Finding Aids

Abraham Dupont (1572-1640) was the progenitor of the South Carolina branch of the Du Pont family. In France, he dealt in manufactures of brass and copper. This is a small collection of his papers and those of his immediate descendants. The documents include the earliest records still extant in the Du Pont family papers. They are important for the evidence of descent they offer and for details about the ancestors of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817). Many relate to landed property in Rouen and in the nearby parishes of Fontaine-sous-Préaux and Roncherolles.

The Lea family was among the largest flour mill operators at the Brandywine Falls, near Wilmington, Delaware, since the 1770s, when Thomas Lea (1757–1823) joined in partnership with Joseph Tatnall (1740–1813) to operate mills on the north bank of the stream. This small collection of Lea family papers documents Delaware and Pennsylvania land use and ownership, elite family and social relationships, and agricultural business operations from the early eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. The materials are from four generations of the William Lea (1805-1876) family lineage. The collection is arranged into four series: Real estate and financial papers, Correspondence, Personal papers, and Newspaper clippings.

The Morris family of Philadelphia were brewers, merchants, land speculators, manufacturers, and prominent participants in public affairs. Their papers are primarily from Samuel and Isaac W. Morris. However, the collection includes papers from other family members from the first Anthony Morris to John Thompson Morris (1847-1915), the founder of the Morris Arboretum in Germantown. There are also papers from members of the Wistar, Paschall, and Mifflin families allied by marriage.