USA > Delaware > History of the state of Delaware, Volume III > Part 8
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THOMAS MACDONOUGH.
Thomas Macdonough (third), distinguished as a naval officer, was the son of Thomas Macdonough (second) and was born at . the Trap, now called Macdonough, New Castle County, Dela- ware, December 31, 1783. When sixteen years of age he entered the navy. His father had served in the Revolution and his uncle had been a soldier, and these facts naturally fanned the spark of patriotism in his bosom into a bright and steady flame. On the 15th of February, 1800, Thomas Mac- donough was appointed a midshipman by President John Adams through the influence of United States Senator Latimer, of Delaware. He immediately went aboard ship at New Castle, bound for a cruise in the West Indies, and saw some hard
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service. He was with Stephen Decatur when the Philadelphia was burned in the harbor of Tripoli. For his services on this occasion he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, May 18, 1804.
He made several cruises to the Mediterranean, and had many adventurous and narrow escapes. On the breaking-out of the second war with Great Britain, he was ordered to take com- mand of the naval force on Lake Champlain September 12, 1812. The brilliant naval victory, which he won over the British September 11, 1814, is well known to all readers of history. He had only four ships (such as they were) and ten galleys, in all eighty-six guns, while the British had four ships and thirteen galleys, in all, ninety-five guns, and their comple- ment of men was much greater. After a battle of two hours and twenty minutes, the British ships surrendered, three of the galleys sunk, and the rest in a shattered condition. On the land, the American loss was fifty-two killed, and fifty-eight wounded, while the British had eighty-four killed and one hundred and ten wounded. The prisoners taken by Mac- donough exceeded the whole number of Americans in action.
This victory was hailed with delight by the whole nation. Macdonough was promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, then the highest rank in the navy. After considerable service from the date of his promotion, he was ordered to assume command of the American squadron in the Mediterranean, but owing to ill health was permitted to return to the United States. But he did not live to see his native land, dying at sea, while homeward bound, ten days out from Gibraltar, Novem- ber 10, 1825. His remains were brought home and buried at Middletown, Connecticut, December 1, 1825, with military, civic, and Masonic honors.
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THE DUFONT FAMILY.
Pierre Samuel DuPont De Nemours, political economist and statesman, was the progenitor of the well-known Delaware family of DuPonts. He was born in Paris, December 14, 1739. Two clever pamphlets on finance published by him at the age of twenty-three attracted the attention of Quesnay and he became one of the most influential of the " Economists" as Quesnay's followers were called.
His intimate friendship with the celebrated Turgot, then Intendent of Limoges, dates from the publication in 1764, of DuPont's first important book, on the exportation and impor- tation of bread-stuffs, which had a great success.
In 1765, he was appointed editor of the " Journal of Agricul- ture and Finance," a semi-official publication, but he was com- pelled to resign the editorship in the following year on account of the opposition aroused by his economistic tendencies.
He published his " Physiocratie," an abridgment of Ques- nay's system of political economy, in 1767, and in 1768 became editor of the " Ephemerides du Citoyen " the organ of the economists, in which he advocated freedom of the press, emancipation of slaves, abolition of the exclusive privileges of the French West India Company, and reformation of onerous commercial restrictions and taxes.
A man of DuPont's character could not fail to be obnoxious to an anti-liberal minister like Terray, who soon after his accession dismissed DuPont from the public service and pro- hibited the publication of the " Ephemerides."
Though ill-treated at home DuPont was appreciated abroad and received unsolicited honors from the Margrave of Baden and from the Kings of Sweden and Poland. At the instance of the last-named monarch he went to Poland in 1774, to organize a general system of National education, but when Turgot became Comptroller of the Finances in 1774, DuPont was ordered to return to France and took an active part in all the reform measures of that great minister, particularly in
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financial matters. Upon Turgot's disgrace in 1776, DuPont was banished from Paris and devoted himself to agricultural and literary pursuits until recalled in 1778.
DuPont, who like Turgot had always been a strong advocate of the American cause during the Revolution, was appointed by Vergennes to conduct the secret negotiations which resulted in the treaty of 1783, by which the independence of the United States was formally recognized by Great Britain ; and in 1.786 he negotiated the commercial treaty between France and England, for which service he was made Councillor of State.
As Inspector-General of Commerce he satisfactorily adjusted with Jefferson, then. United States Minister to France, the commercial differences between the two powers and put an end to the injustice and vexations which American commerce had suffered from the French service.
As Secretary-General of the Assemblies of Notables of 1787 and 1788 he influenced most of the reforms proposed and thus incurred the animosity of the clergy which led to a new dis- grace and banishment from Paris when Archbishop Brienne became Prime Minister.
DuPont was a member of the States-General from Nemours at the beginning of the Revolution ; was twice President of the Constituent Assembly, where he favored a constitutional monarchy, and was the author of the radical fiscal reforms adopted.
Upon the dissolution of the Assembly he was active in up- holding the constitution and demanding the enforcement of the laws. After the 10th of August, 1792, the Legislative As- sembly ordered DuPont's arrest-which practically meant his execution-because he had participated, with his son Irenee, in the defence of Louis XVI at the Tuileries. He was hidden in the observatory of the institute until the 2nd of September, when he succeeded in getting out of Paris, and remained in concealment in the country until July 20, 1794, when he was arrested and imprisoned in Paris and would have been guillo- tined but for Robespierre's death, July 28, 1794.
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Alexis I. du Pont,
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He was elected a member of the Council of the Ancients, which was equivalent to our Senate, in 1795, and became its President in 1797, but when the Jacobins overturned the legis- lative branch of the government with Augereau's troops, DuPont de Nemours was again imprisoned and narrowly escaped transportation to Cayenne, his property being pillaged and destroyed.
In 1799 he emigrated with his family to America, where he was met with great consideration. He returned to France in 1802, and, as the friend of both countries, was largely instru- mental in promoting the treaty of 1803 by which Louisiana was sold to the United States. Jefferson wrote him on the 1st of November of that year : " The treaty which has so happily sealed the friendship of our two countries has been received here with general acclamation. For myself and my country I thank you for the aid you have given it and I congratulate you upon having lived to give this aid to complete a transac- tion replete with blessings to millions of unborn men."
DuPont refused to hold office under Napoleon, to whom he was strongly opposed, but became President of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and devoted much time to the service of various charitable institutions and to his duties as a mem- ber of the French Institute.
In 1814 he was Secretary of the Provisional Government which recalled King Louis XVIII, but upon Napoleon's escape from Elba he came back to America and joined his sons at Eleutherean Mills near Wilmington, Delaware, where he died on the 7th of August, 1817.
VICTOR MARIE DUPONT,
the eldest son of Pierre Samuel DuPont de Nemours, was born in Paris, 4th of October, 1767. In his early youth he was employed in the French Ministry of Finance and in 1787 be- came Attache to the French Legation in the United States, re- turning to France at the outbreak of the Revolution and serv- ing as aide-de-camp to Lafayette when the latter was in
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command of the National Guard. In 1791 he returned to America and was successively appointed Second Secretary and First Secretary of Legation, French Consul at Charleston, S. C., and Consul-General of France at Philadelphia. President Adams having refused him an exequatur in the last-named capacity on account of the existing difficulties between the United States and the French Directory, he returned to France and left the diplomatic service.
In 1799 he emigrated to America with the DuPont family and was for several years manager of the commission house of DuPont de Nemours, Fils et Cie., of New York City. In 1806 he established himself at Angelica, Genesee County, New York, and three years later joined his younger brother in Delaware where he established a manufactory of cloth on the Brandy- wine. He was a patriotic citizen, serving as a member of the Delaware Legislature and captain of one of the Delaware companies in the War of 1812. His high rank as a financier is attested by his appointment by the President as one of the directors of the Bank of the United States.
He married Gabrielle Josephine de la Fite de Pelleport, and at his death on the 30th of January, 1827, left two sons, Charles Irenee DuPont and Samuel Francis DuPont, after- wards Rear Admiral in the United States Navy.
ELEUTHERE IRENEE DUPONT DE NEMOURS,
younger son of Pierre Samuel DuPont de Nemours and Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise Le Dee de Rencourt, was born in Paris, France, 24th of June, 1771. In very early life he was as- sistant to Lavoisier, superintendent of the French government powder works. He left his occupation in 1791 to manage the printing and publishing house which his father had founded at Paris in the interest of the Moderate party. He went with his father to the Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792, to assist in the defence of the king and was in great personal danger during the Revolution, having been thrice imprisoned.
With his father and brother he emigrated to America in
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1799 and the idea of undertaking the manufacture of gun- powder occurred to him not long after his arrival, the powder made in the United States at that time being of a very inferior quality. He returned to France and at his former place of employment, the mills of Essonne, studied the actual condition of the industry, after which he brought to America in August, 1801, a supply of plans, models and machinery for his pro- jected enterprise. After months of examination of proposed sites for his factory, he selected a tract of land on the Brandy- wine near Wilmington which enjoyed the advantage of abund- ant water-power and which he purchased in June, 1802, re- moving thither with his family in July of that year. Mr. DuPont devoted the remainder of his life to the perfecting of the manufacture of powder and to the improvements of the facilities and safeguards requisite for work of that nature. Disappointments and partial failures were met and overcome by his untiring diligence and patient courage. In less than thirty years he had made his powder factory the largest in the United States and a model of excellence for those times. He was very active in promoting local improvements and enter- prises for the advancement of agriculture and the industrial arts. He died suddenly of Asiatic cholera, in Philadelphia, October 31, 1834, leaving three sons, Alfred Victor, Henry and Alexis Irenee.
ALFRED VICTOR DUPONT,
son of Eleuthere Irenee DuPont de Nemours, was born at Paris, France, April 11, 1798, and came with his family to America in 1799. After two years spent at Bergen Point, N. J., he removed with his father to the Brandywine in 1802. He was educated at Mount Airy school, at Dickinson Col- lege, Pennsylvania, completing his education under private tutors. As he grew to manhood he became thoroughly conversant with the manufacture of gunpowder. After his father's death he assisted his brother-in-law, Antoine Bider- mann, in the management of the business until the latter's
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retirement in 1837, when Alfred DuPont became the head of the firm of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., where his energy and excellent scientific attainments were important features in the maintenance of the business.
He married Margaretta Elizabeth Lammot, by whom he left a large family, among whom was Lammot DuPont, who later took a prominent part in the manufacture of gunpowder, and died October 4th, 1856, in his 58th year.
HENRY DUPONT,
second son of Eleuthere Irenee DuPont de Nemours, was born at Eleutherean Mills, near Wilmington, 8th August, 1812. He was educated at Mount Airy Academy and at the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he gradu- ated in 1833 as brevet second lieutenant of the 4th United States Artillery, and was stationed at Fort Monroe, Va., and then at Fort Mitchell, Alabama, in the Creek Indian country. He resigned from the army on the 15th of July, 1834, and returned to Delaware to assist his father in his business enterprises.
In 1850 Henry DuPont became the head of the firm of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., and his executive ability soon made itself felt; from that time until his death he was. the controlling spirit of the enterprise, which under his direction assumed proportions of very great magnitude. In addition to the vast consumption of gunpowder in the avocations of peace, the mills sent large quantities abroad in 1855 for the use of the British troops in the Crimean war, and largely supplied the United States government during the War of the Rebellion. He was a Whig in politics, and subsequently a pronounced Republican. He was one of the Republican candidates for presidential elector in 1868, 1876, 1880, 1884 and 1SS8.
In his eyes political work was a patriotic duty, and he per- formed it faithfully and conscientiously, serving for more than forty years as inspector of elections and challenger at the polls. Mr. DuPont's military service in the State began as
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aide-de-camp to Governor Cooper in 1841. On May 16, 1846, Governor Temple appointed him Adjutant-General of the State, which office he held until May 11, 1861, when he was appointed by Governor Burton, Major-General of the Union forces raised, and to be raised, in the State of Delaware. Dur- ing his military and successful business career he was found equal to every emergency ; industry, enterprise, fair dealing and liberality being the characteristics of his management of affairs. He was married in 1837 to Louisa Gerhard, and died on the 8th of August, 1889.
HENRY ALGERNON DUPONT,
son of Henry DuPont, was born at the Eleutherean Mills, near Wilmington, July 30, 1838. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, May 6, 1861, was appointed second lieutenant of the Corps of Engi- neers, and on May 14, 1861, first lieutenant of the Fifth United States Artillery. From 1862 until 1863 he acted as assistant adjutant-general of the troops in New York harbor. On the 24th of March, 1864, he was promoted to captain of the Fifth United States Artillery, and took part with his battery at the battle of New Market, W. Va., and later commanded the artillery of General Hunter's forces at the battles of Piedmont and Lynchburg. Subsequently, during Sheridan's campaign in the valley of Virginia, he commanded the artillery brigade of Crook's corps. He was brevetted major for gallant services at the battles of Opequan and Fisher's Hill, lieutenant-colonel for distinguished services at the battle of Cedar Creek, and awarded a Congressional medal of honor for " most distin- guished gallantry in action."
Colonel DuPont resigned from the army March 1, 1875, and since that time has made his home in Delaware and for many years has devoted a great deal of time and attention to agricultural pursuits. In addition to his connection with the business of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., he was president and general manager of the Wilmington and Northern Rail-
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road Company from 1879 to 1899 and from 1896 has been a director of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company. In recent years he has been a conspicuous figure in the poli- tics of the State, having in the session of the General Assembly of 1895 received fifteen votes out of thirty as the Republican candidate for United States Senator. Since that time he has been recognized as a leader of the regular Republican party. On June 12, 1906, he was elected United States Senator from Delaware.
ALEXIS IRENEE DUPONT,
youngest son of Eleuthere Irenee DuPont de Nemours, was born at the Eleutherean Mills, February 14, 1816. After attending school at New Haven, Conn., he completed his education at the University of Pennsylvania. He married Joanna, daughter of Francis Gurney Smith, of Philadelphia, December 15, 1836, and became a partner in the business established by his father.
His ardent and enthusiastic temperament made him a very earnest worker in any cause which he espoused. A devout churchman, St. John's Church, Wilmington, is a monument to his labors and liberality. He also largely promoted the re- newal of the services at Old Swedes Church, which for some time had been discontinued, and efficiently contributed in many ways to religious and charitable undertakings. His death resulted from an explosion at the mills which occurred on the 21st of August, 1866. He left three sons, Eugene, Alexis Irenee and Francis Gurney.
CHARLES IRENEE DUPONT,
the eldest son of Victor Marie DuPont, was born at Charleston, S. C., March 29, 1797, while his father was French Consul there. His early childhood was spent in France, at Bergen Point, N. J., and Angelica, N. Y., and he first came to Dela- ware to go to school in 1808. He was known throughout the community and State as an eminently public-spirited man.
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The larger part of his life was spent in manufacturing on the Brandywine, but he gave great attention to agriculture and much beautiful and valuable property in New Castle and Kent Counties attest his skill. From 1841 to 1845 and from 1853 to 1857 he was a member of the State Senate. One of the originators of the Delaware railroad, he was unremitting in his efforts to effect the passage of any bill for its benefit and his influence in the Senate, February 27, 1853, carried the bill through that body which gave aid from the State towards the construction of that road.
His kind and social manner won for him friends wherever he was known ; his correct principles and pure moral char- acter secured for him the esteem of everyone, and gained the confidence of all who approached him. ' When the Civil War broke out he was like his lamented brother, Admiral DuPont, ardent in his devotion to the Union. He retired from active business life some years prior to his death. He was president of the Farmers' Bank at Wilmington from 1865 to 1869. His first wife was Dorcas Montgomery Van Dyke, daughter of Hon. Nicholas Van Dyke, and his second wife was Ann Ridgely, daughter of Hon. Henry M. Ridgely, of Dover. He died January 31, 1869, and left three sons, Victor, Charles Irenee and Henry Ridgely.
LAMMOT DUPONT,
son of Alfred Victor DuPont, was born near Wilmington, Delaware, April 13, 1831. His preparatory education was obtained at private schools in Wilmington, after which he entered the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1849. On the completion of his education he entered the business of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., and gave particular attention to the manufacture of gunpowder. He not only successfully devised and constructed much new powder machinery, but originated many improvements in the quality of the powder, and it can with justice be said that he radically improved the methods and processes of powder manufacture. He continued
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with the firm until 1880, and in that year was instrumental in forming the Repauno Chemical Company, acting as its presi- dent and assuming control of the works of the company, which were erected at Thompson's Point, N. J. A year later Mr. DuPont removed his residence to Philadelphia, where the main office of the Repauno Chemical Company had been established. He was killed by an explosion at the works, in New Jersey, on March 29, 1884. Like the other members of the DuPont family, he was patriotic and public-spirited, being a staunch supporter of the Union during the Civil War, and showing his loyalty by raising a company of volunteers, which was in active service at Fort Delaware. He was married in 1865 to Mary Belin, daughter of Henry Belin, and left at his death five sons, Pierre Samuel, Henry Belin, William, Irenee and Lammot.
EUGENE DUPONT,
eldest son of Alexis Irenee DuPont, born at Hagley, near Wilmington, Delaware, on the 16th of November, 1840, was educated at private schools in Philadelphia and at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. After graduating there he at once entered the employment of the firm of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., in which his energy and activity, as well as scientific attainments, made him a conspicuous figure for many years. On the death of his uncle, Henry DuPont, he became the senior partner in the firm, and successfully man- aged its business until his death, January 28, 1902.
Prudent and conservative in temperament, simple in his tastes and generous in his impulses, his loss was deplored by all. He married his cousin, Amelia Elizabeth DuPont, daughter of Charles Irenee DuPont.
THOMAS COLEMAN DUPONT,
was born in Louisville, Kentucky, December 11, 1863. He is of the fourth generation from Eleuthere Irenee DuPont, the first American settler of the family; his father being Bider- mann DuPont, and his grandfather Alfred Victor DuPont.
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The mother of the subject of this sketch was Ellen Susan Coleman, daughter of Thomas Cooper Coleman, the name of the latter being given to the grandson, who is generally known as T. Coleman DuPont.
Educated at Urbana University, Ohio, with special courses at the Chauncey Hall School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, he graduated as a mining engineer, in which occupation he was engaged for some time, when he turned his attention to the manufacture of steel and afterwards devoted some years to the operation of street railways.
His connection with the powder business dates from March, 1902. On the consolidation of the powder-manufacturing interests of the DuPonts by the organization of the E. I. DuPont de Nemours Powder Co., in 1903, T. Coleman DuPont was chosen as the head of the new company, and since that time has acted as its president. Under his efficient management the business has shown marvelous growth. The actual conduct of the business is centralized in the City of Wilmington, with powder manufacturing and kindred plants scattered throughout the United States, and the small begin- nings of a century ago have developed into a general company employing a capital of fifty millions of dollars. The growth and success attending the new company fully attest the excep- tional capacity and thorough business qualities of its President.
A man of unusual judgment, of keen perception, and with the faculty of comprehending and acting quickly, he possesses the characteristics that go to make up a leader of men, and the success that has marked his career thus far, although he has not yet reached middle life, assures still further success for the future. Mr. DuPont has been the president of the Wilmington Trust Company since its organization in 1904. In the campaign of 1904 Mr. DuPont took an active part in State politics, acting as a member of the Regular Republican State Committee. His wife was Miss Alice DuPont, daughter of Victor DuPont, Esq., the eminent lawyer, to whom he was married in 1889.
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THE BARRATT FAMILY.
PHILIP BARRATT.
Philip Barratt was the first of the name in Delaware. He was the younger son of Philip and Jane Merritt Barratt, of Cecil County, Maryland, born there October 12, 1730. He and his brother Roger Barratt, born 6th of March, 1728, settled in Kent County, Delaware, prior to 1755. Their grandfather Philip Barratt, who was probably the emigrant, is known to have been in Cecil County prior to January 6, 1678. Philip Barratt owned a tract of land in South Murder- kill Hundred of 600 acres (upon which he resided) 94 of which came to him from Waitman Sipple, Jr., on August 13, 1755, upon his marriage to his daughter Miriam Sipple. He owned two sloops, the Friendship and the Dolphin, in which he shipped corn, pork, bark and staves to Philadelphia.
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