Benjamin Newton Duke papers, 1834-1972, bulk 1890-1929

Navigate the Collection

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:
Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile and may require extra assistance from staff. There are letterbooks of bound carbon copies and photograhs attached to convex glass or under...
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Duke, Benjamin N. (Benjamin Newton), 1855-1929
Abstract:
Benjamin Newton Duke (1855-1929) was a tobacco manufacturer, industrialist, and philanthropist of Durham, NC and New York, NY and a trustee and major benefactor of Trinity College (later Duke University). He was the son of Washington Duke, older brother of James B. Duke, husband of Sarah P. Duke, and father of Angier Buchanan Duke and Mary Duke Biddle. This collection documents his personal and professional life through his correspondence, financial and legal records, and photographs.
Extent:
98.5 Linear Feet (165 boxes, 44 volumes, six oversize boxes, three oversize folders, and one custom enclosure.)
Language:
Material in English.
Collection ID:
RL.00328

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the business, financial, philanthropic, and personal interests of Benjamin Newton Duke and his family in Durham, NC and New York, NY, especially his involvement in the tobacco, textile, banking, and hydroelectric industries and the Duke family's financial support of a variety of institutions, including educational institutions for African Americans and women; the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and individual churches, orphanages, hospitals, and community organizations.

Types of material include correspondence; financial, legal, and business records; architectural plans and plats; and photographs, photograph albums, and scrapbooks. There is also a diary, recipes, seven pieces of jewelry, and a suit pattern.

Family members represented include Sarah Pearson Angier Duke, Angier Buchanan Duke, Mary Lillian Duke Biddle, George Washington Duke, James Buchanan Duke, Brodie Leonidas Duke, Lida Duke Angier, and Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. Other individuals represented include Julian S. Carr, William A. Erwin, John C. Kilgo, William P. Few, Daniel Lindsay Russell, James E. Shepard, and George W. Watts.

The Richard B. Arrington and Alexander H. Sands, Jr. series document the personal and financial interests of Benjamin's private secretaries in NY.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1855 Apr. 27
Benjamin Newton Duke is born to George Washington and Artelia Roney Duke in Orange County, NC.
1858
Artelia and half-brother Sidney Taylor Duke die of typhoid fever.
1871
Benjamin and sister Mary Elizabeth Duke enroll in New Garden School (later Guilford College), near Greensboro, NC.
1874
Washington moves the family to Durham, NC.
1877 Feb. 21
Benjamin marries Sarah Pearson Angier of Durham.
1878
W. Duke, Sons, and Company is established, with Benjamin as a member of the Board of Directors, along with Washington, brother James Buchanan Duke, George W. Watts, and Richard Wright.
1882 or 1883 Oct. 3
Benjamin and Sarah's first child George Washington Duke, Jr. is born.
1884 Dec. 8
Benjamin and Sarah's second child Angier Buchanan Duke is born.
1885 Sep.?
Washington Jr. dies at age 2 or 3.
1887 Nov. 16
Benjamin and Sarah's third child Mary Lillian Duke is born.
1889
Benjamin is elected to the Board of Trustees of Trinity College (Randolph County, NC).
1890
Benjamin becomes a member of the Board of Directors of the new American Tobacco Company.
1891?
Benjamin becomes a member of the Board of Directors of the Oxford Orphan Asylum in Oxford, NC.
1892
Erwin Cotton Mills is established, with Benjamin as President and William A. Erwin as Manager.
1893 Apr. 6
Mary Elizabeth and three of her children die of tuberculosis at age 39 in NY.
1893-1922
Benjamin becomes President of The Fidelity Bank of Durham.
1898
Benjamin serves as a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Baltimore, MD.
1899?
Benjamin becomes President of the Cape Fear and Northern Railway.
1901
Benjamin resigns from the Board of Directors of the Oxford Orphan Asylum.
Benjamin and Sarah purchase their NY residence 1009 5th Ave. and split their time between Durham.
1902
Benjamin becomes Treasurer of the American Tobacco Company.
1904
Benjamin resigns as Treasurer of the American Tobacco Company.
1905 May 8
Washington Sr. dies at age 84 in Durham.
1905 June
Angier graduates from Trinity College (Durham).
Southern Power Company (later Duke Power Company then Duke Energy Corporation) is established by Benjamin and James in Charlotte, NC.
1906
Benjamin becomes President of the Durham and Southern Railway.
1907 May
Benjamin resigns as a director of the American Tobacco Company.
1907 June
Mary Lillian graduates from Trinity College (Durham).
1908-1910
Benjamin and Sarah's Durham residence "Four Acres" is built.
1913 Apr. 17
Richard B. Arrington, Benjamin and James's private secretary and financial agent, dies in White Plains, NY.
Alexander H. Sands, Jr., is hired to replace Arrington.
1915
Angier marries Cordelia Drexel Biddle.
Mary Lillian marries Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
1922
Benjamin resigns as President of The Fidelity Bank.
1923 Sep. 3
Angier drowns at age 38 in a boating accident on Long Island Sound.
1925
Benjamin and Sarah establish the Angier B. Duke Memorial, Inc. to fund scholarships at the new Duke University.
1925 Oct. 10
James dies at age 68 in New York, NY.
1927
Benjamin resigns as President of Erwin Cotton Mills.
Benjamin resigns as President of Durham and Southern Railway.
1927 Jan. 8
Benjamin dies at age 71 in New York, NY and is interred in the Duke family mausoleum in Maplewood Cemetery (Durham).
1936
Remains of Benjamin, James, and Washington are moved from Maplewood to the Memorial Chapel in Duke University Chapel.
1936 Sep. 3
Sarah dies at age 80 in Blowing Rock, NC.

Benjamin Newton Duke (1855-1929) was a tobacco manufacturer, industrialist, and philanthropist of Durham, NC and New York, NY and a trustee and major benefactor of Trinity College (later Duke University). He was the son of George Washington Duke, older brother of James Buchanan Duke, husband of Sarah Pearson Angier Duke, and father of Angier Buchanan Duke and Mary Lillian Duke.

Benjamin held a leadership position in several NC and NY businesses, including: the American Tobacco Company; W. Duke, Sons, and Company; Erwin Cotton Mills; Fidelity Bank of Durham; Citizens' National Bank of Durham; Trinity Land Company; Durham Realty Corporation; Durham and Southern Railway Company; and Southern Power Company (later Duke Power Company then Duke Energy Corporation). Along with James and their business partner George Washington Watts, Benjamin held substantial investments in a variety of enterprises throughout the US.

Benjamin was also the primary agent for the Duke family's philanthropic activities from the late 1880s until his death.

Acquisition information:
The Benjamin Newton Duke papers were received from a variety of sources over an extended period of time. While acquisition information about the bulk of the collection is unrecorded, it is believed that it was a gift from Mary Duke Biddle. Additions to the collection were made by: Mary Duke Biddle, 1939; Alexander H. Sands, Jr., 1940-1941 and 1953; R. D. Graham, 1950; Lucy Cole Durham, 1951; Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, 1961-1972 and 2019; Bud Alexander, 1970; Duke University Archives, 1980; and Julia Wightman, 1990. Material transferred in 2024 came from two 2013 and one 2019 additions to the Semans family papers.
Processing information:

Processed by Madeleine Bagwell Perez, June 1991.

Encoded by Rachel Pottinger.

In 1991, this collection was reprocessed through the financial support of The Duke Endowment. At that time, it was arranged by series and rehoused. While much of the Correspondence and Financial series follow their original order, some rearrangement was done throughout the collection.

Volumes, once shelved separately, were integrated. Examples include letterbooks, check stubs, stock ledgers, oversized memorials, etc.

Three hymnals, once belonging to Benjamin and Sarah, were transferred to the Rare Book Collection. They were for worship services of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and date from 1878 and 1889.

Reprocessed by Mary Mellon, March 2015.

Updated by Laurin Penland, January 2020.

Boxes 168-172 transferred from Semans family papers, and box 97, volumes 5 and 13, and three folders transferred to Angier Buchanan Duke papers, by Zachary Tumlin, January 2024.

Arrangement:

The Benjamin Newton Duke papers are arranged into nine series: Correspondence, Financial, Business, Legal, Personal, Pictures, Duke Farm (University Station, NC), Richard B. Arrington, and Alexander H. Sands, Jr.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile and may require extra assistance from staff. There are letterbooks of bound carbon copies and photograhs attached to convex glass or under the glass layer of mirror. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Benjamin Newton Duke papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.