Posterity

by Dorie Mccullough Lawson

  “The Wyeths: A Father and His Family.” Interviews by David McCullough. Produced by David Grubin. Smithsonian World, videocassette.

  SOURCES AND PERMISSIONS

  Adams, Abigail, to John Quincy, January 19, 1780, and to Thomas, April 26, 1809; Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

  Adams, Ansel, to Michael, December 25, 1953: From Mary Street Adler and Andrea Gray Stillman, editors. Ansel Adams: Letters 1916–1984 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1988), 240–41. Published with permission from The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. All rights reserved.

  Adams, John, to John Quincy, May 18, 1781; to John Quincy, May 26, 1794; to Abigail Adams Smith, February 21, 1797; Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

  Adams, John Quincy, to John, November 2, 1818; Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

  Anderson, Sherwood, to John, spring 1926, April 1927, and 1929: Manuscript Division, Newberry Library, Chicago. Published with permission from the estate of Sherwood Anderson: Charles Modlin, 1000 Chestnut, Christiansburg, VA 24073.

  Audubon, John James, to Victor, January 14, 1834: Howard Corning, ed. Letters of John James Audubon 1826–1840: In Two Volumes: Volume Two (Boston: The Club of Odd Volumes, 1930), 3–7. Reprinted by permission of the American Philosophical Society.

  Bell, Alexander Graham, to Elsie and Marian, November 13, 1887, and to Marian, May 4, 1901: Alexander Graham Bell Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

  Bradstreet, Anne, to Simon, March 20, 1664: John Harvard Ellis, ed., The Works of Anne Bradstreet in Prose and Verse (Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith Publisher, Inc., 1932), 45–48. Published by permission of Peter Smith Publisher, Inc.

  Bush, Barbara, to children, May 1993: Barbara Bush, Barbara Bush: A Memoir (New York: St. Martin's Paperback, 1994), 552–53. Published by permission of Barbara Bush.

  Bush, George Herbert Walker, to children, September 23, 1998: George Bush, All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings (New York: Touchstone, 1999), 621–26. Published by permission of George Bush.

  Byrd, Richard, to Richard, April 28, 1926, and February 22, 1929: The Ohio State University Archives, Papers of Admiral Richard E. Byrd (RG56.1) 19961, Box 1, Folder 6. Published by permission of The Ohio State University Archives, Papers of Admiral Byrd.

  Catlin, George, to Louise, April 22, 1861: George Catlin Papers 1821–1946, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

  Chase, Salmon P., to Kate, May 10, 1868: Salmon P. Chase Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

  Cronyn, Hume, to Tandy, May 26, 1961: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Published by permission of Hume Cronyn.

  Douglas, William O., to Mildred, December 16, 1961: Papers of William O. Douglas, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

  Douglass, Frederick, to Rosetta, June 3, 1875: The Frederick Douglass Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

  Du Bois, W. E. B., to Yolande, October 19, 1914: Herbert Aptheker, ed. The Correspondence of W. E. B. Du Bois: Volume 1 Selections, 1877–1934 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1973), 207–208. Published by permission of The University of Massachusetts Press.

  Edison, Thomas, to Thomas, 1903: National Historical Site Archives. Box 1903, “Family.”

  Edwards, Jonathan, to Mary, July 26, 1749: George S. Claghorn, ed. Jonathan Edwards: Letters and Personal Writings (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 288–90. Published by permission of Yale University Press.

  Einstein, Albert, to Hans Albert, October 4, 1915: Robert Schulman, A. J. Kox, Michael Janssen, and Jozsef Illy, eds. The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein. Volume 8, The Berlin Years Correspondence, 1914–1918 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998), 189–90. Published by permission of Princeton University Press.

  Eliot, Charles, to Charles Eliot, Jr., April 20, 1886: Courtesy of the Harvard University Archives.

  Fisher, M. F. K., to Norah, Anne, and Mary, September 1984. M. F. K. Fisher: A Life in Letters: Correspondence 1929–1991. Selected and Compiled by Norah K. Barr, Marsha Moran, Patrick Moran (Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1998), 455–56. Published by permission of Lescher & Lescher, Ltd.

  Fitzgerald, F. Scott, to Scottie, August 8, 1933; October 20, 1936; and July 7, 1938: Matthew J. Buccoli, ed. A Life in Letters: F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York: Touchstone, 1994), 234–35, 313–14, 362–65. Reprinted with permission of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. Copyright © 1994 by the Trustees Under Agreement dated July 3, 1975, created by Frances Scott Fitzgerald Smith.

  Franklin, Benjamin, to William, October 19, 1772: William B. Willcox, ed. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 19 January 1 through December 31, 1772. To William, August 16, 1784: Department of Manuscripts, The British Library. Published by permission of The British Library.

  Garrison, William Lloyd, to William, December 31, 1858: Garrison Family Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass. To Wendell, December 12, 1878. bMS Am 1169 (101). Published by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University.

  Gates, Henry Louis, to Maggie and Liza, July 8, 1993: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Colored People: A Memoir (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), xi—xvi. Published by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

  Guthrie, Woody, lines from “This Land Is Your Land” reprinted by permission of The Richmond Organization.

  Guthrie, Woody, to Arlo, September 1956: Woody Guthrie Foundation Archives, Correspondence 1, Box 3, Folder 9. Published by permission of Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.

  Hammerstein, Oscar, to Bill, January 18, 1953: Papers of Oscar Hammerstein, Division of Performing Arts, Library of Congress. Unpublished letter reprinted by permission of The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. All rights reserved.

  Houston, Sam, to Sam, June 15, 1846: Special Collections, The New York Public Library, Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Published by permission of The New York Public Library. To Sam, July 23, 1861: Records of Governor Sam Houston, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Published by permission of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

  Howard, Moe, to Joan c. 1936: Private Collection of Joan Howard Maurer and Paul Howard. Published by permission of Joan Howard Maurer.

  Howells, William Dean, to William, March 1, 1909: William C. Fischer with Christoph K. Lohmann, W. D. Howells, Selected Letters, Volume 5: 1902–1911 (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983), 268. Published by permission of the Gale Group.

  James, William, to Margaret, June 19, 1895: bMS Am 1092.9 (2980), Houghton Library, Harvard University. Published by permission of Houghton Library, Harvard University. To Margaret, May 26, 1900: bMS Am 1092.9 (3003) Houghton Library, Harvard University. Published by permission of Houghton Library, Harvard University.

  Jefferson, Thomas, to Martha, March 28, 1717; April 7, 1787; June 14, 1787; and April 4, 1790: Thomas Jefferson Papers, Library of Congress.

  Lanier, Sidney, to Charles, August 15, 1880, and July 20, 1881; Sidney Lanier Papers, Ms. 7, Special Collections and Archives, The Johns Hopkins University. Published by permission of Special Collections and Archives, The Johns Hopkins University.

  Lee, Robert E., to Charlotte, December 10, 1862: Clifford Dowdy, ed. The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1961), 357. Published by permission of Special Collections, Leyburn Library, Washington & Lee University.

  Lincoln, Mary Todd, to Robert, June 19, 1876: Justin G. Turner and Linda Levitt Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln: Her Life and Letters (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972), 615.

  London, Jack, to Joan, August 17, 1913; August 24, 1913; September 5, 1913; October 11, 1913; and February 24, 1914; Earle Labor, Robert C. Leitz III, and I. Milo Sheperd, ed. The Letters of Jack London: Volume Three: 1913–1916 (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1988), 1215–16, 1218–19, 1225–26, 1257–60, 1298–1301. Published by permission of Stanford University Press.

  L
uce, Clare Boothe, to Ann, November 24, 1942, and February 4, 1942: Papers of Clare Booth Luce, Library of Congress.

  Mahan, Alfred Thayer, to Helen, July 9, 1890: Naval Historical Collection, Naval War College. Published by permission of the Naval Historical Collection, Naval War College.

  Marx, Groucho, to Arthur, 1940: Groucho Marx, The Groucho Letters (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967), 43–45. Published by permission of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. To Arthur, February 16, 1945: Collections of the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Published by Permission of Groucho Marx Productions, Inc.

  Melville, Herman, to Malcolm, September 1, 1860: bMS Am 188(176), Houghton Library, Harvard University. Published by permission of Houghton Library, Harvard University.

  O'Hara, John, to Wylie, September 22, 1959, and September 29, 1959: Matthew J. Bruccoli, ed. Selected Letters of John O'Hara (New York: Random House, 1978), 300–304. Published by permission of United States Trust Company of New York.

  Olmsted, Frederick Law, to Frederick, Jr., September 5, 1890; May 13, 1875; and October 15, 1895; to John, May 10, 1895: Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, Library of Congress.

  O'Neill, Eugene, to Eugene, Jr., February 20, 1930, and April 28, 1941; to Shane, October 1937, July 18, 1939, and April 18, 1941: The Yale Collection of American Literature, Beineke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Published by permission of Yale University.

  Patton, George, to George, June 6, 1944: Papers of George Patton, Library of Congress.

  Pershing, John J., to Warren, May 19, 1918, and February 28, 1925: Papers of John J. Pershing, Library of Congress.

  Rickenbacker, Eddie, to William, January 1, 1951: Rickenbacker Papers, Special Collections & Archives, Auburn University. Published by permission of Special Collections & Archives, Auburn University.

  Rockefeller, John D., to John, January 26, 1922, and June 13, 1929: Joseph W. Ernst, ed. “Dear Father”/“Dear Son” Correspondence of John D. Rockefeller and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (New York: Fordham University Press, 1994), 133, 163. Published courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.

  Rockefeller, John D., Jr., to John, May 1, 1920: Rockefeller Archive Center. Collection: John Rockefeller III. Record Group: R65. Series: I, OMR. Box: 31. Folder: 2987. Item: Memo Between Papa & John. To Boys, December 21, 1943: Rockefeller Archive Center, collection: John Rockefeller III; Record Group: R65; Series: 1 OMR; Box: 31; Folder: 292; Item: John Jr–Boys December 21, 1943. Published courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.

  Roebling, Washington, to John, March 21, 1908: Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries. Published by permission.

  Roosevelt, Eleanor, to James, September 22, 1949. Papers of Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. Published by permission of Nancy Roosevelt Ireland, Trustee, AER Estate.

  Roosevelt, Theodore, to Alice, August 28, 1904. Published by permission of Joanna Sturm. To Kermit, March 5, 1904, and October 2, 1903: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. To Theodore, Jr., April 9, 1904: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. To Quentin, June 21, 1904: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. To Quentin, December 24, 1917, and March 17, 1918: Houghton Library, Harvard University. Published by permission of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

  Rush, Benjamin, to John, May 18, 1796: Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library. Published by permission of Princeton University Library.

  Sandburg, Carl, to Margaret, November 1921: Herbert Mitgang, ed. The Letters of Carl Sandburg (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1968), 203. Published by permission of Harcourt, Inc.

  Seward, William, to William, Jr., October 7, 1848: William Henry Seward Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of Rochester. Published by permission of University of Rochester.

  Sexton, Ann, to Linda, April 1969: Linda Grey Sexton and Lois Ames, eds. Anne Sexton: A Self Portrait in Letters (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1977), 424. Published by Permission of Linda Grey Sexton.

  Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, to Margaret, December 1, 1872. Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Library of Congress.

  Steffens, Lincoln, to Pete, June 23, 1926, and December 9, 1931; Lincoln Steffens Papers, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University. Published by permission of Columbia University.

  Steinbeck, John, to Thom, November 10, 1958, and to John, July 16, 1966: Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten, eds. John Steinbeck: A Life in Letters (New York: Penguin Books, 1989), 600–601, 835–36. Published by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Stowe, Harriet Beecher, to Georgiana, February 12, 1858, and to Charles, 1882: Anne Fields, ed. Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe (Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1898), 247–48, 382–83.

  Truman, Harry, to Margaret, July 25, 1945: From the Collection of the Harry S Truman Library.

  Twain, Mark, to Susie, December 25, 1875: Clara Clemens. My Father, Mark Twain (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1931), 36–39. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. To Clara, December 29, 1909: Albert Bigelow Paine, ed. Mark Twain's Letters, Volume II (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1917), 835–36.

  Washington, George, to John Parke Custis, June 19, 1775: George Bolling Lee Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Virginia Historical Society. Published by permission of the Virginia Historical Society and the University of Virginia Press.

  Webster, Daniel, to Charles, November 1825: Charles Wiltse, ed. The Papers of Daniel Webster, Correspondence, Volume 2, 1825–1829 (Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1976), 3–4. Published by permission of University Press of New England. To Edward, June 23, 1834: Charles M. Wiltse, ed. The Papers of Daniel Webster. Correspondence, Volume 3, 1830–1834 (Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1977), 351–52. Published by permission of University Press of New England.

  Wilder, Laura Ingalls, to Rose, February 5, 1937: Collections of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Published by permission of Little House Heritage Trust, its copyright owner.

  Williams, William Carlos, to William, September 25, 1942: John C. Thirlwall, ed. The Selected Letters of William Carlos Williams (New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1957), 201–203. Published by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

  Wilson, Woodrow, to Jessie, October 15, 1914; Arthur S. Link, ed. The Papers of Woodrow wWilson, Volume 38: August 7–November 19, 1916 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982), 688–89. Published by permission of Princeton University Press.

  Wyeth, N. C., to Ann and John, November 4, 1935; Peter and Henriette, August 27, 1939; Nat and Caroline, October 19, 1943; Andrew, February 16, 1944: Betsy James Wyeth, ed. The Wyeths: The Letters of N. C. Wyeth 1901–1945 (Boston: Gambit, 1971), 750–51, 794–96, p. 828, 833–36. Published by permission of The Wyeth Foundation of American Art.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  My first gratitude is to those families, individuals, executors, archives, libraries, and publishing houses that granted me permission to publish these personal family correspondences. There would be no collection of this kind without their generosity.

  The book could not have happened as it did without the imaginative and enthusiastic help of Mike Hill, who traveled the country, was driven after letters like a bloodhound in pursuit, provided valuable suggestions, made terrific finds, photocopied almost more than is humanly possible, and encouraged me all the while. He worked tirelessly on this project and always with genuine good cheer and sustaining humor.

  For their assistance and suggestions I am particularly indebted to the following archivists, librarians, and specialists: Mary Wolfskill; Len Bruno; Alice Birney; Mark Horowitz; Bruce Kirby; Gerard Gawalt; David Wigdor; Barbara Bair; Adrienne Cannon; Staley Hitchcock; Fred Bauman; and especially to the patient and resourceful “archivist extraodinaire,” Jeffrey Flannery, Library of Congress; Laura Kells, Library of Congress; Peter Drummey; Celeste Walker; William Fowler, Jr.; Ni
cholas Graham and Beth Krimmel, Massachusetts Historical Society; my old friend Elizabeth Safley, Harry S Truman Library; Brian Sullivan, Harvard University Archives; Michael Plunkett, University of Virginia Special Collections; John Gable, Theodore Roosevelt Association; Nora Guthrie, Felicia Katz, and Jorge Arevalo, Woody Guthrie Archives; Bob Clark and Mark Renovich, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library; JoEllen Dickie, Newberry Library; Wallace Dailey, Houghton Library, Harvard University; Laura Kissell and Dr. Raimund Goerler, Richard Byrd Archives, Ohio State University; Anne Marie Menta, Beineke Library, Yale University; Edward Skipworth and Erika Gorder, Rutgers University; Jaqueline McKiernan, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center; Lynn A. Smith, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; John Hooper, National John Steinbeck Center; Jean Becker, Office of George Bush; Marc Rothenberg, Joseph Henry Papers Project; Linda Seelke, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library; and Dr. Charles Beveridge, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project.

  A number of people to whom I am grateful provided letters or helped to track down correspondence: Louisa Thomas, Jack Bales, David Rae Morris, Roger Lawson, Emily Morison Beck, Ann Marshall, John Powell, Anne Adams Helms, Joan Howard Maurer, Gloria Owens Hemphill, Kate Healy, Ian Schoenherr, and Wylie O'Hara Doughty.

  My thanks also go to Barbara Shuster, for her translation of the Einstein letters; my sister, Melissa McCullough McDonald, for her meticulous proofreading of typescripts against original letters; Linda Konkel for typescripts; and Bentley Davis for her enormous help with requests for letters, tracking permissions, typing, and errands of all kinds. For suggestions, encouragement, advice, and help in a variety of capacities, I am grateful to Bob Wilson; Geoffrey McCullough; Melissa McDonald; Alice Hammerstein Mathias; Tim Newman; Phil Zeidman; Caitlin McDonald; Jim and Marty Carter; Margot Goodwin; David McCullough, Jr.; William McCullough; Shannon Gregory; Ed Adler; Susan Simpson Gallagher; David Alden; Jane Acton; Michael Beschloss; Martina Gonsalves; Melissa Marchetti; Kendra Harpster; Laura MacCarty; Molly Will; and Susan Peck.