Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister Anna about an upcoming hunting trip to the Rockies. He is not looking forward to the trip and may stop in Mandan, North Dakota, on his way home to visit his friends, the Selmes. Bill Sewall and Wilmot Dow have sons now.
1886-08-20
Theodore Roosevelt writes to Anna Roosevelt about a recent encounter with a band of thieves. He, Bill Sewall, and Wilmot Dow hunted them down and turned them over to the sheriff. Roosevelt also discusses Leo Tolstoy’s book, Anna Karenina.
1886-04-12
Theodore Roosevelt tells his sister Anna that he arrived safely at Chimney Butte Ranch. He set off for the other ranch and was forced to spend the night in an abandoned hut. He was glad to see Bill Sewall and Will Dow again and is looking into starting a stockmen’s association. Roosevelt would like Anna to send him three or four blank checks from his checkbook as he needs them immediately.
1884-11-23
Theodore Roosevelt writes his sister Anna about happenings on his ranch. Everything has been going well with the cattle and he will be heading to the Bighorn Mountains in a few days. He was so glad to bring his two “backwoods babies” out with him, Bill Sewall and Will Dow. He thinks it will be a good many years before he gets back into politics.
1884-08-12
Theodore Roosevelt’s branding marks for Chimney Butte Ranch (“Maltese Cross Ranch”) and Elkhorn Ranch illustrated and described in the Stockgrowers’ Journal in Miles City, Montana.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1884
Diary of Theodore Roosevelt for the year 1884. Includes entry regarding the deaths of his wife and mother on February 14, with the statement, “The light has gone out of my life.” Also, the diary describes Roosevelt’s hunting and ranching experiences for the year in the Dakota Badlands. A list of photographs taken and his personal finance record is also included in the back of the diary. Only pages on which text appeared are included.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1884
Left to right: Wilmot Dow, Theodore Roosevelt and William Wingate Sewall at the Elkhorn Ranch. Dow has a fur coat over his left arm, Roosevelt holds a rifle and wears chaps, and Sewall wears a long fur coat.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884
Historian Ray H. Mattison reports on his study of the authenticity of the Maltese Cross cabin. Mattison concludes that the cabin in question is the one occupied by Roosevelt when he first moved to Medora, North Dakota. Whether or not it was his home beyond 1885, it continued to be the base of Roosevelt’s cattle ranching operation. In addition to a thorough history of Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands Region and the efforts of others to preserve and/or showcase the Maltese Cross cabin, the report includes photos and sworn affidavits from Medora locals.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1950-05-24
Copy of an article written to argue for the authenticity of the Maltese Cross cabin. The cabin was to be exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and some question had arisen regarding its authenticity. This article includes notarized statements from Sylvane M. Ferris, Howard Eaton, and Joseph A. Ferris.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1904-03-19
Ray H. Mattison acknowledges receipt of photographs from J. H. Reid and requests information on the Elkhorn Ranch. Mattison includes some early information on the location of the Elkhorn Ranch and Theodore Roosevelt’s ranch house.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1949-10-07
Theodore Roosevelt relates a tense meeting with Native Americans and his personal capture of three boat thieves.
1888
Commissioner Roosevelt was pleased to receive William Wingate Sewall’s letter. He still has some cattle in North Dakota that are under the care of Sylvane M. Ferris. Roosevelt has been unable to exercise much and is “getting stout.”
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1890-11-02
Mary Alice Sherman Sewall describes life and ranch activities at the Elkhorn Ranch for her sister.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1886-06-13
Commissioner Roosevelt briefly describes a trip to his Dakota ranch accompanied by his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. He has decided that this will be the last year the ranch house will be kept open. In closing, Roosevelt questions if someone could kill a moose by sneaking up on it with snowshoes.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1890-10-20
Historian Ray H. Mattison believes that the Dow letter was written in 1886 while Wilmot Dow, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Wingate Sewall were attempting to capture thieves that stole Roosevelt’s boat.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1960-02-25
Park naturalist Arthur A. Henderson Henderson encloses a letter from Wilmot Dow donated by Dow’s grandson, Levi S. Dow. William Wingate Sewall and Theodore Roosevelt are mentioned in the letter but Henderson is unsure of the letter’s date. Levi S. Dow also donated a pair of chaps and sterling silverware given to his grandmother from Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1960-02-06
Hermann Hagedorn describes the results of a trip he made to Island Park, Maine, to visit William Wingate Sewall, his wife Mary Alice Sherman Sewall, and Elizabeth Edwards Pride, widow of Mr. Wilmot S. Dow. [William Sewall and Wilmot Dow had acted as guides to the young Theodore Roosevelt during his hunting trips in Maine and later as ranch managers for him in the Dakota Badlands. Hagedorn went to gather information for a book about Roosevelt.]
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-10-20
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt from January 1884 to December 1891. Notable events include the deaths of Alice Lee Roosevelt and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s time on his ranch, the completion of Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Edith Kermit Carow, Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt’s birth, the “Great-Dieup” of cattle in North Dakota, and the founding of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt between January 1879 to December 1883. Notable events include Theodore Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee, his appointment to the New York State Legislature, and his first visit and buffalo hunt in North Dakota.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt from January 1871 to December 1878. Notable events include the Roosevelt family’s trip to Europe and Egypt, Roosevelt’s entrance to Harvard, the death of Theodore “Thee” Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s trip to Maine, and Roosevelt meeting Alice Hathaway Lee.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985