Finding Aids

The Brandywine Manufacturers Sunday School (BMSS) was organized in 1817 as a non-sectarian school for the children of the local factory workers, with instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion. Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of the DuPont Company, was one of its chief subscribers, and the school building was located on his property. Primarily generated and maintained by the du Pont women, the BMSS records include the school's constitution, and financial records such as bills, receipts, and accounts. Most of the records pertain to students with information about premiums which were given as rewards for attendance and scholarly excellence.

This collection of family correspondence encompasses several generations of the du Pont, Kemble, and de Forest families. Victorine du Pont (1825-1887), the eldest child 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), married Peter Kemble (1825-1887), son of William Kemble the company's New York business agent. One of their daughters, Meta Kemble (1852-1933), married New York artist Lockwood de Forest (1850-1932).

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.

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). In 1854, du Pont wrote a letter to Senator John M. Clayton (1796-1856), requesting assistance in securing an appointment for his son, Henry A. du Pont (1838-1926), to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Irene Sophie du Pont (1877-1961) was a philanthropist who served as the chairperson of the Delaware Commission for the Blind for thirty years. She married her distant cousin, Irénée du Pont (1876-1963), on February 1, 1900. Their eldest daughter was Irene "Sophie" Sophie du Pont May (1900-2001). Sophie du Pont May was a churchwoman and a philanthropist. This small collection consists of two sets of papers, one belonging to Irene Sophie du Pont and the other to her daughter, Sophie du Pont May. The papers were removed from each of their respective lap writing desks for preservation purposes. Irene Sophie du Pont's papers consist primarily of letters written to her between 1887 and 1898, prior to her marriage in 1900. Sophie du Pont May's papers are entirely comprised of her school materials from the Friends School in Wilmington, Delaware, dating from 1910 to 1916.

Joshua Gilpin (1765-1841) was a merchant and paper manufacturer in Delaware. This collection is a microfilm of letters in a scrapbook, including correspondence from Gilpin, Thomas Gilpin (1776-1853), and others.

Pierre Samuel "P.S." du Pont (1870-1954) was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He was president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. from 1915 to 1919 and chairman of the board of directors from 1919 to 1940. This small collection consists of four Christmas greetings letters from Pierre S. du Pont to Joseph H. Odell (1871-1929), pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Troy, New York. Odell was the officiant at Pierre S. du Pont and Alice Belin's (1872-1944) wedding on October 16, 1915.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. The letter he wrote to Philippe Albert Stapfer (1766-1840), Ministre de l'Interieur de la Republique Helvetique, concerns the Swiss political system and public educational system.

Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was a French political economist, writer, publisher, and public administrator. During the summer of 1771, du Pont de Nemours tutored the son of Carl Friedrich von Baden (1728-1811), Carl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden (1755-1801). Carl Friedrich von Baden was the Margrave and then later the Grand Duke of Baden, a territory in the southwest of Germany, which at the time was part of the Holy Roman Empire. This collection consists of two microfilm reels and twenty-six photocopies of correspondence between du Pont de Nemours and members of Baden's court--the Grand Duke (Margrave at the time) and the Heredity Prince--pertaining to the activities of Baden's court, economics, and the education of the Heredity Prince.

The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, which was founded in 1893 and became part of the American Society for Engineering Education in 1946, was a professional society of engineering school deans, professors, practicing engineers, and industry executives. During the 1930s and 1940s, Dugald C. Jackson (1865-1951), Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT, served as executive director. MIT president Karl Compton (1887-1954) and Gerard Swope (1872-1957) from the General Electric Company were active members. This collection of correspondence consists largely of letters between Jackson, Swope, and Compton, which document their efforts to shape the curriculum at major engineering schools.