The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

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These 40 items primarily cover the years 1932-1948. There is also one item from 1971 and one from 1976. Most of the correspondence is by Madeleine Edison Sloane, but there are also letters from her mother, Mina Miller Edison; her sons Thomas (Ted), Peter, and Michael; her uncle, William Wallace Nichols; and others. Among the topics discussed in the letters are Madeleine's visit to the White House in 1932 and her camping trip with the Hoovers; her trip to Puerto Rico with Peter in 1941, where she visited her cousin, Rachel Miller; Mina's trip to Europe with her second husband, Edward Everett Hughes, in 1937; and Madeleine's trip to Pittsburgh in February 1948 to attend the birth of her grandson, John Heywood Sloane. There is also a letter from sculptor Anthony Notaro, written in May 1940, requesting permission to create a statue in commemoration of Thomas Edison.

Seven letters have been selected. A letter by Mina from February 1938 asks her daughter's forgiveness for anything she might have done to upset her and urges Madeleine not to "think that everyone is against you." A letter from Madeleine to her husband John Eyre Sloane, sent from Chautauqua in August 1942, comments on the recent illness of her mother and expresses optimism that she will recover. Four letters from Madeleine to John covering the period September-October 1945—the first sent from Chautauqua and the others from Sandusky, Ohio—contain remarks about Mina's behavior and mental state, the disposition of the furnishings at Glenmont, the deteriorating condition of the Edison birthplace home in Milan, and various members of the Edison family with whom Madeleine visited during her trip. Also selected is a letter by William W. Nichols, written a few weeks after the death of his wife Mary Emily Miller, commenting on the disposition of Mary's correspondence and noting that she accompanied Thomas and Mina on their honeymoon trip to Fort Myers in 1886.

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