Correspondence, 1927-1990
- Access restrictions for this series:
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Access to this material will be consistent with the 1991 agreement between Duke University Library, James H. Semans, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. Access to any correspondence, legal papers, and financial papers is restricted and will be permitted only with prior written permission, which should be sought from the chair of the board of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. This restriction shall be in place until 1 January 2027, after which all material shall be considered open for research.
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- Scope and content:
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Primarily MDBTS' personal correspondence, showing her family, social, political, and philanthropic activities and relationships. At least some of Josiah C. Trent's and James H. Seman's personal correspondence is also included after their respective marriages to her. There are letters from Duke, Biddle, Trent, and Semans family members, including her parents, in-laws, and children. There are also letters from her friends and associates in North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, Italy, and Greece.
One highlight of this series is two boxes of courtship letters between MDBTS and Josiah, with many including the original envelope and discussions of the films, books, and plays that they were consuming in the mid-1930s. There are also items which she considered meaningful enough to frame that have been deframed, but some are attached to board and too large to fit in a standard record carton; many of these are handwritten or signed.
- Arrangement:
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Arranged chronologically, with files of condolences at end, followed by large deframed items stored in flat boxes.
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This collection is currently being reprocessed to incorporate additional material before it becomes fully open to researchers in January 2027. Material may sometimes be unavailable because of this, especially in the remaining series: Correspondence, Writings and Speeches, Subject Files, and Personal. This work is being funded by a Duke Endowment grant focused on Duke family papers. For more information, please contact the Rubenstein Library.
Access restricted. Access to this material will be consistent with the 1991 agreement between Duke University Library, James H. Semans, and Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. Access to any correspondence, legal papers, and financial papers is restricted and will be permitted only with prior written permission, which should be sought from the chair of the board of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. This restriction shall be in place until 1 January 2027, after which all material shall be considered open for research.
Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile audiovisual formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.
Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
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