Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884 -1962
herself in the role of "wife" to the extent that she wasn't quite sure if her brothers would be her and her father's children, or if they would be on their own.
But Anna's and Elliot's families determined that Elliot was not capable of taking care of the children, who were taken to live with their maternal grandmother. Eleanor tended the thoughts of the secret mutual understanding with her father and dreamed of the time when they would again be together. These thoughts enabled her to adjust to her new life.
Education became of primary importance, with emphasis on speaking French and learning music. The first endeavor succeeded, but the second did not. Grandmother Evans believed that the lack of discipline she had exercised with her own children had produced only bad results, so strict discipline was enforced.
Elliot visited Eleanor irregularly, usually with no prior notice. Then, the same winter her mother died, her oldest brother died of diphtheria following scarlet fever. Elliot's grief and renewed alcoholism resulted in fewer and fewer visits to Eleanor. Several months before her tenth birthday, Eleanor heard that her father, too, had died.
Even as her education and discipline continued her memories of her father became more and more idealized. Frequent seasonal moves from one family home to another were followed by being sent to school in England where Eleanor became so close to the school mistress that they traveled together in Europe over several summers. Here she learned to be more self-sufficient and independent and to adapt to numerous situations. These became the strong foundations for the woman Eleanor eventually became.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Cook, Blanche Wieser, Eleanor Roosevelt, 1992.
Cooney, Barbara, Eleanor Roosevelt, 1996. (This is a book for juveniles.)
Freedman, Russell, Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, 1992.
Roosevelt, Eleanor, Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, 1984
WEB SITES
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lib... Eleanor Roosevelt (5 stars) Lots of information and pictures. Has sections of Eleanor's childhood, her marriage, life in the 1920's, life in the White House, life as a widow, and her talks. Each is in much more detail than most biographies on the internet. Also has a number of links to other sites about Eleanor.
http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/smahady/erc... Eleanor Roosevelt (5 stars) An excellent site. Contains a link to a web pages about ER and her interests that has a fantastic number links to other good sites. It also contains links to books about and by her, to quotes from her, to stamps from many countries honoring her, to items that carry her
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