The Jenks family produced talented inventors over many generations. Between the 1820s and the 1870s the family businesses were the leading cotton textile machine builders in Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, the firm operated a rifle factory as part of the Union war effort. The collection consist of a series of fragments handed down in the Jenks family related to several of their business ventures.

In the mid-1850's major cities in the United States began publishing pictorial envelopes with patriotic themes. This collection consists of envelopes with printed cover illustrations from the American Civil War.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company. Established in 1802, the company began with the production of gunpowder. The collection consists of seven photocopied letters between DuPont and Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872) regarding the purchase of saltpetre (saltpeter) during the Civil War.

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.

George Washington Rains (1817-1898) was a United States Army and Confederate Army officer and proprietor in the Washington Iron Works. This war-date memorandum by Rains gives a full look at the successful Confederate crash program to develop reliable sources of munitions under wartime conditions and gives clues to the skills of the person who managed it.

Henry Algernon du Pont (1838-1926) was a military officer, a politician from Delaware, and vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. In February 1889, du Pont wrote General James H. Wilson (1837-1925) about certain Civil War battles and their mutual commander (at different times) George Crook (1828-1890).

Josephine Anderson du Pont (1853-1943) was a suffragist and the wife of Victor du Pont Jr. (1852-1911), vice president and general manager of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. The memoirs, written between 1928 and 1932, contain a record of her life in mid-19th century Philadelphia, including details of the Civil War years.

Margaretta “Meta” du Pont Coleman (1862-1938) was a descendant of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) who founded the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) in 1802. The E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The Margaretta E. "Meta" du Pont Coleman Papers primarily consist of family correspondence collected by Meta Coleman.

Pierre Gentieu (1842-1930) was an artist, photographer, and an employee of the DuPont Company for thirty-four years. Pierre Gentieu and his wife, Sarah Albina "Binie" Gentieu (1846-1925) had six children. Although three children had no issue, they had nine grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren. All six children worked for the DuPont Co. and several grandchildren did as well. This collection consists of nine albums that document the Gentieu family history, primarily the life of the patriarch of the family Pierre Gentieu (1842-1930). The albums contain originals and reproductions of correspondence, family trees, documents, photographs, and ephemera.

The Hagley Portrait file is an artificial collection (e.g., created and assembled by the archivist) composed almost entirely of photographic reproductions and copy negatives, with very few original prints. The Portrait file is intended to be a resource to assist in locating images of individuals. The images are not always of high quality, nor does Hagley own the copyright or the originals of all the images. The portraits are primarily formal individual portraits; there are some informal snapshots or group portraits. More than half of the collection depicts du Pont family members or those associated with the du Pont family. The du Pont family is a prominent Delawarean family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817), who founded E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company with his son, Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), in 1802. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical research and manufacturing company more commonly referred to as the DuPont Company.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. The letter from du Pont to John E. Hoey (1837-1896) concerns the transport of invalid seamen northfrom from the South Atlantic Bloackade Squadron.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. The letter from du Pont to Navy Officer, Gustavus Vasa Fox (1821-1883) discusses the possibility of saltpeter shortage in the Union in the early years of the Civil War.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. The letter to Major General David Hunter (1802-1886) asks for permission to see three deserters from the Confederate States Navy.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the fourth child and second surviving son of Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and his wife, Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837). These three photocopy letters are related to his term in the Navy, one from his early career in 1820 and two letters from 1863 during the Civil War.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the fourth child and second surviving son of Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and his wife, Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837). The two letters from du Pont to Charles G. Halpine (1829-1868) are written during the Civil War and relate to ironclads and the evacuation of Charleston, South Carolina.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. The collection contains naval orders issued by du Pont to Naval orders to Acting Assistant Surgeon William H. Campbell (1832-1884) to report to Port Royal, South Carolina.

Samuel Francis Du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the fourth child and second surviving son of Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and his wife, Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837). His papers document du Pont's professional and personal life against the background of the pre-Civil War service.

Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the fourth child and second surviving son of Victor Marie du Pont (1767-1827) and his wife, Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (1770-1837). The collection is a microfilmed selection of du Pont's correspondence with contemporaries, primarily Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867). The letters concern Civil War activities, especially the use of ironclads in naval operations.

The Singer Manufacturing Company was the world's leading producer of sewing machines. It was established in 1851 as the Singer Company, the successor to I.M. Singer & Co. Isaac M. Singer (1811-1875) patented improvements to initial inventions that resulted in the first commercially viable sewing machine. This is a small collection of letters written to the company, primarily from agents, regarding how work has been impacted by the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Sophie Madeleine du Pont (1810-1888) was the youngest daughter of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834), founder of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Sophie Madeleine Dalmas du Pont (1775-1828), and the wife of Samuel Francis du Pont (1803-1865). The letter to Eliza Gardner (Henderson) Jones (1826-1877) concerns family matters and the Civil War.