Dates: 1934-2005
The papers of Ted J. Sanders include personal correspondence with the Truman family and White House staff members, printed materials relating to Sanders and the Trumans, memorabilia, and other items.
See also Ted J. Sanders oral history.
Size: Less than one linear foot (about 400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government his copyrights in this material and in any other papers received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Niel M. Johnson (1982); Austin Trantham (2007) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program; Randy Sowell (2009).
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
Ted J. Sanders was born on September 10, 1893 in Sheridan, Missouri. Mr. Sanders grew up on a farm; he and his brother were raised by his grandparents, due to his parents dying at young ages. He attended high school in Sheridan and then spent two years at Northwest Missouri State University.
After leaving college, Sanders married Bessie Stoner in 1917. He became interested in politics in 1934, when Truman first ran for the U.S. Senate. Sanders served as the local administrator of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Cameron County. He continued his political involvement in the 1940 campaign by placing signs in his yard. He also attended the 1944 Democratic National Convention and Truman’s 1949 Inaugural. Sanders lived in Cameron for over seventy years and remained a farmer and Hereford cattle rancher throughout his adult life. He died on July 14, 1989, at the age of 95.
The papers of Ted J. Sanders include letters to Sanders from Mr. and Mrs. Harry S. Truman dating from the 1930s to the 1970s. These letters are mainly personal notes of thanks from either Harry or Bess Truman for an annual Christmas turkey that Sanders gave them. In one letter, Harry Truman thanks Sanders for a newspaper clipping he sent him.
The collection also includes correspondence from the President’s sister, Mary Jane Truman; Rose Conway and Matthew Connelly of the White House staff; William Boyle, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Marshal Fred Canfil, a friend and political supporter of Mr. Truman; and various political figures. Several letters concern a visit that Sanders paid to the White House in April 1945, soon after his friend became President.
Newspaper articles and other printed materials in the collection document Sanders’s relations with the Truman family, his invitations to such events as the 1949 Inauguration, and his political activities; the deaths of such Truman associates as Fred Canfil and Rose Conway; and celebrations of Truman’s legacy from the 1970s onward. Some of these materials were collected by the family of Ted Sanders after his death in 1989.
The collection also contains memorabilia and handwritten notes, along with information concerning Sanders’s association with the Works Progress Administration and his involvement in the charitable crusade against infantile paralysis during the late 1930s.
The papers consist of copies of original materials that were retained by the Sanders family. The collection was received by the Truman Library in 1982; a large accretion was added in 2009.
More information about Ted J. Sanders can be found at the Truman Library in his oral history interview and in the papers of Harry S. Truman (President’s Personal File 2285 and Post-Presidential Papers: General Correspondence File).
|
Container Nos. |
Series |
|
|
1
|
SUBJECT FILE, 1934-2005 Correspondence with the Truman family, White House staff members, and others; printed materials; handwritten notes; invitations; and memorabilia. Arranged alphabetically. |
Box 1
- Correspondence, 1934-1984 and Undated
- Correspondence with the Truman Family, 1934-1977 and Undated
- Handwritten Notes [2009 accretion]
- Infantile Paralysis—Committee for the Celebration of the President’s Birthday, 1937-1940 and Undated [2009 accretion]
- Printed Materials and Memorabilia, 1934-2005 and Undated
- Works Progress Administration [2009 accretion]