LETTER: Letters to his Mother and Father.
Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt
From her Favorite Son
A rich archive of letters from Elliott Roosevelt (1910-1990), to his mother, Eleanor Roosevelt, providing an intimate look at the life and family relationships of one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Written mostly during Elliot’s school days at Groton, and including several letters to his father, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the letters span a crucial period in the lives of the Roosevelt family. In 1918, Eleanor’s discovery of her husband’s affair with his secretary, Lucy Mercer, nearly led to the couple’s divorce. The two were persuaded to remain together for the sake of the children and for the sake of Franklin’s political career; however Eleanor began to live apart from her husband, at the family estate in Hyde Park, NY, where many of the present letters were sent. In August of 1921, Franklin Delano was struck by the illness that would deprive him of the use of his legs for the rest of his life, and which lead Eleanor to make many appearances on her husband’s behalf at various political events. It was also the decade during which Eleanor rose to political prominence in her own right, first in working with the Women’s Trade Union League, then by assuming a role of leadership in the New York Democratic Party. Eleanor is also widely credited during this period with persuading her husband to enter the governor’s race of 1928, a race won by Roosevelt in prelude to being elected President of the United States four years later.
Elliott’s letters from Groton (the school his father had attended, and in which his brothers were also enrolled) reflect this abundance of activity, while also bearing witness to Eleanor’s role as mother. The relationship between Elliott and Eleanor was always a special one. Elliott was her favorite son by some accounts, and both mother and son were named after Eleanor’s father Elliott. In 1950, Elliott produced “The Eleanor Roosevelt Show,” broadcast by NBC radio, and later, after Eleanor’s death, he penned a series of memoir-mystery novels with his mother as the central character and detective.
The majority of the letters which form the archive are addressed to Eleanor, with most of those remaining addressed to Eleanor and FDR together. Among the few letters that precede Elliott’s enrollment at Groton is one written in pencil on stationery bearing the Roosevelt’s 49 East 65th Street address, which gives a wonderful snapshot of Elliott as a boy, and which throws into relief the growth that Elliott underwent by the time the last letter in the archive was written. It reads, in full:
Dear Mother, and Father,
I am glad you are having a nice time. Have you been in swimming many times? If you happen to pick a little alligator up bring it up. A desease [sic] started among my fish but only two died, my pet Sunfish and a minnow, the rest got well. Please remember the shells. I have had lots of fun with basketball. Love Elliott. P.S. Please bring back any small animal you find.
The letters from Groton show Elliott to be a sweet but impish boy, enthusiastic about sports, and humble about his academic performance, who affectionately signs his letters, “Loads of love.” In addition to describing recent football or baseball games, reporting on the fluctuation of his grades, providing updates on his brothers, and describing his travels throughout New England to the homes of various school friends, Elliott makes frequent reference to his parents’ political activity. In a letter postmarked October 4, 1924, for example, he writes:
I see that the people of New York who [are] democrats are having tremors as to who will be elected. That is the way all the Boston papers are putting it now. Do you really think Smith will be elected or will Cousin Teddy [?]
Here Elliott refers to a contentious political race which contributed to a rift between the Hyde Park Roosevelt’s and their Oyster Bay counterparts. In 1924, Theodore Ro
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