Mrs. Butturff began her government career in 1930 with her appointment as a secretary in the Department of the Interior. She was transferred to the White House Social Bureau, which attended to the mail addressed to the First Lady, following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inauguration in 1933 and remained until 1957. From 1933 to 1945, she was assistant to Eleanor Roosevelt's personal secretary, Malvina Thompson Scheider, dividing her time between the White House and the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park, New York. Mrs. Butturff went to Hyde Park in the summer of 1938, spending part of the summers there from 1939 to 1941. She returned to assist with the flood of condolence letters regarding the death of President Roosevelt in April, 1945.
During her White House years of "life on a merry-go-round in an elevator with the Roosevelts," Mrs Butturff wrote many fascinating letters to her family detailing her varied experiences as a White House staff member. In 1984, these letters were edited by Ruth K. McClure and published as Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of Dorothy Dow 1933 - 1945. In 1946, she transferred to the correspondence section of the Executive Office of the President, soon moving to Office of Presidential Appointments, where she remained until her retirement in 1957.
The Dorothy Dow Butturff Papers comprise 2 boxes of her correspondence used in McClure's book, as well as other letters and related manuscript material. Box 1 consists of correspon- dence from such White House worthies as Mrs. Roosevelt; James Roosevelt; Malvina Thompson; Edith Helm; and George T. Bye, Mrs. Roosevelt's literary agent. The major portion of the correspondence deals with a book Mrs. Butturff had proposed to publish. Box 2 contains manuscript copies of Mrs. Butturff's letters as a White House social secretary from 1933 - 1945 as well as related materials (i.e., book reviews). Photographs of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; Fala; Dorothy Dow; Malvina Thompson; Donald Dawson; the John F. Kennedys; and the Lyndon B. Johnsons are found in Box 1.
Dorothy Dow married Robert R. Butturff on October 20, 1934. He died on February 15, 1976. Mrs. Butturff resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. She has one daughter, Barbara Butturff Delaney.
Number of Boxes: 2
Size: 1.0 linear feet
Date Span: 1933 - 1985
Provenance: Acquired from Mrs. Butturff, 1985 and 1986.
The Dorothy Dow Butturff "Personal Letters of a White House Social Secretary 1933 - 1945" correspondence and manuscripts were acquired from her daughter, Mrs. Barbara Butturff Delaney, in 1986.
Processed by: Anna T. Zakarija
Date: February 24, 1986
Box 1 Folder 1
Bye, George T. - Correspondence
Date Span: 1938, August 16 - 1950, January 30; Undated
Contents: Contains correspondence (transcripts and carbons), and
telegrams from George T. Bye, Eleanor Roosevelt's literary agent, to Dorothy
Dow Butturff and her sister, Frances Dow Spencer, regarding the possibility of
Butturff's writing a book about her days as a White House secretary.
Box 1 Folder 2
Dow [Butturff], Dorothy - Correspondence
Date Span: 1933, September - 1976, March; Undated
Contents: Contains correspondence, including carbons, from Dorothy Dow
Butturff to her mother and her husband, Robert, regarding her position as one
of Eleanor Roosevelt's White House secretaries.
Box 1 Folder 3
Dressler, Marie - Autograph
Date Span: Undated
Contents: Contains an autographed card from the noted American screen
star, Marie Dressler, obtained during her visit to the White House during the
Roosevelt Administration.
Box 1 Folder 4
Helm, Edith Burham - Correspondence
Date Span: 1934, October 25
Contents: Contains an autograph letter signed with holograph envelope
from the former White House Social Secretary during the Roosevelt
Administration, Edith Burham Helm, to Dorothy Dow on the occasion of the
latter's engagement to Robert Butturff.
Box 1 Folder 5
Lash, Joseph - Correspondence
Date Span: 1976, February 7 - March 2
Contents: Contains 2 TLS (typed letters signed) from Joseph Lash, noted
Roosevelt biographer, regarding Dorothy Dow Butturff's manuscript of her White
House years, and its marketing ability in conjunction with Lash's work,
Eleanor and Franklin. Also includes 2 TL (typed letter carbons) from
Butturff.
Box 1 Folder 6
McClure, Ruth K. - Correspondence
Date Span: 1983, April 25 - 1984, November 27
Contents: Contains letters, contracts, and clippings from Ruth McClure,
editor of Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of Dorothy Dow,
1933 - 1945, regarding this book.
Box 1 Folder 7
Roosevelt, Eleanor - Correspondence
Date Span: 1934 - 1956, May 14; Undated
Contents: Contains correspondence, invitations, and clippings from
Eleanor Roosevelt to Dorothy Dow Butturff. See itemized list below.
Item List: AC Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy Dow Butturff
[1934] with envelope regarding the latter's marriage.
C The White Social Bureau "Congratulations .
. . " Contained in the above envelope. [1934].
C The Social Staff "Best Wishes to . . . "
Contained in the above envelope. [1934]
TLS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy Dow Butturff
x/13/41 with envelope and with a TLS from Malvina Thompson.
AN Roosevelt, Eleanor [April, 1945]
"Memorandum from the Desk of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt."
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
viii/3/45.
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
"Monday." "Apartment 15-A . . . " [August, 1945].
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
"August 11th." "Apartment 15-A . . . " [August, 1945]. With holograph envelope.
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
"August 15th." 2-pages [1945, V-J Day].
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
"August 16th." With holograph envelope. [viii/16/45].
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
"August 26th." With holograph envelope. [viii/27/45].
ALS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
[in pencil] "Tell Nelly not to bother . . . " [1945].
TLS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Mr. Butturff [v/2/53]
with holograph notation and typed envelope.
TLS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
xii/22/53 with one holograph correction.
TLS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
ii/28/55. 2-pages with holograph notation.
TLS Roosevelt, Eleanor to Dorothy [Dow Butturff]
v/14/56.
AN Roosevelt, Eleanor
"Miss Dow We Resign!!! - The Whole Gang
of Us!! . . . " Includes newspaper clipping [1940].
Box 1 Folder 8
Roosevelt, Eleanor - Correspondence re FDR's death
Date Span: 1945, April 12 - June 1; Undated
Contents: Contains letters "picked at random from the thousands
received by Eleanor Roosevelt after President Roosevelt's death in April,
1945."
Box 1 Folder 9
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano - Related material
Date Span: 1945, April 14 and Undated
Contents: Contains invitation to Franklin Roosevelt's funeral services
in 1945, and a card printed "The President."
Box 1 Folder 10
Roosevelt, James
Date Span: 1945, August 20
Contents: Contains 1 typed letter signed from James Roosevelt to
Dorothy Dow Butturff concerning his father's grave; the autographed photographs
from the Library; and the matter of the stove.
Box 1 Folder 11
Thompson, Malvina - Correspondence
Date Span: 1941, August 1 - 1953; Undated
Contents: Contains 5 TL (typed letter unsigned); 5 TL (typed carbon
unsigned); 12 TLS (typed letters signed); 2 ALS (autograph letters signed); 4
envelopes; and newspaper clipping from Malvina Thompson Scheider, Mrs.
Roosevelt's long-time personal secretary, and with whom Dorothy Dow Butturff
worked for over twelve years.
Box 1 Folder 12
Manuscript-related Material - Correspondence
Date Span: 1984, May 18 - 1985, May 17; Undated
Contents: Contains correspondence, clippings, dustjacket, and book
reviews regarding Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of Dorothy
Dow, 1933 - 1945.
Box 1 Folder 13
Christmas Cards
Date Span: 1933 - 1953; Undated
Contents: Contains Christmas greetings from the White House during the
Roosevelt Administration; the Truman Administration; and signed greetings from
Mrs. Roosevelt during the 1950s.
Box 1 Folder 14
Clippings
Date Span: 1933; and 1938, August 17
Contents: Contains newspaper clippings from the 1933 "Mobilization for
Human Needs" Conference; and Eleanor Roosevelt's newspaper column, "My Day",
the topic of which is "The South has so many Riches."
Box 1 Folder 15
Inaugurals
Date Span: 1933, March 4; 1941, January 20; and 1945; January 20
Contents: Contains a copy of Roosevelt's 1933 Inaugural Address; and
invitations to the 1941 and 1945 Presidential Inaugurations.
Box 1 Folder 16
Invitations - White House and Miscellaneous
Date Span: 1934 - 1947
Contents: Contains invitations from the White House and organizations
such as the Gridiron Widows to Dorothy Dow Butturff.
Box 1 Folder 17
Miscellaneous Materials
Date Span: 1981
Contents: Contains an envelope with 4 matchbooks inclosed. The
envelope is marked as follows: "Hawaii = 1981 - Sept. - (?)"
Box 1 Folder 19
Photographs
Date Span: 1934 (?) - 1967
Contents: Contains various White House photographs. See item list
below.
Item List:
Packet 1 Contains 8 photographs of Eleanor Roosevelt (in swimsuit); Sistie and
Buzzie Roosevelt; Dorothy Dow Butturff; Malvina Thompson; Earl Miller; Maude
Gray; and the chauffeur's daughter at Hyde Park.
Packet 2 Contains 1 photograph of Dorothy Dow Butturff (in swimsuit) at Hyde
Park.
Packet 3 Contains 1 photograph signed from Eleanor Roosevelt to Dorothy Dow
Butturff, and used in the latter's book.
Packet 4 Contains 1 photograph of Dorothy Dow Butturff in 1936, and used in her
book.
Packet 5 Contains 1 early kodacolor print of Franklin Roosevelt's funeral
cortege in April, 1945.
Packet 6 Contains 1 photograph signed from Donald Dawson, President Truman's
personal assistant. Also includes a January 16, 1953 Government
Standard newspaper clipping.
Packet 7 Contains 1 photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1951 at Val-Kill
cottage.
Packet 8 Contains 1 photograph of the John F. Kennedy Family in a church
setting.
Packet 9 Contains a color photograph of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Family in
1967.
Packet 10 Contains an artistic plate depicting a fanciful scene of a Notre Dame
gargoyle.
Box 1 Folder 19
Press Releases
Date Span: 1945, April 17 and May 8
Contents: Contains 2 press releases regarding V-E Day.
Box 2 Folder 1
"Personal Letters . . . " Manuscript - Typed Carbon - I
Date Span: 1933 - 1945
Contents: Contains a 115-page typed carbon manuscript Dorothy Dow's
"Personal Letters of a White House Social Secretary 1933 - 1945" with holograph
corrections and notations.
Box 2 Folder 2
"Personal Letters . . . " Manuscript - Typed Carbon -II
Date Span: 1933 - 1945
Contents: Contains a 134-page typed carbon manuscript of Dorothy Dow's
"Personal Letters of a White House Social Secretary 1933 - 1945" with holograph
notations and corrections.
Box 2 Folder 3
"Personal Letters . . . " Manuscript - Typed Carbon-III
Date Span: 1933 - 1945
Contents: Contains a 152-page typed carbon manuscript of Dorothy Dow's
"Personal Letters of a White House Social Secretary 1933 - 1945" with holograph
notations and corrections.
Box 2 Folder 4
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit . . . - Manuscript - Part I
Date Span: [1984, October 21]
Contents: Contains a 91-page typed manuscript (copy only) of Ruth
McClure's edited book, Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of
Dorothy Dow 1933 -1945 (Part I), with some holograph corrections and
notations as well as a TLS (typed letter signed) from McClure.
Box 2 Folder 5
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit . . . - Manuscript - Part II
Date Span: [1984, October 21]
Contents: Contains an 82-page typed manuscript (copy only) of Ruth
McClure's edited book, Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of
Dorothy Dow 1933 - 1945 (Part II), with some holograph notations and
corrections.
Box 2 Folder 6
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit . . . - Manuscript - Part III
Date Span: [1984, October 21]
Contents: Contains a 118-page typed manuscript (copy only) of Ruth
McClure's edited book, Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters of
Dorothy Dow 1933 - 1945 (Part III), with some holograph corrections and
notations.
Box 2 Folder 7
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit . . . - Correspondence
Date Span: 1976, January 28 - 1983, April 5
Contents: Contains correspondence from Ruth K. McClure; Tom
Macgillivray; Dorothy Dow Butturff (see also Joseph Lash file in this
collection); Maurine Beasley (University of Maryland); and Emily L. Wright
(Department of Interior). Also includes xeroxes of photos used in book.
Box 2 Folder 8
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit . . . - Manuscript Miscellany
Date Span: Undated
Contents: Contains various miscellaneous typed manuscript sections of
Ruth McClure's edited book, Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit: The Letters
of Dorothy Dow 1933 -1945, such as footnote revisions, appendices, and
photo credits.
Box 2 Folder 9
"Why Was ER an Inspiration to Others?" - Speeches
Date Span: 1984, October 15 and Undated
Contents: Contains a 5-page typed carbon manuscript and a 4-page typed
manuscript with holograph notations and corrections of Ruth McClure's speeches
regarding Eleanor Roosevelt and her contribution. Also includes programs from
the "ER Centennial Celebration".
Box 2 Folder 10
Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit - Book Reviews
Date Span: 1984 - 1985
Contents: Contains newspaper clippings and various xeroxes of book
reviews regarding McClure's edited book, Eleanor Roosevelt, An Eager Spirit:
The Letters of Dorothy Dow 1933 - 1945.