President theodore roosevelt family life

The nation had never known a family in the White House quite like the Roosevelts. The public loved to follow the adventures of the Roosevelt clan; the President understood that his family was a political asset and made it available, to some degree, to the media. When Roosevelt married Edith Kermit Carow in 1886, he already had a daughter, Alice, from his first marriage. He and Edith had five more children—Theodore, Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin.

For TR, his family was like having his own private circus. His children were everywhere, having the complete run of the place. They took their favorite pony, Algonquin, into the White House elevator, frightened visiting officials with a four-foot King snake, and dropped water balloons on the heads of White House guards. The grand romp continued at the summer White House, Sagamore Hill, the family's home in Oyster Bay, New York. There, the President led the children and anyone who happened to be visiting on hours-long obstacle hikes, picnics, and swims in the ocean. Roosevelt also loved to engage family, friends, and visitors in grand story-telling sessions about ghosts and the cowboys whom Roosevelt had known out West. He taught the boys to box and the girls to run. He never held back in his affections or in his praise for courage and aggressiveness. He almost drove his wife, Edith, to distraction with his antics, and she often told her best friends that the President was just an ornery little boy at heart.

Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, and grew up in New York City, the second of four children. His father, Theodore, Sr., was a well-to-do businessman and philanthropist. His mother, Martha "Mittie" Roosevelt, was a Southerner, raised on a plantation in Georgia. "Teedie" grew up surrounded by the love of his parents and siblings. But he was always a sickly child afflicted with asthma. As a teenager, he decided that he would "make his body," and he undertook a program of gymnastics and weight-lifting, which helped him develop a rugged physique. Thereafter, Roosevelt became a lifelong advocate of exercise and the "strenuous life." He always found time for physical exertions including hiking, riding horses, and swimming. As a young boy, Roosevelt was tutored at home by private teachers. He traveled widely through Europe and the Middle East with his family during the late 1860s and early 1870s, once living with a host family in Germany for five months. In 1876, he entered Harvard College, where he studied a variety of subjects, including German, natural history, zoology, forensics, and composition. He also continued his physical endeavors, taking on boxing and wrestling as new pursuits.

During college, Roosevelt fell in love with Alice Hathaway Lee, a young woman from a prominent New England banking family he met through a friend at Harvard. They were married in October 1880. Roosevelt then enrolled in Columbia Law School, but dropped out after one year to begin a career in public service. He was elected to the New York Assembly and served two terms from 1882 to 1884. A double tragedy struck Roosevelt in 1884. On February 12th, Alice gave birth to a daughter, Alice Lee. Two days later, Roosevelt's mother died of typhoid fever and his wife died of kidney disease within a few hours of each other—and in the same house. For the next few months, a devastated Roosevelt threw himself into political work to es

Theodore Roosevelt was born at 28 East 20th Street, New York City on October 27, 1858. He was the second child of Theodore and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt. His father was a glass importer and one of New York City's leading philanthropists. His mother was a southerner who never really adjusted to living north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The new baby also had an older sister Anna, and later, a younger brother Elliott and a younger sister Corinne would follow. Theodore's nickname as a child was "Teedie." Although he was frequently ill with chronic asthma attacks, Teedie enjoyed an active childhood filled with intellectual pursuits. He loved both books and the outdoors and combined these interests in the study of nature. It did not even occur to him that the ever-present odor of the dead specimens (such as mice, birds, fish and snakes) did nothing to increase his popularity among his family and friends.

In the 1860s, Teedie's household was turned upside down by the Civil War. His mother, aunt and maternal grandmother, all southern ladies, lived in the house along with his pro-Union father. While his mother's family sent care packages to relatives behind enemy lines, his father was working for President Lincoln to improve the condition of Union soldiers and their families. There were tense times at 28 Twentieth Street throughout the war years. Teedie relished the excitement and secrecy of sending the contraband packages but also dreamed of battle and glory as a Union soldier.

Much like his father, Teedie had great energy, curiosity, determination and compassion for those less fortunate. Despite this his father could see that Teedie faced many physical challenges. On nights when Teedie's asthma was particularly severe, Theodore, Sr. would take Teedie out for rides in the family carriage to try to force air into the boy's lungs. It was also his father who first suggested that Teedie might need glasses. When he learned that his son could not even see a target th

President of the United States from 1901 to 1909

This article is about the president of the United States. For other people with the same name, see Theodore Roosevelt (disambiguation).