Shortly after her seventh birthday, Eleanor’s life suddenly changed.
When she was a child, many of the medicines we have today had not yet been discovered. Many diseases that now can be cured often killed people. One such disease was diphtheria. People with the disease ran high fevers and had trouble breathing. They grew weaker and weaker. Often they died.
In the fall of 1892, when Eleanor was eight, her mother had to have an operation. Afterward, she was very weak. Then she got diphtheria. She became so ill that Eleanor was sent to live with relatives. Her father was away, too, once again trying to stop drinking. Eleanor was all alone. What would happen? Would her mother get well?
On December 7, 1892, Eleanor’s mother died. Eleanor was only eight years old. Eleanor wrote about that terrible day. She was standing by a window in her aunt’s house. Her aunt came into the room to tell Eleanor what had happened. Eleanor wrote, “Death meant nothing to me, and one fact wiped out everything else—my father was back and I would see him very soon.”
Eleanor was a shy, lonely girl. She knew that she had never pleased her mother. And now, she would never have the chance to do so. It made her miss her father more than ever. Eleanor hoped she and her brothers would now live with him.
But that was not to be. Eleanor and her baby brothers were sent to their mother’s mother, Mrs. Hall. The family felt that Eleanor’s father could not care for the children. His drinking had gotten worse. And so, Eleanor began a new life with her strict grandmother.
All Eleanor had of her father were his letters. She looked forward to them, cherished each one, and wrote back immediately.
Eleanor’s aunts and uncles still lived at home with her grandmother. They were not much older than Eleanor and treated her as a younger sister. They loved sports and taught her to play tennis. They also loved music and languages. Eleanor’s grandmother had her tutored in French, German, and piano.
Then on August 14, 1894, the worst thing that Eleanor could imagine happened. Her father died. He had just sent Eleanor a letter. He wrote, “I hope my little girl is well … and never forget I love you …” Eleanor kept this letter for years.
It was her grandmother who broke the news. Eleanor was almost ten. Everyone thought that Eleanor would weep and shut herself in her room for days. But she didn’t. After she was told, she was quiet as a mouse. All she said, in a whisper, was, “I did want to see him again.”
Eleanor was now an orphan. No mother. No father. And then, shortly after her father’s death, her brother Elliott died of diphtheria. Just as their mother had. Eleanor was just a child, yet already there had been so much sadness in her life. From then on, Eleanor watched over her baby brother, Hall. She became like his mother. She taught him things and tried to protect him for the rest of his life.
For the next four years, Eleanor retreated into a dream world. In this world, she lived with her father and was pretty and happy. When she was not dreaming, Eleanor escaped into books. One of her favorite places to read was high up in a tree. Eleanor felt safe there.
One bright spot in her life was visiting Long Island. That’s where her Uncle Teddy Roosevelt lived. He was her father’s older brother. He was a rising star in politics in New York. He was full of life and adored the lonely Eleanor.
When Eleanor came to visit, he would greet her with a big bear hug and tell her that she was his very favorite niece. He loved that Eleanor tried hard at games even though she was sometimes clumsy and fearful.
Eleanor would leap into piles of hay from the barn loft or she would run straight into the ocean. Uncle Teddy made Eleanor forget that she was a plain, unusually tall, and gawky girl. Instead, she felt special. But her grandmother Hall did not really like her Uncle Teddy, so as time passed, Eleanor got to spend less and less time on Long Island.
And so, Eleanor passed her days at her grandmother’s home in New York City. She studied. She read. She went to the theater with her aunts. But Eleanor wanted more. She wanted to explore the world. And finally, when she was fifteen, she got her wish. Eleanor’s grandmother agreed to send her to school in England. For Eleanor, this was her chance to make a new life for herself.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 1901 TO 1909. HE WAS A WEAK CHILD AND OFTEN SICK, BUT WORKED TO MAKE HIMSELF STRONG. HE SPENT LONG HOURS LIFTING WEIGHTS AND POUNDING A PUNCHING BAG. HE ALSO LOVED THE OUTDOORS. AS AN ADULT, HE LIKED TO RIDE, SWIM, AND HUNT. ROOSEVELT WAS A MAN OF ACTION. HE BUILT THE UNITED STATES INTO A WORLD POWER. MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT HE WAS ONE OF OUR FAIREST PRESIDENTS. HE WORKED HARD FOR THE POOR. DURING HIS PRESIDENCY, THE FIRST NATIONAL PARKS WERE OPENED. THE TEDDY BEAR IS NAMED FOR HIM.
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