Francis I. duPont & Co. Genealogy: Part I

In 1974, DuPont Walston was liquidated. At that time, the histories of Francis I. duPont & Co., Glore Forgan & Co., Wm. R. Staats, Inc., Hirsch & Co., A.C. Allyn & Co. and Walston & Co., six members of the Ford Motor Company Syndicate, came to an end. Over the next several posts, we will take a closer look into the histories of each of these firms and how they all eventually became a part of DuPont Walston.

Origins

Eleuthére Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) founded his namesake firm, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a chemical manufacturer, in 1802. A French immigrant and the son of a watchmaker, E.I. du Pont demonstrated an interest in the study of gunpowder from a young age. His mentor was Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist. In 1799, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, du Pont's family immigrated to the United States. Though he returned briefly to France in 1801, du Pont settled in Delaware, where he founded the first of many gunpowder mills.

By 1812, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. was "the leading supplier" of gunpowder to the American government. According to the company history, "During the Civil War, DuPont supplied almost 40 percent of all powder used by the Union army and navy." After 1880, the firm diversified its products in the field of explosives technology, and it continued to develop products through the First World War, the Second World War and into the postwar period.

Many of E.I. du Pont's descendents followed in his footsteps as chemists and inventors. After his death in 1834, the leadership of his firm later passed to his son, Alfred Victor du Pont (1798-1856), whose son Lammot du Pont (1831-1884), a University of Pennsylvania graduate, became a pioneer in the development of dynamite. Another grandson, Francis Gurney du Pont (1850-1904), who was also a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (1870), developed "a successful smokeless powder for shotguns" after joining the family firm in 1871.

Image courtesy Library of Congress

Francis Gurney's son, Francis Irené du Pont (1873-1942), also studied at the University of Pennsylvania but graduated from Yale University Sheffield Scientific School in 1895, when he joined the family firm. F.I. became superintendent of the company's smokeless powder plant, director of the research and experimental station in 1903, and later vice-president and director. A gifted chemist like his predecessors, F.I. became "best known for his research in the field of smokeless powder and for his development of the minerals separation process, popularly known as the 'sink and float' process." In 1916, however, F.I. became embroiled in a family conflict over the control and fate of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., which his faction lost. The following year, he created an experimental laboratory called the Delaware Chemical Engineering Co.

F.I. du Pont had many interests and was a well-known Progressive. In 1913, he was nominated for Mayor of Wilmington, DE on the Progressive ticket, and in 1916, he was appointed as a delegate to the National Tax Conference by Governor Charles Miller of Delaware. By 1921, he was also serving on the board of the Delaware Trust Company. In 1931, F.I. entered into the securities business on the suggestion of his stock broker, who said that he "could save considerably on the commissions he paid on his many stock transactions by purchasing a seat on the New York Stock Exchange." Francis "said that he did not plan to solicit business from the public although he will accept such business. He said he purchased the membership on the exchange primarily to handle his own investments." Over time, Francis envisioned a much larger role for his firm. According to the New York Times, "As a broker, [Francis] foresaw the day when millions of Americans would own stocks."