Finding Aids

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.

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834) was a French American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. E.I. du Pont married Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828) in 1791, and the couple had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. This collection primarily consists of E.I. du Pont's personal and business correspondence; writings and notes; school materials; memoranda on manufactures and tariffs; legal agreements; patents; and land surveys. Also included are Sophie Dalmas du Pont's correspondence and household account records.

Gabriel Manigault (1758-1809) was a Charleston merchant, plantation owner, architect, and South Carolina state Representative. In 1805, Manigault sold part of his property in South Carolina and moved to Clifton, an estate near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These are copies of Manigault's letters relating to members of the du Pont family.

George Whitelock (1780-1833) was a cabinetmaker and chair-maker in Wilmington, Delaware. This item is a bill for a coffin for Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator.

Henry du Pont (1812-1889) was an American military officer and son of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). The collection consists of photocopied letters from Henry du Pont (1812-1889) and typescript of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) autobiography he wrote in 1792. The letters are from sisters Eleuthera du Pont Smith (1806-1876) and Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888), as well as William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) and M. Saito of the Japanese Navy.

Gertrude Ruhnka (1891-1981) was a research librarian at the Huntington Library in California. The collection contains her unpublished manuscript, "Love for life: a self-portrait of the first three generations of du Ponts in America, 1791-1834," and two letters from Ruhnka to J.B. Lippincott Company and Dr. Walter J. Heacock of the Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation.

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 du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a noted French Physiocrat and economic advisor to Jacques Necker and King Louis XVI. In 1784, Louis XVI made him a noble through the process of noblesse de lettres, which added the de Nemours suffix to his name. In the aftermath of the French Revolution he and his family emigrated to the United States where his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont established the gun powder manufacturer E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. These photographs show a close-up of the Place Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours metal plaque and the building on which it hangs in Nemours France, ancestral home of the du Pont family.