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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
Howard Eaton had to return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to see his ailing mother. She passed away on February 9. They have had good winters in North Dakota but the range has become hardened. Commissioner Roosevelt has 350 to 400 cattle and sold half his horses. Sylvane M. Ferris and Arthur William Merrifield live at the old camp and intend to sell their stock this year. Joseph A. Ferris is still tending his store but will likely close soon. Eaton hopes to return to Idaho this fall for another hunting trip. This is the typed transcript of the original handwritten letter.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1890-03-10
Summary of Theodore Roosevelt’s entry into Dakota ranching and the building of the Maltese Cross cabin.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Unknown
Historian Chester L. Brooks is researching the response in North Dakota of Theodore Roosevelt’s attempts to enlist men for the Rough Riders. Brooks requests help locating a letter from Roosevelt to Sylvane M. Ferris regarding enlistment.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1953-12-02
In reply to a letter of March 2, Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary again refuses M. L. Ayers’s request that he cable Roosevelt regarding Sylvane M. Ferris’s re-appointment to the United States Land Office in Dickinson, North Dakota. His secretary refuses for the same reason stated in his previous letter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-03-08
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary responds to M. L. Ayers’s request to send a cable to Roosevelt regarding the reappointment of Sylvane M. Ferris to the U.S. Land Office in Dickinson, North Dakota. He is unwilling to send the cable because Roosevelt is sailing up the Nile River and Roosevelt has consistently refused to influence appointments in the new administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-02-26
Theodore Roosevelt recalls his time ranching in North Dakota and his acquaintance with Mr. Foley. He relates a story about run-away horses in which the poet played a part, confirming that Foley writes his “Western sketches” not out of books but from his own experiences.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916
President Roosevelt feels that Mr. McGillivray was treated with consideration in having his resignation accepted instead of being removed from office. Sylvane M. Ferris will be appointed as McGillivray’s successor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-23
President Roosevelt encloses documents supporting his request for the resignation of Mr. McGillivray. This appointment created the confusion regarding Sylvane M. Ferris and Roosevelt would like to appoint Ferris as McGillivray’s successor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-14
President Roosevelt encloses documents supporting his request for the resignation of Mr. McGillivray. This appointment created the confusion regarding Sylvane M. Ferris and Roosevelt would like to appoint Ferris as McGillivray’s successor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-14
President Roosevelt remains concerned about finding a suitable position for Sylvane M. Ferris in North Dakota. Ferris was slated for a higher paying position which he has not received.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-12
President Roosevelt encloses a letter from Joseph A. Ferris regarding Sylvane M. Ferris’s appointment in North Dakota. Roosevelt believes that Ferris is entitled to a more prominent position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-19
President Roosevelt asks Joseph A. Ferris for information regarding the election of his brother Sylvane M. Ferris.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-11
James A. Metcalf sent Theodore Roosevelt several copies of The Dawson County Review with his account of Roosevelt’s visit to Glendive, Montana. Metcalf has long been interested in Roosevelt’s public career.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-18
M. L. Ayers acknowledges Frank Harper’s letter of February 26 stating Theodore Roosevelt’s policy of non-interference with appointments of the new administration. Still, Ayers pleads his case by citing conversations between Roosevelt and Sylvane M. Ferris on June 10, 1908. Ayers also describes the actions already taken by Ferris to resolve the matter himself and the reasons Ferris was unwilling to contact Roosevelt himself. Finally, Ayers restates his offer to pay for Harper to send a cable to Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-03-02
M. L. Ayers, owner of The Dickinson Press, requests that Frank Harper, Theodore Roosevelt’s executive secretary, cable Roosevelt (who at the time was on his African safari) a message regarding difficulty with the re-appointment of Sylvane Ferris, Roosevelt’s former ranch hand in Medora, as register in the U.S. Land Office in Dickinson, North Dakota.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-02-23
Myron L. Ayers, proprietor of The Dickinson Press, is trying to reach Theodore Roosevelt regarding the reappointment of Sylvane M. Ferris as Register of the U.S. Land Office in Dickinson, which appears to be in jeopardy. Roosevelt is on his African trip, and Ayers inquires of Abbott (editor of Outlook) when Roosevelt will return.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-01-24
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
Bruce M. Kaye relays the efforts to establish Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Kaye looks at the various studies, plans, and entities that imagined a national park in the Badlands. He also highlights the opposition to a park, including from the National Park Service. Kaye notes the various government bureaus who managed the land before it became a park, and he singles out the efforts of Congressman William Lemke in passing legislation creating the national park.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1998