Adlai E Stevenson Case 1

Lives Entwined

Letter, William J. Bryan to Adlai Stevenson

Wreath frond

Letitia Stevenson passed away in Bloomington, Illinois on Christmas Day 1913. In this letter to Adlai I, William Jennings Bryan offers words of sympathy, remembering how closely “her life was entwined” with his former running mate’s and appreciates “the weight of the blow.”

Letitia’s death left Adlai I emotionally broken. He never truly recovered and followed his wife in death six months later. This frond is all that remains of a mourning wreath sent to the Stevensons by President Woodrow Wilson. Weeks later, the world would be thrown into chaos by the outbreak of the First World War.

Background Image: After serving as vice president under Grover Cleveland and losing another bid for that office with William Jennings Bryan, Stevenson ran and lost the 1908 race for Illinois governor. Just six years before his death, it would be Adlai I’s last campaign. This banner is likely from that 1908 race.

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