Elliott Roosevelt ¹

  General Notes:

Elliott Roosevelt I (February 28, 1860- August 14, 1894) was the brother of US President Theodore Roosevelt and the father of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who would marry US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Elliott was the third of the four children of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and Martha Bulloch. He had one older sister, Anna, and one younger sister, Corinne. He was competitive with his older brother, Theodore. At a young age, Elliott was academically more successful than Teddy and seemed to many to be the most promising of the four Roosevelt children, however, he was eventually surpassed by his older brother.

When Elliott was 23, he met the beautiful Anna Hall, and they wed quickly, producing three children, Anna Eleanor (1884-1962), Elliott Jr (1889-1893), and Hall (1891-1941). After this point, Elliott Sr. developed a "casual drinking" problem, which soon became alcoholism. Despite his drunkenness, Eleanor simply adored him.

Due to his drinking problem, Elliott was exiled to Virginia, where he would constantly write letters, mostly to Eleanor. On occasion, he would, to the jubilation of Eleanor, return back home for a few days. Finally, his drinking ruined him. At the age of 34, Elliott tried committing suicide by jumping out a window, but failed, had a seizure, and died. On Franklin and Eleanor's wedding day in 1905, her Uncle Teddy gave the bride away.

Elliott married Anna Eleanor Hall.