The Round Robin Letter

The Round Robin letter refers to a communication composed by several members of the Garfield household, and sent to the two oldest Garfield sons, Harry Augustus (Hal) and James Rudolph (Jim) who attended St. Paul’s School, a college preparatory school in Concord, New Hampshire. The letter was written during the evening of November 2, 1880, in the midst of election night. Those contributing to the Round Robin letter included the boys’ parents, Lucretia and James A. Garfield, their sister Mollie, the governess for the younger boys, Martha (Patty) Mays, and Joseph Stanley Brown, the Republican nominee’s secretary, who years later became Mrs. Garfield’s son-in-law.

In which room of in the Garfield home the Round Robin was written will likely remain unknown. It seems probable that it was written either in the parlor, where the ladies had gathered on election night to receive the returns, or perhaps in the dining room, paper and pen passed from one to another, as the candidate's family and advisors gathered to celebrate James Garfield's victory.