New to the Archives

Historical materials described below are recent acquisitions to the Library's archival holdings and are currently available to the public for research.

The Library houses the personal papers of the President and Mrs. Roosevelt created before, during and after the presidency, as well as the records and papers of other various organizations and individuals associated with Roosevelts. For more information about conducting research online or in person at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, please see Search Our Collections.

 

February 2013: J. Lawrence and Laura Delano Houghteling Papers

Letter, FDR to J. HoughtelingThe Roosevelt Library recently received an exciting donation of original letters between FDR and his cousins J. Lawrence and Laura Delano Houghteling and other members of the extended Delano Family. Included are personal letters, letters to J. Lawrence Houghteling and Uncle Fred Delano who both served in government in various capacities, and letters about politics. Also included are letters to and from Eleanor Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, and others. The donation was made by Frederic L. Neustadt, grandson of the Houghtelings, on behalf of his family.

 

November 2012: Newly Declassified Documents from the Holdings of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

Newly declassified documents The National Archives and Records Administration recently declassified and returned to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library 144 pages of documents from its holdings that had been previously been classified. These materials are from the President’s Secretary’s Files, the President’s Map Room Papers, and the Adolf A. Berle, Jr. Papers. These documents are now open and available for research. In addition to the viewable electronic copies available here, paper copies are located in a binder in the Library’s research room for easy consultation by our researchers. The original documents have been returned to the appropriate collections and files.

The Roosevelt Library has no classified holdings at its facility in Hyde Park, New York. Less than 250 pages remain classified out of 17 million pages of manuscripts materials. These remaining classified items are in storage at the National Archives in Washington DC and will be undergoing further review in 2013 to determine their eligibility for declassification.

View materials from: Adolf A. Berle Jr. Papers | Map Room Papers | President's Secretary's File: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3

 

October 2011: Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day

Day by Day
Above: View of the Day by Day timeline interface
 
Day by Day detail view
Above: A detail view of one entry in the Stenographer's Diary.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day is an interactive chronology documenting Franklin Roosevelt’s daily schedule as President, from March 1933 to April 1945. The project was inspired by the work of Pare Lorentz, a Depression era documentary filmmaker, who dedicated much of his life to documenting FDR’s daily activities as president, and is supported by a grant from the New York Community Trust to the Pare Lorentz Center.

Featured here are digitized original calendars and schedules maintained by the White House Usher and the official White House stenographer. These calendars trace FDR’s appointments, travel schedule, social events, guests, and more. A searchable database based primarily on these calendar sources is available so that you can search the chronology by keyword and date.

As a fulfillment of Pare Lorentz’s original vision, Day by Day also includes an interactive timeline of additional materials from the Archives of the FDR Library to place each day’s calendar into larger historical context. These additional materials include scanned photographs, letters and speeches as well as descriptions of events in U.S. and world history. Special thanks to former Roosevelt Library Director Verne Newton whose vision and determination started the Day by Day Project and helped secure the original funding for the Pare Lorentz Center.

 

October 2011: FDRL Significant Documents Collection Fully Digitized

Significant Documents This is a selection of historical documents drawn from across the FDR Library's archival collections. Selections include materials identified possessing significant historic, iconic, or research value as individual items independent of their larger archival context. These documents represent major themes and events in the lives of both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and are largely drawn from FDR's Papers as President and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers.

These selected documents reflect both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's youth, rise in politics, leadership role during both the New Deal era and World War II. Mrs. Roosevelt's materials extend beyond the war years to reflect her activities on behalf of the United Nations and the civil rights movement. Materials include personal and official letters, telegrams, and memos; drafts and reading copies of key speeches including fireside chats; and handwritten notes or "chits" written by FDR giving instructions or directions to his staff and administration officials. Correspondents include Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Mahatmas Gandhi, King George VI, John F. and Robert F. Kennedy, Frances Perkins, Theodore Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin.

 

February 2011: FDR Letters to Lucy Mercer Rutherford

FDR letters to Lucy Mercer Rutherford
View FDR's letters
 Lucy Mercer Rutherford, 1945
Lucy Mercer Rutherford at Warm Springs, GA, 4/11/1945. Photo by Nicholas Robbins.

The Roosevelt Library recently acquired four handwritten letters from FDR to Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd written in 1926-1928. The letters are chatty in nature, and discuss such events as FDR's purchase of the Warm Springs resort, Anna Roosevelt's impending marriage to Curtis Dall, a business trip FDR is taking on behalf of the Fidelity and Deposit Company, and his upcoming appearance at the 1928 Democratic National Convention. 

While there is no groundbreaking content in the letters, their existence demonstrates that FDR continued to maintain contact with Mrs. Rutherfurd throughout the 1920s. The letters were deposited at the Library by Mrs. Rutherfurd's granddaughters, Lucy Mercer Knowles and Alice Rutherfurd Knowles.


July 2010: The Grace Tully Collection

Grace Tully

The Strange Case of the Tully Archive. Article by Bob Clark, Prologue Vol. 43, No. 1
Article by Bob Clark, Supervisory Archivist. Prologue, Spring 2011 (Vol. 43, No. 1)

FDR Library Gains and Digitizes New Collection of Roosevelt Era Papers

The Tully Collection is a significant archive of FDR-related papers and memorabilia that had been in the possession of the President's last personal secretary, Grace Tully. These historical materials were opened for research in November of 2010 and then posted online in the Spring of 2011. The entire collection, consisting of approximately 8,000 pages, is now fully available for searchable online viewing.

Access the Collection:

Browse : The Tully finding aid (collection guide) includes a complete box and folder list.

Search : Locate documents by searching for keywords within folder titles.

Read More : Learn about the Tully Collection and how it literally took an Act of Congress to arrive at the Roosevelt Library.

 July 28th press conference in Washington, D.C. Unveiling key documents from the Tully Collection at a press conference in Washington, DC., July 28, 2010.


January 2010: FDR's New York State Bar Association Application and Admissions File

NY State Bar Association Application and Admissions File The Roosevelt Library recently received as a permanent addition to its archives Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original New York State Bar application and admissions file.

These materials are now open for research for the first time since their creation 
102 years ago.
Click here to see scanned versions of the documents

This file has been kept sealed and in the custody of the NYS Supreme Court's Committee on Character and Fitness (Appellate Div., First Dept.) since 1907. Based on an agreement the Library reached with the Committee's very history-minded Executive Secretary, James T. Shed, the Court issued an order in December 2009 releasing the file to the Library as a permanent transfer in exchange for providing the Court with a microfilm copy. 

The file consists of the original file folder with FDR’s name and date of admittance, May 13, 1907; bar applicant questionnaire signed by FDR (undated); letter of recommendation from Langdon P. Marvin, May 6, 1907; certification no. 10139 of the Board of Law Examiners, April 9, 1907; a photocopy of FDR’s original entry in the Oath Book maintained by the Court; and a photocopy of original index card bearing FDR’s name and date of admittance maintained by Committee.

Want to know more about FDR's life and career before the presidency? Find biographical information at
Roosevelt Facts & Figures .  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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