The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Name Authority File (LCNAF)

LeHand, Marguerite, 1896-1944


  • [Marguerite Alice LeHand, nicknamed "Missy" by the Roosevelt children, was the confidential private secretary of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1920, when FDR campaigned for vice-president, until she became incapacitated by a stroke in June 1941. She was born in Potsdam, New York, on September 13, 1896, and grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts. After graduating high school in 1917, she attended secretarial school and subsequently, employed at the national headquarters of the Democratic Party where she met Franklin D. Roosevelt. When Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921, Missy accompanied him to Warm Springs for treatment. She was responsible for hostess and housekeeping duties, in Eleanor Roosevelt's absence, in addition to her secretarial duties. She was also Roosevelt's traveling companion. Missy retained her many faceted role when Roosevelt re-entered public life, and she remained a resident member of the Roosevelt household at the Governor's Mansion in Albany and later the White House until she suffered a stroke in 1941. She died on July 31, 1944, in Somerville, Massachusetts.]
  • URI(s)

  • Variants

    • LeHand, M. A., 1896-1944
    • LeHand, Marguerite Alice, 1896-1944
    • LeHand, Missy, 1896-1944
  • Identifies LC/NAF RWO

  • Identifies RWO

    • Birth Date

        1896-09-13
    • Death Date

        1944-07-31
    • Has Affiliation

        • Organization: New York (State). Governor (1929-1932 : Roosevelt)
    • Has Affiliation

        • Organization: United States. President (1933-1945 : Roosevelt)
    • Has Affiliation

        • Organization: Democratic Party (U.S.)
    • Birth Place

        Potsdam (N.Y.)
    • Occupation

      Secretaries

      • Exact Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

      • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

      • Sources

        • found: Grace Tully collection, Roosevelt Library, 1907-1984:finding aid: Marguerite LeHand series, 1931-1945 (also known as Missy LeHand; b. Potsdam, New York, September 13, 1896; grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts; Held several clerical and secretarial jobs before going to work for the Democratic National Committee headquarters during the 1920 campaign; hired as personal secretary by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1920, working for him during his term as New York governor, and during his time as president; suffered a stroke in 1941, and recovered in Warms Springs and then in Massachusetts; d. July 31, 1944)
        • found: Findagrave.com search, Sept. 5, 2013(Marguerite Alice Missy LeHand; b. Sept. 13, 1896, Potsdam, N.Y.; d. July 31, 1944, Somerville, Mass.; private secretary to Franklin D. Roosevelt)
        • found: New York Times via ProQuest.com, Nov. 6, 2013:article: Tribute by President, Aug. 1, 1944 (News of the death of Missy LeHand; born at Potsdam, N.Y.; worked for the government as a secretary in the fist World War and afterward with the Emergency Fleet Corporation; long-time Roosevelt family friend and secretary to Franklin D. Roosevelt)
        • found: OCLC, Nov. 6, 2013:(hdgs.: Lehand, Marguerite A.; LeHand, Marguerite Alice, -1944; usage: Marguerite Lehand; M.A. LeHand)
      • General Notes

        • [Marguerite Alice LeHand, nicknamed "Missy" by the Roosevelt children, was the confidential private secretary of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1920, when FDR campaigned for vice-president, until she became incapacitated by a stroke in June 1941. She was born in Potsdam, New York, on September 13, 1896, and grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts. After graduating high school in 1917, she attended secretarial school and subsequently, employed at the national headquarters of the Democratic Party where she met Franklin D. Roosevelt. When Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921, Missy accompanied him to Warm Springs for treatment. She was responsible for hostess and housekeeping duties, in Eleanor Roosevelt's absence, in addition to her secretarial duties. She was also Roosevelt's traveling companion. Missy retained her many faceted role when Roosevelt re-entered public life, and she remained a resident member of the Roosevelt household at the Governor's Mansion in Albany and later the White House until she suffered a stroke in 1941. She died on July 31, 1944, in Somerville, Massachusetts.]
      • Instance Of

      • Scheme Membership(s)

      • Collection Membership(s)

      • Change Notes

        • 2013-11-06: new
        • 2013-11-07: revised
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