Eleanor Roosevelt Biography - The Early Years

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11 1884. A descendant of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelt family, her father Elliott was the brother of Theodore Roosevelt, who became President of the United States in 1901. The Roosevelts had long been an integral part of the history and social structure of New York, and her mother, Anna Hall, was a descendent of the Ludlows and the Livingstons -- the Ludows were a wealthy mercantile family in New York City, while the Livingstons were landed gentry of the Hudson River Valley.

Anna Hall died in 1892 and Eleanor, a child of eight, went to live with her stern Grandmother Hall in Tivoli, NY. Just two years later word came that her father, Elliott had died. Her mother always described as beautiful, referred to Eleanor as "Granny"-- reinforcing Eleanor's belief that she was plain, shy and lacking in the necessary social graces. With the death of her father Eleanor's world had changed, for all her best memories had been associated with her father.