A relative from New Mexico served with Teddy Roosevelt in his “rough riders.” In 1907 the relative was living in Indiana and met then-President Roosevelt while he was visiting Indianapolis for Memorial Day.

The relative’s hometown newspaper indicated that he spent an hour with President Roosevelt, remembering their service time together. No such reference to the meeting could be found in newspapers in Indianapolis and Roosevelt’s schedule seemed packed with activities with little time for a lengthy informal chat with my relative.

What’s more likely to have happened is that the relative went to an appearance Roosevelt had in Indianapolis.

What’s important for genealogists to remember is that different newspapers may often give different accounts of the same incident.

Categories:

Tags:

2 Responses

  1. I have an “uncle” who rode with Roosevelt. He’s in the photo referenced. You might want to check this out just to be sure the story isn’t true
    .
    http://www.cowboypoetry.com/bullock.htm

    My uncle, William E. Bailey, Newcastle, Wyoming http://www.cowboypoetry.com/bullock.htm

    Richard Wadsack (with additional assistance from Carl Steiger) provided a complete list of the names, below, with indications in bold of those for whom information has been found. The first list shows those men pictured or named in the photo and the second list includes the other known attendees (who are not shown or named in the photo).

    Shown or named in the photo.

    Frank Ackerman, Sturgis, South Dakota
    William E. Bailey, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Madison Ballantyne, Lead City, South Dakota
    Seth Bullock, Deadwood, South Dakota
    Charles F. Calhoun, Deadwood, South Dakota
    Ed Cessna, Deadwood, South Dakota
    J.F. Conlon, Pringle, South Dakota
    Jess L. Driskill, Spearfish, South Dakota
    Joe E. Duling, Newcastle, Wyoming
    George S. Fuller, Deadwood, South Dakota
    John D. “Jack” Hale, Sturgis, South Dakota
    Edwin “Shock” Hall, Spearfish, South Dakota
    Matt Hamilton, Deadwood, South Dakota
    Eugene Heitter, Sundance, Wyoming
    Ed Hanschka, Deadwood, South Dakota
    Sebastian (Bass) B. Hitzel, Spearfish, South Dakota
    Robert P. Holcomb, Rapid City, South Dakota
    Albe Holmes, Deadwood, South Dakota
    G. W. Holmes, Spearfish, South Dakota
    Tom Howell, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Clyde Johnson, Newcastle, Wyoming
    David Oliver Johnson, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Percy Keys, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Ed Leppla, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Henry Leppla, Spearfish, South Dakota
    R.F. McAdams, Pringle, South Dakota
    J.H. Minnick, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    T.E. (Tom) Mix, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    Leo E. McLaughlin, Newcastle, Wyoming
    W.J. McLaughlin, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Will McLaughlin, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Mack Quest, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Henry Roberts, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
    Theo Shoemaker, Pringle, South Dakota
    Clarence Smith, Newcastle, Wyoming
    Frank T. Smith, Sturgis, South Dakota
    David R. Thompson, Spearfish, South Dakota
    Charles H. Wilson, Harding, South Dakota
    Fred W. Wilson, Harding, South Dakota
    Henry Wyttenbach, Sturgis, South Dakota

    Not shown or named in the photo.

    J.M. Barrett, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
    J.L. Bentley, Deadwood, South Dakota
    Stanley Bullock, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
    Robert V. Carr, Whitewood, South Dakota
    F.D. Culver, Deadwood, South Dakota
    James Dahlman, Chadron, Nebraska
    Howard Eaton, Wolff, Wyoming
    Renn Gardner, Beulah, Wyoming
    James Halley, Jr., Rapid City, South Dakota
    James Hart, Newcastle, Wyoming
    F.M. Hatch, Sioux City, Iowa
    Joe Lytle, Sundance, Wyoming
    W.E. (Ed) Matthews, Beulah, Wyoming
    C.J. Milligan, Sioux City, Iowa
    A.M. Nichols, Newcastle, Wyoming
    John (Sheriff) Owens, Newcastle, Wyoming
    W.A. Rankin, Pringle, South Dakota
    J.M. Rickle, Deadwood, South Dakota
    D.P. (Devil Dan) Roberts, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
    G.H. Waite, Sioux City, Iowa
    John West, Deadwood, South Dakota
    James Widner, Belle Fourche, South Dakota

    Names in bold indicate those for whom information has been found.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get the Genealogy Tip of the Day Book
Archives