Charles Pont

Background

Du Pont was born March 29, 1797, in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest son of French immigrants Victor Marie du Pont de Nemours (born 1767 in Paris) and Gabrielle Joséphine de la Fite de Pelleport (born 1770 in Stenay).

Education

He was educated at Mount Airy College in Germantown, Philadelphia, from 1809 to 1813, when he left school to work with his father in Delaware.

Career

In 1815, the textile manufacturing company of Du Pont, Bauduy & Company ended acrimoniously. fr:Pierre de Bauduy de Bellevue, a Frenchman who had invested in the business in 1803, eventually sued the du Ponts over various disagreements. (The lawsuit was decided in the du Pont"s favor in 1924)

Charlies retired in 1856, at which point East.I. duPont de Nemours & Company purchased his company. In addition to his business interest, du Pont was very active in civic and political affairs

He was elected a director of the Farmers" Bank of Delaware in 1830, and served as president of the bank from 1865-1868.

In 1853, he was made director of the Delaware Railroad Company, and was also a director of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company and the Columbia Insurance Company of Philadelphia. He was also of the Brandywine Manufacturers" Sunday School and vice president of the Delaware Improvement Association.

In 1824, du Pont married Dorcas Montgomery Van Dyke (born 1806), daughter of United States. Senator and Representative Nicholas Van Dyke III and granddaughter of Delaware Governor Nicholas Van Dyke, Junior. Their wedding was attended by the Marquis de Lafayette.

They had three children, Victor, Mary Van Dyke and Charles, Junior.

Du Pont died January 31, 1869, at Louviers, his family estate, and is buried at the Du Pont de Nemours Cemetery at Winterthur, near Greenville.

Achievements

• He was a nephew of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, the founder of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and a member of the Delaware General Assembly.

Membership

Du Pont was a member of the Whig Party, who served in the State Senate from New Castle County for four terms in the Delaware General Assembly from 1841-1847.

Connections

Partner:

Charles I. du Pont