Your TR Source
President Roosevelt is interested in what Hervie A. Dobson has to say about pigeons. He is also “sure that chipmunks occasionally hibernate,” but concedes that he may be mistaken in saying they do so invariably.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-01
Theodore Roosevelt saw passenger pigeons at Albemarle. It was an “utterly unexpected sight.” Roosevelt has asked for Wm. B. Mershon’s new book on the passenger pigeon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-22
President Roosevelt invites George Shiras to lunch. Roosevelt is pleased Shiras can make time for some writing, and tells him he wants to discuss something about passenger pigeons.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-09
Theodore Roosevelt believes he was correct about the passenger pigeons he saw. He includes evidence in the form of a letter written by Joseph Wilmer, whose place Plain Dealing is near Roosevelt’s Pine Knot. Roosevelt also includes an excerpt from George Shiras discussing various topics, including the timber wolf and how lynx hunt, and disagreeing with William J. Long’s texts on the subjects.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-08
President Roosevelt has found corroborative evidence for his sighting of passenger pigeons at Pine Knot in Albemarle County, Virginia. Dick, the foreman of Joseph Wilmer’s farm, saw two small flocks and his description of the birds match the passenger pigeon described in the fifth volume of Audubon. Roosevelt believes that Dick is reliable and views him as a “singularly close observer.” He requests that John Burroughs write to Lyman Abbott about the Long controversy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-08
Theodore Roosevelt would like additional information on passenger pigeons. He cannot afford to make an error in observation in the midst of the “nature faker” controversy. Roosevelt has destroyed William J. Long’s credit with “all decent men of even moderate intelligence.” Roosevelt writes of Long’s use of affidavits to back up impossible claims.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-02
President Roosevelt shares with Joseph Wilmer that during his recent visit to Pine Knot, he saw a dozen birds that appeared to be passenger pigeons. Dick McDaniel recalled seeing the same birds. Roosevelt requests Wilmer ask Dick for more specific information about the birds.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-27
John Burroughs’s letter has raised some doubt in President Roosevelt regarding his sighting of a small flock of passenger pigeons. However, he saw around a dozen pigeons, both in the air and perched on a tree, with a “characteristically pigeon like attitude.” The other possibility is doves but the birds Roosevelt saw were larger and in a flock. He will write and see if there were other sightings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-27
President Roosevelt describes a dozen passenger pigeons that he saw in Virginia. He did not kill any because he did not have a gun, but nothing could have persuaded him to shoot them anyway.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-23
President Roosevelt asks if John Burroughs has seen Everybody’s Magazine. He could not help taking a “smash” at William J. Long. Roosevelt has just returned from Pine Knot in Albemarle County, Virginia, and claims to have seen a small group of “wild pigeons,” meaning passenger pigeons. He had not seen these pigeons for twenty five years.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-23
Charles N. Sellers grew up hunting passenger pigeons and thinks he saw some near his home in Colorado. Hearing Theodore Roosevelt wants some, Sellers asks how much he would pay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-17
Clifton F. Hodge thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his interest in the pigeon work. He sends a bundle of data and asks Roosevelt for permission to publish the last lines of a report and to substitute a word. Hodge shares his idea to have schoolchildren hunt for deer life and evidence of passenger pigeons. Perhaps Roosevelt could offer a financial reward to the first child in New York who finds a pigeon nest.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-08-15
Hervie A. Dobson appreciates President Roosevelt’s magazine article “Small Neighbors,” especially the parts about chipmunks and passenger pigeons. Dobson relates some personal stories about chipmunks and passenger pigeons, and is glad that passenger pigeons have not gone extinct.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-30
C. Hart Merriam thanks Theodore Roosevelt for the letter that came just as he was leaving Washington, D.C., for the west. He appreciated the information about the pigeons and the context for Shiras’ letter. Merriam also describes work that Nelson is doing to collect opinions from well known naturalists.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-04
John Burroughs is glad that President Roosevelt has decided that his sighting of a passenger pigeon was correct. Burroughs recently investigated another sighting and concluded that a large flock of passenger pigeons had been seen. He has written to The Outlook regarding the legitimate use of imagination in nature writing. Burroughs directs Roosevelt to several periodicals where he comments on William J. Long and the nature fakers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-13
Joseph Wilmer describes what he has learned about the pigeons that “Dick” reported seeing near Wilmer’s home, Plain Dealing, in Virginia. Wilmer believes the birds were in fact passenger pigeons. Wilmer is gratified that President Roosevelt finds relaxation at Pine Knot.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-07
John Burroughs believes President Roosevelt’s account of seeing passenger pigeons in Virginia. He suggests that a trustworthy local attempt to obtain a specimen or having Dr. Merriam send someone to investigate. Burroughs continues to fight William J. Long and the nature fakers. Several pretend interviews with Burroughs have appeared in the newspapers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-30
Report on the 80th annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Norfolk, Virginia, onboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, and at Pine Knot, Theodore Roosevelt’s retreat in rural Virginia. The report details the annual dinner, noting its ceremonies and speakers, including the conferring of the TRA’s Junior Officer of the Year Award for the USS Theodore Roosevelt and recognizing John A. Gable’s twenty-five years as Executive Director of the TRA. The report highlights the association’s visit to the aircraft carrier, including an air show and the results of the various TRA elections for members of the Advisory Board, Board of Trustees, and Executive Committee. The report provides brief biographies of some of those elected to various capacities, and it highlights the presentation of Theodore Roosevelt’s naval flag to the USS Theodore Roosevelt for display in its museum.
The report highlights the speech given by Tsakhia Elbegdorj, a former Prime Minister and President of Mongolia, and it provides coverage of the TRA’s visit to Pine Knot, including a history of the property and plans for its upkeep and use. Thirteen photographs populate the report, including four of Pine Knot and two of the aircraft carrier.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2000
Margaret P. Griffin chronicles the evolution of Theodore Roosevelt as a naturalist in the years 1874 and 1875. She highlights the creation of a “Natural History Society” composed of Roosevelt and several of his friends who shared nature observations, read papers, and organized outings. Griffin focuses on Roosevelt’s avid interest in ornithology, and she provides excerpts from Roosevelt’s notebooks to demonstrate his detailed knowledge of different species. Griffin notes Roosevelt’s encounters with the now extinct passenger pigeon, and she details the death of Frederick Sturges Osborn, one of Roosevelt’s closest friends and fellow ornithologist.
Seven photographs accompany the essay, including one of Roosevelt and another showing examples of his bird taxidermy.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2014
This sprawling edition of “News and Notes” encompasses sixteen pages and contains thirty-four parts. The conferring of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) police awards for New York City, Boston, and western New York State opens the section along with a feature on the design of a new medal for the award by sculptor Marc Mellon. News of the ceremonies and outings of the 1993 annual meeting of the TRA in Charlottesville, Virginia, follows with a description of the association’s required elections, a field trip to Pine Knot, and the naming of the Junior Officer of the Year Award for the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The meeting also saw the presentation of the Bertha B. Rose Award to Barbara J. Comstock and historian William Henry Harbaugh.
“News and Notes” also provides a history of Pine Knot, Theodore and Edith Roosevelt’s presidential retreat, discusses the reopening of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site after an extensive renovation, and highlights the contributions of Conrad L. Wirth and Horace M. Albright to both the TRA and the National Park Service. The Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands is featured with news of its hosting a conference of European historians; the conferring of the annual Lawrence J. Saunders Awards for essays in American history; and the publication of a book on Dutch-American relations by the Center’s director, Cornelius A. van Minnen. The section closes with a detailed look at the process of compiling a comprehensive article and picture index for the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal from 1975 to 1992 by the staff and volunteers of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York.
Twenty photographs illustrate the section with entire pages devoted to the Boston Police Award ceremonies and the TRA annual meeting.