Inventor Name
Du Pont, Eleuthère Irénée
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-2400
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
1.7 linear ft.
Summary
Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the son of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, was born in Paris on June 24, 1771. In 1787, he was accepted as a student in the Regis des Poudres, a government agency for the manufacture of gunpowder which was directed by Antoine Lavoisier. In 1800 Eleuthère Irénée du Pont emigrated to the United States and began investigating sites for a black powder manufactory. After consulting with Thomas Jefferson he established E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. on the bank of the Brandywine River, just north of Wilmington, Del. In the spring of 1803 he settled his family at Eleutherian Mills and wrote to Jefferson seeking government patronage for his new powder factory. During the 1810s du Pont was active in the Society of the State of Delaware for the Promotion of American Manufacturers, where he lobbied Congress for high tariffs. In 1822 he was named a director of the Bank of the United States. Eleuthère Irénée du Pont died in Philadelphia on October 31, 1834. This collection of the papers of E. I. du Pont was amassed by his descendant, Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954). The main body of E. I. du Pont's papers descended through Henry Algernon du Pont to Henry Francis du Pont and now forms part of the Hagley Museum & Library's Winterthur Manuscripts. The correspondence is primarily personal but contains frequent references to business matters. The bulk of the letters were written by du Pont to his wife, father, and brother. Matters discussed include the Paris printing operations, the firm of Du Pont de Nemours, Père et Fils & Cie., the financial affairs of Victor du Pont, E. I. du Pont's horticultural and botanical interests, the patronage of Thomas Jefferson in furthering the successs of the powder company, the establishment of ancillary leather, cotton and woolen manufacturing enterprises on the Brandywine, the tariff issue, the importation of Merino sheep, community affairs, and the education of du Pont's children. The special papers (1785-1838) include personal accounts; student copy books and notes on the subjects of botany, physics, chemistry, natural history, Latin, and horticulture; botanical notes, including an essay on the culture of American corn; memoranda on the manufacture of gunpowder and the construction of the Brandywine mills; memoranda on American manufactures and the tariff; and notes on travels to Pittsburgh (1806) and Angelica, N.Y. (1808). There are also papers concerning the South Brandywine Rangers (a militia unit during the War of 1812); legal agreements concerning the acquisition of property for the Delaware powder mills and the importation of Merino sheep; du Pont's shares in the Wilmington & Philadelphia Turnpike Co.; rules and regulations of the Philadelphia & Wilmington Steam Boat Co. (1829); patents and lists of lands owned by du Pont near Pittsburgh and in Virginia; estate papers of Dr. Pierre Didier; and a letter from Louis McLane regarding information from Delaware for his census of manufactures. The letters of Mrs. E. I. du Pont (1792-1827) areprimarily written to her husband and contain many details of their life in France prior to 1799. There are also three ledgers of household accounts.
