PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT - DOCUMENT SIGNED 04/02/1940 - HFSID 178833

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
The President signs a 2-page documentary letter leasing to his brother in law, Hall Roosevelt, buildings and land parcels on FDR's land at Hyde Park (1940).
Typed Document Signed: "Franklin D Roosevelt" as President, 2 pages, 8x12½, separate sheets. No place, 1940 April 2. To "Dear Hall". Proposal for the rental of property on FDR's Hyde Park estate. Begins: "Now that the various buildings you are renovating are nearly completed, there should be a form of lease from me to you, in order that you may proceed with the rental of these buildings for your account." In full: "I, therefore propose: (1) I hereby lease to you, for a period of ten years from the date of acceptance hereof, the following Parcels of land on my farm in the Town of Hyde Park, described as follows: Parcel I. On the east by the west line of Violet Avenue; on the south by the north line of the Bennett Farm; on the west by a straight line drawn from the north line of the Bennett farm to the south line of the private road leading westerly from Violet Avenue towards the Post Road; and on the north by the south line of said private road; containing six acres, more or less. Provided, however, that if any portion of said six acres lying west or south of the building thereon shall not be cultivated by G. Hall Roosevelt of his tenants, Franklin D. Roosevelt shall have the right to cultivate said uncultivated portion of the six acres. Parcel II. The western end of the Hughson farm beginning at a point on the bank of the Val Kill Creek east to a point twenty feet north of the north side of the Hughson barn where said line intersects the newly located road between the barn and the Hughson house; thence in a southerly direction following said road to the north line of the Dumphy farm; thence west along said line to the east bank of the Val Kill Creek; thence northerly along the east bank of said Creek to the place of beginning; said land containing four acres, more or less. (2) I lease to you all buildings now erected or in process of erection on both of said Parcels. (3) This lease shall terminate in the event of your death. (4) On the termination of this lease either at the end of ten (10) years or on your death, all buildings together with their furnishings owned by you or by me shall revert to me; with the exception that the furnishings in any building occupied by you personally shall remain in your possession or that of your estate. (5) You will have full authority to lease on your own behalf any and all of the cottages or buildings on said two Parcels and to collect and retain for your own use the rental therefrom. (6) You will pay to me the following rental: 1. Six (6%) on such sum of money as I shall have paid to you for the construction or alteration of buildings on said Parcels, including well digging, water supply, electricity, furnishings and so forth, said sum to be determined finally on July 1, 1940. 2. As additional rental a sum every six months equal to one-twentieth (1/20) of the amount paid by me to you, said amount to be determined on July 1, 1940; these additional payments being intended to amortize the payments by me to you over a period of ten (10) years. 3. All rental and amortization to be payable on the first day of January and the first day of July each year and to cease in the event of your death. (7) You agree to pay to me premiums for full fire insurance and full liability insurance on all buildings and the tenants therein and to cover liability against claims by visitors to the properties. (8) You agree to pay all taxes. The amount of said taxes shall be determined by deducting from the new assessed valuation or valuations of the Dumphy and Hughson Farms, the amount of the present assessed valuations of said farms; and deducting also increased valuations caused by said erection by me in the future of new improvements or betterments at other locations on the Dumphy and Hughson farms; it being our purpose that you will pay the full taxes on the improvements made by you in altering and improving the buildings and their appurtenances on the two Parcels of land hereby leased to you. (9) You agree to maintain the buildings and their appurtenances in good rental condition, and to rent for residence purposes only." Although there is a space for "Foregoing Accepted", dated April 2, 1940, Hall did not sign this proposal. The proposal, written by FDR, who was an attorney by profession, is mentioned in an April 17, 1940 letter from FDR to his attorneys, Henry T. and John M. Hackett, who handled all the personal legal affairs of FDR and his family and some of their Hudson Valley neighbors. HALL ROOSEVELT (1891-1941) was Eleanor Roosevelt's younger brother, whom she had doted on after he was left an orphan at age three. Hall, who held a Master's Degree in Engineering from Harvard, had previously worked in the railroad industry and as a controller for the city of Detroit, Michigan. By the time of this proposal, however, Hall, who was twice divorced, was unable to hold down jobs due to his alcoholism. He spent the last years of his life in a small building on the Hyde Park estate, where he died in September 1941, less than 18 months after this document was signed by his brother-in-law. Seven months after signing this document, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT (1882-1945) would be elected to his unprecedented third term as U.S. President. The 32nd U.S. President (1933 until his death on April 12, 1945), Roosevelt had been born on his family's 264-acre estate in Hyde Park, New York and later served as his home state's Governor (1929-1933). In 1939, FDR had donated 16 acres of his Hyde Park estate to the U.S. government for the creation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (the first presidential library), which was completed in 1940, the year of this document. In 1946, Eleanor Roosevelt, who was living at Val Kill Cottage on the estate, decided that she no longer wished to lease Hyde Park lands. Lightly creased with folds, light horizontal fold underlines the "Frank" of Franklin. Staple holes at upper blank margins. Overall, fine condition.