Your TR Source
President Roosevelt thanks Melvin O. Adams, James E. Leach, and Arthur L. Spring of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity for the invitation, but cannot accept as all his time will be taken up visiting his sons.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-09
President Roosevelt has not heard from his son Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., so he is glad to hear the news through Frederick G. Fincke. He received a vague telegram but was pleased by Fincke’s letter. He regrets that he cannot attend the mid-year dinner due to his being president. He is very happy that Fincke has taken a fancy to Ted.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-27
President Roosevelt asks Robert Bridges to not publish the poem under the actual name of his son, Theodore Roosevelt, but to use a pseudonym. Ted worries that if it were published under his own name, he would receive comments that it was only published because he is Roosevelt’s son, and could lead to negative consequences. Roosevelt additionally forwards a letter from Christian Karl Bernhard von Tauchnitz, a German publisher to whom Roosevelt has given permission to use one of his books. He asks that Bridges communicate with Tauchnitz on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-14
President Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit Roosevelt, who is currently on a trip in the Dakotas, and reminisces about his own time there. Life at Sagamore Hill is pleasant, and Roosevelt updates Kermit on the comings and goings and activities happening around the place.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-18
President Roosevelt sends Robert Bridges of Scribner’s a piece written by his son, Theodore Roosevelt, for him to look over and consider whether it is worth printing. Roosevelt believes it should not be published under his son’s name, and asks him to judge it only on its merits.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-03
President Roosevelt tells Captain Albert Gleaves that if his son, Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt wishes, and Gleaves approves, that Archie can stay over on Wednesday.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-06
President Roosevelt thanks Lillian Schaaff for showing him the nice letter from her uncle, and says that he is glad that his son, Quentin Roosevelt, “chose his small friend with such discretion!”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-07
President Roosevelt writes to his recently-married daughter Alice Longworth advising her that if she and her husband Congressman Nicholas Longworth plan to stop at Vienna, Austria, they should also stop in Budapest, Hungary, so that it does not appear they are showing preference to one side of the dual monarchy. Roosevelt also advises her to visit Cincinnatti when she returns, because it is important for the people of the city to feel that she takes an interest in her husband’s hometown. Roosevelt is glad to hear that the Longworth’s have been having a good time on their trip so far in London, and briefly shares his amusement at the distress Alice’s visit has caused to some people who had married titled Europeans who were not invited to their gatherings. Life at Sagamore Hill is going well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-24
President Roosevelt tells Lieutenant Bulmer that for the upcoming trip his son, Theodore Roosevelt, is going to take with Henry H. Wiegand, Wiegand “is to the the captain and the responsible head, and […] Ted is to do whatever he says.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-24
President Roosevelt tells Gustav V. Glebe that, “I never saw a happier boy than Archie was when he appeared with the St. Bernard puppy in his arms,” and thanks him for the gift.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-13
President Roosevelt was delighted to receive the letter from his daughter, Ethel Roosevelt, and understands her joy in exploring the attic. He is glad that she has made a new friend, and was interested in hearing about her experiences horseback riding. Roosevelt has not been able to be very active for several weeks, and does not think his ankle will be healed enough to play tennis for another couple weeks. He hopes, though, to be able to go riding soon. Roosevelt is pleased that Ethel is going to teach Sunday school, and comments on a charitable cause he was able to contribute to recently. He has not heard from Ethel’s sister Alice Roosevelt Longworth on her honeymoon, but says that she seems to be enjoying herself, and hopes that the attentions of royalty do not hurt the political career of her new husband, Nicholas Longworth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-17
President Roosevelt was pleased to hear from from his personal doctor Presley Marion Rixey, and was grateful for the information about California. He has been well taken care of by Dr. William C. Braisted and Dr. James C. Pryor. The Roosevelt children have gone to Oyster Bay, and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt will follow soon. Roosevelt himself is not sure when he will go because of delays in Congress.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-11
President Roosevelt updates his sister Anna Roosevelt Cowles on the progress of several bills moving through Congress. The railroad rate bill has passed “in fine shape,” but he anticipates a struggle over the Panama Canal. Secretary of State Elihu Root will host an Indian prince and princess who Ambassador Whitelaw Reid wrote to him about, but Roosevelt is still navigating diplomatic considerations with England, who “would like us to be attentive to them, but not too attentive.” Roosevelt recently received a gift of samurai armor from the Japanese Emperor. He enjoyed the recent visit of Cowles’s son, William Sheffield Cowles, and gives some details on his own young sons, Archibald B. Roosevelt and Quentin Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-20
President Roosevelt tells his son Kermit Roosevelt about a recent trip he took with Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on the Presidential Yacht Sylph. He also writes briefly about some of the humorous activities Kermit’s brothers Archie and Quentin have gotten up to.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-30
President Roosevelt updates his son Kermit Roosevelt on some of the goings-on of the family, and reports that Kermit’s brother Ted’s eye surgery went well. The egg-rolling at the White House on Easter Monday was great fun for the children, and the white house grounds are looking nice in spring. Roosevelt relates a humorous story involving Kermit’s younger brother Quentin Roosevelt, who “is a funny small person if ever there was one.” Roosevelt is trying to send aid to California, still reeling after a recent earthquake, and has been continuing his fight for a rate bill and the Panama Canal issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-22
President Roosevelt tells his son, Kermit Roosevelt, about the medical procedure his brother, Theodore Roosevelt, had done on his right eye. It was a painful operation, but Ted “stood the knife as mighty few people can stand it.” Roosevelt is sorry Kermit plans to leave Groton early to go to Harvard, but says that if Kermit’s mind is made up he will not refuse him. He warns, however, that Ted has not done well at Harvard this year, which Roosevelt attributes to doing the same sort of plan Kermit now hopes to pursue, graduating from Groton early in order to begin college. Roosevelt will look into getting a tutor for Kermit, but warns that he will have to make up his mind to work as hard as he possibly can.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-18
President Roosevelt thanks Harvard Dean Edgar Huidekoper Wells for taking an interest in his son Ted’s education, but feels that the standards that Wells has set out in a recent letter “put an altogether impossible ideal before him.” Roosevelt feels that he cannot ask his son to do more than he himself did, and explains how he found himself ranked at Harvard. Roosevelt hopes that Ted will be able to join the Porcellian club, and that he will do some philanthropic work while at Harvard.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-20
President Roosevelt tells Harvard Dean Edgar Huidekoper Wells that he is glad his son, Theodore Roosevelt, is off academic probation, but feels that Ted’s grades are still not anything to boast about. He promises to emphasize to Ted “that he stood on the ragged edge,” and needs to show he is in earnest through his studies and attendance at Harvard. Roosevelt wishes Wells could have been present at the meeting of the Porcellian Club at the White House after his the wedding of his daughter, Alice Longworth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-12
President Roosevelt was glad to hear that his son Ted was right about one point. However, he is “blue” about the letter from Dean Le Baron Russell Briggs, although he has faith that Ted will “work through.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-23
President Roosevelt tells Representative McKinley that he does not want his son Ted Roosevelt to have any more attention than an average boy. Thus, he would not want Ted to accept an invitation like the one McKinley suggested.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-24