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The Three Graces of Val-Kill

Page 21

by Emily Herring Wilson


  Books by Eleanor Roosevelt

  The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York: Harper and Row, 1958, 1978; reprint, New York: Harper Perennial, 2014.

  Hunting Big Game in the Eighties: The Letters of Elliott Roosevelt, Sportsman, Edited by His Daughter. New York: Charles Scribner’s Son, 1933.

  It’s Up to the Women. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1933.

  This I Remember. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1949.

  This Is My Story. New York: Garden City Publishing, 1937.

  Tomorrow Is Now. New York: Harper and Row, 1963.

  You Learn by Living. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1960.

  Other Sources

  In addition to the sources listed here, there are excellent websites full of information of interest to readers of this book. They include an increasingly large number of digitized documents and photographs.

  Asbell, Bernard, ed. Mother and Daughter: The Letters of Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt. New York: Coward, McCann, and Geoghegan, 1982.

  Beasley, Maurine H. Eleanor Roosevelt and the Media: A Public Quest for Self-Fulfillment. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.

  Beasley, Maurine H., Holly C. Shulman, and Henry R. Beasley. The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.

  Bell-Scott, Patricia. The Firebrand and the First Lady. Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice. New York: Knopf, 2016.

  Boettiger, John R. A Love in Shadow: The Story of Anna Roosevelt and John Boettiger. New York: Norton, 1978.

  Cain, Richard R. Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2002.

  Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt. 3 vols. New York: Viking Penguin, 1992–2016.

  Davis, Kenneth S. FDR: The Beckoning of Destiny, 1882–1928. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971.

  ———. FDR: The New York Years, 1928–1933. New York: Random House, 1985.

  ———. FDR: The New Deal Years, 1933–1937. New York: Random House: 1986.

  ———. Invincible Summer: An Intimate Portrait of the Roosevelts Based on the Recollections of Marion Dickerman. New York: Atheneum, 1974.

  Downey, Kirstin. The Woman behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience. New York: Doubleday, 2009.

  Dykstra, Natalie. Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.

  Faber, Doris. The Life of Lorena Hickok: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Friend. New York: William Morrow, 1980.

  Fredriksen, Beatrice. Our Local Heritage: A Short History of the Town of Hyde Park. Chicago: Hyde Park Historical Society, 1970.

  Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Launching the New Deal. Vol. 3. Boston: Little, Brown, 1973.

  Futral, Frank. “Val-Kill Industries: A History.” Hudson River Review 26, no. 1 (Autumn 2009): 21–39.

  Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

  Gurewitsch, A. David. Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Day. New York: Interchange Foundation, 1973.

  Gurewitsch, Edna P. Kindred Souls: The Devoted Friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. David Gurewitsch. New York: Plume, 2003.

  Hickok, Lorena. Eleanor Roosevelt: Reluctant First Lady. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962.

  Hoff-Wilson, Joan, and Marjorie Lightman, eds. Without Precedent: The Life and Times of Eleanor Roosevelt. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984.

  Kleeman, Rita Halle. Gracious Lady: The Life of Sara Delano Roosevelt. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1935.

  Klein, Jonas. Beloved Island: Franklin and Eleanor and the Legacy of Campobello. Forest Dale, Vt.: Paul S. Eriksson, 2000.

  Knepper, Cathy D. Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt through Depression and War. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2004.

  Lash, Joseph P. Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship, Based on Eleanor Roosevelt’s Private Papers. New York: Norton, 1971.

  ———. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Friend’s Memoir. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964.

  ———. Eleanor: The Years Alone. New York: New American Library, 1972.

  ———. Love, Eleanor: Eleanor Roosevelt and Her Friends. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1984.

  MacLeish, Archibald. The Eleanor Roosevelt Story. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965.

  McClure, Ruth K., ed. Eleanor Roosevelt, an Eager Spirit: The Letters of Dorothy Dow, 1933–45. New York: Norton, 1984.

  Miller, Kristie. Isabella Greenway: An Enterprising Woman. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004.

  Miller, Kristie, and Robert H. McGinnis, eds. A Volume of Friendship: The Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Isabella Greenway, 1904–1953. Tucson: Arizona Historical Society, 2009.

  Moody, Kennon. FDR and His Hudson Valley Neighbors. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Hudson House, 2013.

  Morris, Elisabeth Woodbridge. Miss Wylie of Vassar. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1934.

  Nesbitt, Henrietta. White House Diary. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1948.

  Nowlan, Alden. Campobello: The Outer Island. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1995.

  Pearson, Barbara E. The Historic Structure Report on the Stone Cottage/Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. National Park Service, 1980.

  Perkins, Frances. The Roosevelt I Knew. New York: Viking, 1946.

  Quinn, Susan. Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady. New York: Penguin, 2016.

  Raz-Russo, Michal. The Three Graces: Snapshots of Twentieth-Century Women. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2012.

  Roosevelt, David B. Grandmère: A Personal History of Eleanor Roosevelt. With Manuela Dunn Mascetti. New York: Warner Books, 2002.

  Roosevelt, Elliott, ed. FDR: His Personal Letters, 1905–1928. Vols. 1 and 2. New York, 1948.

  Rowley, Hazel. Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage. New York: Putnam, 2010.

  Smith, Kathryn. The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2016.

  Steeholm, Clara, and Hardy Steeholm. The House at Hyde Park. New York: Viking, 1950.

  Streitmatter, Rodger, ed. Empty without You: The Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. New York: DeCapo Press, 1998.

  Suckley, Margaret L. “A Day at Hyde Park.” New Republic, April 15, 1946, 527.

  Tobin, James. The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013.

  Tully, Grace. FDR, My Boss. New York: Scribner’s, 1949.

  Ward, Geoffey C. Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt 1882–1905. New York: Harper and Row, 2014.

  ———. “Eleanor Roosevelt Drew Her Strength from a Sanctuary Called Val-Kill.” Smithsonian 15 (October 1984): 62–66, 68, 70–73.

  ———. A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, 1905–1928. New York: Vintage Books, 2014.

  ———, ed. Closest Companion: The Unknown Story of the Intimate Friendship of Franklin Roosevelt and Margaret Suckley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

  Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. New York: Knopf, 2014.

  Ware, Susan. Letter to the World: Seven Women Who Shaped the American Century. New York: Norton, 1998.

  ———. Partner and I: Molly Dewson, Feminism, and New Deal Politics. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1987.

  INDEX

  Note: The abbreviation ER refers to Eleanor Roosevelt, MD refers to Marion Dickerman, NC refers to Nancy Cook, and FDR refers to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Italic page numbers refer to illustrations.

  Adams, Clover, 177

  Adams, Henry, 110, 177

  Adams Memorial, 176–77, 201n4

  Allenswood, London: ER’s education at, 14, 20, 31, 43, 80, 85–86, 120, 123; ER as student, 87

  American arts and crafts movement, 113, 118

  Amer
ican Committee on Russian Relations, 78

  American Foundation, 80

  American Friends Service Committee, 138

  American Medical Association, 80

  American Youth Congress (AYC), 148–49

  Ammons, A. R., 3

  Arizona Hut, 119

  Arizona Inn, Tucson, 119

  Arthurdale, West Virginia: as “Eleanor’s Little Village,” 3, 118; ER square dancing at, 100, 139, 140; and NC instructing on starting a craft shop, 118–19, 145; ER’s interest in, 136–39, 165; opposition to, 138–39; preservation of, 139–40; New Deal Festival in, 199n1

  Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., 139–40

  Asheville, North Carolina, 116

  Astor family, 6, 12

  Baruch, Bernard, 138, 158, 169

  Benet, Stephen Vincent, 70

  Berge, Arnold, 116

  Berge, Otto, 115–16, 142, 145, 164–65, 198n4

  Biltmore, 116

  Blacks, ER as public advocate for, 67, 137

  Boettiger, John, 106, 166, 170

  Bok Peace Prize, 79–80

  Brown, Claude, 107

  Cain, Richard, 118, 198n3

  Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada: Roosevelt Summer Home at, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 41, 90, 174; and FDR’s polio, 10, 36, 38, 39, 43; ER’s family vacation to, 36–37, 38, 39–45, 46, 55, 76, 91; and Roosevelt International Bridge, 38, 174; ER’s vacations at, 38–39, 42, 70, 78, 82, 108–9, 117; ER, NC, and MD en route to, 89; ER, NC, and MD at, 90

  Carter, Jimmy, 178

  Castine, Maine, 40, 76, 174

  Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City, 175

  Cather, Willa, 43–45

  Catt, Carrie Chapman, 27, 76

  Churchill, Winston, 133, 143

  Clapp, Margaret, 120–21

  Clinton, Henry, 48

  Cole, Thomas, The Picnic, 12

  Colonial revival movement, 113

  Columbia University, 79

  Cook, Blanche Wiesen, 148, 192n1, 197n12, 199n2

  Cook, Cynthia, 26

  Cook, Nancy: MD as life partner of, 1, 21–24, 27, 65, 86, 106, 156, 160, 161, 178, 195n7; as guest of ER at Springwood, 1–2, 21–22, 32, 33–35; ER’s friendship with, 1–3, 12, 19–22, 25, 28–29, 31, 32, 47–48, 56, 57, 58, 63–65, 67, 70, 72, 74, 78, 82, 86, 104, 111, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130–31, 132–34, 140, 142–43, 145–51, 152, 153–55, 157, 164–65, 169–73, 192n1; and building of Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 12, 35, 46, 48, 61, 193n1; as organizer of New York Democratic Women’s fund-raiser, 16, 19–21, 73, 125; FDR meeting, 21; MD’s early relationship with, 23; as pacifist, 23; teaching career of, 23, 26–27; World War I work of, 23–24; as woodworker, 24, 50, 58, 61, 62, 73, 114, 116–17, 143, 178; political work of, 25, 27, 48, 83, 104, 140; personality of, 25, 27, 57–58; early life of, 26–27; education of, 26; independence of, 26; photography of, 26, 55, 71, 107, 143, 176; FDR’s friendship with, 30, 31, 32, 33–34, 35, 48–49, 52, 104, 129, 132–33, 146, 168; and Campobello vacation, 36–37, 39–45, 46, 55, 76; and Brud and John Roosevelt, 37, 107–8; drawings and model of cottage, 48, 92; and outside improvements to Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 51; workshop at Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 51, 52, 73, 75, 114; photograph of ER, MD, and herself as three graces, 55; and furnishings for New York governor’s mansion, 58; visits to Warm Springs, 59; as smoker, 62; and Earl Miller, 64, 85, 86, 127; gardening at Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 70–71, 144, 147, 163; and ER’s trips to Cornell University, 74; and entertaining guests at Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 77, 141; with friends playing cards, 87; with MD and ER, ready for camping, 88; with ER and MD en route to Campobello, 89; with MD, ER, and Peggy Levenson during camping trip, 89; with ER and MD at Campobello, 90; in New York City Democratic Women office with ER, MD, and Caroline O’Day, 94; and furnishings for Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 95; with ER at drawing board at Val-Kill Industries, 96; with ER and National Recovery Administration poster at Val-Kill Industries, 96; finishing furniture at Val-Kill Industries, 97; with Cuff Links Gang celebration FDR’s birthday, 100; with ER and FDR’s advisers at Val-Kill picnic, 101; ER visiting at St. Joseph’s Manor, 102, 172, 173; and European tour with younger Roosevelt boys, 109, 110–11; move to Connecticut, 111; and publication of Women’s Democratic News, 112; ER’s differences with, 127, 134, 146, 147–51, 153, 164, 166; and ER’s friendship with Hickok, 131; ER’s correspondence with, 132, 153–54, 162, 171, 172; and presidential entertaining at Val-Kill, 132–33, 142, 143, 151, 163; and Arthurdale, 137; and ER’s shift in focus from Val-Kill, 141; wardrobe of, 143, 169; and changes to Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 144; and Roosevelt grandchildren, 147; ER’s tragic disagreement with, 147–48, 150, 153, 154, 155–56, 161, 200n8; and MD’s travel with presidential commission, 148; on American Youth Congress, 149; health problems of, 163, 164, 168, 170, 171, 172, 201n2; and World War II, 164; decision to move from Val-Kill, 167, 168–69; in New Canaan, Connecticut, 168–70, 171, 172; death of, 173, 175–76. See also Val-Kill Industries; Val-Kill Stone Cottage, Hyde Park

  Cook (Nancy’s father), 26

  Cornell University, 73–76

  Corr, Maureen, 174

  Cowles, Anna Roosevelt (Auntie Bye), 31

  Cox, James, 15

  Cuff Links Gang, 100, 126, 165

  Curnan, Charles, 144

  Curnan, “Tubby,” 170, 173

  Dall, Curtis, 63

  Daniel, Margaret Truman, 175

  Daniels, Josephus, 80

  Davis, John W., 30

  Davis, Kenneth, 54, 109, 127, 146, 148, 200n8

  Delano, Laura, 166

  Democratic National Committee: Women’s Division, 40, 76, 83; Youth Division, 134

  Democratic National Convention of 1928, 83–84

  Democratic National Convention of 1932, 126–27

  Dewson, Mary “Molly,” 40, 76–77, 174, 196n9

  Dickerman, Edwin Hull, 22–23

  Dickerman, Emily Adrienne, 22

  Dickerman, Marion: NC as life partner of, 1, 21–24, 27, 65, 86, 106, 156, 160, 161, 178, 195n7; as guest of ER at Springwood, 1–2, 21–22, 32, 33–35; ER’s friendship with, 1–3, 12, 21–22, 25, 28–29, 31, 32, 47–48, 56, 57, 63–65, 67, 70, 72, 74, 78, 82, 86, 104, 109–10, 111, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132–34, 140, 141, 142–43, 145–51, 152, 153–55, 157, 159, 160, 164–65, 169–73; and building of Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 12, 35, 51, 193n1; FDR meeting, 21, 25; early life of, 22–23; education of, 23; NC’s early relationship with, 23; as pacifist, 23; teaching career of, 23, 25, 27, 104–5, 120–22, 138; World War I work of, 23–24; New York legislature political campaign of, 24–25, 27; personality of, 25, 27, 28; as director and teacher at Todhunter School, 25, 62, 105; FDR’s friendship with, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33–35, 47, 48–50, 54, 61, 104, 109–10, 126, 129, 132–33, 146, 155, 158, 160, 168; and Campobello vacation, 36–37, 39–45, 46, 55, 76, 91; and Brud and John Roosevelt, 37, 107–8; political work of, 48, 83, 104, 140; visits to Warm Springs, 59; as smoker, 62; and Earl Miller, 64, 85, 86, 127, 149; with NC and ER, ready for camping, 88; with ER and NC en route to Campobello, 89; with NC, ER, and Peggy Levenson during camping trip, 89; with ER and NC at Campobello, 90; on deck of Regina with ER and sons, 91; in New York City Democratic Women office with NC, ER, and Caroline O’Day, 94; on steps near Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 99; with Cuff Links Gang celebrating FDR’s birthday, 100; with Eric Gugler, sculptor of UN monument to ER, 101; and Val-Kill Industries, 104, 115, 145; and European tour with younger Roosevelt boys, 109, 110–11; move to Connecticut, 111; and publication of Women’s Democratic News, 112; and Caroline O’Day, 113, 158; ER’s differences with, 127, 134, 146–47, 149–51, 164, 166; and ER’s friendship with Hickok, 131; ER’s correspondence with, 132, 150–51, 153–55, 165, 171, 172, 173; and arrangements for presidential guests at Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 132–33, 143; and ER’s shift in focus from Val-Kill, 141; and presidential entertaining at Val-Kill, 142, 163; wardrobe of, 143, 159; and changes to Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 144; and Roosevelt grandchildren, 147; and American presidential commission on industrial relations in Britain an
d Sweden, 147–48, 158–61; on ER’s and NC’s tragic disagreement, 148, 150, 156, 200n8; on American Youth Congress, 149; and World War II, 164, 170; on Elliott Roosevelt, 166–67; decision to move from Val-Kill, 167, 168–69; and Marine Museum work, 168, 169; in New Canaan, Connecticut, 168–70, 171, 172; and ER’s death, 175; death of, 176. See also Todhunter School; Val-Kill Stone Cottage, Hyde Park

  Draper, George, Jr., 39–42, 46, 91

  Dutchess County Fair, 5

  Earhart, Amelia, 128

  Eisenhower, Dwight, 175

  Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Bench (1966), United Nations Garden, New York City, 102, 176–77

  Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, 177

  Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 177, 178, 193n1, 196n2

  Elizabeth (queen of England), 143

  Elliott, Harriet, 192n1

  Emerson, Faye, 167

  Endell Street Military Hospital, London, 23–24, 27

  Fall-Kill Creek, 11, 33, 71

  Famiglietti, Matthew, 115

  Farm and Home Week, Cornell University, 74, 75

  Female-centered households, 2, 74, 76–77, 86

  Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, Hyde Park, 3, 50, 118, 171

  George VI (king of England), 143

  Gellhorn, Martha, 73

  Gibson, Anne Clark, 42

  Gibson, Nina Roosevelt, 42, 106, 111, 147

  Gilbert, Anne Ward, 123–24

  Gilded Age, 6

  Goodwin, Molly, 62

  Great Depression, 75, 113, 116, 129, 131, 163

  Greenway, Isabella, 16, 43, 57, 63, 69, 119

  Grey, David, 11

  Grey, Maude, 11

  Gugler, Eric, 101, 176–77

  Gurewitsch, David, 84, 111, 170–71, 173, 174–75

  Gurewitsch, Edna Perkel, 84, 170, 173, 174–75

  Hackett, Henry, 169

  Hall, Anna, 10

  Hall, Mary Livingston Ludlow (ER’s grandmother), 7, 10–11, 14, 31, 85–86

  Halsted, Anna Roosevelt Dall Boettiger (ER’s daughter): ER’s relationship with, 1, 18, 106, 166, 174; birth of, 8; and FDR’s relationship with Lucy Mercer, 18, 166; and ER’s political organizing, 29; children of, 42, 106, 123; impending marriage of, 55; at Val-Kill Stone Cottage, 63; with ER in Val-Kill snow, 93; with Cuff Links Gang celebrating FDR’s birthday, 100; divorce of, 105, 106; Tommy Thompson’s correspondence with, 146, 150; and ER’s friendships, 147; ER’s correspondence with, 149–50; and World War II, 166, 170; and ER’s death, 175

 

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