17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page i LUCY MERCER RUTHERFURD 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page ii 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page iii LUCY MERCER RUTHERFURD CHRISTINE M. TOTTEN ELIOT WERNER PUBLICATIONS, INC. CLINTON CORNERS, NEW YORK 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data _______________________________________________________________ Names: Totten, Christine M., author. Title: Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd : Eleanor's rival, FDR's other love / Christine Totten. Other titles: Eleanor's rival, FDR's other love Description: Clinton Corners, New York : Eliot Werner Publications, Inc., 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015037590 | ISBN 9780989824972 Subjects: LCSH: Rutherfurd, Lucy Mercer. | Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882–1945 – Friends and associates. | Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882–1945 – Relations with women. | Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882–1945 – Marriage. | Social secretaries – United States – Biography. | Presidents – United States – Biography. | Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884–1962. Classification: LCC E807 .T68 2016 | DDC 973.917092 [B] – dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015037590 _______________________________________________________________ ISBN-10: 0-9898249-7-7 ISBN-13: 978-0-9898249-7-2 Copyright © 2018 Eliot Werner Publications, Inc. PO Box 268, Clinton Corners, New York 12514 http://www.eliotwerner.com All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page v P REFACE The bond that tied Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Lucy Mercer was not forged overnight. Neither temperament lent itself to sudden out- bursts of passion. Both Franklin and Lucy guarded their emotions and were disinclined to surrender to love at first sight. On the other hand, once their devotion to each other was estab- lished, it proved durable—lasting from 1917 until FDR’s death in 1945—and unaffected by their marriages. Lucy served the ailing Win - throp Rutherfurd with every ounce of her energy while she reserved every beat of her heart for Franklin. FDR took care to respect Eleanor’s status as his “Missus” while craving Lucy’s presence. The myths about the nature of Franklin and Lucy’s relationship cling stubbornly to their posthumous images. They have not changed since their lifetime. Biographers still write that Franklin became ac- quainted with Lucy through Eleanor’s decision to hire the young woman as her part-time social secretary. This legend can be dis- missed because Franklin was at work in the Navy Department in the hours Lucy worked with Eleanor at home. In reality, Franklin came to know Lucy at the social events of the British Embassy in Washington where she was always welcome as one of the most popular guests. The time Lucy spent in Franklin’s cir- cle varied considerably. It was concentrated mainly in the war years beginning in July 1917, picking up again in the late summer of 1941. During the decades in between, Franklin continued to reach out to Lucy. Now Mrs. Winthrop Rutherfurd, Lucy moved out of her for- mer circle of friends and out of Franklin’s orbit. But he did not hesi- tate to approach Lucy again, wholly unexpectedly. Unimpeded by her husband, FDR marked the period from 1926 to 1928 as a time of reg- ular contact, with Lucy as the recipient of a regular flow of his letters. Their mainly one-sided correspondence concerned neither Franklin nor Lucy’s spouse. Eleanor had long overcome her shock of Septem- ber 1918 when she found letters from Lucy in her husband’s luggage. v 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page vi vi P REFACE The next unpleasant experience, which found an echo in Eleanor’s second autobiography of 1949, was Franklin and Lucy’s continued contact behind her back. Her hurt was soon erased when Eleanor rose quickly as a celebrity in her own right. * * * Lucy’s gentle reactions to events in her surroundings were no match for Eleanor’s dynamic temperament in dealing with controversy. Lucy did not offer much cause for wrestling down a rival; she denied Eleanor the satisfaction of a good fight. As an articulate First Lady, Eleanor was the more passionate and emotionally alert of the two women. She kept posterity electrified with her sequence of love-like affairs, permitting men like her body- guard Earl Miller and women like Lorena Hickok to become intimate friends. Lucy rarely revealed that FDR resided in secret chambers of her heart. Rather, she offered an elegant solution for possible complica- tions caused by her friendship with the president. She prepared the way for her daughter Barbara to be enthusiastically adopted by Franklin as his goddaughter, a second daughter beside Anna. Franklin, Eleanor, and Lucy were equally eager to avert the pub- lic’s eyes from any spectacle of interaction among the three of them. Lucy remains a “mystery woman” to this day—but also a woman of perennial appeal. The close examination of her personality and be- havior in times challenging her moral fiber proves, however, that she is worthy to be remembered in one breath with Franklin and Eleanor. * * * The material for these revelations was found in Lucy’s correspon- dence, which to date has never been published. With the exception of the 1919 group picture of the Roosevelt family, all photos are taken from family albums belonging to Lucy’s sister Violetta. Vio’s descendants authorized the use of these pic- tures by the author. Permission was granted by Lucy’s niece Mrs. Lucy Mercer Blundon and her granddaughters Mrs. Lucy Knowles and Mrs. Alice Knowles, to whom I am most grateful. 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page vii CONTENTS Prologue: Ways To Discover Lucy. xi FDR’s Most Personal Letters FDR’s Mistress or His Soul Mate: Myths and Testimonies Hidden Corners in Lucy’s Life Travel in Lucy’s Footsteps Lucy’s Observers PART I. LUCY AS MISS MERCER 1 • Born of the Bluest Blood . 5 Lucy’s Mother, Minna Tunis Mercer: Heiress and Merchant Princes Lucy’s Father, Major Carroll Mercer: Maryland Aristocrat, Grandmother’s Boy Carroll and Minnie Mercer’s Romance: Idyll in Egypt The Cave Dwellers’ Daughters: Vio and Lucy Growing Up in Splendor 2 • The Silver Spoon Slips Out . 25 Father Goes to War “They Spent It All”: Sheer Gossip? From Broken Home to Convent School Little Sister Lucy: Nowhere To Go 3 • Rescue from Overseas . 47 Substitute Parents: The Kind Countess and Count Castles on the Beautiful Blue Danube The Education of Lucy Page Mercer Male Attention vii 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page viii viii C ONTENTS 4 • Return to Reality . 75 Back Home, Rich in Heritage Lucy in the Roosevelts’ Orbit Friends: FDR, Lathrop Brown, Nigel Law, and Lucy Mercer Lucy Page Mercer: A Daughter of the Old South Fitting in with the Roosevelts 5 • 1917–1918: Lucy and Eleanor . 99 Precarious Family Values Wartime Rebellion: A Summer’s Dream Sobering Autumn: Part I Cousin Alice Sobering Autumn: Part II The Calm Before the Storm Dramatic Myths, Drab Reality 6 • Hidden Romance, Open Fallout . 141 Damage and Repair Rivals’ Legends 1919: Lucy’s Lasting Spell Eleanor’s New Priorities Lucy Reborn PART II. LUCY AS MRS. WINTHROP RUTHERFURD 7 • Eleanor, Franklin, and Lucy in New Orbits . 197 Eleanor’s Defining Friendships Polio! Franklin Seeks Warm Waters Lucy’s Grand Northern Home: Allamuchy Challenges of Aiken, South Carolina 8 • Franklin Reaches Out to Lucy, 1926–1928 . 217 FDR’s Stunning Move Anna Livy Davis: Franklin’s Emissary to Lucy FDR as Father-in-Law 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page ix C ONTENTS ix Franklin and Lucy Reconnect Headaches over Warm Springs Lucy and Franklin’s Concerns The Governor Watches over Lucy 9 • Lucy and the President . 245 Her Husband’s “Willing Slave” Admiration from a Distance Eleanor and Missy: FDR’s Two “Wives” Daisy Suckley: Closest Companion Coming Out Lucy Meets Franklin Face to Face 10 • Sundown Solace . 277 Lucy’s “Poor Darling” Conspirators: Lucy, Daisy, Polly, and Anna FDR’s Beloved Guest Merciful Parting Epilogue: Two Widows . 315 Eleanor’s Star Rises Lucy’s Sun Sets Notes . 343 Bibliography . 369 Acknowledgments . 377 Index . 379 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page x 17080 LMR ufm.qxp_Eliot Werner Publishing 6/26/18 6:43 AM Page xi PROLOGUE WAYS TO DISCOV ER LUCY FDR’S MOST PERSONAL LETTERS OT A SINGLE love letter is to be found in the four volumes of NFranklin Delano Roosevelt’s Personal Letters. None of FDR’s bi- ographers quote an authentic, verbatim profession of love from a man accustomed to hiding his innermost feelings. Only a few words from the depth of his heart, which were long kept secret, have sur- vived on paper. The president’s unofficial writings were part of his legacy, inher- ited by his widow at his death in 1945. Eleanor chose her thirty-four- year-old son Elliott as the publisher of FDR’s personal letters. She herself took an active interest in the selection of the messages to be published. There was much to choose from. Like his grandfather Warren Delano II, Franklin was virtually addicted to writing letters.