Anna E. Roosevelt
Encyclopedia
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, as well as, the granddaughter of Elliott Roosevelt
Elliott Roosevelt I
Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt was the father of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt and the brother of US President Theodore Roosevelt. Elliott and Theodore were of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts. Eleanor later married their Hyde Park cousin and future US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.Elliott was the third of...
.
Biography
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born at 125 East 36th Street in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She was named for her mother, Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, whose first name was Anna; and for her grandmother, Anna Roosevelt
Anna Hall Roosevelt
Anna Rebecca Livingston Ludlow Hall Roosevelt was the mother of First Lady of the United States, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt....
. She was married for the first time, in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
, in 1926 to stockbroker Curtis Bean Dall
Curtis Bean Dall
Curtis Bean Dall was an American stockbroker, Vice-Presidential candidate, author, and the first husband of Anna E. Roosevelt.-Biography:...
. They had two children:
- Anna Eleanor RooseveltEleanor Roosevelt SeagravesAnna Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves , librarian, educator, historian, editor is a granddaughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Her parents are Anna Roosevelt Dall and her first husband Curtis Bean Dall...
Seagraves (born March 25, 1927) – educator, librarian - Curtis RooseveltCurtis RooseveltCurtis Roosevelt is the second eldest child of Anna Roosevelt and her first husband, Curtis Bean Dall. He is the eldest grandson of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. He is the younger brother of Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves...
(born April 19, 1930) – civil servant, author
They were often referred to as "Sistie" and "Buzzie" in the 1930s American press.
Between 1932 and 1934, Anna was associate editor of a magazine called Babies Just Babies (her mother Eleanor also had ties to this publication); hosted a Best and Company Department Store; contributed articles to Liberty magazine; and wrote two children's books, Scamper and Scamper's Christmas.
Anna and Curtis Dall divorced on July 30, 1934 at Minden, Nevada
Minden, Nevada
Minden is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 2,836 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County and is adjacent to the city of Gardnerville. It is named after the town of Minden, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It...
. Six months later, on January 18, 1935, she married 34-year-old journalist (Clarence) John Boettiger. Her second husband had recently resigned from the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, and signed on with the Will H. Hays
Will H. Hays
William Harrison Hays, Sr. , was the namesake of the Hays Code for censorship of American films, chairman of the Republican National Committee and U.S. Postmaster General from 1921 to 1922....
organization, the Motion Picture Producers of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
.
John Boettiger was hired by William Randolph Hearst to take over as publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
following a bitter labor dispute with its employees in 1936. Anna was active as a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and she served as editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the woman's page of that newspaper from 1936 until 1943.
With her second husband, she had one son:
- John Roosevelt BoettigerJohn Roosevelt BoettigerJohn Roosevelt Boettiger is the son of Anna Roosevelt Boettiger and her second husband, John Boettiger, and is grandson of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. He lives in Modum, Norway and Massachusetts.As a child, he lived with his mother in the White House...
(born March 30, 1939) – educator, clinical psychologist, author
When Boettiger went to serve in the war, new management conflicted with Anna and she left the paper as well. In 1944, at her father's request, Anna moved into the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
to serve as an assistant to the President and as White House hostess during her mother's frequent absences. Anna, who accompanied her father on the trip to Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, was a witness to many historic moments, but she also carried the burden of dealing with some of the most intimate and painful decisions of her parents during their dysfunctional marriage. After her father's death, Anna and John Boettiger bought a weekly newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona and renamed it the Arizona Times, turning it into a daily paper by May, 1947. Anna was an executive editor and columnist until February 1948, when she became editor and publisher. The paper was sold in July and in September 1948, Anna launched a radio program with her mother, called the Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt Program, which was canceled in September 1949. In 1949, Anna edited the monthly magazine The Woman, and contributed a series of articles called My Life with F.D.R.
Anna and John Boettiger divorced in 1949. He committed suicide the following year.
She married Dr. James Addison Halsted, a doctor with the Veterans Administration
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
, on November 11, 1952. Anna contracted coccidiomycosis and spent the next several years recovering.
She began to work in the public relations field for labor unions. In the fall of 1954, she attended University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
School of Social Work. In 1955, she and her husband moved to Syracuse New York, where she was hired as the assistant to the Director of Public Relations at the State University Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. In April, 1957, she became the Director of Public Relations and Assistant to the Dean, and held this position until September, 1958. The Halsteds then moved to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where James helped establish the Pahlaci University Medical School, where Anna worked in public relations and administrative work. In 1960, the Halsteds moved to Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
and Anna worked as a staff assistant to the Dean of the University of Kentucky Medical Center. In 1961, the Halsteds moved to Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
, where Anna became the public relations director and coordinator at Metropolitan Hospital for the Comprehensive Medical Care Program sponsored by the United Auto-Workers. In 1963, she became the Director of Public Relations for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, in Detroit. In October, 1963, Anna was appointed by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and worked on the council until her resignation in 1968. In February of that year, she was appointed vice-chairman of the President's Commission for the Observance of Human Rights. The Halsteds relocated to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1964. While living there, Anna became involved in the Washington Work and Training Opportunity Center, Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
, the Capitol Area Division of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, the National Committee of Household Employment, the Wiltwyck School, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation.
In 1971, the Halsteds retired to a cottage in Hillsdale, New York. Anna continued to be active in most of the same organizations until her death from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
on December 1, 1975. She was interred at Saint James Episcopal Church Cemetery in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
.
Resources
- National Park Service bio
- Syracuse Herald, Jan 18, 1935. p 11 "Anna Dall marries"
External links
- the Cemetery Project
- Anna features in the Roosevelt family history and genealogy
- 4th Quarter 2007 The Franklin D Roosevelt Library at NARANaraNara can refer to:Geography* Nara, Attock, a village in Attock, Pakistan* Nara, Jhelum, a village in Jhelum, Pakistan* Nara, NWFP, Union Council of Abbottabad, Pakistan* Nara, Nara, capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan...
has recently "...received correspondence between Curtis B. Dall, Anna Roosevelt's first husband, and the Roosevelt family, donated by his daughter Mary Dall Twichell...." - The New York State Archives has 34 feet (10.4 m) of the Anna Roosevelt papers
- http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F10C1EFE3A5F1B7493C0A91789D95F418785F9