Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt writes to Belle Roosevelt about happenings in the Roosevelt family. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt has not been well and is in the hospital. Eleanor Butler Roosevelt and Ethel Roosevelt Derby are also unwell. When Edith is feeling better, Roosevelt plans to take her on trips to Louisiana and San Francisco.
1915-04-17
Theodore Roosevelt writes to Belle Roosevelt about Kermit Roosevelt’s work in Argentina. Roosevelt gives his impressions on President Wilson’s handling of the war, as well as an update about other family members.
1915-02-17
Commission of James N. Roosevelt as a lieutenant in the militia of the City and County of New York, signed by Governor George Clinton.
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
1787-05-04
Theodore Roosevelt tells Ernest Harvier that he is pleased with Clemenceau’s statement and wishes Woodrow Wilson would not have been influenced by politics. Roosevelt says his sons will be going anyway.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-06-02
President Roosevelt tells his son Archie that he has gotten Captain William Norman appointed Assistant Inspector of Hulls in the Steamboat Service at New Orleans. Next, Roosevelt will inquire about “Wiggie’s” brother. Quentin Roosevelt is still sick but is adjusting to his new school and plays football with the others. Roosevelt took a long ride with Edith in the afternoon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-11
President Roosevelt wishes his son Kermit Roosevelt a happy birthday. He would like to hear all about Kermit’s trip west and especially to hear about college. Preparation for the Africa trip is going well. Roosevelt would like to know if the English shoes he sent Kermit are all right and says that at Christmas he will take Kermit’s list of books that he would like to bring. Roosevelt discusses Ethel Roosevelt’s horse jumping and details a “scramble walk” he took with Archibald Willingham Butt through Rock Creek Park.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt drops his son Ted a line to tell him that they are thinking of him as he starts out life in the “big world.” He reports that Ethel took his horse Roswell over the high hurdle twice before he made her promise not to do it again. Roosevelt’s leg has bothered him, but he thinks it is recovering now. He is being very careful with it so that he will start out well on his African safari. Ted’s registration in Oyster Bay has been worked out, and Roosevelt encourages him to make it down to vote.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt will have a Spalding football sent to Archie Roosevelt. Roosevelt says he will not make campaign speeches, and he updates Archie on Quentin Roosevelt. It is kind of Mademoiselle to say she misses the family but Roosevelt hopes she is happy. Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Karow Roosevelt have been riding, and Roosevelt has been playing tennis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-06
President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt greatly enjoyed Seth Bullock’s letter about Kermit Roosevelt. Bullock’s political updates worry Roosevelt, but he will not go on the stump. William H. Taft is the candidate and must be the one in the public eye.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-05
President Roosevelt asks Ted Roosevelt to keep him updated on his job, and says the papers will soon give up discussing him. The enclosed letter to Ted, with its offer of a job selling cravats to students in Madison, Wisconsin, is delightful and amusing. Although Roosevelt’s leg has been mostly keeping him inside, he has been too busy to go out much anyway.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-02
President Roosevelt thanks Kermit Roosevelt for the letter and asks if the monthly funds will be enough. Roosevelt is lining details up for Africa. He is is pleased that Kermit will focus on his studies, and he doubts that Ted Roosevelt had visited Harvard without getting in touch. William H. Taft is likely to win but Roosevelt is alarmed at William Jennings Bryan’s strength. It is now fall, and recent visitors have included Susan Dexter Dalton Cooley, James C. Cooley, and Alice Roosevelt Longworth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-02
President Roosevelt is glad to hear from Fitzhugh Lee, who is missed as “Master of Horse” and family friend. Roosevelt gives an update on Ted Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt’s career and education, respectively, and on Archie Roosevelt and Quentin Roosevelt’s school lives. Roosevelt is proud of Lee, and looks forward to hearing more from him while he is at the cavalry school.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-30
President Roosevelt asks Kermit Roosevelt if he is taking care to secure a supply of hunting boots. Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt have been taking in the blooming gardens at the White House. The troubles with Roosevelt’s leg have been bad lately. He has received letters from Alfred Pease and Sir William Northrup McMillan regarding safari travel plans. Although Roosevelt has not been exercising, he has been busy writing to William Jennings Bryan and tending to other matters in Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-27
President Roosevelt asks Anna Roosevelt Cowles to pass along his congratulations to Joseph W. Alsop on being newly nominated for Senator, and says he is a man with courage and sense. For the most part, Roosevelt is more interested in the politics of the Alsop types than the young men working in diplomatic positions. Roosevelt feels validated in his attitude towards Ohio Senator Joseph Benson Foraker, and wishes William H. Taft would be a more vocal critic of Foraker, as well as of William Jennings Bryan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-21
President Roosevelt informs Kermit Roosevelt that Edward North Buxton has sent the boots, and reminds Kermit that he absolutely must get back to Harvard by September 30. In Oyster Bay, Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt went for their last row and had the townspeople over for a nice afternoon. The Winchester rifles arrived with improper sights, and Roosevelt has responded with a harsh letter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-19
President Roosevelt writes to Archie Roosevelt that the New York plan is set with Dr. Oscar Carrabine. He tells Archie that winter in Washington, D.C., will be strange with no children around, but that it is good to have Ted Roosevelt there. During tennis a ball hit Roosevelt’s eye, making him stagger, but he continued the game. In a postscript Roosevelt says the dentist will instead come to Groton.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-17
President Roosevelt updates Kermit Roosevelt on preparations for their Safari and on family life. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt has lately been exposed to commentary about the potential dangers of the trip, including letters from Cecil Spring Rice and an article in The Public Ledger. The Roosevelt family celebrated Ted Roosevelt’s birthday with a picnic, and Roosevelt feels strongly that Ted will be successful in his upcoming ventures. Soon Archie Roosevelt will be heading back to school and summer will give way to fall.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-14
President Roosevelt thanks Waldo D. Parker for assisting Archie and Quentin Roosevelt over the years, and encourages him to use the letter as a personal recommendation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-10
President Roosevelt asks Edward North Buxton for clarification about hunting guns and safari guides. Roosevelt would likely avoid hunting in the reserves, as the idea bothers him, and he would also like to avoid all press coverage and fanfare while out on Alfred E. Pease’s ranch. He enjoys hearing of Edward North Buxton and Emily Digby Buxton’s life together, and writes that he and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt have spent time over the summer taking rides and going out on the water, while Ted Roosevelt gets ready to go into business. In a postscript, Roosevelt writes that he would like to avoid the reserves completely, but wonders if it would be possible to hunt one or two potentially restricted specimens outside the reserve, for the National Museum.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-10
President Roosevelt appreciates Justice Harlan writing to him. While the newspapers exaggerated the story, Kermit Roosevelt did behave well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-02