Growing Up Roosevelt As a boy Theodore whose asthma prevented him from much physical activity was a voracious reader He was especially drawn to books about great adventures and read many books from his family’s library One of the first books he loved was David Livingstone’s Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa which contained beautiful illustrations of exotic animals and birds Theodore was also a born naturalist The young Roosevelt collected frogs birds mice and snakes He stuffed and sketched many of his findings He kept detailed records too including information about each animal’s sex location size and stomach contents In 1867 when he was nine years old Theodore even started a home museum naming it the Roosevelt Museum of Natural History From his collection of specimens he later donated several items to the American Museum of Natural History that his father had cofounded Throughout his childhood Theodore continued to suffer from asthma and nightmares At the time medical treatments for asthma were very primitive and did not help They included using coffee tobacco and ipecac a drug to induce vomiting Watching their son suffer from the constant attacks terrified the Roosevelts As a child Theodore was often in poor health 12
who feared for Theodore’s life Theodore’s father urged the boy to try to improve his health through exercise stating You have the mind but not the body and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should You must make your body The family built a gym in their New York City home for all four Roosevelt children to use Theodore fought to become the strong man he wanted to be While building his mind through reading and other creative pursuits he also worked hard to overcome his physical challenges Theodore spent almost all of his spare time in the gym exercising proving to himself and his family that he could overcome his physical frailties For years Theodore worked with steady determination to strengthen his body through exercise He took boxing lessons and went hiking with his father Family Life Theodore grew up with three siblings older sister Anna called Bamie younger brother Elliott and younger sister Corinne They were educated by private tutors They also all used their home gym as each had health problems to overcome Roosevelt remained close to his sisters and brother throughout his life Two of Roosevelt’s relatives watched his presidency closely Franklin Delano Roosevelt was Theodore’s younger cousin by twenty-four years Eleanor Roosevelt was Theodore’s niece daughter of his brother Elliott Franklin and Eleanor married in 1905 and Franklin was elected president in 1933 13
Theodore’s health was improving so in 1871 when he was twelve years old his parents allowed him to take a camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains It was one of many places he visited to collect natural specimens study birds and cultivate his lifelong love of nature Then his father discovered Theodore was nearsighted With glasses Theodore was no longer clumsy He later recalled I had no idea how beautiful the world was until I got those spectacles He could shoot targets accurately now too On a family trip to Egypt and Syria he took advantage of his improved sight by shooting several hundred birds some of which were later displayed in his museum By the time he left home for Harvard University at the age of seventeen Theodore was ready to prove himself in the world In college he studied natural history and thrived as an industrious student with a strict daily schedule and busy social life But he suffered a tragedy too During his second year his father died at the age of forty-six soon after being diagnosed with cancer Roosevelt was devastated that he was not there to say good-bye to his father On February 12 1878 Roosevelt wrote in his diary He has just been buried With the help of my God I will try to lead such a life as he would have wished his brother Elliott sister Corinne center and childhood friend Theodore back left with Edith Carow in 1875 14
At home Roosevelt turned to his childhood friend Edith Carow for comfort They seemed destined to marry until an argument drove them apart Neither ever told anyone what had happened between them Roosevelt returned to school with determination and energy He joined clubs started writing his first book The Naval War of 1812 and fought in the school’s boxing championship He also met a classmate’s cousin Alice Hathaway Lee fell in love and resolved to marry her Lee was in no rush to marry Roosevelt though having many admirers to choose from Roosevelt intensely pursued Lee who was surprised at his tenacity She kept him in her life as a friend but Lee’s friend later recalled that she had no intention of marrying him Lee gave Roosevelt the slightest amount of hope though and he continued to pursue her The two eventually started a courtship and Roosevelt proposed to Lee on June 20 1879 She refused but Roosevelt did not lose his resolve Eight months after his first proposal Roosevelt asked Lee again In his diary on January 25 1880 Roosevelt wrote At last everything is settled but it seems impossible to realize it after much pleading my own sweet pretty darling consented to be my wife It had taken years but Roosevelt had finally won Lee’s heart engaged to Roosevelt in early 1880 Alice Hathaway Lee became 15
