Moving Edith's Wardrobe
The bedroom furniture was purchased by TR's father for their home at 6 West 57th Street. After Mittie's death the house was immediately sold to John Kennedy (No relation to the Boston Kennedys). He was a friend of the family and sat on the board of the Museum of Natural History. After the sale the furnishings were distributed among the children. The set was made in Philadelphia by Daniel Pabst at the time of the sentential.
The picture above shows how the bedroom looked at the time the house was first opened to the public on Sunday June 14th, 1953. In the fall of 1945 Jessica Kraft, an Oyster Bay resident, was hired by the family as Edith's personal secretary. She balanced her checkbook and helped Edith keep current on her personal correspondence.
In the last years of Edith's life Jessica became her constant companion. One of their favorite pastimes was to sit out on the balcony and read together, look across the lawn at the birds and wildlife and watch the sunsets. When it got too cold, they'd move to the North Room where Edith would read and do needle point and gaze at the winter views through the trees.
After Edith's death the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) hired Jessica to become Sagamore Hill's first curator. She held that position until 1974 and was the only curator to have worked at Sagamore Hill while Edith was alive.
The above photograph shows how the bedroom looks today. Its appearance has changed significantly since Jessica retired. The bed is now up against the opposite wall closer to the fireplace. The wardrobe (armoire) and the Herter Brothers Cabinet were both removed. The wardrobe went to the nursery and the cabinet was put in Edith's Drawing Room. Replacing the cabinet is a wash basin with two hand towels. A dresser and mirror replaced where the bed used to be. A full-length mirror was hung on the far wall and an extension gas lamp was installed between the dresser and the window.
Alice and Ethel both attended the Opening Day Dedication. They along with other family members walked through the house before, during and after the celebration. At that time no one in the family mentioned the armoire belonged in the nursery.
Decades went by without a single objection until one afternoon, out of the blue, a quarter of a century later Ethel said the wardrobe belonged in the nursery.
The Park, based on Ethel's comment, moved the wardrobe to the nursery where it remains today.
Why Move the Wardrobe
At some point after TR's death Edith moved from the master bedroom into the room at the top of the stairs. On the left side of the bed is a door that leads to the nursery, and it made total sense for Edith to have the wardrobe moved into the nursery turning that space into a private dressing room.
At 6:30 in the mooring on Thursday, September 30, 1948, Edith died in the room at the top of the stairs. She had just turned 87 on August 6th, fifty-five days earlier.
It seems over time Ethel had a change of heart. In the beginning the bedroom was apparently shown the way it was when both her parents were alive. However, as Ethel got older it appears she wanted the house to more closely reflect the way it looked when her mother was there alone in the closing years of her life.