Edith Roosevelt - Early Life

Early Life

Born in Norwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Charles Carow (1825–1883), a merchant, and the former Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler (1836–1895) and a granddaughter of Daniel Tyler who was a general in the American Civil War, Edith grew up next door to Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt in New York and was best friends with his younger sister Corinne. She was T.R.'s first real playmate outside his immediate family.

She and her sister Emily Tyler Carow (1865–1939) were brought up in an environment of comfort and tradition. An infant brother, Kermit (b. February 1860; d. August 1860) died one year before her birth.

At Miss Comstock's school, Edith acquired the proper finishing touch for a young lady of that era. A quiet girl who loved books, she was often T.R.'s companion for summer outings at Oyster Bay, Long Island; but this ended when he entered Harvard College. Although she attended his wedding to Alice Hathaway Lee in 1880, their lives ran separately until 1885.

Read more about this topic:  Edith Roosevelt

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