Manuscripts for: Helen Taft
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division
, Washington, D.C.
--William Howard Taft Papers: This collection contains the largest number of letters written to and from Helen Herron Taft, covering her life until 1936, just seven years before her death. There is an extensive listing in the Index located in Manuscript Division. There is also her correspondence with William Howard Taft prior to their marriage, and other materials from her youth, covering the period 1880 to 1886 and indexed by her maiden name, under Herron, Helen. Most importantly, in Series II of the papers are Helen Herron's youthful and introspective diary for 1879 to 1880, and 1883 to 1885.
--Helen Herron (Taft) Manning Correspondence and Papers, 1908-56, ca. 350 items: Educator. Chiefly letters (1917-29) from Mannings' father, Pres. William Howard Taft, relating to family matters, events in Washington, DC, politics, and the Supreme Court; and letters from her mother, Helen Herron Taft, and her brother, Robert A. Taft, Sr., and other correspondence. Container 1 includes a handwritten letter from Helen Heron Taft (HHT) to Helen Taft Manning (HTM) dated October 3; a handwritten letter from HHT to HTM dated October 31; a handwritten letter from HHT to HTM dated Sunday; a handwritten letter from HHT to HTM dated December 18; a handwritten letter from HHT to HTM dated June 17; a handwritten letter from HHT to HTM dated October 23. All letters written from 2215 Wyoming Avenue, where the former President and First Lady lived after they returned to Washington in 1921 and he served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
--Charles Phelps Taft Papers
, 1824-1972, ca. 160,000 items: Lawyer, Protestant lay leader, and mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Includes extensive Taft, Herron, and Chase family papers, including correspondence with Helen Herron Taft and William Howard Taft. Container 22 includes 6 folders dated from 1875 to 1933. Includes letters from Helen Herron Taft (HHT) to Charles Phelps Taft (CPT) and CPT to HHT (originals and carbons). Container 23 includes 6 folders dated from 1934 to 1943 and undated. Includes letters from HHT to CPT and CPT to HHT (originals and carbons); lengthy correspondence from both. Unpublished finding aid in the repository.
--Robert A. (Robert Alphonso) Taft Papers, 1885-1962, 532,000 items: U.S. senator from Ohio. Includes materials on personal and family affairs, especially concerning Taft's father, William Howard Taft, and his mother, Helen Herron Taft, and his wife, Martha (Bowers) Taft. Container 2 includes 6 folders dated 1905 - 1943 and undated. Chiefly handwritten letters from Helen Herron Taft (HHT) to Robert Alphonso Taft (RAT). Finding aid published in the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States.
--Grosvenor Family Papers, 1827-1968, 65,000 items: Correspondence, diaries, speeches and writings, financial papers, subject material, printed matter, and personal miscellany, chiefly 1872-1964, of family members, principally of Amherst and Millbury, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. Prominent individuals represented by correspondence or other material include Helen Taft. Container 34 includes a handwritten letter from Helen Herron Taft (HHT) to Lillian Grosvenor (LG) dated March 6, 1908; a handwritten letter from HHT to LG dated October 29, 1910; a handwritten letter from HHT to LG dated March 25, 1911; a handwritten letter from HHT to LG dated October 25, 1927; a letter from HHT to LG dated May 11, 1911; a letter from HHT to LG dated 1912. Container 48 includes a handwritten letter from HHT to Elsie B. Grosvernor (EBG) dated December 11, 1908; a letter from HHT to EBG dated Sunday (1909); a letter from HHT to EBG undated; a letter from HHT to GHG dated June 21; a letter from HHT to GHG dated November 12; a letter from HHT to GHG dated April 4; a letter from HHT to EBG dated April 21; a letter from HHT to EBG dated April 26, 1929; a letter from HHT to EBG & GHG dated December 29, 1940; a letter from HHT to EBG dated March 10; a letter from HHT to EBG undated; a letter from HHT to EBG dated March 25; a letter from HHT to EBG dated December 26; an unsigned note on Supreme Court stationary stating that HHT wants National Geographic sent after October 1. Finding aid published in the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States.
--Daniel Carter Beard Papers, 1798-1941, 105 ft., Open, Published guide and register: Papers of Beard (1850-1941), an author, illustrator, and cofounder of the Boy Scouts of America. In Container 118 there is an acknowledgment of sympathy typed and signed from Helen Herron Taft (HHT) to Daniel Carter Beard (DCB) dated March 20, 1930.
Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Victor Murdock Papers, Washington, DC: Container 29 includes an invitation from Helen Taft dated May 19, 1910.
--Mark Sullivan Papers: Container 3 includes a handwritten note to the journalist from Helen Taft dated February 4.
--Charles Moore Papers: Material from Helen Taft. Container 11 includes a handwritten card dated May 11, a handwritten card undated; a note dated January 25; a note dated October 18; a card dated October 24; a Christmas card dated 1930-1. Most correspondence concern the Taft Memorial.
--Warren G. Harding Papers: Microfilm. Reel 242 includes a telegram from Helen Herron Taft (HHT) to Florence Kling Harding (FKH) dated December 17, 1920.
--Frances Benjamin Johnston Papers: Container 11 includes a handwritten note on inaugural picture from Helen Herron Taft to Frances Benjamin Johnston dated March 1, 1909.
--Alexander Graham Bell Papers
: Container 55 includes a handwritten note from Helen Herron Taft to Mabel Hubbard Bell dated March 9
Stanford University Libraries, Manuscripts Division, Stanford, California --Noted Women Collection, ca. 2 in., Open, Register: Collection includes correspondence of Grace Coolidge, Lou Hoover, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Helen Taft.
Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia--Martha Waller Johnson Papers, 1864-1926, 294 items: Correspondence, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, photos, and other items. Correspondents include Frances Cleveland, Florence Harding, Harriet Lane, Edith Roosevelt, and Helen Taft.