This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to Edison's family. Many of the selected items for 1919 pertain to the situation of Ada Elliott, the aged and impoverished widow of one of Edison's cousins, whom he was supporting with a weekly stipend of ten dollars. Also included is correspondence with Edison's cousin Nancy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Wadsworth and her daughter Marietta E. Wadsworth regarding repairs to the inventor's childhood home in Milan, Ohio. In addition, there is a letter from Richard C. Maclaurin, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, concerning youngest son Theodore Edison's matriculation at MIT; a request to the West Orange Police Dept. for a permit allowing Theodore to carry a revolver; a request by son William L. Edison for battery cells; and a letter of recommendation written by Edison on behalf of his wife's nephew Lewis Miller.
Approximately 60 percent of the documents have been selected. The unselected material includes inquiries about relatives marked "no ans" or bearing Edison marginalia indicating that he did not know or remember anything about the person in question; correspondence about unpaid medical bills; documents relating to the recovery of duties paid by Mina Miller Edison on a trip to Alberta, Canada; and items concerning Thomas A. Edison, Jr.'s business dealings, in which the elder Edison was not personally involved. Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.