Inventory of the James Buchanan Duke Papers, 1777-1990 and undated

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.

• American Tobacco Company--History.
• Duke family.
• Duke, James Buchanan, 1856-1925--Estate.
• Durham (N.C.)--Industries.
• Tobacco industry--North Carolina.

[Identification of item], James Buchanan Duke Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

The James Buchanan Duke Papers were transferred to the Special Collections Department from various sources beginning in 1957 and continuing through 1990. Funds from The Duke Endowment supported the reprocessing of this collection from 1991 to 1992.

Processed by Donna Longo DiMichele

Completed April 2, 1992

To allow for improved housing and preservation, negatives in Pictures Series were separated and re-housed by Elizabeth Terry, and finding aid adjusted, June 2007.

Encoded by Robin LaPasha and Stephen Douglas Miller

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.