Edith Roosevelt

Edith Kermit Roosevelt (née Carow; August 6, 1861 – September 30, 1948) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the first lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She had previously been the second lady of the United States in 1901 and the first lady of New York from 1899 to 1900.

Edith Carow grew up alongside the Roosevelt family and married Theodore Roosevelt in 1886. They established a home in Sagamore Hill, where Edith had five children with Theodore, and they moved back and forth between New York and Washington, D.C., as Theodore's political career progressed over the following years. Edith became a public figure when her husband became a war hero in the Spanish–American War and was elected governor of New York. Theodore became vice president in March 1901, and she became second lady of the United States for six months; she became first lady when the assassination of President William McKinley propelled Theodore to the presidency in September of that year.

The exact nature of Edith's influence over Theodore's presidency is unknown, but they frequently spoke about politics and he often took her advice. She resented the press, feeling that it was intrusive. She leveraged her influence to control when and how they reported on the Roosevelts, and had professional photographs taken of the family so the press would not need to take their own. Edith also controlled Washington social life, organizing weekly meetings of the cabinet members' wives, and became the gatekeeper of who could attend formal events. Her oversight of the 1902 White House renovations and her hiring of the first social secretary for a first lady, Belle Hagner, are described by historians as her most enduring legacies.

Edith took up travel in the years after leaving the White House, frequently touring Europe and Latin America. Her health declined in the 1910s, and she was devastated by the deaths of her son Quentin in 1918 and then Theodore in 1919. She remained politically active, supporting Warren G. Harding in 1920 and Herbert Hoover in 1932. Edith took an interest in her ancestry in the 1920s, writing a book on her ancestors and purchasing her ancestral home in Brooklyn, Connecticut. She lost two more of her sons in the 1940s and was bedridden for the last year of her life. Edith died on September 30, 1948. Historians have consistently ranked her in the upper half of first ladies in periodic polling by the Siena College Research Institute.

Edith Kermit Carow was born on August 6, 1861, in Norwich, Connecticut. She was the first of two daughters born to Charles Carow and Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler. Though her family was wealthy, her father was an unsuccessful businessman as well as a chronic gambler and an alcoholic, while her mother was a hypochondriac. For much of her childhood, the family was forced to move in with various relatives. She was unhappy with her childhood, and she rarely spoke of her parents throughout her adult life.

The Carows were close friends with their neighbors, the Roosevelt family. Edith's early schooling took place at the Roosevelt home, as well as the Dodsworth School where she received etiquette instruction. Corinne Roosevelt was Edith's closest childhood friend, and Edith was often brought along with the Roosevelt children in their family activities. At age four, she stood with the Roosevelts on their balcony to watch Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession. Edith and Corinne formed their own literature club as children, the "Party of Renowned Eligibles", in which Edith served as club secretary each week for three years. She also bonded with Corinne's brother, Theodore Roosevelt, over their mutual love of literature. The Carows moved uptown in 1871, where Edith attended Miss Comstock's School. Here she developed a lifelong sense of strict religious morality. She also learned to speak fluent French and took a more active interest in English literature, with a particular focus on the works of William Shakespeare.

During the celebrations for the centennial of the United States in 1876, Edith visited the White House, afterward commenting that it would be unlikely that she should ever visit it again. After graduating from Miss Comstock's School in 1879, she participated in New York's social life, attending balls and making social calls. She was unable to travel, as she had to stay home tending for her parents, who had both fallen ill.

Edith and Theodore grew closer as teenagers, and they developed romantic feelings for one another. They stayed in contact when Theodore went to Harvard University, but they had a falling-out in August 1878. The details surrounding this stage of their relationship are not known. Various reasons have been proposed by the families and by historians for their split, including a rejected proposal, Theodore Roosevelt Sr.'s disapproval of Charles Carow's alcoholism, a rumor that the Roosevelts were afflicted with scrofula, or clashing personalities between their strong tempers. They rekindled their friendship in December 1879. By this time, Theodore was engaged to his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee. This caused Edith grief, but she held a dinner in the couple's honor and attended their wedding. She maintained a close relationship with the Roosevelts over the following years, though she was cold toward Alice. Edith's father died from alcohol-related illness in 1883.