The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

These documents consist primarily of letters and postcards from Mina Miller Edison to her son Theodore and daughter-in-law Ann. Many of the communications are addressed to Theodore and Ann jointly, but some are addressed to Theodore by himself. Also included is a letter from Theodore to Mina informing her that he does not want to be mentioned in her will or be an executor for her estate. Most of the letters date from February-March 1932 and were written from Seminole Lodge, the family's winter home in Fort Myers, Florida. Other letters were written from Chautauqua, Washington, Boston, and Monhegan Island, Maine.

Included are numerous comments regarding the kidnapping of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and the suicide of manufacturer George Eastman. Other topics discussed in the correspondence are a visit by Mina and Madeleine to the White House in August, Mina's views on the upcoming presidential election, and a trip to Boston to view an eclipse. Family-related matters mentioned in the letters include the fourteenth wedding anniversary of Charles and Carolyn Edison, the adoption of a baby (Barbara Miller) by Mina's nephew Lewis Miller II, and Grace Miller Hitchcock's depression resulting from the death of her husband Hal in November 1930. There are occasional references to Thomas Edison, including one letter in which Mina expresses reluctance to speak at a prohibition meeting because of her concern about "hurting darling's name."