Anna Hall Roosevelt
Anna Rebecca Hall Roosevelt (March 17, 1863 – December 7, 1892)[1] was an American socialite. She was the mother of First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt. Anna was described as a celebrated beauty.
Anna Hall Roosevelt | |
|---|---|
 Roosevelt in the 1880s | |
| Born | Anna Rebecca Hall March 17, 1863 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 1892 (aged 29) New York City, U.S. |
| Known for | Mother of Eleanor Roosevelt |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Eleanor, Elliott Jr., and Hall |
| Parent(s) | Valentine Gill Hall Jr. Mary Livingston Ludlow |
| Relatives | See Livingston family and Roosevelt family |
Early life
Anna Rebecca Hall was born on March 17, 1863.[2] She was the eldest of seven children born to Valentine Gill Hall Jr. and Mary Livingston Ludlow of the Livingston family. Their marriage "...united a member of a prominent New York merchantile family with Hudson River gentry".[3]:20 Anna was born in New York City and was a granddaughter of Edward Hunter Ludlow.
Her brothers, Valentine III and Edward, were both tennis champions and, later, alcoholics who spent beyond their means and inheritances.[4] Anna's four sisters were Elizabeth, Mary, Edith, and Maude. Her father died without leaving a will when Anna was 17, and she was forced to take control of the family and help manage the finances.[5]
Anna was one of the leading debutantes of the 1881 season.[5] A prominent figure among the New York City social elite, she was a skilled horsewoman. It is believed that Anna and Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, the brother of future President Theodore Roosevelt, became engaged Memorial Day, 1883, at a house party given by their friend, Laura Delano, at Algonac, the Delano estate on the Hudson River at Newburgh, New York. At the time, Anna was living at Oak Terrace, her family's estate far upriver at Tivoli, New York.[3]:20
Married life
On December 1, 1883, she married Roosevelt[6] in Calvary Church at Gramercy Park in New York City.[7] The couple moved into a brownstone house in the fashionable Thirties.[3]:22 Anna bore Elliott three children:
- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)[8]
- Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr. (1889–1893)[9]
- Gracie Hall Roosevelt (1891–1941).[10]
Anna Roosevelt was responsible for numerous social events and charity balls. Her brother-in-law Theodore considered her frivolous.[11] At the time of their marriage on December 1, 1883, Elliott was already known as a heavy drinker addicted to laudanum.[4] Often subject to headaches and depressions, Anna was somewhat ashamed of her daughter Eleanor's plainness and nicknamed Eleanor "Granny", due to the child's serious demeanor.[12]
In the spring of 1887, the family sailed to Europe aboard the S.S. Britannic. One day out of port, their ship was rammed by the S.S. Celtic, the bow of which pierced a full ten feet into the side of the S.S. Britannic, killing several passengers and injuring numerous others. The Roosevelt party was evacuated to lifeboats before continuing their voyage aboard another ocean liner. Upon their return, Elliott commenced construction of his Long Island country residence, Half Way Nirvana.[13] Parties at their estate included polo and riding-to-the-hounds.
In 1889, after the birth of their second child, Elliott's drinking only increased, and the family traveled to Austria in search of treatment. After three months, they moved to Paris, where Anna's third child, a son, (Gracie) Hall, was born.[4] The marriage teetered on collapse during their time in France. Soon afterward, Elliott and Anna separated.
When Eleanor was eight, Anna contracted diphtheria and died at age 29 at her home, 52 East 61st Street in Manhattan.[14] Elliott died at his home, 313 West 102 Street on August 14, 1894,[9] from a seizure after a suicide attempt and the cumulative effects of alcoholism.[15] The remains of both Anna and Elliott are interred in the Hall family vault at the cemetery of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Tivoli.
Anna's daughter Eleanor would go on to become First Lady of the United States when her husband, Elliott's fifth cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, became President of the United States in March 1933.
References
- "Obituary. Mrs. Elliott Roosevelt" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 December 1892. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "Eleanor Roosevelt - Family". nps.gov. December 5, 2006.
- White, Mason (March 1988). "Elliott, the Tragic Roosevelt" (PDF). The Hudson Valley Regional Review. 5 (I): 17–29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- Spinzia, Raymond E. (Fall 2007). "Elliott Roosevelt, Sr. – A Spiral Into Darkness: the Influences" (PDF). The Freeholder. 12: 3–7, 15–17. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- "The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project: Questions and Answers about Eleanor Roosevelt". George Washington University. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- "Anna Rebecca Hall". generationsgoneby.com. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- "First Lady Biography: Eleanor Roosevelt". National First Ladies' Library. The National First Ladies' Library. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- Grossman, Henry (8 November 1962). "Mrs. Roosevelt Dies at 78 After Illness of Six Weeks; Mrs. Roosevelt Dies Here at 78 After an Illness of Six Weeks Family With Her Physicians Accede Autopsy Scheduled" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "The Obituary Record. Elliott Roosevelt" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 August 1894. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- "G. Hall Roosevelt Dies in Capital; White House Rites First in 5 Years; G. HALL ROOSEVELT DIES IN CAPITAL, 50" (PDF). The New York Times. September 26, 1941. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- Cook, Blanche Wiesen (1992). Eleanor Roosevelt Vol. One 1884-1933. New York: Viking. p. 38.
- Graham, Hugh Davis (Spring 1987). "The Paradox of Eleanor Roosevelt: Alcoholism's Child". Virginia Quarterly Review. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- Lash, Joseph P. (1971). Eleanor and Franklin. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. p. 29.
- Goodwin 1994, p. 94.
- Burns, Ken, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, Public Broadcasting Service, Episode 1 (2015)