Collection Overview
The papers of
James Buchanan Duke span the years 1777 to 1990,
although the bulk of the material dates from the 1890s to the mid-1930s. They
consist of correspondence; business, legal, and financial papers; printed
materials; and visual materials. The collection documents
James B. Duke's business and financial
investments, and some aspects of his philanthropy. About one half of the
collection documents the administration of the
Estate of James B. Duke, Deceased,
including legal proceedings stemming from claims made against the estate.
Subject areas represented in the collection include: business and finance;
philanthropy; genealogy on branches of the
Duke family; inheritance; legal procedure;
architecture and interior decoration; and, to a lesser degree, family life.
Although the Correspondence Series
primarily relates to business topics, personal letters are scattered
throughout. Financial transactions, such as exchanges of stocks and cash, which
often occurred between members of the
Duke family, are recorded in both the
Correspondence and Financial
Papers Series. Aspects of both familial and business relationships
between brothers, James B. and Benjamin Newton Duke, and their father,
Washington Duke, are documented through their
correspondence. James B. Duke often received requests from individuals, many of
them strangers, for financial aid and other forms of assistance or favors, such
as making investments and employment. Written exchanges also document various
aspects of the Duke tobacco businesses, the professional relationships of
James B. and Benjamin N. Duke with other members
of the business community, and personal and business financial transactions.
Correspondents include
Lida Duke Angier (Mrs. J.C. Angier),
Richard B. Arrington,
W.T. Blackwell,
Betty Roney Daily (Mrs. John C. Daily),
Benjamin Newton Duke,
Washington Duke,
George Watts Hill,
Maude D. Karnes,
William R. Perkins, and
Alexander H. Sands.
James Buchanan Duke was known for his business
acumen, especially in national and international tobacco industries and
hydroelectric power. The Business Papers Series
furnishes partial documentation for some of his businesses. The most complete
records are for
Duke Farms Company in Somerville, N.J. (apparently
a holding company). The Duke Farms Company's records include documentation for
Piedmont Electro-Chemical Company,
Southern Power Company,
Orlando Water Power Company, and other Duke-owned
businesses. Mr. Duke made substantial investments in textile mills and
corporations, such as the
Aluminum Company of America. Records of his
investments, including extensive stocks and bonds transactions, are in the
Business and Financial Papers Series.
Acquisition of exclusive rights to a cigarette manufacturing
machine produced by the
Bonsack Machine Company, which allowed for very
rapid processing of cigarettes, enabled the Duke companies to move into the
forefront of the cigarette industry. Extensive correspondence documents the
negotiations between
James B. Duke, President of
The American Tobacco Company, and
D.B. Strouse and
P.A. Krise, of the
Bonsack Machine Company. It is filed in the
Business Papers Series under both the
Bonsack Machine Company and the
W. Duke, Sons and Company and occurs in
The American Tobacco Company letterbook. After the
dissolution of
The American Tobacco Company in 1911, Mr. Duke
focused his attention more on the hydroelectric power industry than on tobacco.
Histories of some of
James B. Duke's businesses and investments,
especially hydroelectric power, are in the Miscellaneous
Series. Many of Mr. Duke's business investments and other enterprises
were continued after his death by his executors until the estate was
liquidated.
The philanthropic work of
James B. Duke included contributions to
Duke University (Trinity College) and other
educational institutions, a fund for worn-out
Methodist preachers, an endowment for
Lincoln Hospital (designated for use only by a
black institution), funds for building churches, and other charitable causes.
Representatives of educational institutions and churches wrote to request
various types of financial support from Mr. Duke, including endowments and
one-time donations. Avenues for contributions to most of these institutions and
charities were later consolidated under the auspices of the
The Duke Endowment. Information about Mr. Duke's
philanthropic activities is documented in the Correspondence, Financial, and
Legal Papers Series
Mr. Duke owned homes and estates in
New York, N.Y.,
Somerville, N.J.,
Charlotte, N.C., and
Newport, R.I. The houses contained many works of
art and antiques, and the grounds of the Somerville estate,
Duke Farms, were renowned for their statuary and
landscaping. Records for architecture, decoration and renovation, deeds and
property transfers, and maintenance of Mr. Duke's properties are found
throughout the collection. Volumes in the Financial Papers
Series have entries for household and estate expenditures. Considerable
information for the
Duke Farms estate in
Somerville, N.J., is in the Correspondence and Business Papers Series. Other
information about various homes and properties, including architectural plans
by
Horace Trumbauer, is in the Pictures and Miscellaneous Series. Detailed inventories of
properties, including furnishings, are in the Petitions on First and Final
Accountings filed in the Estate, Legal Papers
Subseries.
The Last Will and Testament of
James B. Duke and its Codicil included provisions
for trusts including
The Doris Duke Trust,
The Duke Endowment, and for individuals, such as
Nanaline H. Duke and
Doris Duke. Item VI of the Will of
James B. Duke provided for the distribution of two
million dollars to living descendants of the brothers and/or sisters of
James B. Duke's father,
Washington Duke, and his mother,
Artelia Roney Duke. The executors of the estate,
Nanaline H. Duke,
William R. Perkins, and
George G. Allen conducted a prolonged
investigation to determine who were legitimate heirs under Item VI of the will.
Earlier, in 1924,
Benjamin N. Duke had begun to try to identify
individuals who were related to him through his father and mother. After
James B. Duke's death,
Benjamin N. Duke's earlier communications with
Duke family members were closely scrutinized,
especially his correspondence with
Edna L. Vaughan of
Warrensburg, Mo. Some of these letters were later
used as legal evidence when
James B. Duke's will was disputed. Genealogical
information related to inheritance under
James B. Duke's will is scattered throughout the
Correspondence Series, especially in the years 1924
and 1925. The Estate Series also contains extensive
correspondence and other documents that contain genealogical information about
various Duke families. A significant portion of the series documents the
settlement of Item VI of Mr. Duke's will.
The Estate, Correspondence Subseries
includes inquiries to the executors and to
Benjamin Newton Duke from individuals or their
attorneys who thought that they were related to
James B. Duke and wanted to file a claim for the
inheritance under Item VI. The executors responded to most initial inquiries
from claimants in November 1925 with a form letter which required them to
submit affidavits stating their relationship to
James B. Duke. Usually three affidavits were
submitted: one by the claimant and two from individuals who stated their
knowledge of the claimant and the alleged relationship to
James B. Duke. To gather more information, in
January 1927 the executors sent claimants a questionnaire about detailed
genealogical history. Most affidavits and questionnaires are in the
Estate, Legal Papers Subseries, but some are
scattered in the Estate, Correspondence Subseries
which also has information about evidence used in the court hearings.
Two sets of claims posed particular problems for the executors and are
extensively documented in the Estate, Correspondence and
Legal Papers Subseries. These claims, one from the
Vaughan family and another group claim from
individuals associated with
Elizabeth Duke of
Marshall and Wichita Falls, Tex., were the subject
of extensive correspondence. They were researched in great detail by
Charles Caldwell, a lawyer, and brought to the
courts in
New Jersey for final determination.
Elizabeth Duke claimed a relationship through
Thomas Duke; the
Vaughan family claimed theirs through
Polly (Mary) Duke Vaughan.
Caldwell was engaged by the executors in May 1927
to conduct detailed research into these claims. The investigation generated
extensive, detailed documentary genealogical information regarding not only the
families of
Washington Duke and
Artelia Roney Duke but also about other families
that claimed a Duke family connection.
Charles Caldwell conducted research in archives
and interviewed claimants in
Louisiana,
Texas,
Georgia,
Missouri, and
North Carolina. While his research primarily
documents individuals whose claims were spurious, the information collected by
Caldwell also describes, to a more limited extent,
the claims of legitimate heirs. The executors published a book,
Determination by the Executors of James B. Duke,
Deceased . . . (1927), with appended schedules of allowed and rejected
claims, that discusses the settlement of the will.
Lida Duke Angier (Mrs. J. C. Angier) and
Betty Roney Daily (Mrs. John C. Daily),
James B. Duke's cousins, worked with the executors
to find information that would determine legitimate heirs. Letters they wrote
reveal knowledge of the families of
James B. Duke and
Benjamin N. Duke.
Benjamin N. Duke's written responses to the
executors' requests for his knowledge of the relationships put forth by
claimants are dispersed in the correspondence. Other correspondents include
attorneys, archivists, genealogists, historians, and handwriting and other
document experts who were employed by the executors or who responded to their
requests for information. Experts also submitted reports of their findings.
Individuals represented in the Estate Series include
George G. Allen,
Charles Caldwell,
Clarence E. Case,
Elizabeth Duke,
Nanaline H. Duke,
William P. Few,
Forrest Hyde,
C.E. Mapes,
William R. Perkins,
Alexander H. Sands,
James E. Stagg, and
Eugene L. Vaughan.
The Estate, Financial Papers Subseries
documents distributions made under most provisions of the will and expenses
incurred by the estate in administering the will, including those from legal
research and fees. Records for the distribution under Item VI of the will are
useful for information about individuals who were determined to be legal
heirs.
Other collections in the Rubenstein Library that document
James Buchanan Duke's life include the Washington
Duke Papers, the Benjamin Newton Duke Papers, and the Semans Family Papers.
Related collections include the William Robertson Perkins Papers and the
Aluminum Company of Canada, Ltd., Papers. For information on The Duke
Endowment, see the Archives of The Duke Endowment. For further information on
the contributions of the Duke family to Duke University, contact the staff of
the Duke University Archives.