Research Guide to American Presidents in the Longfellow Archives

This research guide contains detailed lists of the holdings in the archives and special collections at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site that are connected to presidential history. These lists are extensive but not necessarily complete.

The guide is organized chronologically by presidential administration. Headings for presidents without identified related material in the collection are omitted.

This listing includes primarily letters written by United States presidents and first ladies, as well as documents notable primarily for containing signatures of presidents and documents created outside the term of the presidency. Presidential items are found throughout the special collections, with the largest portion found in the collected material in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana Papers. Many of the presidential documents collected by Dana relate to his father, Richard Henry Dana III, and other members of the Dana family active in American politics on state and national levels.

To schedule an appointment to see these items in person, please visit our guide to research at Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site.

The guide also includes commentary on presidents of their lifetime by Fanny and Henry Longfellow, ranging from their personal political opinions to accounts of meeting presidents and first ladies in Boston and at the White House. These quotes are found in the Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers in the collection at Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS and in Henry Longfellow’s journals in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Papers at Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Find more information about presidential places and museum collections managed by the National Park Service on the NPS Presidents subject page.

1. George Washington (1732-1799; President: 1789-1797)

As the first major headquarters of General Washington in the American Revolution, Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS has significant connections to Washington’s pre-presidential career. This listing does not include various images and relics related to Washington collected by Henry and Fanny Longfellow and their descendants, such as printed portraits, fragments of the “Washington Elm,” and a copy of the Houdon bust.

• Lottery Ticket with George Washington Signature, 1768
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, Series I.A. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Papers, Collected Materials (Addendum Box 1, Folder 15)
• Letter, George Washington to Nicholas Cooke, April 1776
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-166#001) - View Digital Copy
• Letter, George Washington to James Warren, 15 January 1776
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-166#002) - View Digital Copy
• Letter, George Washington to Anthony Whiting, 3 March 1793
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-166#003) - View Digital Copy

3. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826; President: 1801-1809)

• Customs declaration for Nathan Donnelly, April 11, 1801
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-093) - View Digital Copy

6. John Quincy Adams (1767-1848; President: 1825-1829)

• Letter, John Quincy Adams to Francis Dana, 21 May 1783
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-005) - View Digital Images

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Emmeline Austin, 26 November 1841.
  “While you were tossing on the Sound I was immersed in a sea of heads, as the phrase is, listening to Ex-President Adams holding forth in a brown night-cap & with his usual vehemence of tone upon the Chinese war – putting the question upon exactly opposite grounds to the expectation & opinion of all his hearers as he always delights to do, - having an indomitable love of opposition, for, to nothing else, could we attribute in this case his absurd theory on the matter.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

8. Martin Van Buren (1782-1862; President: 1837-1841)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Emmeline Austin, 7 February 1840, describing meeting President Van Buren at the White House.
  “Yesterday we had the hon[or] of dining at the Palace [White House] & it was much less stiff & formal [than] I feared it might be – it was not too large & the dinner no[t so] long (or so splendid) as the Vails. But I was nearly perished with the frigidity of the large rooms. Mrs Major is very agreeable, & less stiff then formerly, but is astonishing she survives the fatigue of these dinner-parties. She is enceinte & more énorme than you can imagine by no means improved by her dressing in a flounced white lace gown with a wreath of orange buds in her hair & pearls & diamonds about her throat. Black velvet would be considerably more fitting & decent. The President was a very courteous & affable but a secretiveness & ‘retenue’ of manner tiresome where there is no etiquette, showing a cautious diplomatic soul.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Isaac Appleton Jewett, 25 February 1840, describing meeting President Van Buren at the White House.
  “We went to several very pretty parties each varying from the other in kaleidescope [sic] fashion, dined agreeably with the President – on spicier dishes than talk, thought him very like Uncle Aaron or Moses – only fatigued with his non-committal manner, pitied him for the bore of being equally gracious to all visitors even lunatics who he says often come maintaining he usurps their station…”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

10. John Tyler (1790-1862; President: 1841-1845)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Thomas Gold Appleton, 5 July 1842.
  “The President is like a child with a new jacknife [sic] & lives but to destroy! Tis to be hoped he will soon be weary of his toy & forget his privilege of vetoing every thing.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Nathan Appleton, 13 July 1842. Nathan Appleton was in Washington, D.C., serving as US Representative from Massachusetts; this letter also discusses the content of his speech in the House on the Tariff and Compromise Act, given on 5 July 1842.
  “How do you survive these warm days in that Sahara? how do you bear the President’s obstinacy (I hope I talk no treason) & the shining of so many black faces? ... I am tempted to compare this provoking President with a boy in possession of a new jacknife, [sic] - living but to destroy – making us seem almost under a despotic government for a time with this free use of his veto. I half wish he had Victoria’s assassin’s sentence passed upon him for stopping honest people on the highway in this cool manner, - for I buckle upon him this tiresome delay in settling matters fitly. I like to give you my crude political notions thinking you may get a moment’s fun out of them.”
  [Note: John Francis was originally to be hung, drawn, and quartered for the attempted assassination of Queen Victoria, although by early July the sentence had been commuted to transportation and hard labor in Australia. It is not clear to which of these sentences Fanny refers.]
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Appleton to Matilda Leiber, 10 June 1843. President John Tyler attended the dedication ceremony of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown on 17 June 1843.
  “We are in the impending honors, here, of a Tyler visitation, & a Bunker hill oration & an entire annihilation from the crush of ‘outside barbarans [sic].’ A second battle will be fought on the 17th to gain the hill & hear Mr Websters thunder instead of that of cannon. Such forced hospitality from people who despise their present President is distasteful eno’ to our Whig gentlemen.”
  [Note: The word transcribed as "honors" is unclear, and may also be read as "horrors" or "hours."]
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• February 1861: “Wednesday 6. And now old Ex President Tyler, who in his best estate was rather a laughing-stock of the nation, and only President by accident, has gone to Washington to save the country! This makes the whole matter a solemn farce. It is really too wicked. These men do not care about the union any further than they can turn it in favor of slavery.”

11. James K. Polk (1795-1849; President: 1845-1849)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Emmeline Wadsworth, 2 July 1847.
  “Mrs John Bryant has an etherial baby, another girl, which is the latest & best news I believe unless it be the unwelcome arrival of the President, who was as famously douched as Tyler, the favorite compliment of our sky to unpopular presidents. As he drove up Beacon St bare headed, Mr Quincy holding an umbrella over him, he snapped at every frigid bow as a dog at a bone, & bestowed many upon Mr Prescott’s blooming balcony of damsels, none of whom returned them! Tom thinks cutting a President in this way is the greatest thing he has seen since his return. His reception was barely a civil one, the office claiming what the man could not, but it is said he thinks it so cordial a one he means to bestow himself longer upon us on his return from the East!”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Anne (Longfellow) Pierce, January 1849.
  “He [Stephen Longfellow] has been waiting for an answer to President Polk, which will possibly never come, as the setting sun is indifferent, very likely, to winning or giving favors.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

12. Zachary Taylor (1784-1850; President: 1849-1850)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Thomas Gold Appleton, 27 June 1848. Appleton was abroad in France, writing home accounts of the founding of the French Second Republic.
  “While you are watching the growth of the Republic, to cast which it seems necessary to throw in all the pots & pans, as well as the nobler vessells [sic] of the country to use a much abused comparison, of which Cellini was I believe the creator, we are Tayloring & tinkering at ours – I hope it is not much out of repair, but it is in the melancholy predicament of having no head offered it worthy of its body. The factions of principles – ie the “conscience-Whigs” of Massachusetts, & the “Barn-burners” of the other States, Ohio, New York &c are making a great rally to oppose Taylor & Cass, - & Van Buren may possibly win the day for lack of a better. These barnburners have a very revolutionary sound, but are in fact the reformers of the democratic party, & mean to lift it from the mire.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Emmeline Wadsworth, 20 May 1850, describing meeting President Taylor at the White House.
  “I forgot to say that Friday evening was the levée at the White House & we were introduced to the President & saw the curious crowd, in every variety of costume, thronging the handsome rooms. They never looked so palace-like & elegant as now. As my name was announced by Mrs Winthop, the old General warmly grasped my hand, & suddenly darted at Henry saying “This must be Mr Longfellow – I remember him well” which amused us not a little, as they never met before. Perhaps he had seen a portrait or fancied he knew him. He has a very cordial, hearty manner, & seems as fresh & good natured as if he had not to see people all day long. Very like the statuettes, only not so grim. Not unlike an amiable grocer! Mrs Bliss is a quiet little body, very simply dressed, & a universal favorite. The old lady never appears, & is sighing, they say, for the four years to be over, that she may return to her quiet country life.”
  [Note: The president's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Bliss, acted as White House hostess. "The old lady" likely refers to the president's wife, First Lady Margaret Taylor.]
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Mary Greenleaf, 22 May 1850, describing meeting President Taylor at the White House.
  “The President we found very cordial, & hearing my name he darted at Henry saying “This must be Mr Longfellow, I remember him well” which amused us greatly as they never met before!”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Anne Pierce, 17 June 1850, describing meeting President Taylor at the White House.
  “The children were very little trouble & enjoyed every thing. They went to the White House & shook hands with the President, & kept a journal, with papa’s help, of all they saw & did.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Nathan Appleton, 10 July 1850.
  “We have a report here today of the President’s death. I trust it is not true. Beside the great loss he would be, his death would, I suppose, embarrass matters still worse.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Emmeline Wadsworth, 11 July 1850.
  “What a sudden & grievous blow is the President’s death! The good old man, truly loved by all, & whose firm hand was so needed at this crisis to make North & South work in the harness amicably. Boston was shrouded in gloom I hear, & all hearts saddened. It is our only comfort that Mr Fillmore is, apparently, so worthy a successor – he looked to me like a man of calm strength, his countenance is very prepossessing, but his energies are untried & the boldest might shrink from such sudden responsibilities at such an embarassed session. All hope he will at least have a stronger cabinet than the last.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• July 1848: “Monday 31. Fanny read me Corwin's speech on the Compromise Bill, dashing and clever with pleasant veins of irony running through it, but on the whole I am disappointed… not so able as Mann's. Still he has faith in Taylor, which I have not. By instinct, being a southerner and a slave holder he will favor slavery, if made President and on this ground the slaveholders support him.”
• November 1848: “Wednesday 8. Taylor is doubtless elected President.”
• May 1850, in Washington, D.C.: ‘’ Friday 17. … Evening at the President's [General Taylor]; cordial old man.”
• July 1850: “Wednesday 10. … The papers confirm the report of this morning. President Taylor is dead.”
• August 1850: “Thursday 15. Everybody is rushing up to town to see the funeral procession in honor of President Taylor, and the “catafalque drawn by Mr. Billings,” as the papers announce it. We stay quietly at home and [Charles] Sumner reads to us Kenelm Digby's “Broad-stone of Honor,” a laudation of the Middle Ages, - the author a Roman Catholic.”

13. Millard Fillmore (1800-1874; President: 1850-1853)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Emmeline Wadsworth, 11 July 1850.
  “What a sudden & grievous blow is the President’s death! The good old man, truly loved by all, & whose firm hand was so needed at this crisis to make North & South work in the harness amicably. Boston was shrouded in gloom I hear, & all hearts saddened. It is our only comfort that Mr Fillmore is, apparently, so worthy a successor – he looked to me like a man of calm strength, his countenance is very prepossessing, but his energies are untried & the boldest might shrink from such sudden responsibilities at such an embarassed session. All hope he will at least have a stronger cabinet than the last.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Emmeline Wadsworth, 22 September 1851, describing President Fillmore's attendance at the "Railroad Jubilee" in Boston marking the railroad connection of Boston and Montreal.
  “I saw none of the dignitaries – but a few British officers were brought out by Jewett (who had been stationed at Antigua) & Miss Fillmore, came with Martha Derby & Tom returning from a visit to Miss Hosmer a friend of Miss F’s & a girl of genius – sculptress &c. The President’s daughter seemed a very modest unassuming damsel & he looked finely on horseback & is a very gentlemanlike agreeable man. Both he & Lord Elgin made a very pleasing impression I believe.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

14. Franklin Pierce (1804-1869; President: 1853-1857)

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Anne Pierce, 23 September 1852.
  “We took Mary this morning to the beautiful horticultural show under a vast tent in Boston & while admiring the noble grapes, apples, pears & vegetables of all kinds we met Gen Pierce who expressed his pleasure in seeing you at Portland. He is an amiable looking man, & if not as handsome as our present President – certainly of very pleasant countenance.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing
• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Thomas Gold Appleton, 3 January 1853.
  "Two young Kentuckians here last night say the filibusters are mustering a large force, to evade the government by leaving as emigrants, so we may need Gen Pierce to show the firmness his mouth seems to indicate."
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• September 1852: “Thursday 23. Drove to town to see the beautiful Horticultural Exhibition under a great tent in the Public Gardens on Charles Street with Fanny and Mary Greenleaf. A very handsome show, of fruit, flowers and vegetables of all kinds. There we met Franklin Pierce, who in all probability will be the next President of the U.S. Afternoon a call from Dr. Gray with two New Yorkers, who came to urge me to lecture in their city this winter. Also Luigi Monti came to tea.”
• November 1852: “Wednesday 3. Franklin Pierce the Democratic candidate is elevated triumphantly .... Evening at Palfrey's.”
• March 1853: “Friday 4. The great canon last night announced the coming of this day, the inauguration of the new President, Franklin Pierce.”

15. James Buchanan (1791-1868; President: 1857-1861)

• Edmund T. Dana’s passport, signed by James Buchanan, 8 January 1848
  Dana Family Papers

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Thomas Gold Appleton, 10 December 1860.
  “The Presidents Message is thought miserably unsatisfactory, blowing hot & cold, & giving no good counsel to any. We need a stronger arm at the helm just now, and I wish Lincoln were already in, for I believe he would do better. His son in College came to see us the other night – a very intelligent, pleasing youth.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• January 1861: “Friday 4. President Buchanan's Fast. The evening papers bring report of all the Boston sermons; highly patriotic, and sometimes slightly bellicose.”
• January 1861: “Monday 28. Six States have left the Union, led by South Carolina. who is ancient Pistol, and before the play is over, he will have to eat an uncommonly large leek. No one at the North cares much about it, except the Bell-Everett party whose patriotism consists chiefly in hats for the Republican Party. President Buchanan is an antediluvian, an après-moi-le-déluge President, who does not care what happens, if he gets safely through his term. We owe the present state of things mainly to him. He has sympathized with the disunionists. It is now too late to put the fire out. We must let it burn out.”

16. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865; President: 1861-1865)

• Certificate appointing Richard Henry Dana Jr. United States Attorney for Massachusetts, signed by Abraham Lincoln and William H. Seward, 12 April 1861
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-104#001) - View Digital Copy
• Certificate appointing Richard Henry Dana Jr. United States Attorney for Massachusetts, signed by Abraham Lincoln and William H. Seward, 22 July 1861
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-104#002) - View Digital Copy

Fanny Longfellow Commentary:

• Letter, Fanny Longfellow to Thomas Gold Appleton, 10 December 1860.
  “The Presidents Message is thought miserably unsatisfactory, blowing hot & cold, & giving no good counsel to any. We need a stronger arm at the helm just now, and I wish Lincoln were already in, for I believe he would do better. His son in College came to see us the other night – a very intelligent, pleasing youth.”
  Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Outgoing

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• May 1860: “Friday 18. Clear, warm, and sunny among the cherry and peach blossoms in the garden. Evening Mr. Eastman. The papers announce the nomination of Mr. Lincoln of Illinois as Republican candidate for President.”
• March 1861: “Monday 4. The Inauguration of President Lincoln. We shall have his Address to-night. … Scherb at dinner and in the evening Lincoln’s Inaugural Address, which is very conciliatory, and yet firm.”
• January 1863: “Thursday 1. A great day. The President's Proclamation for Emancipation of Slaves in the Rebel States, goes into effect!”
• January 1863: “Friday 2…. [Richard Henry] Dana came in the evening, and talked of the President's Proclamation in his own clear way.”
• November 1864: “Tuesday 8. Election of President. Greene has gone to Newport to vote, to be back tonight. Everything looks favorable for Mr. Lincoln.
  Wednesday 9. There is hardly a doubt of Lincoln’s election. We breathe freer. The Country will be saved!
  Thursday 10. Lincoln elected beyond a doubt!”
• April 1865: “Saturday 14 [15 in a different hand]. The hideous news comes this morning of the assassination of President Lincoln, and an attempt to assassinate Secretary Seward! Such is Chivalry!
  Wednesday 19. This is the day of President Lincoln’s funeral.”

17. Andrew Johnson (1808-1875; President: 1865-1869)

Henry Longfellow's outgoing correspondence contains commentary on Andrew Johnson's presidency, particularly his policies on Reconstruction, his conflicts with Longfellow's close friend Senator Charles Sumner, and his impeachment. Longfellow's outgoing correspondence is published in six volumes edited by Andrew Hilen; the majority of his correspondence manuscripts are the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Papers, Houghton Library, Harvard University.

18. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885; President: 1869-1877)

Henry Longfellow Journal:

• October 1871: “Sunday 15. Drove Agassiz in to dine with Mr. Hooper, to meet President Grant, and some of his Secretaries. The President is a quiet, unostentatious man, with a soft, pleasant voice. We did not leave the table till after midnight.”

19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893; President: 1877-1881)

• Honorary Commission from State of Wisconsin, International Industrial Exposition in Paris, 1878, for Joseph Gilbert Thorp, signed by Rutherford B. Hayes.
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, Series IV-B. Joseph Gilbert Thorp, Professional Life
• Letter from Ole Bull to Mrs. Rutherford Hayes, enclosed in letter from Joseph Gilbert Thorp Sr., 25 March [1878].
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, Series IV-B. Joseph Gilbert Thorp, Correspondence, Incoming

20. James A. Garfield (1831-1881; President: 1881)

After Garfield's assassination, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a memorial poem titled "President Garfield," published in In the Harbor in 1882.

• Gilded railroad spike, 1881. From the track laid to carry President James Garfield from the train station to his seaside cottage in September 1881. Given to Henry Longfellow by George Zabriskie Gray.
  Museum Collection (LONG 7359)
• Book: In Memoriam. Gems of Poetry and Song on James A. Garfield. Columbus, OH: J. C. McClenahan & Company, 1881. Collected by H.W.L. Dana.
  Museum Collection (LONG 15476)
• Cabinet card photograph.
  Longfellow Family Photograph Collection (3007.002/001-017#024)

24. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908; President: 1885-1889; 1893-1897)

• Letter, Grover Cleveland to Richard Henry Dana III, 2 January 1895
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-033) - View Digital Images

26. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919; President: 1901-1909)

• 5 Letters, Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Henry Dana III, 1899-1908
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-141) - View Digital Images
• Letter, Karl Young to Alice Mary Longfellow, 1905, describes attending inauguration.
  Alice Mary Longfellow Papers, Correspondence, Incoming

27. William Howard Taft (1857-1930; President: 1909-1913)

• 6 Letters, William Howard Taft, Charles W. Eliot, and Richard Henry Dana III, 1910-1911.
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-161) - View Digital Images
• White House invitation for Alice Longfellow, 1909.
  Alice Mary Longfellow Paper, Correspondence, Incoming
• White House invitation for Anne Longfellow Thorp, 1913.
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, Series IV-H. Anne Longfellow Thorp, Correspondence, Incoming

28. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924; President: 1913-1921)

• 2 Letters, Woodrow Wilson to Richard Henry Dana III, 1914 and 1918.
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-170) - View Digital Images

30. Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933; President: 1923-1929)

• 2 Letters, Calvin Coolidge to Richard Henry Dana III, 1926.
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-036) - View Digital Images

31. Herbert Hoover (1874-1964; President: 1929-1933)

On May 31, 1929, Lou Hoover, the First Lady of the United States, visited the Longfellow House. She attended events for the Radcliffe College Semi-Centennial Celebration, held May 31 and June 1, 1929. An event hosted at the home of Alice Longfellow, one of the founders of Radcliffe, was a natural part of the celebration, although Longfellow had died the previous December. Her nephew, Harry Dana, kept notes on the day’s full schedule in his appointment book, from meeting Mrs. Hoover at South Station at 8:30 to “Tea at Craigie House” at 4, and a concert at Symphony Hall in the evening.

• Newspaper clipping re: Mrs. Herbert Hoover and Anne Allegra (Longfellow) Thorp, [1929]
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, Series IV-I. Priscilla Thorp Smith, Collected Materials
• Appointment book, 1929.
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Personal Materials, Appointment Books

Related Material:

A silent film in the collection of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University captures the gathering of delegates who were “entertained at tea” at the Longfellow House on May 31, 1929.

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945; President: 1933-1945)

• Letter, Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., 19 February 1918
  H.W.L. Dana Papers, Collected Material, Miscellaneous Famous People (1002/9.3-140) - View Digital Copy

Related Material:

According to his sons, FDR courted Frances Dana, granddaughter of Henry and Fanny Longfellow, while a student at Harvard. They remained friends after her 1905 marriage to Henry de Rham and travelled with him at Campobello and Florida.

• Photographs of Frances (Dana) de Rham, Henry de Rham, and Franklin D. Roosevelt
  Still Pictures, Photographs of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt with Frances and Henry DeRahm having tea on the Half Moon in Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, 1906. Photo ID 74202029(23)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt with Frances de Rham (Mrs. Henry) in Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, 1910. Photo ID 47963583, Photo ID 47963583
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, Frances de Rham, and Laura Delano wading in the water at Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, 1910. Photo ID 47963584, Photo ID 47963614, Photo ID 7420(474), Photo ID 74202029(18)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frances de Rham and others on a sailboat at Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, 1910. Photo ID 48223619(212)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt with Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara Delano Roosevelt, Laura Delano, and Mrs. Henry de Rham on a sailboat at Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, 1910. Photo ID 62258
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt with Missy, Maunselle S. Crosby, and Mrs. Frances de Rham in Florida, 1924. Photo ID 48223983(81)
    Published in F. D. R.: His Personal Letters, 1905-1928. (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948), following p. 596.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt on the beach with Frances deRahm in Florida, 1924. Photo ID 48223983(73)
    Published in F. D. R.: His Personal Letters, 1905-1928. (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948), following p. 596.
• Correspondence and personal materials related to Henry and/or Frances de Rham are listed in the finding aids to three document collections at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum:
  • General Correspondence, 1904-1928 in Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers Pertaining to Family, Business and Personal Affairs, 1882-1945
  • Correspondence in Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-1920
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt, Papers as President: The President's Personal File, Part 5: PPF 2001-2500, 1933-1945
• See also Rosamond Wild Dana, "Privileged Radicals: The Rebellious Times of Six Dana Siblings in Cambridge and New York in the Early Twentieth Century" (master's thesis, City University of New York, 1991).