The day the light went out
Teddy Roosevelt's worst Valentine's Day
On February 14, 1884, Teddy Roosevelt marked his daily journal with a large “X” and a short sad note.
That day, he’d lost both his young wife, Alice, who died of complications related to childbirth, and his mother, Mittie, who died of typhoid. The women passed away in the same house, with Teddy at their bedsides, and both were buried in the Roosevelt family lot at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
I stumbled across their graves during a cold, solo, three-hour trek around Green-Wood in January 2023. I was struck by the simplicity of the Roosevelt lot and wondered if Teddy was there (he’s not). My phone’s battery was dwindling rapidly due to all my picture taking, but this did not stop me from looking up Alice’s story and reading about the journal entry.
In January 2024, I was reminded of these events again when I visited Teddy Roosevelt’s birthplace museum in New York City and saw the big “X” in Teddy’s own hand in a framed copy of the journal entry (pictured above).
Researching for this post, I came across the Library of Congress’s online copy of Teddy’s diary, which shows that on February 17th, after describing the deaths and burials of his wife and mother and the baptism of his young daughter, Teddy wrote: “For joy or for sorrow my life has now been lived out.”
He would, of course, go on to remarry in 1886, have several more children, and serve as president of the United States from 1901-1909, so his life was not by any means over, but the life he’d thought he’d have with Alice was.
Until Next Time
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love.”
This epitaph confused me until I searched the phrase and found the poem it came from, On Marriage, by Kahlil Gibran. Give it a read and bookmark it for your wedding or your vow renewal ceremony (which for some reason I want to write as vowel renewal ceremony).
“I” promise you an “e,” and an “a, o, u,” and sometimes a “y”
Wow. The story about Teddy Roosevelt is so interesting, I cannot imagine the emotions he felt.
Mary Ellen Colier's funeral was held during the time in which Oakland Cemetery was closed due to a Tornado. I was allowed in to train new guides. I opened the Bell Tower and allowed the lingering members of the funeral party inside to use the restroom. One of them gave me a check for a wine stopper made of Oakland wood. The gift shop was closed so they just gave we an estimated price which I left with a note to staff. I often wonder if they toast Mary Ellen with a glass of wine from time to time. Libba Grace died recently and her funeral was also held while the cemetery was closed, but this time for road repairs.