If you’ve ever stared at a grainy black-and-white photo of the 26th and 32nd presidents and thought, "Man, they really don't look that much alike," you aren’t alone. One had a booming voice, a rough-rider physique, and a mustache that could probably win its own election. The other was refined, academic, and eventually refined his entire public persona around a wheelchair he fought to keep out of the frame. So, were Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt related, or is the shared surname just a massive historical coincidence?
The short answer is yes. They were cousins. But if you’re looking for a simple family tree, you’re out of luck.
The Roosevelt family tree is more like a tangled thicket of old-money New York Dutch roots. They weren't just cousins; they were Fifth Cousins. To most of us, a fifth cousin is basically a stranger you might see at a wedding once every twenty years and forget their name before the cake is cut. For the Roosevelts, however, that distant bloodline was a golden ticket, a shared burden, and a political roadmap.
Two Branches of the Same Dutch Oak
To understand how they were connected, you have to go back to the mid-1600s. Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt arrived in New Amsterdam—modern-day Manhattan—and started a lineage that would eventually split into two distinct, often rivalrous factions.
By the time the 19th century rolled around, the family had bifurcated. You had the "Oyster Bay" Roosevelts and the "Hyde Park" Roosevelts. Teddy (TR) belonged to the Oyster Bay crowd. They were Republicans. They were aggressive. They liked hunting, boxing, and "strenuous life" philosophies.
Franklin (FDR) was a Hyde Park Roosevelt. They were Democrats. They were perceived as slightly more "country squire" than their Long Island relatives.
The Fifth Cousin Connection
Mathematically, Franklin and Theodore shared a set of great-great-great-great-grandparents. Johannes Roosevelt started the Oyster Bay line, while his brother Jacobus started the Hyde Park line. Because they were fifth cousins, they didn’t actually share much DNA. You probably have more in common with your local barista than FDR did with TR on a purely genetic level.
But in the world of the Gilded Age elite, the name "Roosevelt" was a brand. Franklin grew up idolizing his "Cousin Theodore." It’s actually kinda wild how much he modeled his early life after TR. He went to Harvard. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He became Governor of New York. He literally followed the TR playbook page by page.
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The Eleanor Factor: Making It Complicated
If the fifth-cousin thing wasn't enough to make your head spin, let’s talk about Eleanor.
Eleanor Roosevelt was Teddy’s favorite niece. She was the daughter of Teddy’s younger brother, Elliott. When Franklin decided he wanted to marry Eleanor, he wasn’t just marrying a girl he liked; he was marrying into the "important" side of the family.
At their wedding in 1905, Teddy Roosevelt actually gave the bride away. Why? Because Eleanor’s father had passed away, and TR was the sitting President of the United States. Talk about a power move. Teddy famously stole the show at the wedding, because, well, he was Teddy Roosevelt. He reportedly told Franklin, "It is a good thing to keep the name in the family."
So, to recap:
Franklin and Teddy were fifth cousins.
Franklin and Eleanor were fifth cousins, once removed.
Teddy was Franklin’s fifth cousin and his wife’s uncle.
It’s messy. It’s very "Old New York." Honestly, it’s a miracle they didn’t all have more genetic issues, but given how distant a fifth cousin actually is, the biological risk was basically zero.
Did They Actually Like Each Other?
Politics is a blood sport, and even family isn't immune.
Initially, TR was a mentor figure. Franklin was young, ambitious, and clearly riding the coattails of the most famous man in the world. But as Franklin’s political career shifted toward the Democratic Party, the Oyster Bay Roosevelts started to get... salty.
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Teddy’s children, especially Alice Roosevelt Longworth (who was famously sharp-tongued), couldn't stand the Hyde Park branch. They viewed Franklin as a "maverick" in the worst sense of the word—someone who was using the Roosevelt name to push "radical" Democratic agendas. Alice once famously described Franklin as a "shaved-down" version of her father.
Ouch.
Despite the family bickering, Franklin never stopped using the TR connection to his advantage. When he ran for Vice President in 1920, and later for President in 1932, he leaned heavily into that "progressive" Roosevelt energy. He knew the American public loved the name. He used it as a bridge to reach voters who remembered the glory days of the Bull Moose Party.
Key Differences That Mattered
While people often lump them together because of the name, their styles couldn't have been more different.
Teddy was a volcano. He moved fast, talked loud, and was defined by his physical vitality. He was the "Man in the Arena." Even after being shot in the chest during a speech, he kept talking for 90 minutes.
Franklin was a chess player. Because of his polio, which he contracted in 1921, he couldn't rely on physical dominance. He had to rely on his voice—those famous "Fireside Chats"—and his ability to manipulate the media and his political opponents. While TR was about the "Big Stick," FDR was about the "New Deal."
A Shared Legacy of Expansion
One thing they absolutely shared was the belief that the President should be the center of American life.
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Before the Roosevelts, the presidency was often a reactive office. Congress held most of the cards. Teddy changed that by using the "Bully Pulpit" to regulate big business and protect the environment. Franklin took it ten steps further, creating the modern social safety net and leading the country through World War II.
Without the foundation TR laid, it’s highly unlikely FDR would have had the political "permission" to do what he did. They both fundamentally reshaped what it meant to be an American leader.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that they were "close" relatives like brothers or first cousins. They weren't. If Franklin’s name had been Franklin Smith, no one would have ever thought to compare them.
Another mistake? Thinking they were always on the same side. The Republican-Democrat divide in the family was real and bitter. During the 1930s, some of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts actively campaigned against Franklin, calling him a traitor to his class. It wasn't just "polite disagreement"—it was a full-blown family feud played out on the national stage.
Why This Connection Matters Today
Understanding that were Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt related isn't just a trivia fact. It's a study in how American dynasties work.
We see it with the Kennedys, the Bushes, and the Clintons. Name recognition is the most valuable currency in politics. Franklin knew that. He leveraged a distant relative’s fame to build his own, then surpassed that fame to become the only four-term president in history.
It’s a story of ambition, clever branding, and a very lucky marriage to a woman who was arguably as politically talented as both men combined.
How to Explore the Roosevelt Legacy Further
If you want to really get a feel for this family dynamic beyond just reading about it, there are a few "must-visit" spots that make the history feel tangible.
- Visit Sagamore Hill: This was Teddy’s "Summer White House" in Oyster Bay. It’s a shrine to his personality—full of elk heads, books, and rugged furniture. You can practically hear him shouting "Bully!" from the porch.
- Check out Springwood in Hyde Park: This was Franklin’s estate. It’s much more refined and "old world" than Sagamore Hill. Seeing the two houses back-to-back shows you exactly how different the two branches of the family really were.
- Read "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History" by Geoffrey C. Ward: If you want the deep-dive (without the AI fluff), this is the definitive account. It accompanies the Ken Burns documentary, which is also stellar.
- Compare their speeches: Go on YouTube and listen to a recording of TR’s high-pitched, squeaky voice (which surprises most people) and then listen to FDR’s smooth, reassuring radio tones. The contrast is fascinating.
The Roosevelts didn't just share a name; they shared a conviction that the United States could be better than it was. Whether they were hunting lions in Africa or fighting the Great Depression, they lived out that name with a level of intensity we rarely see in modern politics. They were cousins by blood, rivals by party, but partners in building the modern American century.