Series II: Anna Foster Robinson (1852-1921)
Scope and Contents note
Most of this series is correspondence. Anna Foster Robinson's letters before her marriage in 1875 are from friends and family and detail everyday routines and travel. A few of the letters are from Arthur Cummings, a former servant. Most of the later letters are from her children, particularly Pauline. Pauline mostly describes her domestic and overseas travels, many of which were at the DuPont estate at Winterthur. The correspondence also contains a few letters from the Robinson children that detail meetings with presidents or other famous people. Letters dated September 1901 from her sons Beverley and Herman describe spending time with Teddy Roosevelt on Mount Marcy. During this trip, Roosevelt received telegrams notifying him of McKinley's death and informing him of his new role as President of the United States. A 1899 letter from Pauline, shortly before her debut, describes a visit with President McKinley and the First Lady Ida McKinley. A 1920 letter from Pauline describes how her friend Edith Wharton looks "broken and subdued."
Anna Foster Robinson's European travel diaries provide daily entries on the art, architecture, and scenery of the numerous cities and towns she visited throughout Europe. However, these accounts generally lack description of locals or discussion of current events in Europe.