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Somerville and New England History Collection
 
The photo at left shows Franklin Roosevelt and his personal
secretary, Somerville native Marguerite "Missy" LeHand
(1898-1944). After graduating from Somerville High School (class
of 1917) and secretarial school, LeHand worked at a number of
different administrative jobs, eventually landing a secretarial
position at the Democratic Party's national headquarters in
Washington. During the election of 1920, when Roosevelt ran
for vice-president, she was assigned to the campaign. The quality
of her work and her clear devotion to Roosevelt led to her being
asked to become his personal secretary. She worked for FDR for
virtually the rest of her life. She had her own rooms at Hyde
Park and Roosevelt's Manhattan home. After FDR was elected president,
she had her own apartment in the White House. She also accompanied
Roosevelt on many of his trips to his home in Warm Springs,
Ga. The closeness of their relationship has led some to suspect
that she was Roosevelt's mistress. Other historians assert that
Eleanor's apparent acceptance of LeHand argues for the innocence
of the relationship. In either case, Roosevelt valued her as
a secretary and a friend. After she suffered a debilitating
stroke in 1941, he paid her medical expenses and altered his
will, leaving half the income from his estate for her care.
She died three years later.
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