Finding Aids

Horatio Allen (1802-1889) was a noted civil engineer and inventor, who worked with the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, the Croton Aqueduct, and the New York & Erie Railroad. The bulk of his the papers is personal correspondence (1818-1864), and biographical materials collected by his family. Also included is a small collection of Allen's business papers, particularly concerning his work on the New York & Erie Railroad.

Henry du Pont (1812-1889) was the second son of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) and senior partner of E.I du Pont de Nemours & Company from 1850 to 1889. The collection consists of materials relating to the descendants of Henry and Louisa Gerhard du Pont. Primarily, the collection consists of portraits and other photographs of their daughters Evelina, Ellen, Louisa, Sara, Victorine, Sophie and other family members.

The five generation of the Peirce family owned farmland in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania. Over time the family added recreational facilities and opened the land to the public as "Peirce's Park" now Longwood Gardens. This small collection consists of photocopies of correspondence related the genealogy of the Peirce family.

The Spruance family was a well-known family in Delaware. The family includes Senator Presley Spruance (1785-1863), Judge William C. Spruance (1831-1913), William Spruance (1873-1935), among many others. The collection includes material related to the genealogy of the Spruance family of Delaware, particularly correspondence from and to members of the Spruance family regarding their genealogy and the book compiled by William Spruance, The Spruance family in Delaware, 1733-1933.

The Wurts family were involved in the anthracite coal industry. In 1823 four brothers: Maurice Wurts (1783-1854), William Wurts (1788-1858), Charles Stewart Wurts (1790–1859), and John Wurts (1792-1861) founded the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company originally to mine anthracite coal and transport the resource to New York. The company built the Delaware and Hudson Canal and later became the Delaware and Hudson Railway. The Wurts family papers were collected by John Sparhawk Wurts (1876-1958) and reflect both family papers and business records.