U.S. Presidents & First Ladies
Edith Roosevelt
Born in 1861, Edith Carow knew the Roosevelts from an early age and married Theodore in 1886 in London. The couple lived in New York City and Washington, D.C. as Theodore’s career bounced back and forth between federal and state positions. As First Lady (1901–1909), Edith hired the first social secretary, organized meetings of the wives of cabinet officials, and oversaw major White House renovations. After Theodore passed in 1919, Edith traveled and spoke frequently before she passed in 1948. In this letter Edith requested more envelopes to respond to well wishes after Theodore’s distant cousin Franklin Roosevelt won the Democratic Party’s nomination in 1932.
July 16, 1932
F. Vernon Smith
734 Bradley
Indianapolis Ind.
Dear Sir,
I shall find your envelopes most useful and wish to place an order for a hundred.
So many send congratulatory letters under misapprehension of my relationship to the Democratic nominee, – Who is in fact merely a distant connection of my husbands, – That your envelopes will enclose my reply appropriately with thanks.
Very Truly yours,
Edith K. Roosevelt
