Deeper glimpses into the fascinating lives of the extended family of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the 26th president of the United States, have been added to the collection of American Ancestors | NEHGS through a generous donation of Roosevelt family papers from the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). The TRA, chartered by Congress in 1920, is a historical and public service organization dedicated to perpetuating the memory and ideals of Theodore Roosevelt.

Letters, previously unpublished family photographs, a handwritten multi-page genealogy, period family ephemera, and scrapbooks of hundreds of items are included in papers documenting the lives of members of the eclectic Dutch New York family whose members have included merchants, bankers, politicians, soldiers, explorers, and socialites. Many in the family became prominent in New York City business and political circles where “to be a Roosevelt was to be something distinctive.” The world followed the family’s exploits closely for decades as two Roosevelts, Theodore, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), rose to national prominence with their election to the presidency, and another, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), became the nation’s longest-serving first lady, and a prominent diplomat.

Ryan Woods, EVP and COO of American Ancestors, announced the donation of the collection from the Theodore Roosevelt Association of Oyster Bay, New York. “We are delighted to be the recipient of these materials collected by the TRA since the 1920s ” said Woods. “We will make them readily accessible to the members of American Ancestors and other family historians, recognizing the immense value this collection will have to scholars around the globe.”