Where would the daily records of the presidency of T. Roosevelt be
held.  My great uncle played the piano for him in January of 1905 at
the White House.  The Piano was gilded.....I would like to verify this
fact with the actual White House diary, or whatever this information
would be in.

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Request for Question Clarification by brettquest-ga on 20 Jan 2005 20:06 PST

Rmover9688:

Could you please provide your uncle's full name? Also, are the month
and year of your uncle's performance certainties for you?

Regards,

Brettquest

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Clarification of Question by rmoyer9688-ga on 21 Jan 2005 13:24 PST

I believe that my great uncle played for Pres. T. Roosevelt in January
of either 1905 or 1909.  These are the dates from the Washington Post
where it was reported tht he was playing in DC

Thank you.
Ruthann D. Moyer

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Clarification of Question by rmoyer9688-ga on 21 Jan 2005 13:29 PST

My great uncles names was David Earl Moyer or he could have used the
name of David Berlino at that time.  He studied under a Mrs. Mary
Walsh.

Ruthann Moyer

This information would be held with the Library of Congress. 
Unfortunately you may have to physically go to the Library of Congress
to track this information down, as only part of the collection dating
before 1968 is referenced online.

You can search on specific information regarding the type of piano or
your uncle's name here: http://catalog.loc.gov/

Here is another place to learn more about what you are able to search
from both within and externally from the library:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/res-faq.html
http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-contactus.html

Ms. Moyer:

I communicated the US National Archives and Records Administration in
pursuing a resolution to your request. I had established that the NARA
holdings included documents relating to the White House under such
headings as "Official Functions," "Official Diary of the President,"
and various program records for White House receptions. In all, the
documents under such headings in this particular holding date between
1898 and 1916. I received a reply from a staff member there the
morning of 2/4/2005.

According to the NARA staff member who contacted me, there were five
to six social functions at the White House in January of both 1905 and
1909. They were all large dinners, and the music performed at these
events were provided by the US Marine Corps Band. I'm also informed
that the "Official Diary of the President" began with the Taft
Administration, and does not pertain to Theodore Roosevelt's
presidency. This information does not preclude the possibility of a
private performance for President Roosevelt.

If I understand correctly, you have a Washington Post article relating
to your great uncle's appearance in Washington DC. Perhaps the details
of his appearance there may still reveal a common link between your
relative and President Roosevelt at that time.

I wanted to let you know in a timely manner.

Regards,

Brettquest