Women's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association

Gregory A. Wynn chronicles the search by the Roosevelt Memorial Association (RMA) for a home for its extensive Theodore Roosevelt Collection. Wynn highlights the choice between Columbia and Harvard University, and he highlights the group’s sensitivity to the feelings of Theodore Roosevelt’s widow, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, as well as those of Nora E. Cordingley, the collection’s caretaker at its home at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace. Wynn reveals the disagreements and tensions between members of the RMA and the arguments made for and against each university gaining the collection, and he notes that the New York Public Library was also considered as the repository for the collection.

Three pieces of correspondence from the RMA and a photograph of John A. Gable with Hermann Hagedorn supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2020

Edward Renehan provides a brief history of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), noting its origins in the immediate days after Theodore Roosevelt’s death in 1919. Renehan notes the work of the TRA’s predecessor, the Roosevelt Memorial Association and its sister organization, the Women’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association, in preserving and restoring historic sites related to Roosevelt’s life, and he highlights the TRA’s work with the National Park Service, Harvard University, and the American Museum of Natural History. Renehan also discusses the TRA’s work in publishing and charitable causes, such as its Teddy Bears for Kids program. A photograph of Roosevelt with his daughter, Ethel Roosevelt Derby, accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2005

Creator(s)

Renehan, Edward, 1956-

Congressional Charter for the then Roosevelt Memorial Association established in May 1920 that lists the original incorporators and includes some of the key provisions guiding the organization. These include stipulations that the association will be governed by a board of trustees; that its income will go only to further its educational goals; and that it will work to establish memorials to Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. and Oyster Bay, New York. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

By-laws of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) that contain eight articles that define topics such as the qualifications for membership, the powers and terms of the board of trustees, the business of the executive committee, and the roles and responsibilities of the TRA’s officers. An introductory note provides a brief history of the TRA and its predecessors, the Roosevelt Memorial Association and the Women’s Theodore Roosevelt Association. Three photographs showing James R. Garfield with Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, Gifford Pinchot with his son, and Hermann Hagedorn, appear among the by-laws. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Robert D. Dalziel examines the history of the Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association (WRMA), noting how the organization struggled in its early years to raise funds to reconstruct Theodore Roosevelt’s boyhood home. Dalziel notes the cooperation between the WRMA and the Roosevelt Memorial Association and how the two organizations would eventually merge in 1956 to form the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). Dalziel highlights the six presidents of the WRMA and says that both organizations had to add “Theodore” to their names to prevent confusion with Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The article includes a photograph of Alice Gilbert Demorest, the first President of the WRMA, and a listing of the members of the executive committee of the TRA.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1993

Seventeen topics compete for attention in the ten pages of this edition of the “News and Notes” section. The restoration of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site by the National Park Service and the acquisition of Theodore Roosevelt’s rustic retreat, Pine Knot, by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) receive extensive coverage. The section also highlights the ninetieth anniversary of the establishment of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and the visit by President Bill Clinton to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

“News and Notes” covers the various student awards and contests sponsored by the TRA as well as the natural history research grants given by the American Museum of Natural History. The section also provides information about the Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association and defends Roosevelt’s stance on women’s issues. An article by Bill Bleyer about the restoration of Sagamore Hill is reprinted in “News and Notes” along with a letter from a TRA member who complains about the glorification of Roosevelt in the pages of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal.

Seven photographs of various subjects, including Sagamore Hill, Pine Knot, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt appear in the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond, the second President of the Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association appears on the front cover of this issue while a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt in the back seat of an automobile appears on the back cover.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1993

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

In the second of two articles that traces the history of the Woman’s Theodore Roosevelt Association (WRMA), Robert D. Dalziel provides brief biographies of each of the six leaders of the WRMA from 1919 to 1955.

Two photographs supplement the text: one shows members of the WRMA witnessing the burning of the mortgage on the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and the other shows WRMA members with Eleanor Roosevelt who was first lady of the state of New York at the time.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1993

Report on the 1982 Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public high schools. The report gives a brief history of the contest and lists the administrators, judges, finalists, and winner.

A large drawing of Theodore Roosevelt speaking appears in the report.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1982

David M. Kahn of the National Park Service Manhattan Sites relates the story of the painstaking restoration of much of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. He recounts how the building was first restored in 1923 while Theodore Roosevelt’s sisters were still alive and could serve as sources for how the home appeared in their childhood. Kahn notes that the 1977 restoration was designed to recreate how the home appeared after the first restoration. He describes the work of the conservators in repairing or replacing period furniture, carpet, and wallpaper.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1978

Creator(s)

Kahn, David M., 1950-

This notice provides a history of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) from its beginnings in 1919 as the Roosevelt Memorial Association. It highlights the TRA’s efforts to preserve Theodore Roosevelt’s homes, its support of the Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, and its funding of research grants awarded by the American Museum of Natural History. It closes by describing the many publications about Roosevelt that the TRA has sponsored, including, since 1975, the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

Creator(s)

Unknown

This notice provides a history of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) from its beginnings in 1919 as the Roosevelt Memorial Association. It highlights the TRA’s efforts to preserve Theodore Roosevelt’s homes, its support of the Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, the sponsorship of public speaking and essay contests, and its funding of research grants awarded by the American Museum of Natural History. It closes by describing the many publications about Roosevelt that the TRA has sponsored, including, since 1975, the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

Creator(s)

Unknown

Architectural historian James Sanders gives a detailed report on the East 20th Street Revitalization Project which aimed to reinvigorate the neighborhood surrounding the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City. Most of the work involved cleaning and painting buildings, planting trees, and installing new signage. Sanders gives a history of the Roosevelt Birthplace, detailing the neighborhood’s decline as the area moved from residential to light industrial use. He looks at the plans to revitalize the neighborhood and credits the various individuals, private entities, government bureaus, and corporations that contributed to the project.

The article has two accompanying photographs: one shows the exterior of the Birthplace at 28 East 20th Street in New York City and the other shows Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt IV with their son on the front steps of the Birthplace.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

Obituary of Anne Lyon Haight (Mrs. Sherman Post Haight) who was a leader in the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association, the Women’s Theodore Roosevelt Association, and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. She worked in an English hospital in World War I, flew with Charles Lindbergh, and helped run the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

Creator(s)

Unknown

Round, gold colored metal “Service” pin with Theodore Roosevelt’s profile from the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association. Given in commemoration for a fund drive.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1919-1953

Creator(s)

Unknown