Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt

Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt
Roosevelt and his three children (from left to right), Hall, Eleanor, and Elliott Jr. in 1892
Born	(1860-02-28)February 28, 1860
Died
Cause of death	seizure
Education	St Paul's School
Known for	Brother of Theodore and father of Eleanor Roosevelt
Spouse(s)	Anna Rebecca Hall (m. 1883—1892; her death)
Children	Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr. Elliott Roosevelt Mann Gracie Hall Roosevelt
Parent(s)	Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Martha Stewart Bulloch
Relatives	See Roosevelt family

Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (February 28, 1860 – August 14, 1894) was an American socialite. He was the father of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and the brother of US President Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1858–1919). Elliott and Theodore were of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts. Eleanor later married their Hyde Park distant cousin and future US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945).

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. 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:

• Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962), called Eleanor
• Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr. (September 29, 1889 – May 25, 1893), who died from scarlet fever
• 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, 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).

Ancestry

Family of Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt

16. Jacobus Roosevelt               8. James Jacobus Roosevelt                       17. Annatje Bogart               4. Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt                             18. Cornelius Van Schaack, Jr.               9. Maria Helen Van Schaack                       19. Angeltje Yates               2. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.                                   20. John Barnhill               10. Robert Craig Barnhill                       21. Elizabeth Lusk               5. Margaret Barnhill                             22. Thomas Potts               11. Elizabeth Potts                       23. Elizabeth Luckens               1. Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt                                         24. Archibald Stobo Bulloch               12. Capt. James Bulloch II                       25. Mary De Veaux               6. James Stephens Bulloch                             26. Dr. John Irvine               13. Ann Irvine                       27. Ann Elizabeth Baillie               3. Martha Stewart Bulloch                                   28. John Stewart, Jr.               14. Gen. Daniel Stewart                       29. Susannah Bacon               7. Martha P. Stewart                             30. Joseph Oswald, Jr.               15. Sarah Susannah Oswald                       31. Anne Carter

See also

• Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, son-in-law, godson
• Anna Rebecca Hall, wife
• Elliott Roosevelt, grandson
• Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., brother
• Corinne Roosevelt, sister
• Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt, sister
• Alice Lee Roosevelt, niece