Finding Aids

The Du Pont Story is a feature film directed by Wilhem Thiele, as William J. Thiele (1890-1975). The Du Pont Story is a historical drama which tells the story of the DuPont Company through the administrations of the company's first ten presidents. This collection consists of a motion picture employee, Dixie Moore's (aka. Dixie Fuller) research binder, primarily containing photographic reproductions of portraits and silhouettes of du Pont family members that are portrayed in the film.

Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) was a French diplomat. In 1794, he married Gabrielle Joséphine de La Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837), and a year later they came to the United States, where he was appointed as consul at Charleston, South Carolina. They returned to France in 1798, but came back to the United States in 1800 with their children; his father, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817); and his younger brother, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), and his family. Victor and Joséphine du Pont had five children, four surviving to adulthood: Amelia Elizabeth (1796-1869), Charles Irénée (1797-1869), Samuel Francis (1803-1865), and Julia Sophie (1806-1882). (The papers of Samuel Francis Du Pont, husband of Sophie Madeleine Du Pont, are held in Group IX of the Winterthur Manuscripts.) The collection is arranged into three series: Amelia du Pont papers, Charles Irénée du Pont and his wives' papers, and Julia (du Pont) Shubrick and her husband, Irvine Shubrick papers. The papers consist primarily of personal correspondence with family and friends.

Victorine du Pont (1792-1861) was the eldest child of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). Ferdinand Bauduy (1791-1814) was the son of Peter Bauduy (1769?-1833), business partners with du Pont in DuPont, Bauduy, & Co., and Theresa Bretton des Chapelles (1773-1837). This collection is a copy of their marriage certificate in 1813.

Victorine du Pont (1792-1861), the eldest child of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and Sophie Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828). The album contains poetry and verses written by Victorine and her friends and family, sketches, and watercolors.

Victorine du Pont Foster (1849-1934) was the granddaughter of Eleuthère Irénée "E.I." du Pont (1771-1834) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company which began with the production of gunpowder. Her husband was Antoine Foster (1847-1928). The collection contains a typescript of Foster's memoir, "A Lost Garden" which describes the former garden at Eleutherian Mills.

Victorine Elizabeth du Pont (1825-1887) was the daughter of Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), senior partner in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, and Margaretta Elizabeth (Lammot) du Pont (1807-1898), and the wife of Peter Kemble (1825-1887). Her papers contain miscellaneous material related to the du Pont family, including bills for her trousseau, autograph album, and correspondence from her mother, daughter, and grandson.

Walt Biddle (1925-1995) was a gardener in the household of Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958) and Francis B. Crowninshield (1869-1950) at Eleutherian Mills in Greenville, Delaware. In his oral history interview transcript, Biddle describes the Crowninshields and life at Eleutherian Mills in the 1940s and 1950s.

Wilhelmina du Pont (1906-2000) was the daughter of William K. du Pont (1875-1907) and Ethel Hallock (1876-1951), a fourth generation descendent from E.I. du Pont (1771-1834). The item is a special Christmas calling card created for Wilhelmina du Pont by the Philadelphia artist M. Adine L. Robinson (1885-1982).

Wilhelmina du Pont (1906-2000) was the daughter of William K. du Pont (1875-1907) and Ethel Hallock (1876-1951), a fourth generation descendent from E.I. du Pont (1771-1834). The letters are to Wilhelmina du Pont from her cousin Alice (Belin) (Mrs. Pierre S. du Pont) (1872-1944); mother Ethel (Mrs. William Kemble du Pont); cousin Alice (du Pont) (Mrs. T. Coleman du Pont) (1863-1937); and uncle Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954).

William du Pont, Sr. (1855-1928) was an industrialist and member of the prominent du Pont family of Delaware, whose family business was the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, also known as the DuPont Company which was a large manufacturer of gunpowder. He worked for the first DuPont dynamite manufacturer, Repauno Chemical Company, as secretary and treasurer (1880-1884) and after the tragic death of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), as president (1884-1892). William du Pont, Jr. was the youngest child of du Pont, Sr. and Annie Rogers Zinn du Pont (1858-1827). Du Pont Jr. became the president of Delaware Trust Company in 1929, the youngest bank president in Wilmington at that time. In 1952, he became chairman of the board, retaining both positions until his death in 1965. The William du Pont family papers are organized into two record groups: William du Pont, Sr. papers and William du Pont, Jr. papers. The William du Pont, Sr. papers primarily encompass the years of his active business life from the early 1880s to his death in 1928. There are also some papers from his early life and after his death. The William du Pont, Jr. papers document areas of his activities predominantly concerned with land development in Wilmington, Delaware; farming, animal breeding and foxhunting in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia; and promotion of horse racing in the United States, especially in Delaware.

William du Pont, Sr. (1855-1928) was an industrialist and member of the prominent du Pont family of Delaware, whose family business was the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, also known as the DuPont Company which was a large manufacturer of gunpowder. He worked for the first DuPont dynamite manufacturer, Repauno Chemical Company, as secretary and treasurer (1880-1884) and after the tragic death of Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), as president (1884-1892). William du Pont, Jr. was the youngest child of du Pont, Sr. and Annie Rogers Zinn du Pont (1858-1827). Du Pont Jr. became the president of Delaware Trust Company in 1929, the youngest bank president in Wilmington at that time. In 1952, he became chairman of the board, retaining both positions until his death in 1965. This collections consists of photographic material mostly relating to the U.S.F. Powder Company, together with the Ball Grain Explosives Company which was in a way U.S.F. Powder Company predecessor. It also includes William du Pont's family photographs and negatives.

Andrew Gray Wilson (1844-1905) was well-known among shipbuilders as a preeminent marine engineer and naval architect. This small collection consists primarily of individual and group portraits and snapshots of the Wilson family and the family of one of the daughters, Natalie Wilson du Pont. The collection is organized into three series; family photographs; home interiors and exteriors; and family cars and dogs photographs.

William Winder ‘Chick” Laird, Jr. (1910-1989) was a director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and a financial advisor, starting his own brokerage firm in Wilmington, Delaware. This collection includes photographs of interiors and exteriors of du Pont family estates and homes in Delaware, as well as portraits and snapshots of du Pont and Laird family members. The collection also contains a large number of lantern slides, blueprints, maps, and film reels of home movies and family skits.