Happy Anniversary Mrs. Roosevelt!

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in 1884 and by the time she was ten years old, both her parents had died. Eleanor was raised by the extended Roosevelt family and she met her future husband, FDR, when she was two and he was four. They were married on March 17, 1905 in what an article in the New York Times described as a beautiful wedding.

Eleanor and Franklin while Dating - He is knitting!

Eleanor in Her Bridal Gown

Eleanor was the daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt’s only brother, Elliot. The President skipped the St. Patrick's Day parade he was supposed to be in ... because he gave the bride away in a drawing room wedding in the home of Eleanor’s cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Parish. The following is an excerpt from the New York Times, March 18, 1905.

"The bride, walking with the President, and preceded by her six bridesmaids, came down the wide flight of stairs leading from the third floor to the second and across the large foyer hall at the rear of the Parish drawing room, through wide doorways and on to a large mantel at the west side of the Ludlow drawing room, where the ceremony took place. First in the bridal procession came the Misses Alice Roosevelt and Corrine Douglas Robinson, followed by the Misses Ellen Delano and Muriel Delano Robbins, and last the Misses Cutting and Isabella Selmes. The attendants were in white faille silk frocks trimmed with lace and silver, and wore tulle veils attached to white Prince of Wales ostrich feathers, tipped with silver, and carried large bouquets of pink roses.



Following came the bride and the President. The bridal gown was a white satin princess robe, flounced and draped with old point lace, and with a white satin court train. The bride's point lace veil was caught with orange blossoms and a diamond crescent. She wore a pearl collar, the gift of the bridegroom's mother, and a diamond bowknot, the gift of Mrs. Warren Delano, Jr. Her bouquet was of lilies of the valley.


The bridal procession passed through an aisle formed by the ushers, who held white satin ribbons. The bridegroom, who came from the large foyer hall of the Ludlow house to the salon to meet the bride, was attended by Lathrop Brown as best man, J. Roosevelt Roosevelt, a half brother, not having arrived from the South in time to fill the place. The ushers were Edmund Rogers, Nicholas Biddle, Lyman Delano, Owen Winston, Charles B. Bradley, W. D. Robbins, and Thomas P. Beales of Boston. A small reception followed the ceremony.


The house was decorated throughout with ferns, palms, and pink roses. The bride's grandmother, Mrs. V. G. Hall, was in black velvet and point lace. The bridegroom's mother, Mrs. James Roosevelt, was in white silk, covered with black lace. Mrs. E. Livingston Ludlow was in mauve satin and point lace, and Mrs. Henry Parish wore a changeable pale blue and pink silk crepe, with lace sleeves and yoke."

Eleanor Roosevelt was the First lady from 1933 to 1945 and fulfilled her duties in enormous ways.  She had many pursuits, which are detailed in the official First Ladies website.  I encourage you to read more about her in your celebration of National Women's History Month ... at Eleanor Roosevelt's biography.  You'll be amazed at her global accomplishments in a world that was dominated by men.  She was remarkable.