Eighty Aprils after Lincoln’s funeral Americans mourned the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Note the bloom on the trees in the upper left hand corner.
Doing my tours at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace yesterday I did not fail to mention that April 12–today–marks the 70th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt’s passing.
It was not until I began volunteering at the TRB that I realized how intertwined the two sides of the family were, and indeed remain today. To give one example: when Franklin was himself assistant secretary of the navy, in the Wilson Administration, he and Eleanor rented a Dupont Circle house from Anna Roosevelt Cowles. Mrs. Cowles was Theodore’s older sister and Eleanor’s aunt. Throughout much of World War One, Theodore himself used to drop in to that N Street home to discuss preparedness and how the war was going. FDR learned much in Washington from 1913-1921 that served him well as commander-in-chief thirty years later.
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s final resting place, Hyde Park, New York. The Roosevelt Library and Museum are in the background.
One thing I always mention is how young many of the Roosevelts were when they died. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. was 46 and his wife Martha Bullock just 48. Their son Elliott, Eleanor’s father, was all of 34 when his demons finally caught up with him. Elliott’s son Hall had just turned 50 when his own difficult life came to an end in 1941. Theodore Roosevelt was a mere 60. Then there was FDR himself. All presidents age while in office but Franklin Delano Roosevelt looked considerably older than his 63 years when, after months of failing health, he succumbed to a cerebral hemorrhage at his Warm Springs, Georgia retreat seventy years ago today.
(top image/Library of Congress)
The Strawfoot 
I always learn so much from your blogs. I wonder if you have access to a picture of JFK with Elinor Roosevelt having tea at Hyde Park. They are eating from Apple dishes. I have that pattern. I have seen the picture but I am unable to find it.
I have seen the photo and been in that room at Val-Kill. What is so poignant about that moment is that Eleanor’s granddaughter had died just a few days earlier in a horse riding accident. Kennedy said he understood if Mrs. Roosevelt wanted to postpone, but she said no and told him to come.
I’ll see if I can find that image.
Thank you so much. Nice to know the history behind the visit.
You mention the two sides being intertwined even now. How?
They are active in groups such as the TRA. I have also met a few of the younger Roosevelts, who work together in charitable endeavors and things like that. The two sides also meet for reunions fairly often. One might be surprised how many of them them are still around today.