Roosevelt, Eleanor Butler, 1889-1960

Michael Patrick Cullinane recalls his discovery of oral history tapes at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City that contain interviews with eleven friends and family of Theodore Roosevelt. Cullinane describes the process of gaining access to the tapes and having them transferred to a digital format to allow for use by researchers. Cullinane provides highlights from the tapes, listing some of those interviewed and insights they offered on the Roosevelt family, and he notes that he has made much of the material from the tapes available in his book Remembering Theodore Roosevelt. Six photographs of participants in the oral history project illustrate the essay, and the mission and vision statements of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in a text box on the last page.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2021

John G. Staudt chronicles Quentin Roosevelt’s service in World War I with a focus on his time at the aviation instruction center at Issoudun, France. Staudt challenges the assertions of other historians and believes that Roosevelt’s greatest contribution to the war effort was not getting killed in combat, but rather his work in organizing and leading flight instruction for fellow aviators. Staudt notes that Roosevelt was plagued by anxiety about not serving at the front for much of his time overseas, and he stresses that Roosevelt was well liked by the men under his command. Staudt cites a contemporary source who claims that Roosevelt was a brave and skilled, but reckless pilot.

Seven photographs, including two of Roosevelt, a map, and two illustrations supplement the text.

Keith Muchowski focuses on the literary life of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., the eldest son of Theodore Roosevelt. Muchowski shines a spotlight on two types of books written, co-written, or edited by Roosevelt: stories and tales from the battlefields of World War I and hunting stories based on expeditions to Asia with his brother Kermit Roosevelt. Muchowski also looks at Roosevelt’s role in the founding of the American Legion and his time as governor general of the Philippines, and he laments that Roosevelt’s death in July 1944 prevented him from chronicling his service in World War II.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2016

Alan Toelle chronicles Quentin Roosevelt’s service as an aviator during World War I. Toelle covers Roosevelt’s various assignments and his decision to forgo service with a front line combat unit early in his career despite his and his brothers’ eagerness for him to see combat. Toelle notes Roosevelt’s brief combat career–two missions–the second of which ended in his death. Toelle mentions many of Roosevelt’s fellow aviators, and he concludes his article by quoting at length from a letter written by Warwick Greene who served with Roosevelt.

Three photographs supplement the text, including one of Roosevelt with his squadron mates and one in his airplane named “Doc Yak.” An text box with an advertisement for the League of World War One Aviation Historians, of which Toelle is a member, appears at the conclusion of the essay. 

Elizabeth E. Roosevelt reminds readers that the Cove Neck peninsula on Long Island, New York, was not the exclusive domain of Theodore Roosevelt and his family. She describes the many Roosevelt families who had estates in the area, and she highlights the frequent gatherings of these clans and the entertainments they enjoyed such as tennis, swimming, and sailing. Roosevelt provides biographical snapshots of some of these family members, including the children of Theodore Roosevelt, and she notes which family members made their homes in the same area where they were raised, including the president’s sons, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and Archibald Roosevelt, and his daughter Ethel Roosevelt Derby. 

Two photographs of Roosevelt cousins and two photographs of sailing ships supplement the text.

Tweed Roosevelt describes the collaboration between President Theodore Roosevelt and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to improve the design and appearance of American coins. In doing so, Tweed Roosevelt notes the publication of Michael F. Moran’s book, Striking Change, that chronicles the combined efforts of the president and the sculptor. Tweed Roosevelt highlights his family’s connection to the twenty dollar gold coin designed by Saint-Gaudens, noting that his aunt, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt, and his grandfather, Archibald Roosevelt, both had examples of these coins.

Photographs of Tweed Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens appear in the essay along with photographs of one of Saint-Gaudens’s sculptures and both sides of the twenty dollar gold coin.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Genna Rollins provides a detailed description of the tour undertaken by a group from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in June 2007 to sites connected with the wartime service of Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt. Rollins highlights the military cemeteries and memorials connected to the Roosevelt brothers, and she traces the group’s itinerary through France, highlighting material gained from the group’s tour leader. Rollins emphasizes the service of the Roosevelt brothers, noting Lieutenant Roosevelt’s brief tour as a combat pilot and Brigadier General Roosevelt’s steady leadership on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. Rollins concludes her article with brief stories of other notable Americans who served in World War I.

Two illustrations and sixteen photographs populate the article, including eight photographs of sites and memorials connected to the Roosevelt brothers, and five depictions of the brothers.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Biography dominates the “Reviews” section of this issue: five biographies are considered, including those of four Roosevelts and one of Gifford Pinchot. Charles W. Snyder finds H. Paul Jeffers’s examination of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt’s life to be less than complete, and he notes that the work focuses on Roosevelt’s military career, especially his service during World War II. John A. Gable revisits the work of husband and wife biographers Edmund Morris and Sylvia Jukes Morris in his essays on their biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Gable compares The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt with Theodore Rex, and he asserts that the endnotes in both works are worth reading. He notes that paperback editions of both of the Morris biographies have been issued to coincide with the release of Theodore Rex. 

Gable reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, and he describes the split in the environmental movement between the followers of Pinchot and John Muir. Gable highlights Pinchot’s career after his service in the Roosevelt administration, and he notes that Miller’s work has won two book awards for biography. “In Medal of Honor Revisited,” Gregory A. Wynn examines the arguments of two acclaimed military historians who take opposing views on Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor award. Wynn summarizes the arguments of  Edward M. Coffman and Allan Reed Millett, and he finds more merit in Coffman’s assertions based on eyewitness accounts of Roosevelt’s actions in battle. 

James Biedzynski describes Governor General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.’s tenure in the Philippines in the years 1932-1933. Biedzynski notes the difficulties posed by the onset of the Depression, and he highlights the effects of independence legislation that would unfasten the islands from American rule, most notably the loss of free trade with the United States. Biedzynski quotes at length from a letter Roosevelt wrote to Manuel Luis Quezon telling the Philippine president that the United States would not guarantee the islands’ independence.

A photograph of Roosevelt appears in the article along with one of Roosevelt with his wife and children.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The cover of the Spring, 1991 issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal features a variety of photographs from the life of Theodore Roosevelt, including several of his wife, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt, as well as his children.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

This edition of the “News and Notes” section opens with the somber news that three aircrew from the USS Theodore Roosevelt were lost in combat during Operation Desert Storm in February 1991. The section encourages members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) to contribute to an education trust fund for the four children of the lost airmen. “News and Notes” also provides details about the various awards, grants and prizes conferred by the TRA and its associated organizations in the first half of 1991: Lawrence J. Sanders awards for essays in American history at the Roosevelt Study Center in the Netherlands; natural history research grants from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund at the American Museum of Natural History; Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public schools; the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize; and the TRA Police Award for the New York City Police Department. The latter report features a reprint of a story from the New York Times detailing the heroism of Police Officer Yolanda Lugo. The section also conveys the death of a National Park Service staffer at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site who died in a fire, and highlights the meeting of the Rough Riders reenactors group in Tampa, Florida.

“News and Notes” includes photographs of: winners of the essay awards at the Roosevelt Study Center; meeting of the Rough Riders, Inc. in Tampa, Florida; TRA Police Award winner Yolanda Lugo; and a F/A-18 Hornet on the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Charles W. Snyder examines the life of Theodore Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt’s oldest son, who struggled to emerge from the long shadow cast by his famous father. Snyder provides a comprehensive biography of the younger Roosevelt, looking at his service in both world wars, his stints as Governor General of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and his career in politics. Snyder also looks at the breach that developed between the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York, branches of the Roosevelt family, and he examines Roosevelt’s opposition to the New Deal and his support of isolationism in the 1930s.

Ten photographs of Roosevelt appear in the article: three of these show Roosevelt with members of his family and six of them are from his service during World War II; a photograph of his home, Old Orchard, also illustrates the article. A text box with a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Kermit Roosevelt, and their respective wives, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt and Belle Roosevelt, pose for the cameras in New York City after the two men had returned from their hunting expedition in India.

Collection

Sherman Grinberg Film Collection

Creation Date

1926

Photograph shows Richard Nixon and Eleanor Butler Roosevelt looking at a painting of Theodore Roosevelt in a Rough Rider uniform.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1957

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Congressman Gallivan in which Roosevelt enumerates the various individuals and causes to which he has directed his Nobel Peace Prize money. Roosevelt lists the charity or work, the individual whom he wishes to see distribute the funds, and the amount of the award.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1918-08-22

Reprint of an article originally published in the New York Herald Tribune which describes the dedication ceremonies at Sagamore Hill in June 1953 which featured an address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The article names some of the prominent guests, quotes from Eisenhower’s brief speech, and describes some aspects of the ceremony such as the presentation of a flag and flag pole for the historic site by the Boy Scouts.

A photograph of President Eisenhower standing in the back of an open car passing through Oyster Bay, New York on his way to Sagamore Hill accompanies the article.

Silent color film showing the dedication of Theodore Roosevelt’s home, Sagamore Hill, as a national shrine on June 14, 1953. Speakers at the dedication include President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former President Herbert Hoover, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and Leonard W. Hall, Chair of the Republican National Committee. Also present at the dedication were singer William Warfield, members of the Roosevelt family, representatives of scouting troops, and a brass band.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1953-06-14

Oscar S. Straus, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, presides over the ceremony transferring ownership of Sagamore Hill from the Theodore Roosevelt Association to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. Speakers include the Chair of the Sagamore Hill Committee Bertha Bartlett Benkard Rose, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, and Director Emeritus of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Hermann Hagedorn. Straus and Rose speak on the work the Theodore Roosevelt Association has done since its establishment, particularly the effort to restore Sagamore Hill to the condition it was in during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Udall praises the contributions Roosevelt made in urging the nation to conserve its natural resources, looking to the good of future generations. Hagedorn reminisces about Roosevelt’s character and hopes that visitors to this historic home will understand what made Roosevelt great and take that lesson to heart. Udall concludes the ceremony by assuring attendees that the National Park Service will care well for the site, and by signing the order officially establishing the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and Sagamore Hill National Historic Sites.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1963-07-08

P. G. Spilsbury, president of the Arizona Industrial Congress, has invited Assistant Secretary Roosevelt to the Congress’s annual convention. The purpose of the convention is to discuss and inspect the Roosevelt Dam. John Campbell Greenway urges Roosevelt to attend.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1923-12-03

John Campbell Greenway did not need to use the letter of introduction to Secretary of War John W. Weeks. He was in Washington, D.C., regarding a license to build a dam on the Colorado River. Rough Rider veterans are building a monument to Ted Roosevelt’s father, Theodore Roosevelt, in Cuba. Greenway invites Roosevelt and Eleanor Butler Roosevelt to attend the unveiling in February or March.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1923-10-09