Cause of death seizure Name Elliott Roosevelt Relatives See Roosevelt family | Religion Dutch Reformed Education St Paul's School Died August 14, 1894 | |
 | ||
Born February 28, 1860 ( 1860-02-28 ) Known for Brother of Theodore and father of Eleanor Roosevelt Role Eleanor Roosevelt's father Spouse Anna Hall Roosevelt (m. 1883) Grandchildren Elliott Roosevelt, Anna Roosevelt Halsted Children Eleanor Roosevelt, Hall Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt, Jr., Elliott Roosevelt Mann Parents Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Similar People Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Anna Hall Roosevelt, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt | ||
Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (February 28, 1860 – August 14, 1894) was an American socialite. He was the father of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the 26th President of the United States. Elliott and Theodore were of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts; Eleanor later married their Hyde Park distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), the 32nd President.
Contents
Youth
Elliott was the third of the four children of Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (1831–1878) and Martha Stewart "Mittie" Bulloch (1835–1884). In addition to elder brother Theodore Jr., he had a younger sister named Corinne (1861–1933) and an elder sister named Anna (1855–1931), who was known as "Bamie". Mittie's brothers Irvine (1842–1898) and James (1823–1901) were Civil War Confederate veterans who accompanied Elliott when he left Europe in 1892 to admit himself into an asylum in Virginia. Elliott had a competitive relationship with his older brother.
As an Oyster Bay Roosevelt, and through his ancestor Cornelius Van Schaack, Jr., Elliott was a descendant of the Schuyler family.
At a young age, Elliott was academically more successful than Theodore; however, he was eventually surpassed by his older brother. This competition would continue into the next generation with their own daughters. Elliott enrolled at St Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire in September 1875. He performed well academically though had to soon withdraw and return home after unexpectedly falling ill. Elliott maintained a charming and winsome personality all his life, which masked a growing drinking problem that started at a young age.
Marriage and exile
Elliott was Theodore's best man on October 27, 1880, on Theodore's first marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee. In 1883, Elliott married Anna Rebecca Hall (1863—1892), the eldest daughter of Valentine Gill Hall, Jr. and Mary Livingston Ludlow, on December 1, 1883, in Calvary Church in Gramercy Park, New York City. They had three children:
After this point, Elliott Sr. developed a "casual drinking" problem, which soon became alcoholism, an affliction to which his son Hall later succumbed.
Due to his drinking problem, Elliott was exiled to Abingdon, Virginia, where he would constantly write letters, mostly to Eleanor. Eleanor later recalled that on his many horseback riding expeditions with the young children in Virginia, he became attached to "one girl in particular of whom I was jealous." On occasion, he would, to the jubilation of Eleanor, return home for a few days. Theodore Roosevelt became the conservator for his spendthrift brother.
Death
At the age of 34, Elliott attempted suicide by jumping out a window; he survived the initial fall, but suffered a seizure and died a few days later. At the time of his death, his alcoholism had escalated such that he was consuming numerous bottles of Champagne and brandy each day.
Katy Mann
Elliott fathered a son with Catherine "Katy" Mann (1862–1941), a young servant girl employed by Anna. His brother sent a detective who specialized in likenesses to look at the child and subsequently the Roosevelts settled out of court for $10,000. The sum was placed in a trust, but according to the Manns the child never received a dime, the money having apparently been looted by Katy's lawyers. There was some correspondence between Eleanor Roosevelt and her half-brother Elliott Roosevelt Mann (c. 1891–1976).