Victor Marie du Pont de Nemours (October 1, 1767 – January 30, 1827) was a

French American French Americans or Franco-Americans (french: Franco-Américains), are citizens or nationals of the United States who identify themselves with having full or partial French or French-Canadian heritage, ethnicity and/or ancestral ties. ...

diplomat, politician, and businessman. He was also a member of the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

, the founder of the Du Pont, Bauduy & Co., wool manufacturers, and brother of

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (; ; 24 June 1771 – 31 October 1834) was a French-American chemist and industrialist who founded the gunpowder manufacturer E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. His descendants, the du Pont family, hav ...

, the founder of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company.

Early life and family

Gabrielle Josephine de la Fite de Pelleport du Pont

Victor Marie du Pont was born October 1, 1767 in Paris, France. He was the son of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours and Nicole Charlotte Marie Louise le Dée. He married Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport in 1794 and had five children: Amélie-Élisabeth (1796–1869), Samuel Francis (1799-1799), Charles Irénée (1803–1865), Samuel Francis (1803–1865), and Julia Sophie (1806–1882).

Professional career

After 1784, du Pont worked with his father in

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

's Bureau of Commerce. There he had opportunities to travel around Europe and meet visiting friends of his father. In 1788 he began four years of work with the French minister to the United States in both New York City and Philadelphia. During this time, he wrote letters to his father analyzing the U.S. Constitution and the prospects for its ratification. Returning to Paris in 1793, he married and soon went back to the United States, this time as French Consul at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. He remained there until 1797 when he was named French Consul-General at Philadelphia. However, he returned to France after not being recognized in the position by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. For the next two years, du Pont assisted his father by preparing his entire family to immigrate to the United States. They finally sailed on the ''American Eagle'', arriving in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

on January 1, 1800. From there the father, two brothers, wives, and children went to live at ''Goodstay,'' a house purchased for them in

Bergen Point Bergen Point is a point of land that lends its name to the adjacent neighborhood in Bayonne in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The point is located on the north side of Kill van Kull at Newark Bay. It is the section of the city clos ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Many prospective business ideas for the du Ponts were conceived in the coming year at ''Goodstay,'' including his brother, Eleuthère, beginning a gunpowder business. du Pont and his brother returned to France for a year in 1801 to seek investors for the gunpowder business and various other business ventures. He returned to New York, established a trading company, Victor du Pont de Nemours & Co., and acted as an agent for

Louis Pichon Louis Pichon (8 October 1916 – 14 October 2002) was a French modern pentathlete. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an interna ...

, the French Consul-General and chargé d'affairs, provisioning French troops seeking to quell the rebellion then going on in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. This firm went into bankruptcy in 1808, as his many advances, including those to the French government, went unreimbursed. Next, du Pont tried his hand at farming and merchandising on the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

valley of western New York. In 1811, he moved with his family to Delaware and established residence at ''Louviers'' on the Brandywine Creek, across from the Eleutherian Mills of his brother. He established a woolen mill to manufacture cotton cloth. Eleuthère's partner,

Pierre Bauduy Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and son-in-law,

Ferdinand Bauduy Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, joined the business in 1813, and it became known as Du Pont, Bauduy & Co. Soon after arriving in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, du Pont was elected to one of the

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

seats in the State House for the 1815, 1816, and 1817 sessions and later was elected to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

for the 1821, 1822, and 1823 sessions.

Death and legacy

Victor Marie du Pont died in Philadelphia on January 30, 1827 and is buried in the du Pont family cemetery near

Greenville, Delaware Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census ...

. du Pont was a man "whose friends were everywhere." His son Charles took over management of the wool manufacturing business upon his death, and his other son, Samuel Francis, was a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

References

External links

Victor du Pont papers
at

Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...

Places with more information

br>website
Barley Mill Road, Wilmington, Delaware (302) 658–2400. *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

br>Library website
181 South College Avenue,

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. According to the 2010 United States Census, ...

19717; (302) 831–2965 *

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...

br>website
505 North Market Street,

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

19801; (302) 655-7161
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Pont de Nemours, Victor Marie 1767 births 1827 deaths 18th-century French diplomats Delaware state senators Members of the Delaware House of Representatives French emigrants to the United States

Victor Marie du Pont Victor Marie du Pont de Nemours (October 1, 1767 – January 30, 1827) was a French American diplomat, politician, and businessman. He was also a member of the Delaware General Assembly, the founder of the Du Pont, Bauduy & Co., wool manufactur ...