Lucy Mercer

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Portrait of Lucy Mercer, around 1913

Lucy Page Mercer (born April 26, 1891 in Washington, DC , † July 31, 1948 in New York City ) was the private secretary of Eleanor Roosevelt and long-time lover of the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt .

Life

Lucy Page Mercer came from a prominent Maryland family . In 1913, the 22-year-old and attractive Mercer started as a secretary to Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the then New York State Senator Franklin D. Roosevelt , and was included in their circle of friends. While Eleanor was elsewhere, her husband was courting her. Their close relationship came to an abrupt end when Franklin recovered from double pneumonia and Eleanor found Mercer's love letters from his private correspondence in September 1918. After thirteen years of marriage, Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce; in order not to put his career at risk, however, Franklin declined. Eleanor insisted that Franklin give up his mistress. He promised her, but saw her behind her back until his death in the spring of 1945. Mercer had left the position with Eleanor and was now an assistant in the United States Navy ; a job that Franklin had given her as the then Secretary of State at the Department of the Navy . Eleanor's cousin Alice Roosevelt Longworth also acted as initiates of the liaison , often inviting the two to dinner at his home. In 1920 Lucy Mercer married the wealthy widower Winthrop Rutherfurd in Washington. After her husband's death in 1944, Franklin, who had been president since 1933, and Rutherfurd met again regularly in Washington, even in the White House when Eleanor was away because of her political activities. Lucy Rutherfurd was also at Franklin's side when Franklin died in his home in Warm Springs , Georgia , in April 1945 .

Lucy Rutherfurd died of complications from leukemia in 1948 and was buried in the cemetery in Green Township , New Jersey .

literature

  • Resa Willis: FDR and Lucy: Lovers and Friends , Routledge (2004) ISBN 0-415-98013-5
  • Ellen Feldman: Lucy: A President, a Marriage, a Love Affair , WW Norton & Co Ltd (2004) ISBN 0-393-32510-5

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mercer, Lucy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lucy Page Rutherfurd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of Franklin D. Roosevelt
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1948
Place of death New York City