The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

[This folder has not been completely edited. Letters are currently being added, and documents identified as "to be edited" may not have images or complete database information. In addition, the information in the folder target (editorial description) may not be up-to-date.]

These eleven letters, which cover the years 1930-1931, relate primarily to the breakdown of the marriage between Margaret Miller (1887-1981) and Henry O. Newman (b. 1891). Margaret was the oldest daughter of Ira and Cora Miller and a niece of Mina Miller Edison. She married Henry on May 29, 1926. She left him early in 1930 and moved in with the Edison family at Fort Myers in April. The letters, which are mainly by Henry, discuss his efforts to achieve a reconciliation with Mina's help. Among the topics discussed in the letters are the financial difficulties of Henry and Ira; Henry's intense dislike of Cora, whom he regarded as domineering; Cora's alleged belief that "men are all brutes" and "sex life was to be avoided"; Margaret's unwillingness to have children; and a pregnancy scare at Christmas, which Henry considered to be "the immediate contributing factor which caused her to leave me." Although Henry and Margaret did achieve a reconciliation, it proved to be only temporary. Apparently, they never formally divorced, since Margaret continued to use the name Newman until her death.

Also included is a note from Margaret to Mina regarding a radio concert performed by the Boston Symphony in Thomas Edison's honor on October 22, 1931, four days after his death.

The letters are from Book #10 of the Charles Edison Fund microfilm. Click here for a list of all the correspondence books on the CEF microfilm.