Lydia Howard de Roth Collection, 1904-1970, MS 1906

Finding Aid to the Lydia Howard de Roth Collection, MS 1906

H. Furlong Baldwin Library, Maryland Historical Society

Collection summary

Administrative summary

Biographical Note

Lydia Howard de Roth dedicated her life to civil service, working as an air raid warden in London, teaching air raid safety in the United States, and eventually aiding in the start-up of a Civil Defense in Brazil.

De Roth, nee de Ford, was born and raised in Baltimore to a wealthy family, related to Francis Scott Key and John Eager Howard. An active society member, she and her sister, Nancy, garnered many articles in the society papers of Baltimore newspapers. She attended Bryn Mawr School, and her talent in sculpture allowed her to attend the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute, where she won several awards for her work.

Post-graduation, she worked as a clerk at two Baltimore companies before beginning at the monograph section of the Military Intelligence Department. Soon after starting there, she married Herbert C. de Roth, who worked for the First National Bank of Boston. His position took the de Roths across the globe.

While stationed abroad with her husband, she continued her civil defense work. During World War II, she worked as an air raid warden in the Chelsea neighborhood in London, England from 1939 to 1941, and experienced the blitz by the Luftwaffe first hand. She later wrote a training handbook for air raid wardens and was appointed to Civil Defense consultant to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1941 upon her return to the United States. She taught seminars on air raid safety and precautions in New England and Maryland and advised local governments on what to do in the event of an attack. After some years of living in Boston and New York City, her husband was assigned to represent the bank in Brazil. There she found that no civil defense system was in place, so she worked with officials in Rio de Janeiro to build one.

She returned to New York City, where she died in 1970. She is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

Scope and Content

The collection contains material pertaining to de Roth’s career in civil service, as well as her passion for the arts, history, and Baltimore society. Of particular interest may be her diary that she kept during her service as an air raid warden in London. She also wrote a manual on air raid warden training based on her experiences. Many poems from friends and family are included, especially many works written by her sister, Nancy Venable. The poetry ranges from religious subjects to reflections on World War II, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It appears that de Roth attempted to create an anthology of poetry written about the London Blitz. She also kept an extensive record of newspaper clippings about her family, including events commemorating Francis Scott Key and members of the Howard family, Baltimore history and society, and general news. Some of the correspondence related to her work in Brazil is written in Portuguese.

The collection is divided into series based on content. Series I documents de Roth’s personal history and civil service work. Series II focuses personal papers and ephemera collected by de Roth. Series III contains works of poetry by various authors, including her husband Herbert C. de Roth, her sister Nancy Venable, and family friend, William Force Stead. Series IV holds a large number of photocopied newspaper clippings on a variety of topics. Series V is oversized and holds two certificates.

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