Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were distant relatives with a close relationship, and they met many times over the course of their overlapping lives. TR and FDR were fifth cousins from two different branches of the Roosevelt family. TR was of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts, and FDR was of the Hyde Park Roosevelts. The two branches were descended from Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt, who emigrated from the Netherlands to New Amsterdam in the 17th century.
When he was young, FDR visited TR's home in Oyster Bay, Sagamore Hill, several times, joining in strenuous activity like swimming and horseback rides. The two grew quite close during this time, with TR telling FDR's mother Sara that he was "so fond of that boy, I'd be shot for him." FDR also had opportunities to hear TR give public addresses, as a child at Groton School and then again at Harvard.
On St. Patrick's Day (March 17), 1905, Franklin married his distant cousin Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor's father Elliott had died in 1894 of suicide brought on by alcoholism, and so her uncle Theodore was the one to give her away at the wedding. "It's good to keep the name in the family," Theodore supposedly remarked to Franklin, slapping him on the back. (Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life (2002) by Kathleen Dalton, p. 278)
The next meeting we have a record of came on June 18, 1910. On that day, TR returned from his year-long sojourn in Africa and Europe. If you look on the very far right of this photograph, almost out of frame, you will see FDR in the welcoming party: https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record?libID=o282345
In 1913, FDR became Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he became an inside connection to the Wilson administration for TR. TR was highly critical of the way the Wilson administration was handling the war in Europe, and FDR shared some of his concerns. On this topic they corresponded quite a bit, but whether or not they actually met in person in Washington, D.C. is unclear - it seems very possible, but we haven't yet come across anything to confirm that for us.
The final meeting that we can speak about with confidence came in April 1915. TR was a defendant in a libel trial, after having publicly insulted New York Republican political boss William Barnes. One of the character witnesses called by the defense was FDR. Supposedly, when asked by the judge to state his relation to the defendant, FDR replied "fifth cousin by blood and nephew by law!" This event gave us perhaps the only picture of TR and FDR close together, with TR's defense attorney W. H. Van Benschoten between them:
(We sourced this picture from the FDR Library. For further reading, check out our blog post on the trial, which includes a primary source letter.)
We actually believe they probably met more times than this, but these are the times we know about for sure. Feel free to let us know if you are aware of other times!
Because of their kinship, FDR greatly idolized TR, with FDR affecting elements of TR's personality and patterning much of his life after his famous cousin. FDR spoke and wrote in a similar way (at least at first), wore pince-nez eyeglasses, attended Harvard and Columbia, and then entered politics. FDR, just like TR, served as Governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and of course, President of the United States!
