural and educational institutions and traveled extensively. The Ramsay family papers primarily consist of William G. Ramsay's personal and business papers, as well as his family's personal papers which primarily consist of correspondence, much of it between William Ramsay and Lena Ramsay prior to and after their marriage. the letters describe social life in Wilmington, literature, courtship and marriage, household administration, family life, child rearing and health.

William Gouverneur Ramsay (1866-1916) trained as a civil engineer at the University of Virginia, finishing his course work in 1887. After a career working at various times in canal, railroad, chemical, dynamite, and coal industries, in 1903, Ramsay became Du Pont's chief engineer and directed the construction of many of the largest explosives factories in the United States. In 1916, Ramsay became a director and vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, in addition to retaining his position as chief engineer. The William G. Ramsay family correspondence comprises sixty-four letters. They are largely addressed to William himself, from a variety of interlocutors, but mostly members of his own family. The majority of the letters are written by women, and thus provide a powerful picture into women’s lives and roles in the Ramsay family at the turn of the century across the Eastern seaboard.