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Secret Service Agent Flynn presents an extract from the report of Frederick M. Tate regarding the suicide of Lulu Grover. This includes testimony from several neighbors and possible relatives about Grover’s personal history and life in New York City.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-15
United States Attorney Stimson informs President Roosevelt about the funeral arrangements and his investigation into the suicide of Lulu Grover, who left all of her property to Roosevelt. Stimson writes that her only two interests appeared to be her two Angora cats and Roosevelt, as her apartment was filled with his photograph and books about him. Stimson also found in her apartment two letters from Roosevelt in which he thanked her for the gifts she sent to Roosevelt’s son, Theodore Roosevelt III, and asked her to stop sending gifts. Stimson arranged for her to be cremated and for an Episcopalian clergyman to read a service for her. Stimson and the Public Administrator agree that “this woman was one of those harmless cranks.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-14
William T. Pullen shares with Theodore Roosevelt his experience with the topic of suicide, particularly in the various jobs he has held.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-04
Sherman G. Savage agrees with Theodore Roosevelt’s view on race suicide. He has nine children and wants Roosevelt’s approval of his large family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-16
At President Roosevelt’s request, Minister to Denmark Egan visited Vigo Peterson, a former sailor on the Mayflower, in the hospital. Peterson is in good spirits, although he will be crippled for life. Egan discusses the political situation in Denmark and Norway, where democratic ideas are gaining ground. However, socialism is also gaining ground in Norway. Egan also takes note of the social conditions, and has spoken with religious leaders about issues like suicide and illegitimate births.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-16
Joseph Bucklin Bishop, Secretary to the Isthmian Canal Commission, asks President Roosevelt when he will issue the medals he had promised American employees the last time he had visited the Canal Zone, remarking that their work has noticeably improved since his visit. Bishop is shocked to hear of Charles T. Barney’s death by suicide following his forced resignation from the Knickerbocker Trust Company and considers it a “lesson of consequences of the craze for wealth.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-28
John H. Murphy writes President Roosevelt about a letter he sent to Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., about the labor situation in Colorado that has not made it into Roosevelt’s hands. Murphy reports that several workers have committed suicide as a result of the actions of the mine owners and the state of Colorado, and that several other people have died from exposure. He requests that Roosevelt ask his staff to forward him the letter and that Roosevelt act on the information that Murphy is giving him to end the dispute.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-08
John J. Hamilton provides the true story of abuse that led to Victor R. Swarm’s desertion from the Army and subsequent suicide.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-01-22
This translation of a French newspaper article reports on the death of William E. Vermilya, who “entered into one such state of exasperation at the thought that Mr. Roosevelt might become President of the United States that he preferred to suicide himself.”
1912
A man whose offer of marriage has been rejected, and who is now determined to kill himself as a means of ending his suffering, is sitting in a chair with two handguns aimed at his chest, mounted on the arms of the chair, facing a cannon. Beneath him are “Dynamite Cartridges,” and overhead is a large rock labeled “500 lb. weight.” A tube from his mouth extends to a container of “Poison,” two straight-edge razors are aimed at this throat, and a “Charcoal” burner spews carbon monoxide fumes. The letter from his girlfriend is on the floor next to the chair. It states, “Dear George, I can not marry you. Carri.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-02-07
Graetz, F. (Friedrich), approximately 1840-approximately 1913
In a banner across the top, men and women dance at a dance or nightclub. The banner breaks at the center and the women fall into prostitution, separating the bottom of the cartoon into two halves. On the left, a woman with clawed feet holds up a “Red Light” lantern with a skull-shaped bulb in her left hand while holding back dogs labeled “Disease,” “Insanity,” and “Suicide” with her right hand. Behind her is “The Potters Field” cemetery. On the right are two business establishments that appear to serve as fronts for illicit activities, as a line of patrons file out of a “Chinese Rest[aurant]” and into a waiting “Police Patrol” wagon. Caption: Small wonder there are protests against “The Grizzly Bear” and “The Turkey Trot.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1912-01-31
Senator William Lorimer, seated and wearing a kimono, with both hands raised, suggests that he will not consider “Political Hara-Kiri” and will not “Resign” as ways to resolve his political crisis.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1911-05-17
The Republican elephant labeled “G.O.P.” is about to drink from a cup labeled “Reciprocity.” With him are several men labeled “Root, Sherman, Cannon, La Follette, Crane, Lodge, Payne, Dick, Gallinger, Penrose” and one unidentified man. Some are distraught, while others are merely watching.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1911-08-09