Steamboats

President Roosevelt thanks Steve E. Greenwell for a wonderful trip on the Mississippi.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt has heard that his son Archibald B. Roosevelt has befriended young Leonard Opdyke while at Groton School, and encourages him to invite his school friends to visit over the holidays. He tells Archie about his trip, which he believes will be his last trip of consequence while in office. Roosevelt thinks Archie would quite enjoy his own trip up the Mississippi River next spring.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Ambassador Griscom informs Secretary of State Root that Root’s visit was “of great material benefit to the political and commercial interests” that the United States has in Brazil and elsewhere in South America. For instance, a bill has been introduced to give preferential treatment to the United States with regard to tariffs, under which American goods would benefit from a 30-40% advantage over those of Germany, Italy, and France. Additionally, some state officials are pushing their employees to learn English and encouraging Brazilian students to seek American educational opportunities rather than those of Europe. To continue the positive feelings in Brazil, Griscom encourages a reciprocal tariff reduction for Brazil, a parcel-post convention between the two nations, improved speed to ship freight there, and better steamship communications.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-31

Creator(s)

Griscom, Lloyd Carpenter, 1872-1959

W. H. Molton learned that Theodore Roosevelt’s relative, Nicholas J. Roosevelt, commanded the New Orleans, the first steamboat to navigate the Mississippi River. He asks for a picture of the vessel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-01

Creator(s)

Molton, W. H.

Agnes W. Johnston shares with Theodore Roosevelt a book from Samuel Reed Johnston’s private collection on steamboating history in lieu of the upcoming anniversary to be celebrated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnston informs Roosevelt that while he may borrow the book for as long as he wishes, this is her family’s only copy and would respectfully like it returned.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-21

Creator(s)

Johnston, Agnes W.

Now that there is a definite plan for an anniversary celebration of the centennial of steamboat travel on western rivers, Mayor William A. Magee issues a formal invitation to Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt to attend the festivities to be held in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Roosevelt’s ancestor, Nicholas J. Roosevelt, built the first steamboat to travel from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, and traveled on its inaugural voyage. Magee also hopes that Roosevelt’s daughter, Ethel Roosevelt, may be able to attend the festivities and christen a boat. He also invites Roosevelt to give an address during the proceedings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-26

Creator(s)

Magee, William A. (William Addison), 1873-1938

Mayor William A. Magee, on behalf of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh, invites Ethel Roosevelt to attend an event celebrating the centennial of steamboat navigation of Western rivers. Magee also hopes that Roosevelt will be able to christen a boat during the proceedings. One of Roosevelt’s ancestors built the first steamboat to sail on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The committee has also invited Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-26

Creator(s)

Magee, William A. (William Addison), 1873-1938

George Parsons invites Theodore Roosevelt to meet on June 26 or 27, to discuss if Roosevelt would be willing to attend the annual Ohio Valley Improvement Association annual meeting. Parsons notes the meeting will be held in Cairo, Illinois from October 18, 1911 to October 19, 1911, and the meeting coincides with the one-hundredth anniversary of the first steamboat navigation of the Ohio River. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-19

Creator(s)

Parsons, George, 1854-

H. Dora Stecker is engaged in historical research regarding the early period of the steamboat transportation industry, and asks Theodore Roosevelt if he could provide any information on the relationship between his ancestor Nicholas J. Roosevelt and his relations with the Fulton-Livingston Company.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-06

Creator(s)

Stecker, H. Dora

Louise Woodbridge Dippold inquires if Theodore Roosevelt has any papers related to a steamboat trip taken by his great-uncle, Nicholas J. Roosevelt, down the Ohio river in 1811. Dippold recounts what she has learned so far about the voyage taken by the New Orleans, as the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania will celebrate the centennial of the trip and she is anxious to know all the particulars by their next meeting. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-01

Creator(s)

Dippold, Louise Woodbridge, 1867-1936

Bernard Nadal Baker thanks Theodore Roosevelt for the letter and will not discuss the steamship matter again. He offers to help Roosevelt if needed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-11-30

Creator(s)

Baker, Bernard Nadal, 1854-1918

Bernard Nadal Baker returned from Panama and hopes to meet with Theodore Roosevelt to discuss the steamship question.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-11-25

Creator(s)

Baker, Bernard Nadal, 1854-1918

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-17

Creator(s)

Robinson, Douglas, 1855-1918

Recipient

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Language

English

William Loeb recommends that N. C. Palmer’s offer of condensed coffee by accepted and that the coffee be forwarded at once to the Hamburgh-American Steamship Company.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-01

Creator(s)

Mearns, Edgar Alexander, 1856-1916

President-elect Taft encloses a letter from Sir Harry Johnston about the dreadful conditions at the Hotel Imperial in Colón, and his own reply. He found Johnston’s decision to complain at length about his personal discomfort to another country’s head of state perplexing. Taft’s wife, Helen Herron Taft, did not share his “intense amusement” at Johnston’s “extremely English” tone. Taft also encloses the self-explanatory letter he wrote to President Jose Domingo de Obaldia of Panama after a call from Obaldia’s competitor, Ricardo Arias. Taft is disgusted by Representative Henry Thomas Rainey’s “diatribes” in the House of Representatives.

John T. Loomis will pay careful attention to William Loeb’s note about the additional books President Roosevelt wants on the the ship.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-05

Creator(s)

Loomis, John T. (John True), 1861-1941

Lawrence F. Abbott received the copy of President Roosevelt’s Berlin address yesterday, and will ensure that all three addresses are safeguarded and published at the appropriate time. He had already bought a steamer ticket after independently investigating Roosevelt’s travel plans, but will now cancel the reservation. Abbott would have enjoyed traveling with Roosevelt, but completely understands his decision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-02

Creator(s)

Abbott, Lawrence F. (Lawrence Fraser), 1859-1933

Julius P. Meyer sends Rudolph Forster a journal article featuring the Windhuk, the Hamburg-American Line steamship that will most likely take President Roosevelt from Naples, Italy, to Mombasa, Kenya, on his upcoming African safari.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-11

Creator(s)

Meyer, Julius P. (Julius Paul), 1871-1945

Senator Lodge updates President Roosevelt on the investigation of the New York and New Haven Railroad, the New York and New England lease, and new steamship routes. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-17

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Senator Lodge feels President Roosevelt’s Provincetown speech is strong and sound and offers some points of revision. He warns against using “Puritans” to refer to “Pilgrims.” Lodge shares some of the topics his speech covers, including the control of corporations and the observance of law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-16

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924