Papers in this collection include letters, as well as financial and legal documents. The oldest item is a French marriage contract drawn in 1763, in the name of Louis Renee Adrien Dugas. Most of the material in the collection, however, pertains to Leon Frederick E. Dugas, who traveled extensively as a cotton merchant and general factor. Letters to Dugas discuss business and prices, as well as numerous lawsuits and disputes with importers. Several letters to Dugas from his brother-in-law and partner Paul Ronignol, are in French. A letterpress volume from 1845 records much of Dugas's correspondence from that year. Many of these letters are in French, and virtually all deal with matters of finance, cotton sales, or estate settlements. Of interest are documents representing Dugas's attempts to gain control of the Habersham Iron Works; papers relating to the sale of slaves to the family; and an inventory showing that in 1827, the Dugas family purchased most of the land, goods, and slaves of "Good-Rest," the Edgefield, S.C. home of Dr. Beauregard.
