Jane Porter Candler Papers concerning the Wilson Family mssCandler
Melissa Haley
The Huntington Library
2021
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Jane Porter Candler papers concerning the Wilson family
Identifier/Call Number: mssCandler
Physical Description:
.42 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1890-1928
Abstract: This collection primarily contains correspondence from Woodrow Wilson and various Wilson family members to Jane Porter Candler.
Also present are photographs, ephemera, clippings, and publications sent to or collected by Candler. Material dates from approximately
1890 to 1928.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
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[Identification of item]. Jane Porter Candler papers concerning the Wilson family, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown. In library as of 1984.
Jane Porter Candler (1861-1949) lived in Los Angeles and was a close friend of Ellen Axson Wilson from their childhoods in
Rome, Georgia.
Woodrow Wilson (December 28/29, 1856-February 3, 1924), the twenty-eighth president of the United States, was born in Staunton,
Virginia, the son of a Presbyterian minister. In 1885, he married Ellen Axson (1860-1914); the couple had three daughters.
Wilson received a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1886 and taught history, political science, and economics at Bryn Mawr
College, Wesleyan University, and Princeton University. In 1902, he became president of Princeton. Wilson was elected governor
of New Jersey in 1910. In 1912, he was elected president of the U.S. as a Democrat. The early years of his presidency saw
the passage of several acts aimed at financial reform. Wilson's wife Ellen died in August 1914; he married Edith Bolling Galt
(1872-1961) in December 1915.
During Wilson's first term as president, events in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America predominated the U.S.'s foreign
affairs, and World War I began in Europe. He was reelected to a second term in 1916. In April 1917, Wilson called for a declaration
of war against Germany, which was passed by Congress on April 6. Numerous acts dealing with the economy, sedition, and espionage
were passed during the war. In his January 1918 "Fourteen Points" speech, Wilson called for the creation of a League of Nations.
World War I ended in November 1918; a post-war Red Scare over Communism occurred in the U.S., fueled by the 1917 Russian Revolution.
On October 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a stroke and was incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency. He died in Washington,
D.C. at age 67.
This collection primarily contains correspondence from Woodrow Wilson and various Wilson family members, including Ellen Axson
Wilson and Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, to Jane Porter Candler. Also present are photographs, ephemera, clippings, and publications
sent to or collected by Candler. Material dates from approximately 1890 to 1928. Letters mostly discuss family activities,
health, and the aftermath of the death of Ellen Axson Wilson in August 1914. Woodrow Wilson's four letters to Candler are
brief responses to letters from her. Some items in this collection are annotated, presumably by Jane Porter Candler.
This collection was reprocessed in 2021 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project. Previously assigned
item-level call numbers have been retained; material was rehoused during reprocessing. The four Woodrow Wilson letters in
the collection have been described and foldered at the item level. Previously assigned legacy terminology regarding autograph
status was retained; items marked
autograph indicate the item is in the handwriting of the author of the letter or document. Brief biographical notes for Wilson family
members and others represented in the collection appear in the container list.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 48327-48337.
Wilson-McAdoo collection.
Bernath Mss 18. Department of Special Collection, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Collection is arranged by format. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by sender.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Children of presidents -- United States
Presidents' spouses -- United States -- Correspondence
Black-and-white photographs
Cabinet photographs
Ephemera -- United States -- 20th century
Clippings (information artifacts) -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century
Axson, Stockton, 1867-1935
Bones, Helen Woodrow
James, Isabella Hagner, 1875-1943
Sayre, Jessie Woodrow Wilson, 1887-1933
Wilson, Edith Bolling Galt, 1872-1961
Wilson, Ellen Axson
Wilson, Margaret Woodrow, 1886-1944
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Woodrow Wilson Foundation
Box 1, Folder 1
Stockton Axson letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48327 (1-2) 1916, 1921
Stockton Axson (1867-1935) was brother of Ellen Axson Wilson.
Items include one typescript letter signed (1916) and one autograph letter signed (1921), with addressed envelope, regarding
personal matters. The 1916 letter discusses the recent presidential election and the rumors surrounding Wilson. Also included
are a clipping and a circular about Wilson's family life written by Axson.
Box 1, Folder 2
Helen Woodrow Bones letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48328 (1-5) 1913-1918
Helen Woodrow Bones (1874-1951) was cousin to Woodrow Wilson and served as Ellen Wilson's personal secretary in the White
House. She became a "surrogate First Lady," along with Wilson's daughter Margaret, following Ellen Wilson's death in August
1914.
Six autograph letters signed, two with addressed envelopes, on White House or President's Cottage letterhead. Bones discusses
Wilson family activities and Ellen Wilson's health. A later letter mentions Edith Wilson.
Box 1, Folder 3
Isabella L. Hagner letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48329 (1-2) 1914
Isabella "Belle" Hagner James (1875-1943) served as social secretary in the Wilson White House.
Two typescript letters signed, with addressed envelopes, regarding the Wilson family in the aftermath of Ellen Wilson's death
and the health of Helen Bones. Written on White House mourning stationery.
Box 1, Folder 4
Jessie Wilson Sayre letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48331 (1-2) 1923, 1924
Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre (1887-1933) was the second daughter of Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Axson Wilson.
Two autograph letters signed, with addressed envelopes, regarding her travels to and from Siam (Thailand) for her husband
Francis Sayre's position as advisor to the royal government. One letter written on letterhead for the Cunard ship R.M.S. Andania.
Box 1, Folder 5
Mary R. Smith letter to Jane Porter Candler HM 48332 1915
Box 1, Folder 6
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48333 (1-7) 1919-1928
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1872-1961) was married to Woodrow Wilson from 1915 until his death in 1924.
Six autograph letters signed, three with addressed envelopes; one typescript letter signed (written and signed by a secretary).
Letters mention Wilson family activities with one discussing Woodrow Wilson's health. Also one loose addressed envelope.
Box 1, Folder 7
Ellen Axson Wilson letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48334 (1-7) 1911-1914
Ellen Axson Wilson (1860-1914) was married to Woodrow Wilson from 1885 until her death in the White House on August 6, 1914.
Seven autograph letters signed, four with addressed envelopes, primarily detailing the activities of herself, her daughters,
and mutual friends, with a few mentions of Woodrow Wilson. The first five letters were sent mostly from New Jersey; the last
two were written during the Wilson presidency and are on White House stationery.
Box 1, Folder 8
Margaret Woodrow Wilson letters to Jane Porter Candler HM 48335 (1-2) 1914, 1918
Margaret Woodrow Wilson (sometimes seen as Margaret Axson Wilson) (1886-1944) was the oldest daughter of Woodrow Wilson and
Ellen Axson Wilson. She served as "surrogate First Lady" in the White House following her mother's death in August 1914.
One autograph note signed, with addressed envelope, regarding Ellen Wilson soon after her death; one typescript letter signed,
with addressed envelope, about Margaret Wilson's potential travel during World War I (1918).
Box 1, Folder 9
Box 1, Folder 10
Box 1, Folder 11
Box 1, Folder 12
Box 1, Folder 13
Box 1, Folder 14
Woodrow Wilson Foundation material HM 48330 approximately 1921
Typescript titled "A Splendid Vision" from the editor of the Living Church, probably Frederic Cook Morehouse who was editor
of the publication in the 1920s, accepting a committee appointment from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Also includes newspaper
clipping about the foundation's founding.
Box 1, Folder 15
Photographs approximately 1890-1914
Three photograph portraits of Ellen Axson Wilson, one with daughter Eleanor, approximately 1890-1913; one studio portrait
of Woodrow Wilson with the added date 1889 taken by Pach Bros., New York, and one studio portrait of Margaret Wilson and Jessie
Wilson Sayre as children, 1890s; a studio portrait of two unidentified young men in uniform is also present, taken in Asheville,
North Carolina. In addition, there is a photograph of the family's house in Princeton, New Jersey when Wilson was a professor
there signed "'Our House' with love from E.A.W." on the reverse, 1890s; and 10 snapshots of Ellen Axson Wilson's funeral in
Rome, Georgia on August 11, 1914, along with a snapshot of her tombstone and a handwritten copy of its inscription, 1914 and
undated. Portraits are cabinet cards or mounted photographs. Items did not receive call numbers.
Box 1, Folder 16
Ephemera 1913-approximately 1921
Items include an Ellen Wilson memorial calendar for 1916 published by the Ellen Wilson Memorial Association; marriage announcements
for Woodrow Wilson and Edith Bolling Galt, and for Jessie Woodrow Wilson and Francis Bowes Sayre; three donation receipts
to the Woodrow Wilson Foundation; five postcards of Rome, Georgia; loose envelopes; and an empty leather binder. Some items
are annotated by Candler. Items did not receive call numbers.
Box 1, Folder 17
Box 1, Folder 18-19
Publications 1917-1926
Primarily printed addresses given by Woodrow Wilson, including "The President's War Message" and "The War Message and Facts
Behind It" (1917), "The President's Flag Day Address" (1917), and "President Wilson to the American People" (1919). Also includes
a Woodrow Wilson Foundation tribute booklet (approximately 1921), and a copy of the journal World's Work (March 1926). Items
did not receive call numbers.