Your TR Source
Knowing how Theodore Roosevelt feels about the scandal concerning Senator William Lorimer’s election, Henry F. Grier sends Roosevelt a clipping from the newspaper that he feels may interest him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-23
Brander Matthews was recently sent two documents that alleged to expose the “characteristics of [Theodore Roosevelt’s] friend in Berlin,” which he now forwards to Roosevelt asking that he explain the situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-26
Prompted by Senator Benjamin R. Tillman’s rehashing of the Mrs. Morris incident of 1906, Edward MacInall offers his firsthand account of the incident. MacInall, who was in to see William Loeb that day, asserts that Laura A. Hull Morris was “not roughly handled” by the White House Office staff, and lends his support to President Roosevelt against the criticism.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-13
William Nelson Cromwell informs President Roosevelt that, in addition to the letter which will be handed to him by Roger L. Farnham, Cromwell sends a dictated statement regarding the Panama Canal controversy. Cromwell believes that now is the time to deal with the lies that have been flying around and fueling the controversy, and hopes to “do justice to all concerned and expose these mendacious falsifiers.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-09
Francis J. A. Darr writes to President Roosevelt to make amends for a mistake he made years ago concerning his belief that Laura A. Hull Morris had suffered after her treatment at the White House. Morris recently visited the Darr’s after being in the asylum and he now believes her to be insane. Darr has materials that could be used to prove this and would offer them up if needed. He has heard she is stirring up press and has even been in touch with Ohio Senator Joseph Benson Foraker.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-21
Francis J. A. Darr writes to William Loeb with a letter regarding Laura A. Hull Morris. He has heard that when she visited her friends in Albany, she acted erratically. She writes from Ebbit House but receives mail at a Washington D.C. address.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-27
Senator Lodge is glad President Roosevelt enjoyed his letter to Richard Olney. Lodge thinks Roosevelt could refute any bad publicity related to Laura A. Hull Morris that Senator Joseph Benson Foraker might cause. Lodge would like more information from Roosevelt about the state of things in the country.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-05
Francis Bowler Keene explains the origin and status of a libel lawsuit to President Roosevelt. Louis Hite originally tried to have Keene removed from his post in the American consulate in Geneva, Switzerland, after Keene wrote letters against Hite who was separating from his wife. Failing that, Hite has now sued Keene for libel in his home city of Milwaukee. Keene assures Roosevelt that he was involved in the entire business against his wishes, and hopes Roosevelt, as a former classmate, will not forget his conscientious service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-01
Laura A. Hull Morris tries to explain her conduct at the White House when she called there on January 4, 1906, and begs for an appointment with President Roosevelt. She decries how he believed what her brother, Representative John A. T. Hull of Iowa, said about his sister.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07
Charles William Anderson expresses his disapproval of William L. Wilson as a potential postmaster of New York. One of his objections is that Wilson placed African Americans William H. Butler and Major R. Poole in positions in the New York legislature, despite how they “had used the vilest epithets in referring to President Roosevelt, because of the Brownsville incident.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-08
Representative Parsons discusses the appointment of a postmaster in New York City, New York, with President Roosevelt. Parsons outlines his opposition to Edward M. Morgan as postmaster.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-08
Albany Evening Journal Editor William Barnes encloses an editorial on “the Haywood-Debs incident” from the Journal for President Roosevelt. Criticism of the article has focused on only “a small portion of the article.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-14
Secretary of War Taft informs President Roosevelt of the political situation in Idaho where he was sent to campaign for the reelection of Governor Gooding. Gooding is confident that he will win the gubernatorial race, but he faces significant opposition in response to the arrest of Charles Moyer and William Dudley Haywood and the efforts of the Western Federation of Miners to defeat him. Senator Dubois has been trying to make Mormonism another central issue in the campaign and to portray Taft in a negative light by associating him with the religious group. Taft concludes by stating his admiration for Secretary of State Root’s speech on William Randolph Hearst.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-04
Ambassador Reid writes Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt that there has been no proof produced against the Duchess of Marlborough Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, only “an outburst of envemoned but vague allegations,” which the Duchess denies. Reid believes the stories were inspired either by her husband, the Duke of Marlborough Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, or his family. Reid also tells Roosevelt he has heard privately that King Edward VII is “much enraged at the Duke’s conduct.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-06
Ambassador Reid updates Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on the Marlborough scandal that has rocked the London political and social scene. Rumors are that Duke of Marlborough Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill has given the Duchess of Marlborough Consuelo Spencer-Churchill custody of the children, although the Duke disputes this. The ambassadors and others are waiting to see how the King reacts to judge whether or not to receive the Duchess.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-29
Attorney General Moody reports that charges have been filed against B. F. Oneal, United States Marshall for the western district of Louisiana. Moody recommends that he be removed from office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-02
Nicholas Murray Butler notes that President Roosevelt was correct in his assessment of matters concerning Maksim Gorky and that there is “clearly” a “break-up of all order and restraint” going on in Russia. Butler also excitedly tells of “some most astonishing things” going on in Kassel, Germany, in relation to Herman Ridder of the Staats-Zeitung. After struggling for an imperial audience with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Ridder was helped by American ambassador Charlemagne Tower to get access. However, when Ridder arrived and did not see as much of the Kaiser as he would have liked, Ridder fabricated a story about his visit and what the Kaiser told him, which was printed in the papers. Butler shares the press statement from the Palace, which reacted by contradicting Ridder’s claims. Butler is excited to see what the American papers will publish in relation to the incident since Ridder telegraphed his own story to America.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-23
Rachel Sherman Thorndike writes to President Roosevelt apologizing for the insensitivity of her brother Thomas Ewing Sherman’s “march” through the South with the 12th U.S. Cavalry to survey the land. Thorndike indicates that her family “has been out of the public eye” for quite some time and it never occurred to them that her brother’s trip would resurrect poor feelings surrounding her father and Sherman’s March to the Sea.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-02
Augusta Thurow apologizes for a statement she made about Justice George F. Roesch, possibly referring to her testimony in court that her husband had paid Roesch for protection against police raids on the brothel Thurow operated. Thurow claims she was “induced by his enemies” to make the statement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-03
Minor Morris writes to President Roosevelt demanding an apology for how Minor’s wife was treated at the White House. Morris insists that his wife’s treatment has been detrimental to her mental and physical well being.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-16