Dear members of the Duke family,

President of the Duke Family Association, Charlie Lucas, was kind of enough to remind us in hisremarks Saturday evening at the October family reunion that I am co-president of the associa-tion. I confess to leaving Charlie with all the work, so with great plans for my half of the presi-dency yet ahead, I would like to thank you all for a terrific weekend and share some reflections.

It was wonderful to reconnect with many of you and to connect for the first time with others. Tohave Coach K and President Brodhead among us was a particular privilege and compliment.

Special thanks to Charlie, association and reunion website originator and manager HenryNicholson, Jon Angier, Beth Semans, Tony Duke, Mary Semans and University Associate VPof Alumni Affairs Sterly Wilder, all of whom were instrumental in making the weekend a suc-cess.

The centerpiece, of course, was the university itself, which never stops growing and improving and challenging its stu-dents and faculty. It is a remarkable institution.

And an amazing story. I can’t be alone among us — particularly among those of us who attended Duke — in having toldand retold our versions of the story. As a Duke undergrad 25 years ago (Trinity, 1981) I learned how to tell it in a fewseconds in noisy, crowded, beer-puddled West Campus parties. “Washington Duke, my great grandfather, was thefounder. Tobacco money. His son, Buck, later grew the family business in energy. They loved North Carolina, believedin education, so they started a university…”

This was usually followed by “no, the Dukes were not slave owners. It all hap-pened in the reconstruction,” and “yes, yes, I had to apply,” and “yes, well, Isuppose you could say I’m rich. You wouldn’t believe me anyway if I said Iwasn’t.”

Awkward, for sure. Imagine my poor cousin, Washington Duke, who was about15 years behind me at Duke. When he introduced himself in the admissionoffice to the other candidates waiting for their interviews one of his fellowapplicants replied, “Your name’s Washington Duke? Yeah, and I’m AbrahamLincoln.”

“Washy,” it’s worth noting, went on to have a stellar career at Duke as, amongother things, a music student. It’s fair to say that Duke informed the direction ofhis life: he’s now a music producer and musician.

My strategy for survival as an undergraduate was to downplay my Dukeness.But I had a relative at the school at the same time — my nephew who was aTrinity senior when I was a freshman (unbelievable, but yes: George, a fewyears older than I, is the oldest son of my half brother, Pony) — who would lit-erally blow up my efforts at modesty. George Duke was a huge and scaryWyoming kid, friends with all the football and basketball players. Alwaysseemed to have tons of girlfriends. A hellion, whose legendary escapades were

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THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC. MAY 2010

Biddle Duke

Reflections on the Reunion and being a “Duke”

Mary D.B.T. Semans & Coach KDuke Family Reunion 2009

picture courtesy of Duke University Photography

DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C. May 2010Page 2

Duke Family & University History 101Editor’s Note: We thought you would enjoy some information on the Duke family’s role in the founding and developmentof Duke University. Duke Archivist Tim Pyatt has created a presentation that he gives to groups who want to know moreabout the Dukes and the University. We publish, here, excerpts of that presentation with Tim’s permission.

ORIGINS OF DUKE UNIVERSITYPrior to Duke family involvement, the school was founded asUnion Institute Academy in 1838 in Randolph Co. (south of HighPoint) by Methodists & Quakers who wanted school for their chil-dren.

Following a period in the 1850s when it was called NormalCollege, financial support by the Methodist church in 1859 led tothe name change to Trinity College. The school adopted the motto “Eruditio et Religio” which means“Knowledge & Religion.” The images below are of Trinity College in Randolph Countycirca 1891 and today.

WASHINGTON DUKE & THE MOVE TO DURHAMWashington Duke, a Confederate veteran who lived from 1820 to1905 played an influential role in bringing Trinity College toDurham.

In 1887, John Crowell was elected president of Trinity College.During Reconstruction, the new South saw a shift from agricul-ture to industry. These industries were centered around townssuch as Raleigh and Durham. Crowell saw Trinity’s future in oneof these towns. At Crowell’s urging, Methodist ministers approached WashingtonDuke, a prominent Methodist layman, to see if he would helpfinance a move. Washington Duke gave $85,000 for buildingsthat was later followed by a $300,000 endowment. He also per-suaded his business competitor and fellow Methodist and UNCgraduate, Julian Carr, to donate the 62 acres of land known asBlackwell’s Fairgrounds that is now East Campus. (Carr wasmanufacturer of the famous “Bull Durham” tobacco). The moveto Durham was completed in 1892 and the link to the Dukes hadbegun.

Washington Duke’s support extended beyond the move. His1896 gift also illustrated his philosophy on education. The giftwas contingent on women students being admitted on equal foot-ings with men. Prior to this time, women were day students only.Below: Celebration outside Washington Duke’s home in Durham cele-brating one of his many gifts to the College.

May 2010 Page 3DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C.

often confused as mine. How I feared having George spotme at parties. Hands as big as baseball mitts, he’d throwan arm around me, palming my shoulder,

and, loudly so all could hear, say things like, “Hey every-one, this is my uncle Biddle! What’re the chances ofthis? Two Dukes together at a party at Duke! Let’s gomeet some cheerleaders!”

My mouth still goes dry at the memory.George is out in Montana these days wildcatting and rais-ing hogs. He should come back home sometime.We’re scattered all over the place, but Duke is home.Busy with life away from North Carolina I forget thatfact, and then I visit the campus and Durham. Every timeit seems bigger and smarter than the last. This time therewas also the experience of seeing it through my son’seyes. As T.S. Elliot wrote: “We shall not cease exploring.And the end of all exploring will be to arrive where westarted and know the place for the first time.”In addition to catching up with many of you, I gobbledup the opportunities, in a way that I did not as a student. Two and a half days with my 13 year old looked like this: threeathletic contests (Duke football and soccer, and women’s soccer), a Picasso exhibit at the Nasher, lemurs at the LemurCenter, a visit to the new Sanford Public Policy School and a Chapel sermon on Sunday morning about how the univer-sity, which is also a community of faith, reconciles its tradition of religion and faith with its pursuit of new ideas, freespeech, knowledge, and the ultimate empirical truths.It was a dizzying visit. When I returned home I confess to having two connected regrets: that my father, Angier BiddleDuke, was not there with us, and that I was not moved by his example to shake everyone’s hand and seamlessly gettingus all to do the same. Next time.If that sounds like a promise, I remind you that I’m a shifty journalist. I’ll take it up with Charlie and others to see whowill do the lion’s share of the work. But I sure do look forward to seeing everyone and Duke again.

Biddle DukePresident, Duke Family Asssociation of NC

THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER.....continued from page 1

We Need Your Support!We need your support to keep the Duke Family Associationalive and moving forward.

We had over 150 family members at our October reunionand we have over 450 family members in our database. Wewant to be able to publish a semi-annual newsletter anddevelop a robust, informational and fun website.

In order to offset postal costs for those who choose toreceive it by paper mail, we are asking that each membermake a minimum donation of $10 per year.

Please send your donation with the contact informationform on the last page of this newsletter to:

Duke Family Assn. of NC, PO Box 96642,Duke University, Durham, NC 27708

Duke’s Mixture and the Duke Family Association, Inc of N.C.Duke’s Mixture is the official newsletter of the Duke Family Association of North Carolina, Inc., a non-profit NorthCarolina corporation chartered in 1990, by the descendents of Taylor Duke of North Carolina with the purpose ofencouraging association with, attendance at and support for Duke University by members of the family; to preserveDuke family records and memorabilia and to promote brotherhood and the overall mental, social, moral, educationaland fraternal welfare of its members. Duke’s Mixture is published periodically by the Association. No portion of this pub-lication may be reprinted without the express written consent of the Duke Family Association of N. C.

Duke Family Association Reunion 2009, (Photo Courtesy of Duke University Photography - Copies may be purch

DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C. May 2010Page 4

Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke University ased at http://www.dukeshots.com, password: Duk3 (That's correct, no "e")

May 2005 Page 5DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C.

DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C. May 2010Page 6

Tobacco manufacturing was the foundation of WashingtonDuke’s wealth. Above: His first “factory” started after hereturned from the Civil War and his expanded factory in 1888(inset).

DUKE HISTORY 101.....continued from page 2

The Duke Brothers: Influential in the growth of Trinity to become Duke

Benjamin N. Duke, 1855-1929Tobacco and textile entrepreneur and philanthropist, Benjamin Duke was the principal link between the Duke family and the col-lege and university after it relocated to Durham in 1892. In 1887, he married Sarah Pearson Angier, for whom the Sarah P. DukeGardens are named. Sarah was the sister of Jonathan C. Angier who married Lida Duke, J. B. and Ben’s first cousin and daughterof John Taylor Duke.In 1889 he was elected to the Trinity College Board ofTrustees, a position he held for the rest of his life.

James B. Duke, 1856-1925At the age of twenty eight, Duke opened a branch of his fami-ly's factory in New York City, which within five years was fur-nishing half the country's total production of cigarettes. Throughnumerous foreign and domestic combinations, Duke interestscontrolled the manufacture of a variety of tobacco productsuntil the United States Supreme Court in 1911 ruled that thetobacco trust was in violation of anti-trust law and ordered thedissolution of the American Tobacco Co.James B., together with his older brother, Benjamin, andGeorge Watts, founded the Southern Power Company in 1905.Later it was known as Duke Power, one of the companies mak-ing up Duke Energy, Inc. Within two decades the company wassupplying electricity to more than 300 cotton mills and variousother factories, cities, and towns primarily in the Piedmontregion of North and South Carolina.In December 1924, James B., who was by far the wealthiest member of the family, established The Duke Endowment as a perma-nent trust fund with designated beneficiaries. In so doing, he was following the family's long-standing patterns of philanthropy.Trinity College was to be the prime beneficiary of the Duke Endowment, and, at the insistence of Trinity President William PrestonFew, the college was renamed Duke University in honor of Washington Duke and his family. James B. Duke died in New York Cityon October 10, 1925.

While most folks associate the Duke family wealth with tobacco,the bulk of James B. Duke’s fortunes were made in the newtechnology of electric power.Southern Power Company (now Duke Energy, Inc.) was foundedby James B. Duke, his brother Benjamin N. Duke, and GeorgeW. Watts.

May 2010 Page 7DUKE FAMILY ASSOCIATION of N. C.

Name:__________________________________ E-mail address:___________________________

Address:_______________________________________City:_____________St:____Zip_________

Phone #:____________________________ Donation check enclosed $ _____________________

Name of Taylor Duke’s child from whom you are descended________________________________

Contact InformationWe need to update our records. Our website is “under construction” and will be unveiled later this summer, but for now, we don’thave an online form for you to fill out. Please send us updated contact information with your financial contribuition using this form to:

Duke Family Association of NCBox 96642

Duke UniversityDurham, NC 27708