In this episode of “This I Remember: Roosevelt Family Stories,” Ellie Seagraves tells her granddaughter, Sophie, stories about her experience as Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s eldest grandchild. At 98 years old, Ellie still fondly remembers her summers spent riding horses and cataloging books in Hyde Park, eating breakfast with FDR in the White House, and traveling to the Middle East with her beloved Grandmére. This conversation highlights the love Eleanor Roosevelt had for her grandchildren; even as the children grew older, started their own families, and moved across the country, Eleanor made sure to visit often.

Learn more about Eleanor and Sophie:
Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves was born in 1927 and is the oldest grandchild of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt and is the daughter of their oldest and only daughter, Anna Roosevelt.  She was known as “Sistie” when she and her younger brother “Buzzie” lived in the White House during FDR’s first term in office.  Ellie attended Reed College and obtained a degree in Library Science from SUNY/Geneseo.  In addition to being a librarian to children with special needs, she was also a book editor on environmental topics, and an editor for the sea-faring journals of Captain Amasa Delano, a descendant of Franklin Roosevelt. 

Sophie Eleanor Fierst is a high school social studies teacher in Bethesda, Maryland. She grew up visiting her grandparents frequently in Washington, DC and developed her love of history and politics partly through hearing family stories of the Roosevelts. At Smith College she studied government, with a particular focus on public health and the politics of health care reform. After graduation, she spent a year in AmeriCorps working at a community health organization in Fall River, Massachusetts. She then switched to teaching, primarily teaching US History and AP government, in addition to serving as the advisor to the Student Government Association. 

View the gallery below to see photos of Eleanor with her grandparents and other Roosevelt members. If you’re enjoying our series, you won’t want to miss the next episode! Stay tuned for a two-part discussion between Nina Roosevelt Gibson and her grandson, Haven Luke. 

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