Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: 1901 – 1909
Terms: Two
Birthday: October 27, 1858
Birth Place: New York City, New York
Date of Death: January 6, 1919
Place of Death: Oyster Bay, New York
Buried: Young’s Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, New York

Notes:
Was a sickly, asthmatic child and was home-schooled.
Disliked being called “Teddy.”
Enjoyed being active and had a photographic memory.
Both his mother and his first wife died on the same day.
One of the first Presidents whose voice was recorded.
One of the faces on Mount Rushmore.
Ranked by scholars as one of the greatest US Presidents.
Received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, in January 2001.

When President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the 42-year old Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, became the youngest President in US history. Check out the links near the bottom of this post for more facts and details on this 26th President of the United States, or grab one of the great books about this President from the carousel…

Theodore’s travels began early with family trips to Europe in 1869 and 1870, and a trip to Egypt in 1872. He graduated Phi Betta Kappa from Harvard in 1880 where he was involved in literary clubs and the student magazine, and he was also runnerup in the school’s boxing championship. Roosevelt was strong in areas that interested him most such as geography, history and biology, but was weak in Latin and mathematics. In his spare time at Harvard, Roosevelt also wrote a much-acclaimed book, The Naval War of 1812 which publicly affirmed him as a serious historian. A brief stint at Columbia Law School ended in 1881 when he dropped out to pursue his growing interest in politics.

The 1880s were to be busy times of ups and downs for Theodore Roosevelt. He finally married Alice Hathaway, who had been rejecting his proposals for the prior 10 months. In 1883, during a buffalo hunting expedition to the Badlands area of the Dakota territory, he bought his first ranch. He later built a second ranch near Medora, North Dakota, after a discouraging first introduction to politics. He served as a deputy sheriff and wrote several articles for Eastern magazines about life on the frontier. In 1884, his young wife Alice died of kidney disease. In 1885 he built Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York and after a severe winter of 1886-1887 wiped out most of his cattle, he left his ranch and returned to New York.

Not one to be down for long, Theodore left for London in 1886 and married a childhood sweetheart, Edith Kermit Carow. They honeymooned in Europe where their party reached the peak of Mont Blanc – which achievement made Roosevelt a new member of the British Royal Society.

Politics, campaigning, and his post as the New York City Police Commissioner kept Roosevelt in New York throughout much of 1888 to 1895. In 1897 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy but in 1898 he resigned to form the First US Volunteer Calvary Regiment – the famous “Rough Riders.” Battles won at Kettle and San Juan Hill, Cuba where Theodore was the only soldier on horseback, led to the nickname he would have the rest of his life, “The Colonel.”

Elected Governor of New York in 1898, his military and political reputation landed him on McKinley’s winning ticket as Vice President in the election of 1900. Roosevelt was on a September 1901 climbing expedition in New York when he received the telegram informing him of President McKinley’s assassination. Assuming the role of President in 1901, he then won the 1904 Presidential election. He decided not to run again in the election of 1908.

Travel and adventure beckoned Roosevelt at the end of his Presidential term. An extended safari and hunting trip to Mombassa, Kenya, travel to the Belgian Congo, and a trip up the Nile were financied by Theodore’s travel writings along with donations from Andrew Carnegie. His life-long interest in science and nature spurred his many contributions to the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History.

Back from his safari, Roosevelt wanted the Republican Party’s Presidential nomination in 1911 and was campaigning in Wisconsin in 1912 when he was nearly assassinated. He was saved by both his steel eyeglass case and a folded copy of a speech he was carrying in his pocket. Still bleeding, Roosevelt went on to give his speech a few minutes later. The bullet remained in Theodore’s chest wall for the rest of his life, slowed him down considerably, and contributed to later health problems such as rheumatoid arthritis and a battle with obesity. During his expedition to South America in 1913 and 1914, Roosevelt suffered a second bout of malaria (first was in Cuba), along with a leg wound. Roosevelt lost nearly 50 pounds during this trip and returned home to New York.

World War I began in 1914 and Roosevelt was a strong supporter of the Allies. His son Quentin was flying missions in France and was shot down behind German lines in 1918. Still suffering with malaria, and devastated at the loss of his son, Roosevelt considered but did not actively pursue running as his party’s Presidential nomination for the 1920 election. Though in declining health, Roosevelt remained active during the final year of his life. He was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and in 1918 was given the title of “Chief Scout Citizen.” Roosevelt had a heart attack and died in his sleep January 6, 1919.

Roosevelt, for his time, was an active and engaged traveler. Even within the bounds of the United States, he was, in 1902, the first President to be seen riding in an automobile.

Recommended Reading:
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt Association
Teddy Roosevelt – Great images!
The White House
The Miller Center

Next, America’s 27th President, William Howard Taft.

Time in Office: 1797 to 1801
Terms: One
Birthday: October 30, 1735
Birth Place: Quincy, Massachusetts (formerly known as Braintree)
Date of Death: July 4, 1826
Place of Death: At his home, Quincy, Massachusetts
Buried: United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts

Notes:
~ John Adams was the first Vice President of the United States, serving two terms, (1789 to 1797.)
~ He is the father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States.
~His birthplace is now the Adams National Historical Park.

Adams’ Birthplace – Braintree, Massachusetts

In 1751 at the ripe old age of 16, John Adams began his formal education at Harvard College. His father wanted John to become a minister but John was not sure this was the right thing for him. In 1755 he graduated Harvard and began teaching. By 1758, he’d made his own decision and was admitted to the bar as a lawyer. From this point forward, from the age of 23, John devoted the rest of his life to political action and public service – taking him both around the colonies and to Europe.

Massachusetts sent Adams to the first (1774) and second (1975 – 1777) Continental Congress held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On September 11, 1776, Adams was part of a delegation that met on Staten Island, New York to try to work out a resolution to the war – which attempt failed.

The French Frigate – “Sensible”

Although he did not speak French, Adams was sent to France by Congress and was first there from April 1778 to June 1779. He departed for his second trip aboard a French frigate in November 1779. By 1792 he is ambassador to the Dutch republic and we find him at The Hague. Adams bought a house while in the Netherlands which became the first American-owned embassy anywhere in the world. John returned to London in 1783 and remained there, unhappily, until 1788.

In 1789 John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States for which he served two terms. Adams despised being Vice President thinking it a job with little real impact on politics and government. By 1797 he was President.

Adams spent long stretches at his home in Quincy during his time as President which makes sense because the “President’s Mansion,” what we now call The White House, was not ready for occupants until November 1800. By the time the “Mansion” was completed, Adams had lost his bid for re-election and he returned to private life and his family in Quincy where he died in 1801.

President’s Mansion – 1801

John Adams, like Washington, spent a huge portion of his life – nearly 30 years, on the move. Travel to Europe took weeks in John Adam’s time, while quite frequently under fire from enemy ships. He and Abigail were not well received either in London, France, or the Netherlands – Adams’ sometimes argumentative and forceful opinions often alienating him with courts abroad. John did take his 10-year old son, John Quincy, to France with him in 1778. Quite a trip and good experience for a future President!

He made numerous trips from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, Washington, and New York, usually alone on horseback. This is a harsh mode of travel for anyone who has experienced a Massachusetts winter, but Adams’ dedication to his tasks never wavered.

Next up – the travels of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson or, back to the first, George Washington.

“Traveling with American Presidents” list.