You’ve probably seen the photos. One is a barrel-chested rough rider with a mustache that could stop a train, and the other is a poised, cigarette-holder-wielding statesman who led America through a World War. They shared a name, a massive family estate in New York, and a penchant for the presidency. But if you’re wondering how are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt related, the answer is a little more tangled than just "they were cousins."
It’s a family tree that looks more like a blackberry bush.
Basically, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were fifth cousins. That’s a fairly distant connection. If you have a fifth cousin, you might not even know their name, let alone attend their wedding. But in the world of New York "Old Money" and the Hudson Valley aristocracy, the Roosevelt name was a sticky bond that kept these two branches of the family circling each other for decades.
They weren't just related by blood, either. They were related by marriage, which makes the Thanksgiving seating charts even more confusing.
The Oyster Bay and Hyde Park Split
To understand the dynamic, you have to look at the geography. The family split into two distinct clans way back in the 1700s. You had the "Oyster Bay" Roosevelts (Teddy’s side) and the "Hyde Park" Roosevelts (Franklin’s side).
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Teddy was the Republican. He was the "Trust Buster." He was the guy who got shot in the chest during a speech and finished the speech anyway because he was just built differently. Franklin, on the other hand, was a Democrat. This caused some genuine friction. Teddy’s daughter, the famously sharp-tongued Alice Roosevelt Longworth, once joked that her father wanted to be "the corpse at every funeral, the babe at every christening, and the bride at every wedding." She wasn't exactly a fan of her cousin Franklin’s rise to power, often viewing him as a "softer" version of the Roosevelt brand.
The Eleanor Factor: When Five Plus Five Equals Family
Here is where the "how are Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt related" question gets truly interesting. Franklin didn’t just share a last name with Teddy; he married Teddy’s favorite niece.
Eleanor Roosevelt was the daughter of Elliott Roosevelt, who was Teddy’s younger brother. This means Eleanor was Teddy's niece. When Franklin and Eleanor got married in 1905, Teddy actually walked the bride down the aisle. Her father had passed away, and Uncle Ted—who was the sitting President of the United States at the time—stole the show.
Imagine being the groom at your wedding and the President of the United States shows up, walks your wife down the aisle, and everyone ignores you to listen to his stories. That was Franklin’s reality. By marrying Eleanor, Franklin became Teddy’s "nephew-in-law" while remaining his fifth cousin.
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Politics, Rivalry, and the "Copycat" Narrative
Franklin worshipped Teddy. Honestly. Even though they were in different political parties, FDR modeled his entire early career after TR.
Look at the trajectory.
Teddy was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Franklin became the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Teddy was the Governor of New York. Franklin became the Governor of New York.
Teddy ran for Vice President. Franklin ran for Vice President (though he lost his first go-round).
Finally, they both hit the White House.
Some of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts found this annoying. They felt Franklin was "using" the Roosevelt magic to propel a Democratic agenda that Teddy wouldn't have supported. But historians like Doris Kearns Goodwin have pointed out that despite the political labels, both men shared a fundamental belief that the federal government should be used to improve the lives of average people. TR had his "Square Deal," and FDR had his "New Deal."
The names weren't a coincidence.
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Do the Roosevelts Still Have Influence?
People often ask if the family is still around. Yes. They are. But the days of Roosevelt hegemony in DC are mostly in the rearview mirror. You’ll find Roosevelts in law, in finance, and occasionally in local politics, but the double-whammy of TR and FDR was a lightning-strike moment in American history that’s unlikely to happen again.
The relationship between the two men was a mix of genuine admiration and fierce, competitive vanity. Franklin wanted to be the "greater" Roosevelt. Whether he succeeded is a debate that keeps historians up at night. Teddy had the charisma and the raw energy; Franklin had the endurance and the monumental task of the Great Depression and WWII.
Why the Relation Matters Today
Understanding their connection isn't just about trivia. It’s about how American power used to work. It was concentrated. It was familial. When we look at how Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt were related, we’re looking at a bridge between the 19th-century "Rough Rider" era and the modern, post-war world we live in now.
They were the bookends of the "American Century."
If you want to dive deeper into this family saga, there are a few things you should do next to really grasp the nuance of their relationship:
- Visit the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park. It’s eerie how much of his personality is still in those walls. You can see the ramp he used for his wheelchair and his massive library.
- Contrast that with Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, Teddy’s home. It’s filled with taxidermy and books, reflecting a man who couldn't sit still for five minutes.
- Read "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History" by Geoffrey C. Ward. It’s probably the best resource for seeing how the Eleanor/Franklin/Teddy triangle actually functioned behind closed doors.
- Check out the letters. The Library of Congress has digitized a lot of the correspondence between the branches. You can see the polite—and sometimes chilly—tone they used with each other.
The Roosevelts weren't just a family; they were an institution. Whether they were fifth cousins or brothers wouldn't have mattered as much as the fact that they both felt a divine right to lead. They shared the same blood, the same ambition, and the same uncanny ability to make the American people believe in them. That is the real Roosevelt legacy.