Ferris Greenslet (Houghton Mifflin Company) and William Williams Keen regarding Houghton Mifflin's preparation of a President Cleveland biography, 1916 October 26, 1916 November, 1917 February 19

File — Container: 1, Folder: 11

Scope and Contents note

From the Collection: This collection documents William Williams Keen’s role in President Grover Cleveland’s 1893 secret surgery through Keen’s correspondence and reflections. The collection primarily covers developments surrounding two events: the surgery on July 1st, 1893, and the publication of Keen’s Saturday Evening Post article which appeared on September 22nd, 1917. Material in the collection was initially assembled in a scrapbook, however due to preservation concerns items were removed from the scrapbook and placed in folders. The collection contains three series: “Correspondence,” “Assembled Notes,” and “News Clippings.”

The “Correspondence” series largely contains Keen’s letters to and from individuals involved in some capacity with President Cleveland’s surgery. This includes Keen’s initial correspondence with Joseph Decatur Bryant and Robert Maitland O’Reilly regarding the preparation and follow-up of President Cleveland’s surgery. A significant portion of the letters relate to Keen’s attempt to accurately recreate the events of the surgery for his eventual article. To accomplish this goal Keen began corresponding with Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston for permission to discuss her former husband’s condition in 1916, which is documented in the series. Keen also corresponded with Annette Bryant, Florence Bryant de Peyster (Joseph Bryant’s daughter), Karson C. Gibson, Elias Cornelius Benedict, James Ford Rhodes, and E. J. Edwards for the purpose of clarifying events surrounding the surgery, all document in the series. Also of note are the letters exchanged between Keen and Ferris Greenslet from the Houghton Mifflin Company, regarding the company’s interest in publishing a Grover Cleveland biography. Houghton Mifflin requested Keen’s insights on the former President, however Keen responded that he was in the process of writing an article on the subject and the company would have to wait. Other letters include thank-you notes to Keen for his groundbreaking article.

The series dates include 1893, 1905, and 1915-1918. Folders are arranged chronologically to reflect the progression of Keen's actions, beginning with the actual surgery of President Cleveland, then followed by his article preparation and publication.

The “Assembled Notes” series contains material assembled by Keen to prepare for the eventual writing of his article. These include interviews with involved parties, photographs, and press clippings related to the President Cleveland surgery. The interviews include typed reflections recorded in 1916 by John F. Erdmann, Kasson C. Gibson, and Elias Cornelius Benedict regarding their involvement in President Cleveland’s surgery. Also included in the series are notes written by Robert Maitland O’Reilly, Ferdinand Hasbrouck, and Joseph Decatur Bryant recounting their actions surrounding the day of President Cleveland’s surgery. While the notes were initially written at the time of the event, notes in this series were transcribed and typed around 1916. Photographs in the series include images of the cheek retractor used for President Cleveland’s surgery, as well as his jaw cast. The press clippings contain assembled and retyped dispatches made by E. J. Edwards, under the pen name “Holland,” relaying his coverage of the President’s surgery. The clippings also include assembled and retyped newspaper accounts of John F. Erdmann’s and Kasson C. Gibson’s actions surrounding the President’s surgery.

The “News Clippings” series contains assembled newspaper articles and headlines covering both the 1893 controversy surrounding President Cleveland’s surgery, as well as the article published by Keen in the Saturday Evening Post. Particularly noteworthy are the clippings from 1893, reflecting the tense battles between the Cleveland administration’s Democratic supporters and their various opponents. Democrat-supporting newspapers accused journalists such as E. J. Edwards of stirring unwarranted “calamities” about the President’s health for self-interest and financial gain. Most of the news clippings are very fragile due to their age and adhesion with glue to a scrapbook. Care was taken to photocopy the clippings and place them in Mylar sleeves, however many of the clippings remain attached to the original scrapbook as removing them would cause permanent damage.

The series dates include 1893 and 1917, and is arranged alphabetically.