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I adore my brother, Steve. He is my only sibling. I remember the day he was born. When Daddy pushed me in a park swing, Steve was in the next swing down. When I was sleeping in the front seat of our Volkswagen bus on family vacation, Steve was sleeping in the cargo area in the back. When I put on our 45-rpm record of the Mexican hat dance, Steve danced beside me.

Steve and Me
Steve and Me

Childhood is priceless. What a blessing it is to remember sharing mine with Steve.

For their 1920 celebration of George Washington’s birthday, the City History Club of New York invited Corinne Roosevelt Robinson to give a speech about her brother, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had died just over a year before. When asked the title of her speech, she responded that as George Washington was the “Father of His Country” and Abraham Lincoln was the “Savior of His Country,” she would speak on “The Brother of His Country.”

A year and a half later, Mrs. Robinson published My Brother, Theodore Roosevelt. In her introduction, Corinne wrote:

As I have reread his letters to me, as I have dwelt upon our long and devoted friendship–for we were even more friends than brother and sister–his character stands out to me more strongly than ever before as that of “The Great Sharer.” He shared all that he had–his worldly goods, his strong mentality, his wide sympathy, his joyous fun, and his tender comprehension–with all those with whom he came in contact, and especially with those closest and dearest to him–the members of his own family and his sisters.

This is the dedication Corinne wrote for her book about her famous brother:

With tender affection, I dedicate this book to my sister, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, whose unselfish devotion to her brother, Theodore Roosevelt, never wavered through his whole life, and for whom he had from childhood a deep and unswerving love and admiration.

Eldest child Anna, second-born Theodore Jr., third-born Elliott (father of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt), and baby girl Corinne were the children of Theodore and Mittie Roosevelt. By the time Corinne wrote My Brother, Theodore Roosevelt, both parents and both brothers had passed away. As she looked back on the life of her brother, she naturally remembered each member of her family. She wrote:

I suppose I must have been about four, and he about seven, when my first memory takes definite form. My older sister, Anna, though only four years older than my brother Theodore, was always mysteriously classed with the “grown people,” and the “nursery” consisted of my brother Theodore, my brother Elliott, a year and a half younger than Theodore, and myself, still a year and a half younger than Elliott.

In those days we were “Teedie,” “Ellie,” and “Conie,” and we had the most lovely mother, the most manly, able, and delightful father, and the most charming aunt, Anna Bulloch, the sister of my Southern mother, with whom children were ever blessed.

I continue to be fascinated with the life of Theodore Roosevelt and his family, particularly with the devoted way that Theodore and Mittie homeschooled their four children, with the assistance of Aunt Anna who served as tutor.

We have recently completed some short videos about the Roosevelt family. I don’t usually offer things for sale in these blog posts. However, this week we are releasing a short book entitled Homeschooling: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt; the last of these videos introduces that book. It is my hope that the book will encourage mamas and daddies as they homeschool their children. I hope its brevity and low cost will encourage folks to share it with friends and relatives who aren’t so sure about the idea of homeschooling. I hope it will encourage mamas and daddies who would love to homeschool but who feel overwhelmed at the prospect.

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I also hope these videos and today’s stories about the love between the Roosevelt siblings will encourage you. Please share this post and the videos with anyone you think they would encourage.

Beyond all these things put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:14

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