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Diary of Theodore Roosevelt for the year 1879. Roosevelt attended Harvard College, spent the summer in Oyster Bay, New York, and went on two expeditions to Maine. The diary concludes with notes on Roosevelt’s personal finances and his “game bag” for the year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1879
Ray H. Mattison, Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park historian, writes to Hermann Hagedorn, Roosevelt Memorial Association Secretary, requesting information on the descendants of Theodore Roosevelt’s associates in the North Dakota Badlands. Mattison wishes to invite them to the park’s dedication ceremony. Mattison also requests the Association’s help in deciding who to invite to the ceremony.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1949-02-14
Left to right: Wilmot Dow, Theodore Roosevelt and William Wingate Sewall in Western garb. Dow has fur coat over left arm; Roosevelt holds a rifle and wears chaps; Sewall wears a long fur coat.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1886
A staged image of William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot Dow in pursuit of boat thieves. In March 1886, three thieves stole a boat from Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch. Sewall and Dow made a new boat, shown here, and pursued them with Roosevelt. They captured the thieves after several days, but were hindered in bringing them in by ice on the Little Missouri River. Roosevelt took the men in over land to Dickinson (N.D.), where they were indicted.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1886
Ranch wagon carrying a cow elk, with Wilmot Dow, William Wingate Sewall, and Mr. Tompkins. Taken with Theodore Roosevelt’s camera.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1886
Photograph of a re-enactment of Theodore Roosevelt keeping watch over boat thieves he captured with the help of William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot Dow.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1886
Photograph of a re-enactment of Theodore Roosevelt keeping watch over boat thieves he captured with the help of William Wingate Sewall and Wilmot Dow.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1886
A photograph of Theodore Roosevelt, William Wingate Sewall, and Wilmot Dow during a hunting trip in Maine. Left to right: Roosevelt, Sewall, and Dow.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1879
A tintype of Theodore Roosevelt, William Wingate Sewall, and Wilmot Dow during a hunting trip in the Maine woods. From left to right: Sewall, holding a pair of snowshoes and an axe; Dow, with a rifle over his right shoulder and a pair of snowshoes on his back; Roosevelt, with a rifle in his right hand and a pair of snowshoes in his left.
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
1879
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
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
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.
Dickinson State University
1888