Washington, (D.C.): The White House, December 28. 1923. One sheet, approximately 10 x 8 in. (254 x 203 mm) (sight). Typed letter, signed by Calvin Coolidge, to his cousin Josiah Coolidge regarding the Coolidge family farm, "I want to have somebody there that is trustworthy, somebody that I will be interested in, and someone that I know will be interested in the farm. I think you and Carrie meet these requirements better than anyone else of whom I can think..." Creasing from original folds. Unexamined out of frame, 15 1/2 x 23 5/8 in. (394 x 600 mm).

Only five months after assuming the Presidency, Calvin Coolidge writes to his cousin Josiah Coolidge asking he and his wife if they would care for his childhood homestead in Plymouth, Vermont. Even though he now held one of the most important offices in the world, President Coolidge was still deeply concerned about the daily operations of his family farm. It was there, on August 3, 1923, where Vice President Coolidge was vacationing and was alerted by messenger (due to the farm's lack of electricity and telephone service) of the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding. Coolidge took the Presidential Oath of Office in the living room of the farm house, administered by his father, John Coolidge Sr., who was a Justice of the Peace.

Provenance

Private Collection