Description:

Roosevelt Family Correspondence Including Letter from FDR's Grandmother

This small archive of three items includes an essay by teenage student Harriet H. Roosevelt, and a wonderful letter from Rome, Italy, by Mary Roosevelt, grandmother of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The third item may also refer to Mary Roosevelt, but the context is unclear.

[ROOSEVELT FAMILY.] Archive of three documents related to the Roosevelt Family, 1837-1868.

Contents and Excerpts
- Harriet H. Roosevelt, "Botany," Autograph Document Signed, August 22, 1837, Poughkeepsie, New York. 3 pp., 5" x 7.75". Small fold tear; ink somewhat faint.
"The study of this beautiful science is particularly adapted to young females, to whom we would recommend it as a lasting source of pleasure and amusement. It will be found much less difficult than may at first be apprehended, & the enjoyment experienced will be such that difficulties much greater than those which really present themselves would be no barrier to the mastery of the science."

Harriet H. Roosevelt (1824-1839) was born in New York, the daughter of Richard V. Roosevelt (1801-1835) and Anna Maria Lyle Roosevelt (1798-1841). Harriet H. Roosevelt died in Poughkeepsie at the age of 15. Anna Maria Lyle was the older sister of Eliza Van Ness Lyle Smith (1811-1896). Richard V. Roosevelt was the younger brother of Isaac Daniel Roosevelt, grandfather of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt, making him the great uncle of the future president, and Harriet H. Roosevelt the first cousin once removed of the future president.

- Mary Roosevelt, Autograph Letter Signed, to Anna Breck Aspinwall, March 10, 1864, Rome, Italy. 6 pp., 5.125" x 8.125". Expected folds; some edge tears; very good.
"We had a most pleasant village the four days we were at Sorento. Such a nice Hotel kept by a woman from Ireland, so very homelike was everything, she took a great interest in our party, for she attended her [?] last winter when she had the fever & she liked Bro William so much that she was lavish in her attentions to us. She had a garden filled with oranges & lemons & told us to gather just as many as we liked. I had no idea of an orange grove before. We walked thro' the hundreds & hundreds of trees, filled like our apple trees & as large. It was a sight to behold. We had Mt. Vesuvius in full view from our parlor & bedroom windows & the most beautiful sight was one evening, the sun was setting & the crimson rays on the smoke from the top of the mountain was perfectly grand. I never saw a grander sight than that & your mind dear Anna is constantly filled with wonder & admiration & you find yourself exclaiming 'what hath God wrought,' after all nothing delights me more than beautiful scenery & these magnificent gardens everywhere."
"I wonder if Anna knows that the probability is, that Sister E & Mr Woolsey sail again for Europe the 20th of October. I feel & so does Louisa very badly that less than a month after our arrival we Sisters must again separate. The world says we are a restless family & it is true."

Mary Rebecca Aspinwall Roosevelt (1809-1886) was the grandmother of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was born in New York City to merchant John Aspinwall and his wife Susan Howland Aspinwall. In 1827, she married Dr. Isaac Daniel Roosevelt (1790-1863) in Hyde Park, New York, and they had two sons, James Roosevelt (1828-1900) and John Aspinwall Roosevelt (1840-1909). James was the father of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Anna Lloyd Breck Aspinwall (1812-1885) married merchant William Henry Aspinwall (1807-1875), brother of Mary Rebecca Aspinwall Roosevelt. They had five children.

- Oliver P. Buel, Autograph Letter Signed, to Eliza A. Smith, December 4, 1868, New York, New York. 2 pp., 5.5" x 8.75". Expected folds; small loss to second sheet, not affecting text.
"I have just succeeded after repeated negotiations in closing matters out with the Cushman Estate.... I wish to inquire of Mrs. Roosevelt what disposition she wishes me to make of her share. I understood from Mrs. Heartt that it was understood at the outset of these negociations that Mrs. Roosevelt was willing to relinquish to Mrs Heartt her portion of the moneys coming from the Cushman Estate, but that you and Mr. Abram Lyle would retain yours.
"Will you do me the favor to inquire of Mrs. Roosevelt if I am correctly informed? If so I will pay over to Mrs Heartt accordingly—otherwise I will send her her amount. It will be, after deducting charges for collection, about $41.60. This amount though small would be of great service to Mrs Heartt at the present time as she is prostrated by a very severe illness. She spoke of Mrs Roosevelts generous offer in terms of evident appreciation and gratitude."

Oliver P. Buel (1838-1899) was born in Troy, New York, and graduated from Williams College in 1859. He practiced law in Troy, New York, then moved to New York City, where he opened his own law firm.

Eliza Van Ness Lyle Smith (1811-1896) was born in New York, the daughter of Henry Lyle (1764-1840) and Gertrude Van Ness Lyle (1772-1852). In 1842, she married Simeon Parsons Smith (1809-1848), and they had three children, including Gertrude Van Ness Smith Fowler (1846-1933), the wife of William Worthington Fowler, grandson of Noah Webster.

Anna Maria Lyle Roosevelt (1798-1841) was born in New York, the daughter of Henry Lyle (1764-1840) and Gertrude Van Ness Lyle (1772-1852). She married Richard Varick Roosevelt (1801-1835) in 1823. They had three daughters, Harriet, Grace, and Helen, all of whom died as children. The "Mrs. Roosevelt" mentioned in this letter must have been a different person who was perhaps an heir of these Roosevelts.

Cornelia Lyle Heartt (1798-1870) was a daughter of Henry Lyle. She married Christopher Heartt (1795-1855) of Mobile, Alabama, in 1820, and they had two children. She was the older sister of Eliza Lyle Smith.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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