Jessie Ball duPont papers, 1767/1982, bulk 1921/1970

Scope and content:

The Jessie Ball duPont papers comprise the largest part of the collection. The papers consists of 115 linear feet of records dating from 1767-1982 with the bulk dating between 1921-1970. They contain correspondence, photographs, printed materials, legal and financial documents, and diaries.

Language:

English

Biographical / historical:

Jessie Dew Ball was born at Cressfield, the Ball family ancestral home in Northumberland County, Virginia on January 20, 1884. She was the third of five living children born to Thomas Ball and Lalla Gresham. Thomas descended from the same colonial ancestor as Mary Ball, mother of George Washington. He moved his family to Austin, Texas for one year when Jessie was eight years old. The family then spent the following year in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ball family returned to Virginia where Jessie continued her studies at the Wytheville Seminary and the Farmville Normal School.

At age fourteen, she met Alfred I. duPont, twenty years her senior, and they began corresponding. Jessie began a teaching career in Lancaster County, Va. at age eighteen. Her family moved to San Diego in 1909 and she continued to teach, eventually rising to the position of vice-principal. She also began investing in real estate and the stock market.

On January 22, 1921, Jessie and Alfred married in San Diego. She took on the responsibility of raising Alfred's daughter Denise and running Nemours, the duPont estate in Wilmington, Delaware. in 1926, the family moved their primary residence to Jacksonville, Florida and built a home named Epping Forest on St. John's River. She was named a director of the Florida National Bank in the early 1930s.

When Alfred died in 1935, Jessie was named a trustee of his estate. She also was named president of the Nemours Foundation which was established by Alfred's will for the care and treatment of disabled children and the aged. She was also appointed as a member of the board of managers for the Alfred I. duPont Institute, president of the Alfred I. duPont Foundation, and chair of the board of directors of the St. Joe Paper Company.

Jessie took charge of organizing the Alfred I. duPont Institute. She assembled a medical board of advisors and a team of architects and constructed a hospital on the grounds of Nemours. The hospital was dedicated on June 14, 1941. She also established the Alfred I. duPont Radio Awards (1941) which awarded cash prizes to both commentators and stations.

She split her time between Delaware and Florida but her ability to travel and work was limited by a variety of medical conditions starting in 1962. Jessie Ball duPont died at Nemours on September 26, 1970. By the conditions of her will, all of her assets, save for bequests to friends and family, were transferred to the Jessie Ball duPont Religious, Charitable, and Educational Fund in Jacksonville.

Processing information:

This series was processed by History Associates Incorporated before coming to Washington and Lee University. The biographical note and sub-series descriptions were provided by the archivist(s) who processed the collection. Changes were made to correct outdated terms or to streamline the information provided.

Per History Associates Incorporated:

Because of the size and scope of the papers, the decision was made by Washington and Lee University, after consultation with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and History Associates Incorporated, to remove extraneous material from the collection. These materials consisted of duplicate copies, mail receipts, store receipts and bills, general interest publications, most greeting cards, routine telegrams, employee reference letters, cancelled checks, and routine correspondence regarding household accounts and repairs. Only a portion of the volumnious correspondence regarding her charitable giving, especially those letters requesting aid, have been kept. It was determined that the sampling of these materials would not adversely affect the content of the collection. Approximately 87 cubic feet of material was discarded.

Those materials of extraneous nature relating to Nemours (7 cubic feet) were sent to the Alfred I. duPont Institute. Ditchley materials (5 cubic feet) were sent to the Center for Historic Preservation at Mary Washington College. Additional materials (6 cubic feet) pertaining to the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation were sent to Stratford Hall. Discarded financial materials, Epping Forest records, and duplicate photographs (63 cubic feet) were returned to the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.

Original filing order was retained as much as possible during the processing of the papers. Within the correspondence sub-series, files for the same years and on the same subject, but created by different secretaries, have been combined. Misfiled letters were placed in the correctr folders. Letters were cleaned with a dry-cleaning pad when necessary, rusty staples and other fasteners were removed, and extraneous materials, such as envelopes and receipts, were discarded. Newsclippings kept wit hthe correspondence were photocopied onto acid-free paper and the originals discarded. All materials were placed in acid-free folders and in letter-size acid-free boxes.

The additional sub-series were created with materials removed from the correspondence sub-series and consequently a new filing system was devised. All materials have been cleaned when necessary, fasteners were removed, and newsclippings were photocopied on acid-free paper. Materials were placed in acid-free folders and in legal-size acid-free boxes. Oversize materials were placed into flat acid-free storage boxes. Bound volumes have been labeled in pencil with the record series.

Arrangement:

This series is divided into the following sub-series: Correspondence, Financial Statements and Reports, General, Photographs, and Printed Material.

Separated material:

With the written permission of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, duPont's medical records and leather satchel briefcases were transferred to the Nemours Estate in June 2026.

Access and use

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