The correspondence of William du Pont, Jr. is primarily business related and reveals his multifaceted activities as a banker, land developer, sportsman, horse, dog, and cattle breeder, and philanthropist. A small amount of his personal correspondence with the earlier generation of the family-his father William du Pont, mother Annie Rogers du Pont, aunt Sophie Madeleine du Pont Chandler, and uncle Theophilus P. Chandler-is gathered in Subseries A. Family Correspondence. Scattered throughout the files of other subseries is his correspondence with other family members that is both personal and business in nature.

Subseries B. General Correspondence is the largest of the five subseries and encompasses William du Pont, Jr.'s entire career as an entrepreneur engaged in business in the mid-Atlantic area, Kentucky, and California, and whose contacts spread throughout the country and abroad. Subseries C. contains correspondence related to the horse breeding, training, and racing business which du Pont ran as the owner of Foxcatcher Farms racing stables (after Foxcatcher Farms, Inc., ceased its business in 1932), and up to 1968, when his estate managed the racing stables after his death. Subseries E. contains miscellaneous correspondence complementing Subseries B., and is organized alphabetically by the name of correspondent or by the subject. While all other subseries are composed of both incoming and outgoing letters, Subseries D contains only carbon copies of the outgoing correspondence sent by William du Pont, Jr.'s Wilmington office. Part of its content duplicates outgoing letters from other subseries; however, some letters are unique.

The main areas of William du Pont, Jr.'s interest were Thoroughbred race horse breeding, training, and racing; foxhound breeding and hunting; purebred beef cattle rearing; promotion of lawn tennis; and the design and construction of race courses and tennis courts. The correspondence reflects his contacts with businesses, organizations, and individuals prominent in these fields. The correspondence discusses organizational and financial matters of hunt meetings and horse races; horse, dog, and cattle shows; horse, dog, and cattle registration and certification, including pedigrees and photographs; sale and purchase operations; transportation, feed, veterinary services, and tests; and advertising in special publications. It documents that William du Pont, Jr. made regular financial contributions and served as a judge and advised on race course construction.

Correspondence reveals William du Pont, Jr.'s personal contacts and acquaintances with race horse breeders and owners spread throughout the country and includes addressees in California, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Correspondents discuss interbreeding between various horse stables, syndicate contracts on stallion services, horses racing qualities and perspectives, and animal health care problems; share information on feed, equipment, and vaccination; and exchange invitations to racing and hunting meetings, shows, and social events.

Starting in the late 1930s, there is a great deal of correspondence relating to lawn tennis. William du Pont, Jr. befriended a number of prominent female tennis players who dominated the American and world tennis game in 1930s-1950s. The files contain copies of his correspondence to these players, with very few incoming letters, but still they give an inside look into their relationships, training, and tournament participation and reveal the financial support and advice which William du Pont, Jr. provided to his friends. As a recognized tennis hard court expert, William du Pont, Jr. was asked for advice on court design and construction by sport clubs, schools, colleges, and individuals interested in tennis, which is reflected in his correspondence. He promoted the use of DuPont nylon racquet strings to amateur and professional players (correspondence with R. A. Ramsdell, Assistant Manager of the Nylon Division of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc.; Ashway Line & Twine Manufacturing Company (manufacturer of nylon strings), and numerous demands from interested individuals.

Although the banking business was also one of William du Pont, Jr.'s main professional interests, the collection does not contain a significant amount of his correspondence with the Delaware Trust Company. The records are limited to meeting announcements and information notes on his and family members' personal accounts.

Correspondence with contractors and vendors of construction supplies documents numerous construction, additions, and improvements undertaken by William du Pont, Jr. on his estates at Rosemont, Pennsylvania (family residence, farm buildings, and race track from 1920s); Walnut Hall farm, Virginia (started in 1927); Saratoga Springs, New York (stables, 1929); Bellevue Hall and Carrcroft farm, Delaware (residence rebuilding in 1930s, furnishing, Marion du Pont Somerville Scott residence, 1937); Fair Hill, Maryland (farm buildings construction, started in 1946); Bellevue and Camden, South Carolina (design and construction of tennis courts in 1938-1939). There is also correspondence with State Highway Departments of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, regarding construction permits for roads leading to the properties, which contains property descriptions and plans and maps of proposed roads.

Main groups of William du Pont, Jr. correspondents

Family members (correspondence of a personal nature is only outgoing, with very few exceptions): father William du Pont (several business letters in 1919-1928); sister Marion du Pont Somerville Scott (very extensive correspondence covering personal and family issues and business related matters: horse and cattle breeding, training and sale, organization of Montpelier Race Meeting, financial arrangements); her first husband Thomas H. Somerville; du Pont's first wife Jean Lister Austin du Pont and their children: older daughter Jean Ellen du Pont McConnell (nickname "Mouse," b. February 23, 1923, married her first husband Carl H. U. Davis, February 7, 1942, [Carl Davis, Brown University class of 1943 student, got license at Aviator Instructors School, Corpus Christie in October 1942, worked as primary flight instructor at Naval Air Station, Peru, Indiana and Los Alamos Navy Training Base, California; was killed in a car accident June 9, 1943], married second husband James Hoge Tyler McConnell September 23, 1944); daughter Evelyn Rebecca Austin du Pont Donaldson and her husband Bruce Morser Donaldson; sons William Henry ("Hank," later name legally changed to Henry Eleuthere Irenee) and John Eleuthere du Pont. Besides immediate family members, files include correspondence with William du Pont, Jr.'s cousin A. Duer Irving (employee of Benedict & Benedict Insurance who handled part of William du Pont, Jr.'s property insurance), aunt Helen Rogers Bradford, relative from his mother's side, Theodore B. Rogers III (also was an insurance agent handling property insurance for William du Pont, Jr. and his companies), and a number of business letters from more distant du Pont family members.

Employees: engineer Bernard T. Converse (in 1925-1926 worked for Baldwin Locomotive Works, later worked for William du Pont, Jr.), Delaware Title Insurance Company and Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association); Hugh B. Craig (care of dogs and horses at Montpelier and Fair Hill); Sharp Craig (horse care at Newtown Square and Saratoga Springs); Carl H. Furr (horse care at Montpelier); Jack Skinner (horse trainer); Charles D. Adams and Richard Gibson (managers of Walnut Hall farm at Boyce, Virginia); E. E. Edinger (du Pont's personal secretary); R. B. Bunch (estate manager at Altama, Georgia; the estate was sold in 1932); Hugo Thaden and J. W. Lucas (Walnut Hill farm); Richard E. Handlen (well-known horse trainer who trained several of du Pont's horses); H. B. Scott (Shandon Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, where du Pont's mares boarded during the winter season); and others.

Preston M. Burch (1884-1978), renowned Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and breeder, was the head trainer for Brookmeade Stable (Virginia) from 1943, founder and first president of the American Trainers Association, and author of the book Training Thoroughbred Horses (1953). P. M. Burch trained William du Pont, Jr. and Marion du Pont's horses, and his extensive correspondence with William du Pont, Jr., 1930s-1950s, discussed details of both horse training and Association financial and organizational mattes.

Lawyers: Moore & Williams (Virginia), Edward D. Eddy (Saratoga Springs, New York), Ward & Gray (Wilmington, Delaware), Reese, Scarlett, Bennet & Highsmith (Brunswick, Georgia) Hannum, Hunter, Hannum & Hodge (Chester, Pennsylvania); correspondence related to legal aspects of land acquisition and tax return.

Stockbrokers: Laird, Bissell & Meeds (Wilmington), Bernard Winfield (New York), George Williams (New York).

Insurance agents and companies: Benedict & Benedict (New York); The Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York; Hartford Fire Insurance Company (Connecticut); William C. O'Neill & Sons (Philadelphia; agent for du Pont's half-brother George Zinn); Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company and Mother & Company (both of Philadelphia); United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company (through agencies Kane & Company, Wilmington, and Kane-Rogers Company / Theodore Rogers Agency, Philadelphia [Theodore B. Rogers III, a relative on William du Pont, Jr. mother's side].

Hunting and steeplechase organizations: The American Foxhound Club (was first vice president before 1923, then president) and its secretary E. Lester Jones; American Kennel Club; Masters of Foxhounds Association and its secretary Henry G. Vaughan; United Hunts Racing Association, National Steeplechase and Hunt Association (elected treasurer and honorary secretary in 1945); Queens County Jockey Club, Saratoga Racing Association, Westchester Racing Association, Empire City Racing Association, The Jockey Club (all New York); Delaware Racing Commission and Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association; Rose Tree Fox Hunting Club and Radnor Hunt Races (both Pennsylvania); Maryland Jockey Club; Essex Fox Hounds and Monmouth Park Jockey Club (both New Jersey); Southern Grassland Hunt and Racing Foundation (Tennessee); Virginia Fox Hunters' Association and Middleburg Racing Association (both Virginia); Arlington Park Jockey Club and Washington Park Jockey Club (both Chicago); Kentucky Jockey Club; Narragansett Racing Association (Rhode Island); Hollywood Turf Club, Los Angeles Santa Anita Turf Club and Golden Gate Turf Club (all California); Eastern Racing Association (Boston, Massachusetts); Canadian Racing Association; Ontario Jockey Club (Toronto); and others.

Horse, dog, and cattle shows: Association of American Horse Shows / American Horse Show Association (was on the board of directors, vice president of South Atlantic States regional committee in 1939, resigned from association in 1947); re-organization of Montpelier Horse Show (includes list of military classes recommended by the War Department for all horse shows, 1920, annual reports); National Horse Show Association (acted as a judge, became a director in 1925, vice president in 1927); Percheron Society of America; Delaware State Fair and Wilmington Horse Show (on the board of directors); Bryn Mawr Horse Show Association (on the board of directors), Devon Horse Show and County Fair and Philadelphia Indoor Horse Show (both Pennsylvania); Clarke County Horse Show and Fair (Virginia); Maryland State Fair and Eastern National Livestock Show (elected director in 1948); Monmouth County Horse Show Association (New Jersey); International Live Stock Exposition (Chicago); The New York State Fair, Westminster Kennel Club (New York); and others.

Cattle-breeding organizations: the American Jersey Cattle Club, American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association, Orange County Jersey Breeders' Association (Virginia), American Duroc Jersey Association, and others.

High-bred horses sales agencies: Fasig-Tipton Company (Lexington, Kentucky) and its president E. J. Tranter; A. B. Hancock (Paris, Kentucky); Breeders' Sales Company (Kentucky); M. Harrison and Company (New York); British Bloodstock Agency, Ltd. (London, England).

Veterinarian Services: Doctors Charles F. Oat and R. D. Coneley (Pennsylvania), Cassius Way (New York), R. M. Sears (New York, offered position as head of livestock for the Foxcatcher Livestock Company in 1948), W. W. Dimlock (head of Department of Animal Pathology of University of Kentucky). Cattle testing, together with other issues (forest planting, game bird acquisition, fish stocking), are the subjects of correspondence with the Departments of Agriculture of the United States and of the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Subscriptions for and advertisements in professional publications: The Rider and Driver, The Field Illustrated, The Thoroughbred Record, The Blood-Horse, The Official Horse Show Blue Book, International Sport, Polo, Horse & Horseman, The Chronicle (Virginia sporting journal), The Cattleman, The Racing Calendar, Horses in Training; subscription for international horse breeding reviews and stud books with Charles Scribner's Sons.

Photographers: Harold S. Stott (Philadelphia), Victor Dallin, (Pennsylvania, aerial photography); Hildebrand Pictures, Freudy Photos, Haas (New York); Bert Morgan (New Jersey), Jake Jacobs (DC); Joe Fleischer (Maryland) and others; Motion picture producers: Turf Films (New Jersey).

Tennis players, du Pont's personal acquaintances (from late 1930s, mainly outgoing letters): William T. Tilden (champion player of the 1920s and 1930s); Margaret Osborne ("Meow," married William du Pont, Jr. in 1947; won thirty-seven Grand Slam titles in her career-first letter February 2, 1942, includes letters written to her while she was on tours in Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina; before the marriage, correspondence with her is filed under letter "O," after, "D"), Althea Louise Brough ("Broughie," Margaret Osborne's partner in doubles and contender in singles, thirty-five Grand Slam titles), Alice Marble (eighteen Grand Slam titles), Eleanor Tennant ("Teach," first woman tennis player turned professional), Doris Jane Hart (thirty-five Grand Slam titles), Mary Arnold (ranked in the US Top 10 every year between 1939 and 1947), Katherine Winthrop, Pauline Betz (five Grand Slam titles), Anne Page (Pennsylvania), Nancy Chaffee, Helen H. Jacobs (ten Grand Slam titles), Gretl Dupont (three times USTA grass court champion in the first half of 1940s; asked Margaret Osborne to write a chapter on postwar tennis in her planned book).

Tennis organizations: United States Lawn Tennis Association and its president Holcombe Ward; The Delaware Lawn Tennis Association; tennis committee of the Country Club of Salisbury, North Carolina; University of Miami; Eastern Lawn Tennis Association; Southern California Tennis Association and its secretary, later president Perry T. Jones, who was called "Mr. Tennis of the West Coast," and others.

Delaware organizations that the du Pont financially supported on regular basis: Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Hospital, Babies Hospital and Day Nursery, The Girls Cooperative League of Wilmington, Associated Charities, Brandywine Hundred Fire Company, Fresh Air Fund of the Home Mission, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., American Red Cross-Delaware Chapter, Delaware Anti-Tuberculosis Society, Delaware State Tennis Tournament, Delaware Republican State Committee, Visiting Nurse Association of Wilmington, United War Fund of Delaware, Brandywine Conservation Project-State Forest Department, and the National Recreation Association in Wilmington.

Among other organizations to which William du Pont, Jr. made regular contributions were National Educational and Publicity Campaign on Behalf of the Thoroughbred and Racing (initiated by Admiral Cary T. Grayson, became National Thoroughbred Foundation, then Grayson Foundation after Grayson's death in 1938), National Recreation Association, American Trainers Association, Drum Point Gunning Club (Virginia), Newtown Square Fire Company, St. Paul's School Alumnae Association, and the Playground and Recreation Association of America.

Miscellaneous

Delaware Governor C. Douglas Buck. Correspondence regarding William du Pont, Jr.'s suggestions on proposed tax relief bill, 1934.

Mayor's Employment & Relief Committee, Wilmington. William du Pont, Jr. was Chairman of Finance Committee in 1931-1932.

Wilmington Country Club. William du Pont, Jr. was a club member from 1921 and was president from 1945; in 1958-1959, he donated more than one hundred acres of land for golf course.

Miller Train Control Corporation. William du Pont, Jr. inherited stocks in the company from his father and continued to make financial contributions to keep the enterprise alive; was elected to the board of directors in 1928 and suggested plan of financial reorganization which did not lead to success.

Fishers Island Club, Inc. and Fishers Island Yacht Club. The summer retreat for the family on the coast of New York state where J. L. Austin du Pont and children spent summer months, first renting and then owning the cottage. William du Pont, Jr. was a founding member of the club.

Enclosures: horse certificates and pedigrees; horse clubs' brochures, booklets on Thoroughbred horses, race, and show programs and catalogs; meetings and social events invitations and announcements; jockey accounts and accounts for stud services; financial statements and reports of various companies and organizations in which du Pont was interested; estimates of cost for construction and planting projects, catalog pages of instruments, equipment, furniture; agreement drafts and copies; accident reports for insurance companies; freight bills from railroad companies on cattle, feed, and construction materials transportation; press clippings, photographs, blueprints; and fabric samples for home furnishing and clothing.