PRESIDENT WRITES MOTHER OF SIXTEEN
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 30, 1921, correspondence between President Warren G. Harding and Mrs. Domenico Zaccahea of New York City was made public.
The President had seen a photograph of the Zaccahea family, which included 16 children, in the newspaper and decided to write her a letter.
Mr. Harding wrote that his own mother had 8 children and once confided to him that she would have welcomed 8 more.
Mrs. Zaccahea sent a reply to the White House in which she wrote...
"My husband and I are never discouraged over the great task before us..."
She went on to tell the President that her husband earned $20 a week working for John Wanamaker* and asked Mr. Harding if he would give her husband a recommendation for "a better position."
The President accommodated the lady's request by writing to Mr. John Wanamaker.
*Wanamaker's Department Store was founded in Philadelphia & expanded to New York City in 1896.
SOURCE
"Mother of 16 Wins Harding's Aid To Get Better Job for Husband," The New York Tribune, August 31, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
