Hall Roosevelt

Gracie Hall Roosevelt (June 28, 1891 – September 25, 1941) was an American engineer, banker, soldier, and municipal official who was the youngest brother of First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt and a nephew of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Early life and education Gracie Hall Roosevelt, generally known as Hall, was born on June 28, 1891, in Neuilly, France. He was a son of Elliott Roosevelt (who died when he was three years old) and Anna Rebecca Hall (who died when he was one-and-a-half years old). His uncle was Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his grandmother was Martha Bulloch. Through his sister, Eleanor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was his brother-in-law, and through his father, his fifth cousin once removed. He was also the uncle of U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Elliott Roosevelt. He was named Gracie for his father's aunt, Anna Bulloch and her husband James Gracie, In this role, Roosevelt "performed the difficult tasks of obtaining credit from banks in various parts of the country. As head of the unemployment bureau, he did much to feed, clothe, and find work for the needy."

Personal life In 1912, at age 21 while still enrolled at Harvard, Hall was married to Margaret Richardson (1892–1971), a young woman he met at school. Margaret was the younger daughter of prominent surgeon Maurice Howe Richardson. Together they had three children:

Henry Parish Roosevelt (1915–1946) Daniel Stewart Roosevelt (1917–1939) Eleanor Roosevelt (1919–2013)

When Hall wanted to seek a divorce in 1925, it was only with Eleanor's approval that he followed through with his decision. In the late 1920s, Hall married again and found work in the railroad industry. Hall had three children from his second marriage to Dorothy Grant Kemp, a step-granddaughter of Ralph Lane Polk (1898–1985):

Amelia "Amy" Roosevelt (1925–1992), who married John A.F. Wendt (1921–2002), the brother of E. Allan Wendt, in 1958. Diana Roosevelt (1927–1998), who married Agar Jaicks (1923–2016) in 1949. They had two children, Scott Agar Jaicks and Lisa Jaicks. Lisa was a life partner of Peter Gabel. Janet Roosevelt (1930–2020), who married Andrew Katten (1925–1999) in 1962. They had two children, Michael Katten and Stephen Katten.

In 1937, Hall sought a divorce from his second wife. By this point, alcoholism, a problem he shared with his father, had come to dominate Hall's existence, and he was unable to hold down any job he was offered. He spent the last few years of his life in a small building on the Hyde Park estate, and he died in Washington, D.C., on September 25, 1941, at age 50. Roosevelt's funeral was held in the White House, and his body was transported to Tivoli, New York, where he was entombed in the Hall family vault in St. Paul's Episcopal Churchyard. Eleanor Roosevelt survived her brother by 21 years.