Duckett, Kenneth W.

Kenneth W. Duckett (1924-2014) was the Curator of Manuscripts at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, Ohio, from 1959-1965. He negotiated with the Harding Memorial Association in Marion, Ohio, for several years to arrange for the donation of William G. Harding's papers to the Ohio Historical Society. The Harding Memorial Association had custody of Harding's papers but did not allow researchers to use them, and Duckett was successful in convincing the association to transfer the papers to OHS so that they could be processed by professional archivists and made available for research in the OHS reading room. The association transferred Harding's presidential papers to OHS in 1963, but retained his early papers for a future transfer.

As news of the acquisition of Harding's papers by OHS spread throughout the United States, historian and author Francis Russell traveled to Columbus to meet with Duckett and assist with the unpacking of Harding's papers. At the time, Russell was preparing a biography of Harding, and was eager to access the Harding papers for his research. While he was staying in the area, Russell visited Marion, Ohio, to conduct research and ask local residents what they knew about Harding's life in Marion. He soon discovered rumors that Harding had long-running love affair with Carrie Phillips, the wife of local businessman James Phillips. Russell learned that Carrie Philips had died in 1960, and he contacted the local attorney who had served as her guardian and was handling her estate. The attorney told Russell that he had a cache of approximately 100 letters that he found in the Phillips home, most of which had been written to her by Warren G. Harding before he became president of the United States. He allowed Russell to read the letters and take notes on them, and Russell immediately contacted Kenneth Duckett to inform him of the letters. Duckett met with the attorney, and the attorney gave the letters to Duckett as a donation to the Ohio Historical Society.

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