# Was Woodrow Wilson present for T.R.'s 1901 swearing-in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951 "2009-08-19T14:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/1 "2009-08-19T14:18:17Z")
I just finished Sarah Vowell’s very offbeat but funny _Assassination Vacation_, in which she visits various sites associated with the Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley assassinations. She mentions, in passing, that Woodrow Wilson was among those who crammed into the library of the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1901 to witness Theodore Roosevelt being sworn in as President. I’ve never previously read that, and Google and Wiki have failed me. Was Wilson really there? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/2 "2009-08-19T23:46:01Z")
I have online access to 2-3 newspaper databases that cover that period, but nothing shows up to confirm or deny that. Did the author any footnote where she got that? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/3 "2009-08-20T00:30:10Z")
The Wilcox house is now a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service. I don’t see anything about Wilson attending the inauguration on their website, but there’s a “contact us” link: [http://www.nps.gov/thri/historyculture/index.htm](http://www.nps.gov/thri/historyculture/index.htm) If anybody would know, they probably would. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/4 "2009-08-20T01:27:03Z")
My uneducated guess is, that somewhere are Woodrow Willson papers which might help. They may not be accessible online. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/5 "2009-08-20T01:36:52Z")
I loved that book, but it needs to be rereleased as a trade paperback with illustrations and photographs or else have an accompanying website. As to the OP: I can’t think of any reason he’d have been there. He was a professor and in administration at Princeton at the time- he became president of the university the next year- but had no authority in New York. Are you sure you didn’t misread? If not, I think Sarah’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/6 "2009-08-20T01:41:20Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > The Wilcox house is now a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service. I don’t see anything about Wilson attending the inauguration on their website, but there’s a “contact us” link: [http://www.nps.gov/thri/historyculture/index.htm](http://www.nps.gov/thri/historyculture/index.htm) If anybody would know, they probably would. Thanks, I’ll try that link. **Sampiro** , yes, I’m sure that’s what Vowell said. **Samclem** , since I was listening to the audiobook, I don’t have access to her footnotes (if any). I suppose Wilson might just’ve been visiting the Pan-American Exposition at the time, but I don’t know how he would’ve made his way into the very small inauguration ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/7 "2009-08-20T01:42:57Z")
Could be. Was Robert Todd Lincoln there? (I know he was nearby when McKinley was killed.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/8 "2009-08-20T01:46:28Z")
Apparently he was at least in the house that day. From the [memoirs of H.H. Kohlsaat](http://mckinleydeath.com/documents/books/FMHch21.htm): > [@](#): > > At 3 o’clock I gave my card to the colored man at the Wilcox home. The house was old-fashioned. A hall with rooms on both sides. My card was carried into the room on the right. Across the hall were the members of the cabinet. I was soon shown in; after I had shaken hands with Roosevelt, he turned to a gentleman by his side and said: “Woodrow, you know Kohlsaat, don’t you? Mr. Kohlsaat, let me introduce you to Woodrow Wilson.” > After a moment or two Roosevelt said: “Woodrow, would you mind stepping into the library for a few minutes? I want to talk to Kohlsaat on an important matter.” In 1901 Mr. Wilson was professor of political economy and jurisprudence, Princeton University. A year later he was made president of the institution. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/9 "2009-08-20T02:11:14Z")
Yes, Wilson was there. Edmund Morris briefly discusses his presence in _Theodore Rex_ and quotes the Kohlsaat memoirs cited above. According to Morris, Wilson (then a professor of political science and well known author) was on his way home from Rosseau Falls, Ontario. Roosevelt and Wilson were on good terms at that point in their careers, corresponded occasionally, and had more or less standing invitations to visit each other. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/10 "2009-08-20T02:24:48Z")
As I read Kohlsaat and Morris more carefully, they both describe Wilson as being at Wilcox House _the next day_, not on the day of the inauguration. As for the ceremony itself, there were 43 people there, but Morris mentions only the Cabinet, a “selection of local dignitaries” including one of New York’s Senators, numerous representatives of the press, and “a small party of women”. No word on Wilson being there for the oath, so Sarah may have stretched a point. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/11 "2009-08-20T05:13:32Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > As I read … Morris more carefully, [he] describe[s] Wilson as being at Wilcox House _the next day_, not on the day of the inauguration… I just checked my own copy of _Theodore Rex_ (great book!), and I agree with you. The NPS site’s voicemail doesn’t take messages after hours, alas, and its “contact us” email function is apparently on the fritz. I’ve ordered a bunch of Wilson books through my local library, and will report back on what I learn. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/12 "2009-08-20T22:38:14Z")
Slightly off topic: What does Vowell’s book say about the site of Garfield’s assassination? Does the train station still exist? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/13 "2009-08-21T00:38:20Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Slightly off topic: What does Vowell’s book say about the site of Garfield’s assassination? Does the train station still exist? Nope. Torn down in 1908. Wikipedia article actually has a picture of it. > **[James A. Garfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield)** > > James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot in July . A preacher, lawyer, and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives and is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before he ran for president, the Ohio General Assembly had elected him to the U.S. Senate, a position he declined ... ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/14 "2009-08-21T01:17:21Z")
She goes into lots of lesser known sites associated with it as well: Guiteau’s boarding house, the store where he bought the pistol (he wanted to be sure to buy one that would look good in a museum display case), the scene of the trial, the house where Garfield went to recuperate (and died), etc… For the Lincoln assassination she actually went to Dry Tortugas (a very choppy 90 minute boat ride from Key West) to see where Mudd and Arnold were held. She went to the Mutter Museum and other medical museums to see bits of brain and skull associated with various shootings. It’s a great book, but it GREATLY needs pictures or an accompanying web site. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/15 "2009-08-21T02:59:15Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > She goes into lots of lesser known sites associated with it as well: …the store where he bought the pistol (he wanted to be sure to buy one that would look good in a museum display case) The irony, of course, is that the Bulldog revolver he used subsequently vanished from the Smithsonian in the early 1900s and no-one has any idea where it is now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/16 "2009-08-21T04:08:45Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Nope. Torn down in 1908… It was actually on the National Mall, she said, and was demolished, in part, to give us the clear sightline (between the Capitol and what is now the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated in 1922) that we love so well. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/17 "2009-08-21T08:49:23Z")
A check of Google Earth shows that the National Gallery occupies the site of the Garfield assassination. The exact spot could be either on the front lawn or in the building, depending on how far into the station he was when he was shot. I wonder if they have a plaque or anything marking the spot. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/18 "2009-09-01T00:22:13Z")
I was able to access the NPS email function at last, and just received this from a staff historian at the T.R. site in Buffalo: \*Well, I can’t say Sarah Vowell is wrong, but I can’t say if she is right either. Since she does not provide a source for the claim, it is impossible to evaluate its reliability. I have heard the claim made before, but similarly was unable to trace it to a period source (such as an eyewitness account or a period newspaper report). As for Morris, his claim is attributed to a period source present at the home, (H. H. Kohlsaat, publisher of the \*Chicago Times-Herald) \*so seems more reliable. None of this says that Wilson undeniably wasn’t present for the inauguration. No complete and exhaustive list of those present exists, so it is impossible to say for certain. However, I would have to regard claims of Wilson’s presence for the inauguration on the 14th as unproven until further evidence surfaces to support it. I do regard the claim of his presence on the 15th (the day after the inauguration) as credible. \* FWIW, none of the five Wilson bios I’ve consulted say he was in the room when T.R. was inaugurated - in fact, none of them mention him being in town at all. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/19 "2009-11-08T03:39:13Z")
Just checked a sixth bio, John Milton Cooper Jr.'s new book, _Woodrow Wilson_. He discusses Wilson’s and T.R.'s early friendship and political alliance at some length, but doesn’t mention Wilson having been at the inaugural ceremony in Buffalo in 1901 - just the sort of thing, given Cooper’s thoroughness otherwise, that I would’ve expected him to include. At this point my money is on Prof. Wilson not being there. Vowell has also not responded to a letter I wrote her, c/o her agent, about two months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951/20 "2009-11-08T05:18:13Z")
Do any of the Wilson bios discuss his activities in September 1901 at all? Do they discuss his alleged trip to Rosseau Falls, Ontario? It seems odd that none of them would mention Wilson’s presence at Wilcox House, even if it was only for the following day and not for the oath. I’m wondering if Kohlsaat himself wasn’t spinning a yarn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-woodrow-wilson-present-for-t-r-s-1901-swearing-in/506951.md?page=2)