Finding Aids

Alexander Duer Irving Jr. (1873-1941) was assigned as a junior naval aide to President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) on his trip to the Paris Peace Conference, primarily because of his knowledge of French. He served with the rank of lieutenant under Wilson's personal physician, Admiral Cary T. Grayson (1878-1938). The papers record details of protocol at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Irving gives much social detail of formal affairs attended and the intricacies of protocol. He reports background information on French labor unrest, the high cost of living, and the fear of Bolshevist infiltration.

Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856) was a senior partner in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a gunpowder manufacturer. This collection of papers documents Alfred V. du Pont’s business affiliations, relations with other family members, and relationship with du Pont workers. The bulk is comprised of correspondence, and the collection also includes a small number of advertising circulars.

The Bauduy family was associated with the prominent du Pont family, who immigrated to the United States from France in 1802 and established the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, which manufactured gunpowder at mills on the banks of the Brandywine River just north of Wilmington, Delaware. Peter Bauduy (1769?-1833), a French refugee from Santo Domingo who was a partner of Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834). This collection contains correspondence of Hélène Bauduy (1806-1881), Peter Bauduy's daughter, and Alexandre Aristide Bretton de Chapelles (1799-1850), and a journal kept by Eulalia Keating (1801-1873), Bauduy's daughter-in-law.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. He was an advocate for a national educational system and promoted Franco-American trade relations. Francoise (Robin) Poivre du Pont was his second wife. His grandson, Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. This collection consists of twenty-three photocopied letters, primarily from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), but also Francoise du Pont de Nemours (1748-1831) and Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865). The correspondence is primarily to Marie Anne Lavoisier Thompson (1758-1836), a French chemist and close friend of the family.

Earle E. Coleman (1925-2009) was the head of imprints cataloguing at Eleutherian Mills Historical Library. The typescript bibliogrpahy includes collaborative works, English translations, and items in published compilations of papers. Most of the titles and information are in French.

In 1801, French immigrants Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) and his father Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) organized the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (alternatively referred to as the DuPont Company) in Paris for the purpose of manufacturing gunpowder in the United States. The next year E.I. du Pont purchased a mill site on the banks of the Brandywine Creek just north of Wilmington, Delaware, and the company would grow to be the preeminent gunpowder company in the United States for the next century. This collection comprises the nineteenth-century records of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. extending to the date of the second incorporation of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. in 1902. The company's twentieth-century records, with the 1902 reincorporation as the dividing point, are described in a separate finding aid as E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. twentieth-century records (Accession 0500.II).

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) was the founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. The collection contains original love letters from du Pont to his wife, Sophie (Dalmas) du Pont (1775-1828). He writes of how much he loves his wife and misses her when away. English transcribed extracts of several letters were done by their daughter, Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888).

Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904) was the youngest son of Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857) and Joanna Smith du Pont (1815-1876), and grandson of Éleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The papers consist of du Pont's student lecture and laboratory notes; letters; technical notes and papers; records of gunpowder production; patent specifications and drawings; patent correspondence; and printed patents related to gunpowder.

Francoise Robin du Pont (1748-1841) was the second wife of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) a promienent French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The letters are from du Pont to Madame Clarice Aublay (nee Hortode) and cousin Albert.

The Lainé family was related to Peter Bauduy (1769-1833) a French refugee from Santo Domingo who was a business partner of Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) of the DuPont Company. The family papers contain items from several generations and include a diary from Pierre-Francois Lainé's (1775-1846) captivity in Russia, Francois Damas Laine'ś (1823-1901) diary from his visit to France, Marie Lainé Santa Maria's (1866-1961) memoirs as a child living on a sugar plantation in Cuba, translation, and typescripts of the diaries, and genealogical information.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. Françoise Robin du Pont (1748-1841) was the second wife of du Pont de Nemours. The collection contains photocopies of letters of both du Pont de Nemours. His letter regards obtaining a "safe conduct" passport while heading a scientific expedition being sent to North America by the Institute National. Her letters are with a Bergen Point, New Jersey former neighbor, C. Preudhomme, and his son.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. At the onset of the French Revolution, he served as a member of the Assemblée Nationale Constituante, where he allied himself with the moderate Girondist faction. After the leader of the Jacobin movement, Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), took power, du Pont was arrested in July 1794, but he escaped execution. On January 3, 1800, accompanied by his sons, he arrived in America. This small collection consists primairly of letters from du Pont de Nemours to Philippe Nicolas Harmand (1759-1839), director of pensions under the Empire, then first clerk for the Public Debt from 1814 to 1821. Harmand was the tutor of du Pont de Nemour's sons and a loyal family friend. Harmand brought du Pont de Nemours food during his period of concealment. These letters include references to financial and business affairs, as well as personal and family news.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. In 1802, he held various government posts under Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). In 1803, he aided President Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) in negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, a land deal transferring ownership of more than 530 million acres of territory to the United States from France. The principal item of this collection is a letter to James Monroe, minister plenipotentiary to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, dated May 7, 1803. The letter is encased in a leather bound portfolio containing the original handwritten French letter, a typed English translation, and three other items.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (more commonly known as the DuPont Company or simply DuPont) from 1915 to 1919 and chairman of the board from 1919 to 1940. P.S. du Pont was the great grandson of Eleuthere Irenee du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. He was also an avid collector of documents on the early history of the du Pont family and the DuPont Company. This collection contains elements which were selected from both company and family papers. The material was lodged in du Pont's Wilmington office for a number of years prior to his death in 1954.