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Jean Kane Foulke du Pont condolence letter to Rev. William F. Honaman and Eleanor Honaman

Creation: 1971 March 9
 Collection
Accession: 2884

Abstract

Jean Kane Foulke du Pont (1891-1985) was a suffragette, prison reform activist, and philanthropist. Rev. William F. "Fred" Honaman (1930/31- ) and Eleanor Robbins Honaman (1930-2022) were lay missionaries of the Episcopal Church. This item is a letter of condolence written by Foulke du Pont to Rev. and Mrs. Honaman upon the death of their son, Stephen Robbins Honaman (1954-1970), aged 15.

Dates

  • Creation: 1971 March 9

Creator

Extent

1 item(s)

Biographical Note

Jean Kane Foulke du Pont (1891-1985) was a suffragette, prison reform activist, and philanthropist. She was born on May 21, 1891, in Lenape, Pennsylvania, to George Rhyfedd Foulke (1865-1901) and Jean Kane Foulke (1867-1962). She was the granddaughter of William Foulke (1816-1865), who discovered the first full dinosaur skeleton in North America. Foulke grew up in Philadelphia and attended the Misses Hebb's School in Wilmington, Delaware. She was later active in the school's alumni activities.

In 1910, Foulke married E. Paul du Pont (1887-1950), son of Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904) and Elise Wigfall Simons (1850-1919). He founded Du Pont Motors and later bought and became president of Indian Motorcycles. The couple had six children: Éleuthère Paul Jr. (1911-1963), Francis George (1913-1938), Stephen (1915-2012), Benjamin Bonneau (1919-1999), Robert Jacques (1923-1990), and Alexis Irénée (1928-2016).

Foulke was active in women's affairs, prison reform, the arts, and gardening. She was also a genealogist and compiled several books on family history. In 1916, she picketed the White House with a group of Delaware women in an effort to persuade President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) to become active in the cause. In 1919, she helped found the Prisoners' Aid Society of Delaware as well as Bridge House, a detention home for juvenile offenders in Wilmington.

During World War I, Foulke was a leader of the Women's Auxillary for the Delaware Committee, as well as the Council of National Defense. She was also responsible for several "save the babies" stations, which resulted in Delaware's "pure milk legislation" intended to protect milk sold for babies, and also led to child welfare programs in the state. Foulke also played an important role in creating Delaware's family court; a plaque at the court was donated in 1963.

In 1964, she contacted the University of Delaware seeking a training and educational program for Delaware correctional workers, to benefit those "working in probation, parole, family court, and youth services, as well as the guards in state prisons." She created an endowment in honor of her husband, if the university agreed to train correctional personnel. She also donated a ten-year grant to encourage the university faculty to study prison reform and prisoner rehabilitation issues, eventually leading to the creation of the university's criminal justice program.

Biographical Note

Rev. William F. "Fred" Honaman (1930/31- ) and Eleanor Robbins Honaman (1930-2022) were lay missionaries of the Episcopal Church.

The couple both graduated from Carlisle High School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1948. Fred Honaman served as a lieutenant in the Korean War and graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1955. In 1957, the couple was appointed to the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican-Episcopal Church in Japan), where they served for forty years. Fred became a Canon in the Church and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1993.

Eleanor Honaman studied at the Fokine School of Ballet in New York City and taught for the Hopper School of Dance in Harrisburg and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She was a teacher of English conversation at Koran School for Girls and Rikkyo Primary School for Boys, both in Tokyo, Japan, and was a volunteer patient-visitor at St. Luke's International Medical Center, Tokyo, as well as an English language consultant. She was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Board of the Tokyo Community Counseling Service.

The couple married in 1953 and had three children.

Scope and Contents

This item is a letter of condolence written by Jean Kane Foulke du Pont to Rev. and Mrs. Honaman upon the death of their son, Stephen Robbins Honaman (1954-1970), aged 15. Foulke du Pont offers her sympathies and describers her own feelings following the loss of her oldest son, Éleuthère Paul Jr. (1911-1963).

Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.

Language of Materials

English

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Jean Kane Foulke du Pont condolence letter to Rev. William F. Honaman and Eleanor Honaman
Author:
Diane E. Bockrath
Date:
2025
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
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Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
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