LAURA D'OREMIEULX ROOSEVELT - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 3821

LAURA D'OREMIEULX ROOSEVELT
Mrs. James West Roosevelt writes to Theodore Roosevelt's biographer.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Believe me/Yours sincerely/Laura d'O Roosevelt" in black ink. 5½x7. Oyster Bay, Long Island, no date but circa 1918-1919. On letterhead of her Waldeck estate to author and historian William Roscoe Thayer. Begins: "My dear Mr Thayer". In full: "I have been away for a few days and find your letter on my return. The manuscript can be sent here any time. I am very glad if you found it useful. I have the good news that Nicholas is arriving at Newport News today." To the left of her signature she has written: "James W." Mrs. Roosevelt is likely referring to Thayer's return of notes written by her son, Nicholas, at the 1912 Republican National Convention. She had sent these notes to Thayer in the hopes that they would be useful in his biography of Theodore Roosevelt. LAURA HENRIETTE D'OREMIEULX (1858-1945) married Theodore Roosevelt's first cousin, James West Roosevelt (1858-1896), on February 26, 1884. James was the son of Silas Weir Roosevelt, the oldest brother of Theodore's father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., who was called "Thee" or "Greatheart". NICHOLAS ROOSEVELT (1893-1982) was her youngest son. He had been 19 years of age when he attended the Convention, writing down his impressions on scraps of paper and envelopes. WILLIAM ROSCOE THAYER (1859-1923) published Theodore Roosevelt: An Intimate Biography in 1919. Thayer also published a number of other books, including The Life and Times of Cavour (1911, two volumes), The Life and Letters of John Jay (1915, two volumes) and George Washington (1922), and was President of the American Historical Association. At the 1912 Republican National Convention in Chicago, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), who had served as President from 1901-1909, and his supporters stormed out and formed the Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party to oppose Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft. In the 1912 election, with the Republicans split, Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson won the presidency; Roosevelt came in second, Taft finished a distant third. Lightly soiled at upper portion. Normal mailing folds. Otherwise, fine condition.