The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

These documents consist primarily of letters, telegrams, and postcards from Mina Miller Edison to her youngest son, Theodore. Many of them were written during the summer of 1915 while Theodore was on a cross-country automobile trip with the Sewell family. Also included are letters of introduction from Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Edison's letter jokingly refers to Theodore's trip as an effort "to beat the railroads out of a bunch of money in getting to San Fran." There are several references in Mina's letters to Henry Ford, whom Theodore visited at Dearborn during his trip, including one letter in which Mina expresses annoyance that the industrialist and his son spent a day with Thomas Edison at the West Orange laboratory without visiting Glenmont. Other topics mentioned in the correspondence include Thomas Edison's involvement in his new chemical plants and Mina's concern that her husband was overextending himself; a minor injury sustained by Edison at the Edison Chemical Works; the physical and mental health of Madeleine Edison, who was pregnant with her first son; the illness and death of Julia, a Glenmont servant; and Mina's concern about the condition of the tires in the Sewells' automobile.

The last six documents consist of letters, telegrams, and postcards written by Mina during her trip to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in October-November 1915. Three communications were written while Mina and Thomas (along with Mina's sister Grace) were on the train to California, including one sent from Nebraska and one from Utah. Also included are two postcards sent from California near the end of their trip. The last document, a telegram sent from Omaha on the way home, notes that Thomas Edison is well but feeling the strain after three weeks on the road.