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“I hope to pay one last visit to the ranch, with little Ted, who will then be nearly eleven; and I shall think of you very often, riding over the immense rolling plains, with their mat of short, sun-scorched grass; for it has always seemed to me that we two felt those plains as no one else I have ever seen does,” wrote Theodore Roosevelt to Patty Selmes in 1897.
Established by an Act of the First Territorial Legislature on November 7, 1864, the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is Arizona’s oldest historical agency. The items in their collections illuminate Roosevelt’s relationship to the Great Plains, as well as his connections to the Selmes, Greenway, and Ferguson families. Isabella Greenway was the first U.S. congresswoman in Arizona history, as well as the daughter of Patty Selmes. The Selmes family called North Dakota home.
Materials in this collection include correspondence from Gutzon Borglum regarding the creation of Mount Rushmore, letters examining national politics, as well as items relating to the history of the Rough Riders. Most importantly, this collection shows the value Roosevelt and his family placed on developing and preserving relationships over a lifetime.
See below to view items from this collection.
Edith Ogden Harrison invites John Campbell Greenway to the Huron Mountain Shooting and Fishing Club. Harrison suggests when Greenway might visit and when the boat departs from Marquette, Michigan.
1904-09-11
President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt request the company of John Wallace Riddle at dinner.
1904-01-08
Kermit Roosevelt has returned to school and is having a fine time. His arm had been bothering him while stag hunting in England but he is feeling better now. Roosevelt supposes John Wallace Riddle will be seeing Robert Harry Munro and Isabella Ferguson in New York; they have been having a tough time due to Robert’s health. He hopes their relocation to the southwest will help.
1908-1912
Kermit Roosevelt will be taking his final examinations in a week. He has found it difficult to get back into his studies after leaving during his freshman year and coming back a junior. Roosevelt plans to complete his degree next year.
1908-1912
Kermit Roosevelt has a year of hard work ahead of him with his Harvard examinations. He is also trying out for the rowing crew in spite of the bad weather and had a good holiday riding and jumping horses every day. Roosevelt visited Robert Harry Munro and Isabella Ferguson in New York twice. The Roosevelts had plans to take the Mayflower down the Mississippi River, but Archibald B. Roosevelt is developing diphtheria, so it is out of the question.
1909-04-09
President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt invite John Wallace Riddle to a reception at the White House.
1904-01-07
President Roosevelt requests that an enclosure be delivered by Ambassador Riddle to Queen Elisabeth of Romania.
1905-07-25
Anna Roosevelt Cowles was told by Isabella Ferguson that John Wallace Riddle was on his way home. She hopes that he can visit and instructs Riddle to let her know when he arrives. Cowles enjoyed his last letter and shares President Roosevelt’s praise for it.
1906-07-17
A ticket for a performance of the Amateur Comedy Club at the Berkeley Lyceum, compliments of Anna Roosevelt.
1889-05-02
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon does not wish to receive more letters from Charles Macomb Flandrau in the style of the last one. Cutcheon describes a story told to her by Joe Humphreys about some Native Americans in the Dakotas. She is attending the Women’s Congress to see Julia Ward Howe speak and recently visited her family.
1891-10-30
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon has been recovering from scarlet fever. She describes a recent visit from Theodore Roosevelt. Cutcheon enjoyed Sarah Bernhardt in Theodora and plans to see Bernhardt again in Cleopatra in Chicago, Illinois
1891-10-09
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon now has to wear eyeglasses. She requests that Charles Macomb Flandrau purchase something for her and discusses her plans to travel to Chicago, Illinois. Cutcheon also requests that Flandrau tear up her letters.
1891-10-18
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon describes her travels to Winona, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois. She visited many of her friends and attended Much Ado About Nothing starring Julia Marlowe.
1891-11-11
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon threatens to never write to Charles Macomb Flandrau again unless he changes his “vulgar and idiotic” writing style. Cutcheon recently attended several plays and football games. She wants to acquire a grand piano.
1891-11
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon scolds Charles Macomb Flandrau for writing her such short letters. Cutcheon goes on to discuss Patty Selmes’s hunting plans, looking after Isabella Selmes, and going sledding.
1891
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon compliments Charles Macomb Flandrau on his story in the Harvard Crimson. She discusses visiting with friends and family, including the Goodriches, and gossips about Alice Goodrich. Cutcheon complains about having turned twenty-five.
1891-12-05
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon describes a recent house fire which was caused by a defective chimney.
1896-01
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon asks Charles Macomb Flandrau to write more frequently. She reflects on “an eventful winter, with fires and fevers and everything.” Cutcheon describes a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, bicycling, and the latest novels she has read.
1896-05-01
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon describes a recent bicycling adventure. Her neighbors are installing a telephone and she has ambitions to publish a book.
1896-05-26
Sally Flandrau Cutcheon wishes she could see Charles Macomb Flandrau in his cap and gown. Cutcheon recently attended a wedding and plans to visit Fort Snelling. She regrets not being able to go to Boone County, Kentucky, with her family.
1896-06-18