Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt
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Elliott Roosevelt Sr. (February 28, 1860 – August 14, 1894) was an American
socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
. He was the father of First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
(1884 –1962) and the younger brother of
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
(1858–1919), the 26th president of the United States. Elliott and Theodore were of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts; Eleanor later married her Hyde Park distant cousin
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
(1882–1945), the 32nd President.


Youth

Elliott Roosevelt was the third of the four children of
Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (September 22, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was an American businessman and philanthropist from the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt was also the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady E ...
(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". As an Oyster Bay Roosevelt, and through his ancestor Cornelius Van Schaack Jr., Elliott was a descendant of the
Schuyler family The Schuyler family (Help:IPA/English, /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: Help:IPA/Dutch, xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the forma ...
. At a young age, Elliott was academically more successful than Theodore and had a competitive relationship with his older brother; however, he eventually was surpassed by his older brother. This competition continued into the next generation with their own daughters. Elliott enrolled at St Paul's School in
Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
in September 1875. He performed well academically though he soon had to 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.


Hunting trips to Texas

In 1876 and 1877, young Roosevelt made two hunting trips into
West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
. The first journey ignited his interest in the wilderness. In his second trip, the 16-year-old Elliott was accompanied by a cousin, 23-year-old John Roosevelt. The two traveled first to
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and planned to hunt
bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...
in the area between
Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...
and
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. They also intended to spend some time at Fort McKavett in Menard County. Once in Dallas, however, their plans changed after they met a group of other young men, one of whom was the sportsman Andrew Jameson, whose family made a fortune in Irish whiskey. These young men talked Elliott and John into going directly to West Texas to hunt bison. On January 2, 1877, the group of eight men left Dallas. By mid-January, they were at a location just west of
Graham, Texas Graham is the county seat of and largest city in Young County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, it has a population of 8,732. History The site was first settled in 1871 by brothers Gustavus A. and Edwin S. Graham, primary shareholders in the Texas E ...
where they listened to "the panther and wolves crying and howling" and kept their firearms within easy reach. Roosevelt wrote: "It is a glorious free life," so exciting that he did not grow homesick. The party passed through
Fort Griffin, Texas Fort Griffin, now a Texas state historic site as Fort Griffin State Historic Site, was a US Cavalry fort established 31 July 1867 by four companies of the Sixth Cavalry, U.S. ArmyCarter, R.G., ''On the Border with Mackenzie'', 1935, Washingto ...
, where they found in abundance bison, deer, antelope, quail,
wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...
s, and rabbits. When they cooked their game, the scent attracted unwanted guests of wolves and panthers. On February 3, Roosevelt entered into his diary: " emade our permanent camp at the bottom of a huge canyon by a fine water hole." They were probably at the time in southern
Crosby County, Texas Crosby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,133. The county seat is Crosbyton. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1886. Both the county and its seat are named fo ...
, some 40 miles east of
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...
. After 300 miles of travel, the party soon found hunting bison to be most hazardous. Elliott and John at one point faced a herd of bison stampeding toward them. They waited until the bison were in close range before they fired their weapons. A near-fatal incident took place when Elliott was charged by a huge bull, which he had wounded. He barely could reload his rifle in time to fire a shot that struck one of the front legs of a bison. The animal crashed to the ground directly in front of Elliott. When raiders, either other buffalo hunters or the
Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
, stole most of their horses, they had to walk the 140 miles back to Fort Griffin. In other diary entries, Elliott wrote: "Trails bad-freezing night no water...Again only mud no water freezing hard...Fright ful icthirst." They reached Fort Griffin on
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's birthday and a week later returned to Dallas. Then, Elliott and John resumed their originally planned route. They were back in New York in late May 1877.


Personal life

On his father's death in 1878, Roosevelt inherited a fortune and lived the lifestyle of the idle rich by, among other pursuits, hunting
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
s in India. On October 27, 1880, Elliott served as best man at Theodore's first marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee. In 1883, Roosevelt wed a rich debutante, Anna Rebecca Hall (1863–1892), the eldest daughter of Valentine Gill Hall Jr., and Mary Livingston Ludlow. The wedding was held on December 1, 1883 in Calvary Church in New York City. The couple had three children: * Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962), called Eleanor * Elliott Roosevelt Jr. (September 29, 1889 – May 25, 1893), who died from
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
* Gracie Hall Roosevelt (June 28, 1891 – September 25, 1941), called Hall After this point, Elliott Sr. developed a "casual drinking" problem, which soon became
alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
, an affliction to which his son Hall later succumbed as well. Because of his drinking problem, Elliott was exiled to
Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...
, where he constantly wrote 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. Elliott fathered a son with a young servant girl named Katy Mann 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 as the money apparently was looted by Katy's lawyers. There was some correspondence between Eleanor Roosevelt and her half-brother Elliott Roosevelt Mann (1891–1976).
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
had Elliott forcibly removed from his home in 1891. This was done in the presence of Elliott's children. Elliott referred to this action as a "kidnapping". Elliott then went to Europe. Theodore Roosevelt and his sister Anna (Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt Cowles) conspired to have Elliott separated from his family. They told Elliott's wife Anna (Anna Rebecca Hall Roosevelt) about his "lovechild", and they arranged for her and her children to return home to the United States while Elliott remained in Europe. Elliott was then institutionalized under a doctor's care in a sanitarium. Theodore Roosevelt acted as the conservator for his brother's estate. After having been institutionalized in Europe, Elliott Roosevelt was able to arrange his return to the United States, where he was able to undergo formal evaluation. He was declared sane and mentally competent by two different courts, and thus Theodore Roosevelt failed to gain official conservatorship over his brother. However, Theodore was able to use his power to keep Elliott separated from his family, thus preventing Elliott from visiting his children.


Death

Things got worse for Elliott when, later in 1892, his wife Anna died. Their son Elliott Jr. died the next year from
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
. Elliott's drinking became worse as he became despondent over both the loss of his wife and son, and the fact he still wasn’t allowed to see his remaining children. After losing his family in this manner, Roosevelt’s alcoholism and depression became progressively worse. On August 13, 1894, the 34-year-old Roosevelt attempted suicide by jumping out a window; he survived the initial fall, but the following day he suffered a seizure and died that evening of heart failure. At the time of his death, his alcoholism had escalated such that he was consuming numerous bottles of
champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
and
brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
each day. While Elliott Roosevelt had a "convulsive attack" earlier in the day on August 14, 1894, he died of heart failure later in the evening. He died with a net worth of $915,000 or over $31,000,000 in today's dollars.


See also

* Bibliography of Eleanor Roosevelt *
Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Elliott 1860 births 1894 deaths Elliott American socialites People from Hempstead (village), New York Schuyler family Bulloch family Livingston family Suicides by jumping in the United States 19th-century American people