Firsthand Observer

Part of Theodore Roosevelt Memorial.

"Nothing could be more lonely and nothing could be more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to [the Badlands'] huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west." -Theodore Roosevelt

October 27, 1880

Marries: Roosevelt marries Alice Hathaway Lee on his 22nd birthday.

November 1881

Five members of the New York State Assembly, three seated in the front and two standing with Theodore Roosevelt standing to the right.

Elected To New York State Assembly: In the New York State Assembly, Roosevelt (standing, right) holds his first elective office.

1882

Theodore Roosevelt IV: Roosevelt's first book, The Naval War of 1812, meets with critical acclaim.

September 1883

Young Theodore Roosevelt in a buckskin suit and hat, standing in a forest holding a rifle.

Hunts in the Dakotas: Travels to the Dakotas to hunt bisons; sees dwindling wildlife populations.
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Flat landscape in the Dakotas with mountains in the background.

When he arrived in the Dakotas (above), Roosevelt couldn’t find any animals, and was saddened that one of his favorite American mammals—the bison (Bison bison)—was being hunted almost to extinction. The eye-opening trip led him to take up conservation as a personal and political cause.
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A horse-drawn carriage holding one person and another person on a house outside of an isolated ranch house.

Despite his dismay over vanishing bison, Roosevelt’s passion for the West was only strengthened by his two-week trip. He promptly bought Maltese Cross Ranch (above) and began a cattle ranching business.
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Two guides of Theodore Roosevelt's on horseback, one on a light-colored horse and the other on a dark-colored horse.

During the trip, Roosevelt shared Maltese Cross Ranch’s one room with his two guides (above). He embraced cowboy life, happily trading the comforts of New York for the hard work of ranching in the so-called Badlands.
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Bison standing and sitting on a verdant hill.

Thanks to those conservation efforts, veterinary staff can now export animals to zoos, national parks and Native American lands, while some 700 bison near Medora, North Dakota—in what was designated Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in 1947—continue to thrive.
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Medallion with border reading "Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall" and a raised engraving of a bison at the center.

At AMNH | Theodore Roosevelt Medallion (Floor 1): This medallion, situated in the center of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, depicts the area where Roosevelt lived in North Dakota, which is now Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. While living in the Badlands, Roosevelt saw the dangers posed by the wanton destruction of wildlife and the misuse of natural resources. "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country," he said.
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February 14, 1884

Handwritten page with a large X above text "The light has gone out of my life."

Tragedy Strikes: Two days after the birth of his first child, Roosevelt's wife and mother die of unrelated illnesses on the same day, in the same house. In his journal he writes, "The light has gone out of my life."

February 17, 1884

Anna Roosevelt seated beside baby Alice Roosevelt, wearing a pale coat and fur muff.

Baby Alice Goes To Anna Roosevelt: Roosevelt places his new baby, Alice Lee Roosevelt, in the care of his sister Anna.

June 1884

Young Theodore Roosevelt standing next to a horse.

Moves to the Dakotas: Seeking solace from personal tragedies, Roosevelt moves to the West to run his cattle ranch.
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The porch of Elkhorn Ranch with rocking chairs and multiple animal horns on display.

Elkhorn Ranch: Finding that his first ranch, Maltese Cross (or Chimney Butte), didn’t provide the solitude he yearned for, Roosevelt chose a secluded spot near the Little Missouri River for Elkhorn Ranch (above), his “home ranch” for two years.
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Newspaper ad for Chimney Butter Ranch and Elkhorn Ranch listing Theodore Roosevelt as proprietor, with illustrations of cattle.

The Cattle Business: Roosevelt threw himself into cattle ranching and got off to a modestly successful start. But in the winter of 1886-87 severe cold and storms killed more than 60 percent of his cattle, ending his ranching business.
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A single standing bison with canyons in the background.

Elkhorn Site Threatened: At the Theodore Roosevelt National Park today, the primary threat to ecosystems and wildlife is incompatible development. Proposed roads and bridges, oil and gas drilling, mineral rights and ranching interests threaten the area’s stability.
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Body of water surrounded by grass, with rocky mountains in the background.

Conservation Efforts: Due to development, the remoteness that Roosevelt cherished is now threatened and in 2012, Elkhorn Ranch was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the 11 most endangered historic places.
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1885

Theodore Roosevelt IV: Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt's main home and future "summer White House" in Oyster Bay, New York, is completed in 1885.

March 1885

President of Stockmen Association: Roosevelt leads the Little Missouri organization intended to enforce ranching rules and regulations.

1885

Cover of a book with title "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman" written in stylized font.

Begins Writing on the West: His books distinguish Roosevelt as an authority on Western wildlife, landscape and peoples.
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Illustration of a bighorn sheep sitting on a cliff.

“In descending a sheer wall of rock the big-horn holds all four feet together and goes down in long jumps, bounding off the surface almost like a rubber ball every time he strikes it." –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
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Illustration of two people, one seated and one bending over, outside of a teepee in a grassy landscape.

“Sinewy, hardy, self-reliant, their life forces [cowboys] to be both daring and adventurous, and the passing over their heads of a few years leaves printed on their faces certain lines which tell of dangers quietly fronted and hardships uncomplainingly endured.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
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Illustration of a ranch house beside a body of water, with trees in front and a person standing on the porch holding a rifle.

“From the low, long veranda [of Elkhorn Ranch], shaded by leafy cotton-woods, one looks across sand bars and shallows to a strip of meadowland, behind which rises a line of sheer cliffs and grassy plateaus.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
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Illustration of a rancher sitting in a chair indoors in front of a fire, reading, and a dog lying on the floor.

“In summer time we are not much within doors, for we rise before dawn and work hard enough to be willing to go to bed soon after nightfall.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
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Two cowboys riding horses pass each other by, going in different directions, with another cowboy on horseback and a line of cattle in the background.

“The free, open-air life of the ranchman, the pleasantest and healthiest life in America, is from its very nature ephemeral. The broad and boundless prairies have already been bounded and will soon be made narrow.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
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Museum diorama depicts two coyotes in a landscape of rocky cliffs surrounding a lake.

At AMNH | Hall of North American Mammals (Floor 1): In May 1903, Theodore Roosevelt camped for three nights with Sierra Club founder John Muir in Yosemite National Park, California, depicted in this diorama. It was the beginning of a friendship and frequent collaboration on conservation matters. Muir was a strong proponent of enlarging the existing Yosemite National Parks area and in 1906, Roosevelt, convinced by Muir, did just that. Roderick Mickens/© AMNH
Roderick Mickens/© AMNH

1885

George Bird Grinnell, photographed from the chest up.

Meets George Bird Grinnell: The Audubon Society founder and Forest and Stream editor becomes one of Roosevelt's many advisors.

November 2, 1886

Loses New York Mayoral Race: After moving back east to campaign for New York City mayor, loses to Abram Hewitt. "I had a bully time," he says.

December 2, 1886

Theodore Roosevelt stands beside his wife Edith Carrow, who is seated.

Re-Marries: At 28, Roosevelt marries his childhood sweetheart, Edith Carrow.
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Theodore Roosevelt (standing, left), his wife Edith (seated, left), and two more family members pose outside.

Young Love: During the summer before starting at Harvard, Roosevelt (standing, left) formed a strong relationship with Edith (seated, left). Though little is known of their relationship, it’s thought that the two had talked of a future together.
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Reconnecting: In October 1885, Roosevelt saw Edith for the first time in years. Their old flame was rekindled and by November, the two were engaged.
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Theodore and Edith Roosevelt ride camels, with many palm trees in the background.

World Travels: In 1910, Edith visited Egypt and the Sudan with her husband, who had just finished a year-long expedition in Africa.
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Portrait of an older Theodore and Edith Roosevelt, side-by-side.

Lifelong Partners: Theodore and Edith had a famously successful marriage. They loved and respected each other, and Theodore often turned to her for advice. She offered a calming counterpart to Roosevelt’s boundless energy and enthusiasm.
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Winter 1886

Wooden cabin with a horse outside in an isolated landscape.

Devastating Cattle Loss: While the Roosevelts honeymoon in Europe, a severe winter in the Dakotas kills most of his cattle and ends his ranching career.

1887

Theodore Roosevelt (seated, left) and his wife Edith (seated, right) surrounded by their six children.

Moves to Sagamore Hill: Over the next 10 years, Theodore and wife Edith raise six children in this home.
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Six members of the Roosevelt family stand near the door of a barn.

"As the children grew up, Sagamore Hill remained delightful for them," Roosevelt wrote in 1913. "There were picnics and riding parties, there were dances in the north room—sometimes fancy dress dances..."
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Alice Roosevelt, at age 18, standing in front of a tree and holding a puppy.

Though Roosevelt planned for three-year-old Alice (above, age 18) to remain with his sister, Edith brought her into the family at Sagamore Hill.
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The Roosevelt children and other children playing outside—seven of them standing and playing a game, and two smaller children sitting in foreground.

Roosevelt encouraged his children to play vigorously and explore the natural world, pastimes he had often had to forgo during the asthmatic spells of his boyhood. He reveled in moments when he joined—and often planned—the children’s adventures around Oyster Bay.
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Theodore Roosevelt leads three of his children and other family members on a hike through tall grass.

Roosevelt led his children, nieces and nephews and their friends on hikes around Oyster Bay. The group of boys and girls followed their leader, rowing, swimming or climbing over any obstacle in their way.
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Four members of the Roosevelt family sit on the lawn and play with seven dogs.

Sagamore Hill was filled not only with eight Roosevelts—Theodore, Edith, Alice, Ted, Kermit, Ethel, Archie and Quentin—it also housed numerous pets. Dogs, ponies, parrots, badgers and more were as comfortable at Sagamore Hill as the Roosevelts.
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Theodore Roosevelt sits and holds a baby, with five other members of his family seated to his right.

"There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly attractive to be a successful…writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment…But…a household of children…makes all other forms of achievement lose their importance by comparison." –Theodore Roosevelt
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1887

Medallion shape with text "Boone and Crockett Club" in a circle around edges and raised engravings of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett at center.

Cofounds Boone and Crockett Club: The organization of hunter-conservationists emphasizes protection of bison populations in Yellowstone National Park.
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Alaska Brown Bear diorama, with one bear standing on hind legs and one bear on all-fours with snow-capped mountains in background.

At AMNH | Hall of North American Mammals (Floor 1): The Boone and Crockett Club—an organization of hunter-conservationists cofounded by Roosevelt—sponsored this diorama in the 1940s. In the 1880s, this group lobbied for the protection of bison and other wildlife in Yellowstone National Park, which had been created without a means to enforce regulations limiting hunting and development.
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1889

A copy of The Winning of the West open to its title page beside a staggered stack of three additional volumes of The Winning of the West.

Publishes The Winning of the West: Completed in 1896, this influential four-volume work describes cowboy life, stark landscapes and the closing of the Western frontier.

March 1889

Writer John Burroughs sitting in a rocking chair in front of a wooden wall.

John Burroughs stands inside a wooden building, with a porch visible outside.

Roosevelt became so fond of Burroughs (above at his home in West Park, New York), that he called him “Oom John,” or “Uncle John” in letters. Years later, Burroughs chronicled the adventures of their 1903 trip to Yellowstone in Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt.
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Theodore Roosevelt and John Burroughs, pictured from the back, stand in front of a Yellowstone geyser.

“Why, I cannot now recall that I have ever met a man with a keener and more comprehensive interest in the wild life about us—an interest that is at once scientific and thoroughly human.” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
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Theodore Roosevelt, John Burroughs, and another person stand around a campfire, with pitched tents behind them.

“He is doubtless the most vital man on the continent, if not the planet, today. He is many sided, and every side throbs with his tremendous life and energy…” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
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Theodore Roosevelt, John Burroughs, and two other people in a horse-drawn sleigh with thin trees behind them.

“When the sleigh would… begin to drag heavily, [Roosevelt] would bound out nimbly and take to his heels, and then the three of us…would follow suit, sometimes reluctantly on my part.” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
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Museum hallway with wall display featuring seven paintings, including portraits of John Burroughs and landscapes, and a bust of John Burroughs.

At AMNH | John Burroughs Corridor (Floor 1): One of the greatest American nature writers was Roosevelt's longtime friend John Burroughs, who also had a long association with scientists at the Museum. Roosevelt revered Burroughs's writing. Today, the Museum is home to the John Burroughs Association, and an exhibit dedicated to Burroughs can be found on the first floor. Since 1926, the Association has awarded the John Burroughs Medal to authors who share the naturalist's acute eye for nature, dedication to field study, and creative yet controlled prose style. The prestigious award recognized influential writers such as Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold and John McPhee.
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May 7, 1889

Young Theodore Roosevelt seated in a chair.

Appointed Civil Service Commissioner: In his first national political office, Roosevelt serves as one of three civil service commissioners.

May 6, 1895

Theodore Roosevelt (third from right) sits at a table alongside three other people.

President of NYC Police Commissioners: Roosevelt (third from right) is elected president of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners and serves for two years.

Spring 1898

Assembles His Rough Riders: Roosevelt’s some 1,200 Rough Riders included Harvard classmates, college athletes, cowboys and Native Americans.

May-September 1898

Group photo of about 40 Rough Riders, seated and standing in rows.

Roosevelt (front row, third from right) recruited more than 1,200 Rough Riders from all backgrounds. New York aristocrats, cowboys, college athletes and Native Americans volunteered for the regiment and joined Roosevelt in Cuba.
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Eleven Rough Riders stand around a crate with a dark bird on top of it, and a dog sitting below.

While serving in the Rough Riders, Roosevelt (standing, left) was fond of his two war horses, Rain-in-the-Face and Texas. During his off hours, he spent time with the Rough Riders’ adopted pets: Cuba the dog, Teddy the golden eagle and Josephine the cougar.
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Painting of the battle of San Juan Heights with a line of soldiers behind a person on horseback charging ahead on a grassy hill.

On July 1, 1898, Roosevelt (depicted here on horseback) led the charge up San Juan Heights, giving U.S. forces a strategic position above Santiago de Cuba. Roosevelt called it “the great day of my life.” In 2001 he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
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November 8, 1898

Theodore Roosevelt seated at a wooden desk, examining a piece of paper.

Governor of New York: Elected governor of New York State. He serves for two years.

1899

Douglas Brinkley: A lifelong bird-lover, Roosevelt praises the work of AMNH ornithologist Frank Chapman.

November 6, 1900

Patricia O'Toole: President William McKinley, with Roosevelt as his running mate, wins a decisive victory; Roosevelt becomes vice president.