Anna Hall Roosevelt

Anna Rebecca Hall
Born March 17, 1863
Died December 7, 1892 (aged 29)
Cause of death
 diphtheria
Known for mother of Eleanor Roosevelt
Spouse(s) Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt
(m. 1883—1892; her death)
Children
Parent(s) Valentine Gill Hall, Jr.
Mary Livingston Ludlow
Relatives

Anna Rebecca Hall Roosevelt[1] (March 17, 1863 – December 7, 1892) was an American socialite. She was the mother of First Lady of the United States, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. Anna was described as a celebrated beauty.

Biography

She was born Anna Rebecca Hall on March 17, 1863. She was the eldest of seven children born to Valentine Gill Hall, Jr. (1834–1880) and Mary Livingston Ludlow (1843–1919) [2] of the Livingston family. Her brothers Valentine III (1867–1934) and Edward (1872–1932) were both tennis champions. Anna's four sisters were Elizabeth (1865–1944), Mary (1869–1872), Edith (1873–1920), and Maude (1877–1952). When Anna was 17, her father died.

She married Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, the brother of future President Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt, Jr. on December 1, 1883.[3] Anna bore Elliott three children:

Like other society ladies, Anna Roosevelt had no profession beyond the role of wife and mother. Roosevelt was responsible however for numerous social events and charity balls. Within the circles that she and Elliott moved, both men and women fawned over her. By contrast, Anna was somewhat ashamed of her daughter Eleanor's plainness and even nicknamed Eleanor "Granny", due to her serious demeanor.

Shortly after marrying Elliot on December 1, 1883, and the birth of their first child, he began a life of gaiety which led to his problems with alcohol. In 1889 after the birth of their second child, Elliott's problems only increased and the family traveled to Europe in search of treatment. The marriage teetered on collapse during their time in France. Soon afterwards Elliott and Anna separated.

When Eleanor was eight, Anna contracted diphtheria and died at age 29.[4] Elliott died on August 14, 1894 from a seizure after a failed suicide and the cumulative effects of alcoholism. The remains of both Anna and Elliott are interred in the Hall Family Vault at the cemetery of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

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 of America in March 1933.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Eleanor Roosevelt - Family". nps.gov. December 5, 2006.
  2. ↑ (FDR Presidential Library)
  3. ↑ "Anna Rebecca Hall". generationsgoneby.coom. December 16, 2009.
  4. ↑ Goodwin 1994, p. 94.