Alice Lea Spruance personal and business papers
Creation: 1879-1965Abstract
Alice Lea Spruance (1876-1967) was the daughter of Delaware governor Preston Lea (1841-1916) and his first wife Adelaide Moore (1846-1888). Since the 1770s, the Lea family were among the largest flour mill operators at the Brandywine Falls, north of Wilmington, Delaware. This collection of personal and business papers document Spruance's personal investments, a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds that was managed by her relative Alfred E. Bissell (1903-1975) of Laird, Bissell & Meeds, brokers. Also included are descriptions, anecdotes, memoranda, and clippings relating to Wilmington and the Brandywine area, particularly the Brandywine Mills, the source of the Lea family's wealth.
Dates
- Creation: 1879-1965
Creator
- Spruance, Alice Lea, 1876-1967 (Person)
Extent
230 item(s)
Biographical / Historical
Alice Moore Lea Spruance (1876-1967) was the daughter of Delaware governor Preston Lea (1841-1916) and his first wife Adelaide Moore (1846-1888). Since the 1770s, the Lea family were among the largest flour mill operators at the Brandywine Falls, north of Wilmington, Delaware.
On May 4, 1907, she married William Corbit Spruance, Jr. (1873-1935), an electrical engineer and executive with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. They had three children. Alice Lea Spruance died in Wilmington, Delaware on August 26, 1967.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the papers concern Spruance's personal investments, and stocks and bonds. Materials describe William Lea's account of the Brandywine Mills; extracts from Benjamin Ferris's history of original settlements in Delaware and the arrival of William Shipley and his wife Elizabeth in Wilmington; William Lea's account of George Washington at the Brandywine during the Revolution; extracts from Elizabeth Montgomery's reminiscences of Wilmington relating to Joseph Tatnall; an 1879 description of the modernization of the Brandywine Mills; an 1880 history of the Brandywine Mills; extracts from Francis Vincent's history relating to Christiana Hundred and the Brandywine Mills; receipt to Henry and Preston Lea for the sale of mill property.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Alice Lea Spruance personal and business papers
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020: Marsha Mills
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
