Roosevelt, Belle, 1892-1968

Archibald Roosevelt is resting at Oyster Bay, New York, and is anxious to leave college and get to work. He seems to be enjoying himself and is considering a career in business. Archibald will also be going on a hunt this year. The Roosevelts have become “enthusiasts in burning brush-heaps” after Theodore Roosevelt’s “labor among small trees.” Roosevelt is delighted that Kermit Roosevelt is working hard in South America and married to Belle Roosevelt. However, he hopes that Kermit can return to the United States after four years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-02-17

Theodore Roosevelt wishes Hall and Margaret Richardson Roosevelt a merry Christmas and is very proud of them. Roosevelt will be sending them a pamphlet he wrote on the world war and America’s duty. He is disgusted with the Wilson administration, especially because the general public seems to approve. Roosevelt concludes by summarizing the family’s Christmas plans and providing an update on family members.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-22

Theodore Roosevelt approves of Emily Tyler Carow’s actions after the outbreak of war in Europe and hopes that Italy will not be drawn into war. He understands Carow’s desire to stay in Italy and will not try to influence her as there appears to be no imminent danger. Roosevelt is distressed at the “awful cataclysm” in Europe and describes what is happening in Belgium as “enough to wring a man’s soul.” The Roosevelt family is doing well. Kermit and Belle Roosevelt have been staying at Sagamore Hill before traveling to South America and Roosevelt has been able to see his other children and grandchildren often. In a postscript, Roosevelt asks Carow to thank the consul general at Genoa, Italy for his courtesy and efficiency towards Americans in his province.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-09-01

Kermit Roosevelt asks Theodore Roosevelt to send copies of a book to several people in Brazil. Kermit Roosevelt also describes how Belle Roosevelt is settling into their new home, and promises to write again soon about business.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915

A. Richard Boera continues his look at the portraits of Theodore Roosevelt painted by Fulop Laszlo. In this second installment, Boera traces the provenance of and locates the original 1908 portrait and five copies. Boera identifies the three artists who made copies of the portrait, and he notes the location of each. Boera also discusses a lesser known Lazlo portrait of Roosevelt executed in 1910, and he notes the other portraits Laszlo painted of Roosevelt family members such Kermit Roosevelt.

A Laszlo painting, a collage of some of his portraits, and two photographs supplement the text.

Gregory A. Wynn informs his readers that he will be suspending his “The Material Culture of Theodore Roosevelt” column because of an overseas military assignment. Wynn hopes to resume his column upon his return, and he recommends a book written by four members of the Roosevelt family, Cleared for Strange Ports. A photograph of Wynn and his son and two dogs appears in the column along with the logo of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2013

Charles W. Snyder examines the life of Theodore Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt’s oldest son, who struggled to emerge from the long shadow cast by his famous father. Snyder provides a comprehensive biography of the younger Roosevelt, looking at his service in both world wars, his stints as Governor General of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and his career in politics. Snyder also looks at the breach that developed between the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York, branches of the Roosevelt family, and he examines Roosevelt’s opposition to the New Deal and his support of isolationism in the 1930s.

Ten photographs of Roosevelt appear in the article: three of these show Roosevelt with members of his family and six of them are from his service during World War II; a photograph of his home, Old Orchard, also illustrates the article. A text box with a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This third installment of “The Roosevelt Family in America: A Genealogy” includes part three of the genealogy as well as an introductory note explaining its publication order and instructions on how to navigate its various parts. An index to all three parts of the genealogy appears at the end of this issue. Part two of the genealogy is labeled as an appendix on “Jacob Rosevelt and His Descendants” and provides a history of the descendants of Jacob Rosevelt, an eighteenth-century German immigrant and includes eighty-one entries, featuring brief biographical portraits of each entrant, along with their birth and death dates, and a listing of their children.

Part two of the genealogy also includes in this order: a text box on “Pronunciation of Roosevelt”; a full page photograph of Henry L. Roosevelt; a text box with a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA); a drawing of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent; a photograph of Ethel Roosevelt Derby; a text box with a history of the TRA; and a photograph of Belle Roosevelt, wife of Kermit Roosevelt, with three of their children.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Excerpts from the diaries of First Lady Edith Kermit Roosevelt edited by A. Richard Boera. The excerpts are taken from eight different years and most of the entries are short. Some of the most common topics include the various health issues of the Roosevelt family, lists of guests for lunch and dinner at the White House, and the riding excursions of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt’s assuming the presidency after President William McKinley’s assassination, the final days of Roosevelt’s presidency, and the tour of Europe after Roosevelt’s African safari in 1910 are also covered. 

A photograph of Edith Roosevelt in 1901, a drawing of her by John Singer Sargent in 1921, and a family portrait of Edith and Theodore Roosevelt with all of their children at Sagamore Hill in 1903 supplement the text. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive committee appears on the second page of the excerpts.  

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Kermit Roosevelt, and their respective wives, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt and Belle Roosevelt, pose for the cameras in New York City after the two men had returned from their hunting expedition in India.

Collection

Sherman Grinberg Film Collection

Creation Date

1926

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt gives brief remarks following a luncheon at the Maternity Center Association in New York City. She encourages attendees to take to heart what they have learned that day, and to read the Bible for further inspiration.

Collection

Sherman Grinberg Film Collection

Creation Date

1931-05-06

Silent color film showing the dedication of Theodore Roosevelt’s home, Sagamore Hill, as a national shrine on June 14, 1953. Speakers at the dedication include President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former President Herbert Hoover, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and Leonard W. Hall, Chair of the Republican National Committee. Also present at the dedication were singer William Warfield, members of the Roosevelt family, representatives of scouting troops, and a brass band.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1953-06-14

Isabella Greenway King has suggested that Belle Roosevelt and Mrs. Henry Field seek advice from Mary C. Bingham about their children.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1943-10-19

Kermit Roosevelt regrets that he and his family cannot visit Robert Harry Munro Ferguson this summer. He provides an update on many Roosevelt family members. Belle Roosevelt is searching for a new home for the family in New York.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1919-07-22

Kermit Roosevelt jokes that when the war is over his family will move to Burro Mountain and Kim Roosevelt can teach Spanish to Robert Harry Munro Ferguson. The new arrival is apparently a “bouncer” and has been named Joseph Willard Roosevelt. Roosevelt will be leaving for France soon to join the United States Army. He enjoys the country and will be sorry to leave. Kermit has learned Arabic and is often the only person available to translate.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1918-05-10

Kermit Roosevelt and his brothers are undergoing military training in Plattsburg, New York. Archibald B. Roosevelt and Ted Roosevelt have received commissions in the reserve corp and Quentin Roosevelt is doing well at the aviation camp. Richard Derby is a major in the Medical Reserve Corps, but has not gone to the front yet. Kermit hopes to be on the Mesopotamian front as he is familiar with that area. Belle Roosevelt is staying nearby and Kermit visits her when he can. Kim Roosevelt has been ill and may have German measles, which Kermit describes as very unpatriotic. They will join Belle’s family in Spain when Kermit goes to the front.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1917-06-14

Kermit Roosevelt describes his current assignment and activities in Iraq. He has joined the Light Armored Motor Battery Service and primarily performs reconnaissance. There are many Scots in his battery. Belle and Kim Roosevelt are doing well. Kermit continues to travel with a book, now rather tattered, that was given to him by Martha Ferguson.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1917-01-10

Kermit Roosevelt is in New York with Ethel and Richard Derby. He has plans to stay at Sagamore Hill soon. Roosevelt will be attending one of the camps in Plattsburg, New York, and his family will be going abroad in the fall. Belle Roosevelt is still recovering and their son, Kim, is also having some health issues. The planning for Kim’s christening is underway.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1916-09-06

Kermit Roosevelt sends Christmas greetings and hopes they might spend a Christmas together soon. He outlines his family’s plans for where they would like to live and work in the future. Argentina is on the “right side” regarding attitudes towards the war and Roosevelt would be enlisting if he were not married.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1914-12-23

Kermit Roosevelt describes life in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Belle Roosevelt; including Belle’s driving habits, their servants, and home life. He is pleased that Theodore Roosevelt won the libel suit. Kermit intends to enlist if the United States enters the war.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1915-05-26