Williams, Edith Derby, 1917-2008

Theodore Roosevelt writes from his daughter’s home in Dark Harbor, Maine. He writes what a comfort it has been to him and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt to be surrounded by family and especially notes the bond between the grandchildren and Edith. Roosevelt mentions that Flora Whitney, Quentin Roosevelt’s fiancée, is with them and is particularly brave. He both dreads and cherishes the letters from Quentin that keep arriving in the mail.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1918-08-10

Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister during a visit to his daughter, Ethel Roosevelt Derby. He describes his grandchildren and how they have been a comfort to him and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Roosevelt writes about the deaths of Quentin Roosevelt and Stewart Douglas Robinson and the tragedy of death at such a young age. Roosevelt mentions that he and Edith do not wish to publish Quentin’s letters.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1918-08-03

Theodore Roosevelt agrees to meet his sister and Patty Selmes at the Langdon on Thursday. He mentions that Monroe Douglas Robinson and his wife visited for the christening of his granddaughter, Edith Derby.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1917-11-05

Photograph of (left to right) Governor John Edward Davis; Lee Stenehjem, National Park Service Director Conrad Louis Wirth, Edith Roosevelt Derby Williams, Senator Milton Ruben Young, Regional Director Howard W. Baker, and Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park Superintendent John W. Jay at the ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate the new Mission 66 facilities in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-13

Photograph of (left to right) Regional Director Howard W. Baker, Senator Milton Ruben Young, Nancy Sewall Cunningham, Governor John Edward Davis, Edith Derby Williams, A. Douglas Ferris, National Park Service Director Conrad Louis Wirth, and Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park Superintendent John W. Jay at the ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate the new visitors’ center in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-12

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams speaking at the dedication of a new visitors’ center in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-12

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams (Theodore Roosevelt’s granddaughter) with her husband, Andrew M. Williams, and Ranger Arthur A. Henderson in the park museum in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-12

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams, Theodore Roosevelt’s granddaughter, standing near the cabin foundation stone and some bones at the Elkhorn Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the summer of 1960.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1960

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams and a park ranger at the Elkhorn Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams and a park ranger at the Elkhorn Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959

Photograph of Edith Derby Williams and Andrew M. Williams (right) with Park Naturalist Henderson (left), standing by an Elkhorn Ranch diorama in the South Unit visitor center of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-12

Photograph of Nancy Sewall Cunningham (William Wingate Sewall’s daughter) on the left, Edith Derby Williams (Theodore Roosevelt’s granddaughter) in the center, and A. Douglas Ferris (Joseph A. Ferris’s grandson) on the right, in the South Unit visitors’ center of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1959-09-12

Fourteen topics across eleven pages comprise this edition of the “News and Notes” section. The section covers some of the Theodore Roosevelt Association’s (TRA) annual awards, including police awards, and the public speaking contests in and around New York City. It highlights the passing of Sarah Alden Derby Gannett, a grand daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, author Michael Teague, and Teddie R. Bell Kaltenbacher, a girl famously named after Roosevelt. “News and Notes” also provides updates on the effort to secure Roosevelt the Medal of Honor, the schedule for the “Theodore Roosevelt: Icon of the American Century” exhibit of the National Portrait Gallery, and production of the index for volume XXII of the TRA Journal.

Six photographs, three from the police award ceremonies, two from the speaking contests, and one of the Gannett family, supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable asserts that Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist and an environmentalist has not been adequately explored by historians and biographers, and he notes the work of Tweed Roosevelt in trying to correct this shortcoming. Gable also argues that Roosevelt, a man of many seeming contradictions, was both a use-conservationist and a preservationist when it came to natural resources, and he quotes Theodore Roosevelt and cites examples from his record as president to bolster his argument. The section also includes a text box with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, an announcement about the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization at Tulane University, and information about the 2005 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

The article includes ten photographs of Gable with various figures, including three Presidents of the United States–Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Three biographies–of Holt Collier, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot–come under scrutiny in the “Reviews” section along with a play and documentary about Roosevelt. Tweed Roosevelt finds the biography of Holt Collier, who led Theodore Roosevelt’s famous 1902 bear hunt, notable for its descriptions of slavery in antebellum Mississippi, but he finds its coverage of Roosevelt flawed. Gregory A. Wynn recommends Kathleen Dalton’s biography Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life for its coverage of Roosevelt’s life after the presidency, its recognition of the important influence women had on his life, and for making Roosevelt “a hero for liberals.” The section also contains an excerpt of a review of Dalton’s work from Kirkus Reviews. 

Gary A. Clinton admires Laurence Luckinbill’s play Teddy Tonight for capturing the spirit of Roosevelt in his own words, and he finds that it resonates in a nation reeling from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A review of The History Channel’s documentary TR: An American Lion lists the “talking head” historians who appear in the film along with members of the Roosevelt family. The review highlights the negative coverage given Roosevelt’s attitudes on race and imperialism, and it praises the actors who provide the film’s narration and voice of Roosevelt. The section concludes with excerpts from four positive reviews of Char Miller’s biography of Gifford Pinchot.

Max J. Skidmore recounts the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway which stretches from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon, and encompasses much of what is known today as U.S. Highway 2. Skidmore focuses much of his attention on the completion of the final stretch of the highway at Marias Pass in Montana in 1930 and the subsequent construction of a granite obelisk monument to Theodore Roosevelt at the Pass. Skidmore highlights the Roosevelt family members in attendance at the monument’s dedication in 1931 and again at its rededication in 1991. A photograph of the obelisk monument supplements the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1997

This edition of “News and Notes” reports on the annual awards supported by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) conferred by the American Museum of Natural History, the Roosevelt Study Center, and the Navy League of the United States. The section lists all of the winners of the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize as well as the current judges. “News and Notes” also contains an article about the return of six pieces of china to Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia. The section concludes with two pages of news about the TRA, including its adoption of email, fundraising efforts, and the various programs it supports. Two photographs, one each from the Roosevelt Study Center and Bulloch Hall, supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1996

This edition of “News and Notes” details the annual police awards conferred by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in Dallas, New York City, and on Long Island, New York. It also reviews the results of the TRA Public Speaking Contests held in New York City and Long Island. The section updates readers on the status of Pine Knot, Theodore Roosevelt’s retreat in Virginia, and it promotes a two part documentary on Roosevelt to be aired on PBS in October 1996. “News and Notes” highlights the annual Fourth of July celebration in Oyster Bay, New York, and notes the retirement of Barbara Brandt from her post at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York.

The section also features an excerpt from a speech about Roosevelt given by Elihu Root in 1919, and it features four extracts from Roosevelt’s writings and addresses under the title of “TR Said…”. Six photographs appear in the section as does an illustration of Sagamore Hill done by architect Tuck Harvey.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The 76th Annual Meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) took place at Norfolk, Virginia, as well as onboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. The Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal was presented to former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman. The TRA also gave several gifts to the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and held its meeting of the Board of Trustees. One prominent topic during the Board of Trustees meeting was about the future of Pine Knot–the Virginia cabin of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt.

Other news items include the presentation of a number of Theodore Roosevelt-related awards, such as the TRA’s annual police awards, the appearance of Theodore Roosevelt on several television programs during 1995-1996, reports on several TRA-related activities like the annual teddy bear distribution, and an obituary of Dorothy R. Kidder. At the end of this section is a selection of several Theodore Roosevelt-related facts, including the names of the Secretaries of the Navy during Roosevelt’s presidency, and Roosevelt’s appointments to the Supreme Court.

Five photographs from the annual meeting, two illustrations of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, and a photograph of Secretary of the Interior Bruce E. Babbitt appear in the section.

Variety marks this edition of the “News and Notes” section, beginning with the celebration of the 90th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York, and the establishment of a Theodore Roosevelt Police Award for western New York. “News and Notes” also details the rededication of a monument to Roosevelt in Montana by Edith Roosevelt Derby Williams and provides a lengthy obituary for Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt, son of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt. A Roosevelt family reunion, bringing together the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York, branches is also covered along with an appeal from Stephen V. Walker for music composed in honor of Theodore Roosevelt’s children.

“News and Notes” also features a text box “About the Theodore Roosevelt Association” that highlights the purpose, work, and history of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). A photograph of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion, and Howard Chandler Christy’s painting of the Battle of Las Guasimas in Cuba illustrate the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal