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 Pearson Angier Duke, and father of Angier Buchanan Duke and Mary Duke Biddle. The materials in this collection document the business, financial, philanthropic, and personal interests of Benjamin N. Duke and his family, especially Duke's involvement in the tobacco, textile, banking, and hydroelectric industries in North Carolina and New York 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. The Richard B. Arrington series and Alexander H. Sands, Jr., series document the personal and financial interests of Benjamin N. Duke's private secretaries in New York, NY.

The papers of Benjamin Newton Duke have been collected from various sources over time and span the years 1834 to 1969, although the bulk of the material dates from 1890 to 1929. The materials in the collection document the business, financial, philanthropic, and personal interests of Benjamin N. Duke and his family in Durham, NC and New York, NY, especially Duke's 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 in the collection include correspondence, financial statements and ledgers, bills and receipts, architectural blueprints and drawings, land plats, deeds, photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and a diary.

Family members represented include Sarah P. Duke, Angier Buchanan Duke, Mary Duke Biddle, Washington Duke, James B. Duke, Brodie L. Duke, Lida Duke Angier, and Anthony J. 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 series and Alexander H. Sands, Jr. series document the personal and financial interests of Benjamin N. Duke's private secretaries in New York, NY.

The reference collection contains the annual reports for the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation from 1970-2008 (incomplete). It also includes a report about an exhibit entitled "Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Thirty Years of Philanthropy" hosted in Duke University's Perkins Library and a program from the 1974 dedication of the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building.

The Treasurer is an officer of the University whose duties have included supervision of contracts, relations with the Duke Endowment, and management of the Bursar's Office, student loans, and investments. The position of Treasurer is established by the By-laws of the University. In 1995, the Treasurer's post was taken up by the chief financial and administrative officer, the Executive Vice President. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence to and from individuals who served the University as Treasurer and the subject files they created while in office, including grants and contracts but also ledger and account books. The collection ranges in date from 1893-ongoing.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence to and from individuals who served the University as Treasurer and the subject files they created while in office, including grants and contracts. There are a handful of photographs of Highland Hospital in Asheville, N.C. in addition to legal papers such as wills and deeds of gift. Oversize materials include many account and ledger books for the early-mid part of the 20th century. One of the many benefits of this collection is official paperwork that pertains to many artifacts/collections the University has obtained as gifts from individuals such as Doris Duke and the Trent family. The collection ranges in date from 1893-ongoing.

The Roland Alston family was an African American family residing in Durham, North Carolina. William Roland Alston, known as "Roland," became the head gardener for Mary Duke Biddle at Pinecrest and later for the Semans family at Les Terraces, both properties located in Durham. The collection comprises nine folders containing transcripts, some edited and some final, of eight oral history interviews Judy Hogan completed with Roland Alston. Also includes 5 black-and-white and 5 color (one hand colored) uncaptioned photographs, including individual and group portraits, presumably of members of the Roland Alston family.

The Roland Alston family papers comprise nine folders containing transcripts, some edited and some final, of eight oral history interviews Judy Hogan completed with Roland Alston. The original audio tapes or cassettes for the interviews are not included with the collection. Topics include his work for Mary Duke Biddle and the Semans family; growing up on a farm in Chatham County; Durham and regional businesses, especially those for gardeners; his family life; and his views on relationships between people, including employers and employees, men and women, and parent and child. Also includes 5 black-and-white and 5 color (one hand colored) uncaptioned photographs, including individual and group portraits, presumably of members of the Roland Alston family. The photographs range in size from 4 x 5 inches to 8 x 10 inches.

Ruth Schoenberger was an undergraduate student at Duke University from 1935 to 1939. The topics of the scrapbook include social and academic life at Duke, women at Duke, dormitory housing, the Woman's College, and campus scenes. The scrapbook ranges in date from 1935-1939.

Contains photographs of Breece's life on and off campus during the years 1935-1939.

Collection consists of correspondence, financial papers, legal papers, writings and speeches, scrapbooks, photographs, films, audio tapes, and other materials reflecting the philanthropic, financial, cultural and social activities of the Semans family and other wealthy families in North Carolina and New York. A major focus is the interrelationship of the Semans family with the Biddle, Duke, and Trent families. Additionally, the papers document the roles of Mary Duke Biddle, James H. Semans and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans have taken in the development and support of arts and educational programs throughout North Carolina. To a lesser degree, the papers reflect women in politics and childcare issues during the early 20th century.

The papers of the Semans family span the years 1878 to 2008. The collection consists of four large sub-collections: the Mary Duke Biddle Family Papers, the James H. Semans Family Papers, the James H. and Mary D.B.T. Semans Family Papers, and the Elizabeth Lucina Gotham Family Papers. There are also series for films, oversize materials, and later additions.

Through files of correspondence, financial papers, legal papers, writings and speeches, scrapbooks, photographs, films, audio tapes, and other materialsThe collection reflects the philanthropic, financial, cultural, and social activities of the Semans family. Major areas of focus are the personal and social relationships of the Semans family with the Biddle, Duke, and Trent, and other wealthy families from North Carolina, New York, and elsewhere. Additionally, the papers document the roles Mary Duke Biddle, James H. Semans, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans have taken in the development and support of arts and educational programs throughout North Carolina. To a lesser degree, the papers reflect on women in politics and childcare during the early twentieth century.

Individuals represented include Mary Duke Biddle (daughter of Benjamin Duke), Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Nicholas Benjamin Duke Biddle, Angier Biddle Duke, Angier Buchanan Duke, Benjamin Newton Duke, Sarah Pearson Angier Duke, Elizabeth Lucina Gotham, and Josiah Charles Trent as well as other members of the Duke, Biddle, Trent, and Semans families. Political, arts, and educational leaders are also represented.

Subject areas represented include: families in the late 19th and 20th centuries; the arts in North Carolina and other cities; charities, particularly in North Carolina; childcare and women in nursing; The Duke Endowment; Duke University and other universities and colleges; the North Carolina School of the Arts; education; genealogy of the four families; personal finances; philanthropy; the history of Durham, NC, and its politics and social life; vocational rehabilitation; and the Methodist church, particularly in NC.

The 25 16mm film reels in the collection are chiefly children's cartoons from the 1930s-1940s, but there are also wartime newsreels and a few films for adults, some as early as 1916-1917, and some travel film. Audio tapes consist chiefly of personal family recordings, a set of memoirs dictated onto cassettes in 1977 by Mary D.B.T. Semans, and music performances.

Some portions of the collection are restricted or closed to use; please consult this collection guide for details before coming to use these materials.

For additional collections of Duke family papers, see the Washington Duke Papers, the Benjamin Newton Duke Papers, and the James B. Duke Papers. For further information on the contributions of the Duke family to Duke University, contact the Duke University Archives.