Irvin
Nov 21, 2022

Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers

Irvin "Mac" Henry McDuffie and his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hall McDuffie were domestics in their hometown of Atlanta and later in the employ of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his presidency. Born in Elberton, Georgia, Irvin moved to Atlanta to be a barber and eventually manage the McDuffie-Herndon Barbershop financed by Alonzo Herndon of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Upon the recommendation of a customer, Roosevelt interviewed McDuffie to be his valet at his retreat at Warm Springs, Georgia. McDuffie continued on with Roosevelt through his governorship in New York and his presidency, until McDuffie suffered a nervous breakdown in 1939. Elizabeth worked for 23 years as a maid with the prominent Atlanta family of Edward H. Inman. In 1933 she moved to Washington, D.C. to join her husband and became a maid in the White House where she remained until Roosevelt's death in 1945.

At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
14 Objects displayed
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  • Subjects = Special events
A brochure announcing the Christmas Program at the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Phyllis Wheatley Branch YWCA Christmas Program, December 8, 1963
Date Created
1963-12-08
Description
A brochure announcing the Christmas Program at the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA.
Subject
Special events, Associations, institutions, etc.
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A picture of George Wallace presenting a plaque to John Edison Sloane with an image caption and brief note to Elizabeth McDuffie.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Correspondence from George H. Wallace to Elizabeth McDuffie, September 9, 1958
Date Created
1958-09-09
Description
A picture of George Wallace presenting a plaque to John Edison Sloane with an image caption and brief note to Elizabeth McDuffie.
Subject
Associations, institutions, etc., African American men, Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A blank Christmas card.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Christmas Card, circa 1960
Date Created
1955/1965
Description
A blank Christmas card.
Subject
Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A blank Christmas card.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Christmas Card, circa 1960
Date Created
1955/1965
Description
A blank Christmas card.
Subject
Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A blank Christmas card.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Christmas Card, circa 1960
Date Created
1955/1965
Description
A blank Christmas card.
Subject
Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A program of celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
NAACP Emancipation Proclamation Celebration Program, January 1, 1953
Date Created
1953-01-01
Description
A program of celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Subject
Special events, Slavery, African Americans--Civil rights
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Portrait of a couple on their wedding day.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Unidentified Bride and Groom, circa 1950
Date Created
1945/1955
Description
Portrait of a couple on their wedding day.
Subject
African American men, African American women, Special events, Portraits and people
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A fragment of a letter to Elizabeth McDuffie on the occasion of her and Irvin's wedding anniversary.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Correspondence from Irvin McDuffie to Elizabeth McDuffie, November 6, 1938
Date Created
1938-11-06
Description
A fragment of a letter to Elizabeth McDuffie on the occasion of her and Irvin's wedding anniversary.
Subject
Household employees, African American women, African American men, Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping of Eleanor Roosevelts column describing Chandler Roosevelt, age three, wandering around the White House.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
"Mrs. Roosevelt's Column", 1937
Date Created
1937
Author
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
Description
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping of Eleanor Roosevelts column describing Chandler Roosevelt, age three, wandering around the White House.
Subject
Presidents' spouses, Children, International relations, Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping showing a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in an evening gown.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
"An Inaugural Style Note", 1937
Date Created
1937
Description
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping showing a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in an evening gown.
Subject
Presidents' spouses, Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping describing a visit to the White House by members of the National Training School for Girls.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
"Mrs. Roosevelt Fetes Intimates Of Reformatory", 1936
Date Created
1936
Description
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping describing a visit to the White House by members of the National Training School for Girls.
Subject
Presidents' spouses, Special events
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Men, women, and children stand and sit together for a picture at a wedding. An unidentified woman sits in Elizabeth McDuffie's lap (middle row, left) while Irvin McDuffie can be seen on the far right.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Wedding Portrait, circa 1940
Date Created
1935/1945
Description
Men, women, and children stand and sit together for a picture at a wedding. An unidentified woman sits in Elizabeth McDuffie's lap (middle row, left) while Irvin McDuffie can be seen on the far right.
Subject
African American men, African American women, Special events, Portraits and people
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping describing a musical event attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
"White House Musicale for King To Be Literally All-American", circa 1939
Date Created
1934/1944
Description
Photocopy of a newspaper clipping describing a musical event attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I.
Subject
International relations, Special events, Singers
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
A program for an Easter service conducted by President Franklin Roosevelt aboard the ship Nourmahal.
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers
Divine Service Program, April 1, 1934
Date Created
1934-04-01
Description
A program for an Easter service conducted by President Franklin Roosevelt aboard the ship Nourmahal.
Subject
Special events, Presidents
Collection
Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers