Roosevelt, Kermit, 1889-1943

Theodore Roosevelt writes Mrs. Harvey L. Freeland in response to her two letters received after the death of his youngest son, Quentin Roosevelt. Roosevelt notes how difficult his death has been for his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, and he praises his other three sons and son-in-law serving in the armed forces during World War I. A photograph of Quentin Roosevelt with his fiance Flora Payne Whitney accompanies the letter. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1918-08-14

Don Arp discusses Theodore Roosevelt’s encounters with alligators, crocodiles, and caimans while on a hunting trip to Louisiana, his safari in Africa, and his expedition in Brazil. Arp emphasizes that Roosevelt did not particularly like any of these reptiles, and that he relished hunting the caimans in Brazil, but that he nonetheless made careful observations of the crocodilians that he encountered. Arp includes several excerpts from Roosevelt’s writings about these three types of reptiles. 

Andrew L. Knudson’s painting of Roosevelt as a Rough Rider appears in the article as does a text box with information about the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 

Gary Rice examines how the press covered Theodore Roosevelt’s 1909-1910 African safari. Rice stresses that Roosevelt wanted to severely restrict journalists’ access to his safari because the former president had signed contracts to publish his own articles and books, and he wanted to control what was written. Rice also notes that the press extensively covered Roosevelt’s preparations for the trip, and he highlights a scandal that erupted when a French journalist published an unauthorized story about Roosevelt during the safari. Roosevelt later relented and allowed American reporters Robert W. Foran and Warrington Dawson to file reports from Africa.

Rice notes that much of the coverage of the safari dealt with the number of animals Roosevelt had killed, and it stoked debates about the ethics of Roosevelt’s hunting. Rice concludes that Roosevelt’s safari and its coverage provided him with “an even bigger, more favorable public image.” Three photographs of Roosevelt in Africa appear in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

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.

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

Originally taken by the Pach Brothers in 1903, this photograph depicts Theodore Roosevelt’s family at Sagamore Hill, and is accompanied by brief biographical descriptions of each Roosevelt family member.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1903

Three works come under consideration in the “Book Reviews” section. Cole Patrick looks at both the 1941 and 1989 editions of the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia. He comments on the work of Albert Bushnell Hart in compiling and editing the first edition, and he quotes from William Allen White’s foreword from 1941. Patrick explains the various additions made to the 1989 edition by John A. Gable of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), including a bibliography, a chronology of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, and a history of the TRA.

Tweed Roosevelt examines Bartle Bull’s Safari: A Chronicle of Adventure and highlights its coverage of Theodore Roosevelt’s African safari of 1909-1910, and he also looks at other figures, British and American, who made safaris. He praises the book’s organization and illustrations but faults it for not giving a sense of who the hunters were as people, Roosevelt included. Marilyn E. Weigold praises Elizabeth Winthrop’s novel, In My Mother’s House, for its “precise descriptions of life in Manhattan in the last few decades of the nineteenth century.” The novel’s main character is based on the life of the daughter of Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, Theodore Roosevelt’s sister.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Stephen Vincent Walker surveys the music inspired by Theodore Roosevelt from his time as a Rough Rider until his death. Walker also notes the music composed in honor of some of Roosevelt’s children, and briefly discusses some of the musical pieces and songs that Roosevelt enjoyed. Walker looks at specific periods or episodes in Roosevelt’s life and lists the musical works composed in his honor, many of which involved the use of the name “Teddy.”

A picture of the cover of a piece of sheet music featuring Roosevelt appears on the first page of the article. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association also appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Horace M. Albright recalls some of his memories of Theodore Roosevelt from admiring him as a boy to meeting with him in an effort to join a Roosevelt led division of the United States Army in World War I. Albright recalls meeting Roosevelt three times while a student at the University of California, and he discusses his relationship with Roosevelt’s children, concluding his article with an anecdote about Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Albright’s article is preceded by a biographical sketch of the author, and it includes two photographs of Albright during his time working for the National Park Service.

An inset box in the article includes a mailing address for the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and lists its President and Executive Director.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Excerpts from the diaries of First Lady Edith Kermit Roosevelt edited by A. Richard Boera. The excerpts are taken from eight different years and most of the entries are short. Some of the most common topics include the various health issues of the Roosevelt family, lists of guests for lunch and dinner at the White House, and the riding excursions of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt’s assuming the presidency after President William McKinley’s assassination, the final days of Roosevelt’s presidency, and the tour of Europe after Roosevelt’s African safari in 1910 are also covered. 

A photograph of Edith Roosevelt in 1901, a drawing of her by John Singer Sargent in 1921, and a family portrait of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt with all of their children at Sagamore Hill in 1903 supplement the text. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive committee appears on the second page of the excerpts.  

This four page edition of “News and Notes” is divided into six sections and is mostly concerned with a series of celebrations and commemorations of the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. The article details the celebrations held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in New York State in New York City, Oyster Bay, and Buffalo, and at Harvard University. The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace hosted events as did the American Museum of Natural History. Oyster Bay held a parade while the Indianapolis gathering saw the planting of a tree at the home of Roosevelt’s Vice President, Charles W. Fairbanks. The meeting at the American Museum of Natural History saw the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four recipients. A dinner was held in Buffalo while at Harvard, John Morton Blum gave a lecture.

The article also discusses the 1983 Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public high schools held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, and it details the premiere of the documentary film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. “News and Notes” closes with an obituary for Helen M. MacLachlan who worked for both the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the National Park Service at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.

A photograph from the Oyster Bay parade and two photographs of members of the Roosevelt family at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., are included in the article.

John A. Gable gives a detailed report on the annual dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held on the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth on October 27, 1983, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Gable provides some history about the Museum, quotes from the address given by President Ronald Reagan, and lists some of the various dignitaries and politicians who sent messages to the assembled guests. An excerpt from the speech given by the TRA President, William Davison Johnston, the presentation of a check to the American Museum of Natural History, and the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four individuals are also covered in detail. Gable also lists many of the guests, including members of the Roosevelt family, and closes with remarks on some of the other events held to mark the 125th anniversary of Roosevelt’s birth.

Seven photographs of various guests, speakers, award winners, and members of the TRA leadership accompany the article. Photographs of the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt in front of the American Museum of Natural History and of President Ronald Reagan addressing the dinner guests on a video screen are also found in the article.

A listing of the officers of the TRA, along with the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees, is found on the article’s second page.

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

Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt, full-length portrait, standing on deck of ship.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910

Photograph showing Theodore Roosevelt on the left, seated at a dining table outside with Kermit in the center, and an unidentified man on the right.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-08-31

Photograph showing Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt with others in Africa including native people, a man on a mule, and a man holding a camera in the front.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910

Photograph showing Theodore Roosevelt & Kermit Roosevelt with three eland heads in front of a tent.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1919-05-14

Photograph shows hunter R. J. Cunninghame, Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Heller, and Hugh H. Heatley standing with African buffalo skulls in front of tent.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1919-05-14

Photograph showing the Roosevelts posing for a family picture at Sagamore Hill; President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt are seated in chairs at center. Kermit stands to the left of Edith. Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt stands behind and to the right of Roosevelt. Archibald “Archie” B. Roosevelt sits on Roosevelt’s left knee. Alice Roosevelt stands between Ted and Kermit. Ethel stands to the right of Edith. Quentin stands to the left of Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1903

John A. Gable details President Theodore Roosevelt’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Gable looks at Roosevelt’s mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, his refusal to accept the prize money, and his acceptance speech in 1910. Gable discusses the distribution of the prize money to various charities during World War I, and he closes with an overview of Roosevelt’s foreign policy achievements.

A photograph of the case that enclosed the Nobel Peace Prize diploma accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal