American writer and socialite (1906?1975)
Anna Roosevelt Halsted
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Born
| Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
(
1906-05-03
)
May 3, 1906
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Died
| December 1, 1975
(1975-12-01)
(aged 69)
New York City, New York, U.S.
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Resting place
| St. James Episcopal Churchyard,
Hyde Park, New York
, U.S.
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Occupations
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Spouses
|
(
m.
1926;
div.
1934)
(
m.
1935;
div.
1949)
James Addison Halsted
(
m.
1952)
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Children
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Parents
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Relatives
| See
Roosevelt family
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Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Halsted
(May 3, 1906 ? December 1, 1975) was an American writer who worked as a newspaper editor and in public relations. Halsted also wrote two children's books published in the 1930s. She was the eldest child and only daughter of the
U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
and
Eleanor Roosevelt
and assisted him as his advisor during World War II.
[1]
Halsted worked with her second husband
Clarence John Boettiger
at the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
, serving as editor of the women's pages for several years. She later worked in public relations for universities. In 1963,
John F. Kennedy
appointed her to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She also served for several years as vice-chairman of the President's Commission for the Observance of Human Rights.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Franklin, Anna and Eleanor Roosevelt during his 1932 presidential campaign
Early life and marriages
[
edit
]
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Jr. was born at 125 East 36th Street in
New York City
. She was named for her mother,
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
, and maternal grandmother,
Anna Rebecca Hall
. She graduated from
Miss Chapin's School
in 1924. She then entered
Cornell University
for a short course in forestry.
[2]
On June 5, 1926, she married
Curtis Bean Dall
, a New York stockbroker, in
Hyde Park, New York
. They had two children,
Anna Eleanor
, born March 25, 1927, and
Curtis Roosevelt
, born April 19, 1930. The Dalls were divorced in July 1934, and Anna returned to her family, living in the White House. She then married
Clarence John Boettiger
, a journalist she met on her father's campaign train, in March 1935. They had one son,
John Roosevelt Boettiger
, born March 30, 1939.
[3]
Early career
[
edit
]
Anna was active as an editor and journalist. Between 1932 and 1934 she was associate editor of a magazine called
Babies Just Babies;
hosted a radio program sponsored by Best and Company Department Store; and contributed articles to
Liberty
magazine. She also wrote two children's books,
Scamper
and
Scamper's Christmas
. After her second marriage, she moved to Seattle with her husband, where he was hired by
William Randolph Hearst
to be the editor of the
Seattle Post Intelligencer.
From December 1936 to September 1943 they ran the newspaper. Anna was editor of the women's page and a columnist for the newspaper.
[4]
In 1942, Clarence Boettiger became concerned he was not doing his part for the war effort. He was given a leave of absence by Hearst and was appointed a captain in the Army.
[4]
Work in the White House and the Yalta Conference
[
edit
]
After her husband joined the Army, and at her ailing father's request, Anna moved into the
White House
with her five-year-old son in 1944. Among other duties, she often served as
First Lady
due to her mother's preference for devoting her time to other political activities and worthy causes.
[5]
She also served as an unofficial secretary to her father. Her responsibilities included answering mail, arranging appointments, and writing presidential speeches. She became alarmed at the obvious deterioration of the President's health and insisted on seeking the advice of a cardiologist. When he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, she was the only family member who was informed. She petitioned to be included in the
Yalta Conference
as his aide-de-camp, believing that she could best protect her father, seeing to it that he followed the doctor's orders of diet and rest. She attended the conference, along with
Sarah Churchill
, daughter of
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
, and
Kathy Harriman
, daughter of
W. Averell Harriman
, Ambassador to Russia. The Conference lasted from February 2, 1945, to February 11, 1945. Anna was important to Roosevelt both personally and as aide-de-camp.
[6]
Anna Boettiger was a witness to many historic moments, but she also carried the burden of dealing with some of the most intimate and painful decisions of her parents during their unconventional marriage.
[7]
After her father's death, Anna had to tell her mother that FDR had been with his long-time mistress,
Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd
. In addition, she told her that Franklin had continued the relationship for decades, and people surrounding him had hidden it from Eleanor.
[6]
Subsequent career and marriage
[
edit
]
After Roosevelt's death in April 1945, William Randolph Hearst no longer had reason to favor Boettiger and they had a falling out. Boettiger left the
Seattle Post Intelligencer
and he and Anna bought a weekly newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona. They renamed it the
Arizona Times
and had turned it into a daily paper by May 1947. However, they were attempting to turn it into a left-leaning newspaper in Arizona, and the paper failed. The failure left the Boettigers bankrupt and put a great strain on their marriage. They divorced August 1, 1949.
[1]
For a year after her divorce, she and Eleanor collaborated on a joint radio show called the
Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt Program
. She also edited a magazine called
The Woman
and contributed a series of articles called
My Life with F.D.R.
[4]
In 1952 she married Dr. James Halsted, a doctor who was employed by the Veteran's Administration. They moved to New York where she took up work in public relations for hospitals and medical centers. The Halsteds moved to the
Imperial State of Iran
, where Halsted helped establish the
Pahlavi University Medical School
. Anna worked there in public relations and administration. When they returned to the United States, Anna immersed herself in humanitarian work and contributed to the legacy of both her parents.
[6]
In October 1963, Anna was appointed by President
John F. Kennedy
to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women. In February of that year, she was appointed vice-chairman of the President's Commission for the Observance of Human Rights.
[2]
In 1971, the Halsteds retired to a cottage in
Hillsdale, New York
. Anna continued to be active in most of the same organizations until her death from
throat cancer
on December 1, 1975, aged 69, at
Montefiore Hospital
in
the Bronx, New York
.
[8]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Michaelis, David (2020).
Eleanor
(First Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York.
ISBN
978-1-4391-9201-6
.
OCLC
1139765459
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"Anna Roosevelt Halsted Papers, 1886?1976 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum"
.
www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
. Retrieved
March 21,
2021
.
- ^
"Roosevelt Genealogy"
.
fdrlibrary.marist.edu
. Archived from
the original
on May 29, 2014
. Retrieved
March 23,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1994).
No ordinary time : Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt : the home front in World War II
. New York: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN
0-671-64240-5
.
OCLC
30736131
.
- ^
"Let Ivanka Be First Lady"
.
Politico
. December 20, 2016
. Retrieved
April 8,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
Katz, Catherine Grace (2020).
The daughters of Yalta : the Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans : a story of love and war
. Boston.
ISBN
978-0-358-11785-8
.
OCLC
1143823468
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Conant, Jennet (September 29, 2020).
"THE DAUGHTERS OF YALTA: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Family, Love, and War"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
September 29,
2020
.
- ^
Krebs, Albin (December 2, 1975).
"Anna Roosevelt Halsted, President's Daughter, Dies White House Assistant Went With Father to Yalta Meeting"
.
The New York Times
. p. 42
. Retrieved
April 20,
2016
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Asbell, Bernard:
Mother and Daughter: the letters of Eleanor and Anna Roosevelt
. Fromm International, 1988
External links
[
edit
]
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