Finding Aids

Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), with his father Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), was the founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. This collection includes his recipts for hotel and livery stable bills.

This collection contains research reports for the purpose of developing and elaborating exhibits and interpretations of the Hagley Museum. The reports were prepared by a permanent research staff and by participants in the Hagley Fellowship Program. The research reports also include scholarly articles that use Hagley's collections or are about subjects that pertain to Hagley's mission.

Eleutherian Mills is the house built by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), above his gunpowder mills, the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. It served as a home to the du Pont family for generations, the last being Louise du Pont Crowninshield (1877-1958). The collection contains material related to the restoration of the home prior to Crowninshield occupying it. Also included are materials related to a road to the Eleutherian Mills and Nemours residences, repairs to the iron bridge across the Brandywine, and description of E.I. du Pont's garden.

The Eli Bridge Company manufactures Ferris Wheels and other amusement park rides, such as the Scrambler. The company was founded by William Eli "W.E." Sullivan (1861-1932) in 1906. Most of this collection consists of a trade journal on carnival rides and devices dating between 1916 and 1935. The monthly magazine was first titled The Optimist, and later continued as Big Eli News. It featured articles about amusement park rides, parts, and operations, and included advertisements and illustrations.

Upper Louviers was a residence located on the east bank of the Brandywine Creek in Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, opposite the powder mills of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. Elise du Pont Elrick (1902-1984), who lived at Upper Louviers as a child, was an architect and translator. This collection consists of architectural drawings of the residence made by Elise du Pont Elrick in 1936.

Elise Simons du Pont (1849-1919) was the wife of Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904), a vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. The records consist of itemized household receipts, primarily from three Wilmington, Delaware grocers and one from John Wanamaker's department store in Philadelphia. The receipts give descriptions of goods and prices.

Elliott, Johnson & Co. was a well-known banking and brokerage firm of Wilmington, Delaware, in the late nineteenth century. 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 two letters from Elliott, Johnson & Co. regarding the purchase of bonds in two Florida railroads, the Sanford & Lake Eustis Railroad Company and the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway Company.

Elmer Sperry (1860-1930) was one of America’s electric pioneers. He founded the Sperry Gyroscope Company in order to develop, manufacture, and market marine gyrostabilizing devices. The papers document Sperry's research and development work and entrepreneurial activities.

Elva M. Chandler (1900-1990) was an active clubwoman, active in many women's professional, church, and political organizations and president of the local Business and Professional Women's Club. She was best known for her involvement in the Delaware Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (BPWC) and belonged to the Christina branch. Chandler's papers document her role in business and professional women's organizations and the changing role of women in business life from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Active in the 1840s, Emerson & Hanson Threshing Machine Company manufactured and repaired farming implements and other machinery; the company primarily manufactured "Pitt's Patent Horse Power and Separator" threshing machine, having licensed the process from the patentee. The collection consists of a sample of sixteen letters from agents, customers, and suppliers in various Midwestern states, containing orders for machines and parts, complaints, etc.

Emile F. du Pont (1898-1974) was director of the Employee Relations Department for DuPont Company beginning in 1945. His papers largely consist of speeches he gave, most of which were given to DuPont employees, on the history of the company. There are also files related to his role in the National Safety Council and production of "The Du Pont Story" film.

Emma E. Holmes (1838-1910) was the daughter of Dr. Henry M. Holmes (1790-1854) and Eliza Ford Gibbes (1808-1875). The diary chronicles Holmes's life in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Civil War, detailing the Charleston fire of December 1861, visiting army camps, taking a position as governess and tutor, and plundering Union troops near the end of the war.

The records consist of photocopies of miscellaneous documents of the Empire Steel and Iron Company, the originals of which are in the possession of the National Canal Museum at Easton, Pa. Most of them seem to have come from the Mount Hope site. There is another small collection of miscellaneous materials from the field office of the Mount Hope Mine at the New Jersey Historical Society.

The rise and fall of Enron Corp., a natural gas utility transformed into the world’s largest energy trader, followed a pattern of boom and bust familiar in the history of American business. The records in this collection belonged to Herbert “Pug” Winokur, a member of Enron’s board of directors and chair of its finance committee. He used these records to prepare for depositions associated with the Enron bankruptcy. This collection contains meeting minutes, supporting materials and other documents relating to the Department of Justice investigation into the Enron Corp. from 1997 to 2002.

The Erie City Iron Works was founded by Pennsylvania capitalist Bethuel Boyd Vincent (1803-1876) as the Presque Isle Foundry in 1840. The Works was a major manufacturer of boilers, stationary and portable engines and machinery for sawmills and steam riveting as well as railroad freight and passenger cars. Their records are largely comprised of accounting records.

This collection consists of the business records of Ernest Dichter and the several consulting firms through which he operated fully document his role as a pioneer of motivational research, from the beginnings of his career in the United States until a few months before his death.

Ernest Munster (1885-1965) was an attorney and organized Lawyers International Corporation in 1930, with its office in New York City. Munster, the company's president, continued his association with the company through at least the mid-1940s. The Ernest Munster papers reflect his work which necessitated his familiarity with international trade and incorporation laws and taxation policies. The collection primarily consists of records Munster maintained during his years as president of Lawyers International Corporation, with some papers dating back to his employment with International Corporation Company in the late 1930s.

Ernst R. Habicht (1902-1987) was the general manager of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's ammonia production plant at Belle, West Virginia. His papers include newspaper clippings, correspondence, a long memorandum, and a humorous poem by Habicht relating to the 1947-1948 strike at the Belle plant.

Errett McLeod Graham (1877-1974) was a civil engineer for various railroads. He was married to Helena "Lena" Washburn Graham (1881-1970) for nearly sixty-six years. Helena Graham was a homemaker to the couple's three children. The Grahams spent the early years of their marriage in remote railroad construction camps and small towns in Tennessee and West Virginia before settling in Rensselaer, Indiana. This item is a single-volume diary handwritten by both Errett and Lena Graham in 1910 while living in Tunnelton, West Virginia, were Errett was working for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company. The diary would be of interest to those researching women's studies, railroad history, and civil engineering.

Eugene du Pont Jr. (1873-1954) was a director of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company from 1917 until 1954, and a great grandson of company founder, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834). The collection contains the personal papers of Eugene du Pont, Jr., and the records of the Kinloch Gun Club, a private shooting club which he founded. It also contains a separate collection of correspondence between his brother Alfred I. du Pont, vice president and general manager of the DuPont Company, with his assistant Frank L. Connable, which is an important source for the history of the company in the early 1900s.

Eugene du Pont Jr. (1873-1954) was a director of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company from 1917 until 1954, and a great grandson of company founder, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834). The papers of Eugene du Pont Jr. include reports to the DuPont Company Board of Directors by the executive committee and the treasurer of the DuPont Company. In addition, there are several copies of letters to du Pont family members.

Eugene du Pont (1840-1902) was the eldest son of Alexis I. du Pont (1816-1857) and Joanna Smith du Pont (1815-1876) and joined the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., eventually rising to president in 1899. The bulk of the papers in this small collection are letters sent to Eugene du Pont by his mother while he was in school in Philadelphia from 1857 to 1859.

Eugene Eleuthère du Pont (1882-1966) was an industrialist and a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) and his son, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), who founded E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1802, a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. He attended Harvard University from 1899 to 1903, graduating with an A.B. degree before joining the family business. Eugene E. du Pont kept this scrapbook during his years at Harvard, continuing to the year of his world travels. There are a few pieces relating to the Harvard Class of 1903. However, the bulk of the material consists of articles, particularly poetry.

Eugene S. Ferguson (1916-2004) was one of the founders of the discipline of the history of technology, both through teaching at Iowa State University and the University of Delaware and by working at the Smithsonian Institution and the Hagley Museum. This collection documents the first twenty years of the history of technology as an academic discipline, and networking among its practitioners.

The Everett Worthington Inc. records contain correspondence, purchase orders, design requests, and contractual letters. Clients include, but are not limited to, Stromberg-Carlson, Cincinnati Victor Company, Coca-Cola, Toastmaster, Story & Clark Piano Company, Gillette Safety Razor Company, Robert W. Irwin Company, Waterbury Clock Company and General Motors. Renderings, sketches and photographs detail completed projects. Chicago's 1933 A Century of Progress International Exposition, and the 1936 Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland, Ohio are well represented. Everett E. Worthington was an industrial designer whose career began in 1915 in San Francisco, and continued in Chicago and New York City.

The Textile Fibers Department of the DuPont Company was established in 1936 (known then as the Rayon Department) which specialized in researching and developing synthetic fibers for fabrics such as Rayon, Nylon, Teflon, Corian, and Kevlar. This collection consists of materials once housed in the library of the Experimental Station and culled after the sale of the textile fibers business. The collection has been arranged into six series: Vertical file; Translation logs; Miscellany; Project indexes; Publications; Speeches.

F. Weber & Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer and supplier of artists' materials. Ernest Gustav Weber (1888-1965) was owner Frederick Theodore Weber (1845-1919)'s son. After their father's death, Weber and his brother, Frederick William Weber (1890-1972), were business partners running the supply store. This item is Ernest Gustav Weber's journal. The journal contains income and expenses from 1905 and 1906. There are also some lists of correspondence, addresses, and travel information.

Felix Octavius Carr Darley (1822-1888) was an American illustrator known for his illustrations in works by well-known nineteenth century authors. The collection includes a microfilm copy of his 1853 account book which records his work for publishers.

The Ferracute Machine Company of Bridgeton, New Jersey was a press and die business founded by Oberlin Smith (1840-1926), inventor, writer, manufacturer in 1863. The collection consists of materials assembled by Arthur J. Cox for the preparation of the company history, Ferracute: The History of an American Enterprise (1985). This collection has been arranged into seventeen series: Administration; Advertising; Employees; History; Machine tools; Military work; Unions; Patents; Press work; Frederick A. Parkhurst (FAP) Time Studies; Miscellany; Scrapbooks; Drawings; Orders; Payrolls; Press cards; and Account books.

The Ferracute Machine Company was a press and die business founded by inventor Oberlin Smith (1840-1926) in Bridgeton, New Jersey, in 1863. It was incorporated in 1877, and ceased operations in 1968. This group of Ferracute Machine Company records is a small fragment preserved by an employee that primarily contains legal files and financial statements.

The Forwood family were farmers whose homestead comprised 124 acres located on Marsh Road in Brandywine Hundred, north of Wilmington, Delaware. Corn, oats, and wheat were grown on the property, which had been a marsh. During the first decade of the nineteenth century, the Forwood family began to purchase and sell livestock. The Forwood farm was a major timber supplier to the DuPont Company. The Forwood family account books, spanning the century between 1790 and 1889, were kept by various family members. There are records for the Brandywine Hundred Horse Company and a book of sketches and poems by women in the circle of Du Pont family and friends.

Francis Bannerman Son was a major purveyor of military goods to sportsmen and collectors in New York City over three generations. The Francis Bannerman Son records demonstrate the operation of a small family business and a lack of formal structure. They document Bannerman's purchase of military goods from state and federal arsenals and their resale to individuals, with other regular purchases of arms and military antiques made on buying trips to Europe. The bulk of the collection consists of over 143 bound volumes of order books and outbound letters, and correspondence of incoming letters containing customer orders and inquiries. This collection would be useful to researchers interested in the resale costs and designs of military goods, especially arms and uniforms, as well as family-run small business performance and operations.

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 collection consists primarily of correspondence from du Pont to his wife, Elise Wigfall Simons (1849-1919), but include items from other family members, as well as a journal of du Pont's, manuscripts written by him, and plays and novels by Alice Simons (1849-1891).

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. Walter G. Tatnall Jr. (1882-1949) was an engineer at the DuPont Pulp Keg Mill and president of the Department of Elections for New Castle County. The memorandum books from du Pont and Tatnall document their work for the DuPont Company, including data on the manufacture of pulp kegs.

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 collection contains two letter books of du Pont to F.G. Thomas (-1901) of the Iowa Powder Mills, photocopies of selected documents by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) on gunpowder, and on awards to John Paul Jones (1747-1792) for his victory over HMS Serapis, and letter from Samuel Courtauld (1752-1821) to Captain Joseph H. Rees (1789-1821).

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.

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 of du Pont describe both his business activities at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, his family life, and his activities in the Episcopal Church.

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 collection consists of a volume containing a record of rifle scores of du Pont.

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. His scrapbook includes newspaper clippings on a variety of subjects, including astronomy, religious and church matters, DuPont Company fires and explosions, the statue of Samuel Francis du Pont in Washington, Swedish colonists in Delaware, and obituaries.

Francis Victor du Pont (1894-1962) was a civil engineer and political figure in Delaware and Maryland. This collection combines papers and memorabilia of Francis Victor du Pont and those of his parents and ancestors.

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 collection contains a letter from du Pont to Marc Antoine Jullien (1775-1848), "Ancien Inspecteur aux Revues" asking for copies of recent reviews or journals.

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 collection contains a letter from du Pont to Marc Antoine Jullien (1775-1848), "Ancien Inspecteur aux Revues" asking for copies of recent reviews or journals.

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 collection contains a letter from du Pont to Monsieur Pierre Didot (1761-1853), seeking the address of Marguerite Charlotte Desiree de la Fite de Pelleport (1780-1847).

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 collection contains letters from du Pont to Baron (1757-1830) and Baronne Desmousseaux de Givre (1768-1843). The letters contain discussion of religious societies, his trip to Italy, and personal matters.

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.

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 collection includes photocopied letters from du Pont to Jacques Henri Bernardin de St. Pierre (1737-1814). The letters are entirely personal, with social and literary references, all general in character.

Frank A. Weer (1932-2019) was a white-collar railroad employee who spent most of his career with the Reading Company, and after the transfer of railroad operations in 1976, with Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). This collection is a small portion of a much larger collection of official railroad company documents, maps and drawings. Documents are primarily those of the Reading Company, Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Penn Central Transportation Company and Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).

Frank Elwin Ebersole (1871-1933) was a contract electrical engineer who installed automatic telephone systems throughout the United States during the early twentieth century. Ebersole was the proprietor of the Ebersole Construction Company; president of the Independent Telephone Company; and the general manager of the Northeastern Telephone Company, Lincoln Telephone Company, Evansville Telephone Company, Houston Home Telephone Company, and other related businesses. He engaged in the construction and installation of telephone services and support structures of each system, including their power plants. This small collection documents the business interests of an early telephone engineer and construction manager. The documents include telegrams and letters that provide detailed information on business relations, corporate financing, and equipment processing for installing early telephone service, as well as the challenges faced by suppliers of equipment used in said process.

Frank G. Tallman (1860-1938) was an executive of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. The collection includes personal and business papers of Tallman such as diaries, letter books, and correspondence files.

Francis “Frank” Pierre Gentieu (1876-1950) was a ballistic engineer at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. Gentieu worked at DuPont's Carney's Point Plant in New Jersey from 1901 to 1941. This small collection contains an account by Gentieu entitled "The First Fifty Years at Carney's Point" (1891-1941); correspondence with du Pont family members; a list of his father Pierre Gentieu's photographs of the DuPont Company and Brandywine area; and a recollection written by Samuel Brown of a conversation with Sophie M. du Pont (1810-1888) related to the Brandywine Manufacturers Sunday School.