Curtis Bean Dall ^{2 3 4}

  General Notes:

Curtis Bean Dall was born 24 Oct 1896 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, the son of Charles Austin Dall (b. 1863) and his wife Mary Bean (b. 1870). His father Charles was from the Dall's of Baltimore, but his mother had the interesting distinction to have been born in Prescott, Arizona where her father had gone as a mining engineer. Charles Dall and Mary Bean however were married in 1894 in New York City. In 1900, the family lived in Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey, but by 1910 they lived on a farm in Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey. His uncle Cornelius "Neely" Agnew of the Farmer's Loan and Trust Company (see Farmers) having been a member of Princeton's Class of 1891, influenced him to go there as well. (F.D.R., p. 15) He attended Princeton UniversityA, and later served in the Navy [Naval Aviation Corps - ed.] during World War I, in England and in France. (F.D.R., p. 12) The New York Times reports in 1920 that "During the war he was a naval aviator of the Royal Flying Corps, and later with the American Expeditionary Forces in France."

He was stationed as an ensign at Guipavas, and was present as one of the many spectators in Dec 1918, when then-president Woodrow Wilson arrived in Brest for the Peace Conference. (F.D.R., p. 13-14) He returned to the U.S. by Jun 1919

Curtis met his future first wife Anna "Sis" Roosevelt, nine years his junior, in Dec. 1925 at a dinner party, given by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Douglas in their home on Fifth Avenue, New York for their two daughters Elizabeth and "Kay". Anna was the eldest child and only daughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, who would several years later become the 32nd U.S. president and the first lady. At the time however, F.D.R. after having been a New York state senator, Assistant Secretary of the Navy and a U.S. vice-presidential contender (in 1920), was Vice-President of the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Baltimore.

after "...their three-month engagement" (F.D.R., p. 11) they were married, each for the first time, in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, on 25 June 1926.

Anna and Curtis had two children, Anna Eleanor "Sistie" Dall and Curtis Roosevelt "Buzzie" Dall.

This marriage ended in divorce on January 18, 1935.

Curtis married secondly in 1938 to Katharine Miller Leas (1917-2000), they had four surviving children: Katharine, Mary, Stephen and James (b. 1948).

In 1939 they are living on Park Avenue, New York City and probably still are in 1940 when an article titled "Gotham Gazette" mentions Curtis in passing. He served as a Col in the "Army Air Force" from 1942 until Feb 1946 (F.D.R., p 183), just after the close of World War II, and mentions a few times working in the Pentagon building during this time. So, I believe from 1943 to 1945 they probably lived in or near Washington, DC so Curtis could work in the Pentagon building for the Army Air Force. In 1946 they moved to San Antonio, Texas where "Col and Mrs Curtis Dall" appear several times at society events. The first mention I can find of a speech is here in the San Antonio Express 20 Mar 1947 (page 11) where his topic to the Fenwick Club was "Leadership". In the 1940's, he became active in politics, campaigning "...for Strom Thurmond, who was the Presidential nominee of the conservative States' Rights Party".AR

Their youngest child James Humphrey Dall was born in July 1948 in Bexar County, Texas, but the three older siblings were not born in Texas.

Curtis Dall died at the Hospice of Northern Virginia in Arlington, Virginia on 28 Jun 1991, aged 95. His obituary states that he lived in Alexandria, but the Social Security Death Index states that he had last been a resident of Beaufort, Beaufort County, South Carolina which is where one of his daughters, Katherine lived. He left to survive him, his second wife Katharine; Eleanor Seagraves of Washington and Curtis Roosevelt Dall of Majorca, Spain, both from his first marriage; and from his second marriage, Katharine Bolton of Beaufort, S.C., Mary Dunham of Newport, R.I., Stephen of Devon, Pa., and James of Portland, Ore. in addition to 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Curtis B Dall is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. His tombstone records his service as "Col US Army World War II starting 1 Jul 1942". He is buried in Section 3-K Row 8 Site 1. His last wife Katherine Leas Dall is buried there beside him, with her tombstone recording her dates as "born 5 Jun 1917, died 12 Nov 2000".



^{Curtis B. DAll, Wed To F.D.R. Daughter In 20's, Is Dead at 95}

By GLENN FOWLER
Published: July 2, 1991

Curtis B. Dall, a retired stockbroker and a former son-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who later became chairman of the Liberty Lobby, died Friday at the Hospice of Northern Virginia in Arlington. He was 95 years old and lived in Alexandria.

He died of natural causes, his family said.

Mr. Dall was born in Manhattan and graduated from Princeton University in 1920 after serving as a Navy aviator in World War I.

In 1926 he married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, and two years later her father was elected Governor of New York. The couple divorced in 1934, but Mr. Dall remained socially and politically prominent and was often referred to in news articles as "President Roosevelt's former son-in-law."

But he was no admirer of President Roosevelt's policies. In the late 1960's, he wrote a book, "F.D.R.: My Exploited Father-in-Law," giving in detail his low opinion of the New Deal, the Yalta agreement among the Allies and participation by the United States in United Nations programs after World War II, in which Mr. Dall served as an Air Force colonel.

In the late 1930's he helped to organize what later became the Tennessee Gas and Transmission Company of Houston, one of the largest corporations in the country. But he sold his interest before the company's real growth began.

He became active in politics in the 1940's and in 1948 campaigned for Strom Thurmond, who was the Presidential nominee of the conservative States' Rights Party. He was a leader in the Liberty Lobby, which was dedicated to the eradication of communism and which supported right-wing causes in the United States and abroad. He retired as chairman in 1982.

Mr. Dall is survived by his second wife, the former Katharine Miller Leas, whom he married in 1938; a son and a daughter from his first marriage, Eleanor Seagraves of Washington and Curtis Roosevelt Dall of Majorca, Spain; two daughters and two sons from his second marriage, Katharine Bolton of Beaufort, S.C., Mary Dunham of Newport, R.I., Stephen of Devon, Pa., and James of Portland, Ore.; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson. ¹

Curtis married Katharine Miller Leas, daughter of Donald Stewart Leas and Katharine Eudora Gunn, in 1938 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA. (Katharine Miller Leas was born on 5 Jun 1917 in Pennsylvania, USA,¹ died on 12 Nov 2000 ¹ and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA ¹.)

  Marriage Notes:

Time Magazine - September 12, 1938:
Engaged. Curtis Bean Dall, 42, first husband of Anna Roosevelt Dall Boettiger; to Katharine Miller Leas, 22, Haverford, Pa. socialite.


Moberly Monitor-Index, 26 Nov 1938, page 4, "Curtis Dall to Wed" "Media, Pa., Nov 26 (AP) \emdash Curtis B Dall, former husband of President Roosevelt's daughter, obtained a license today to wed Miss Katherine Miller Leas of Haverford, Pa. The bridegroom-elect, a New York broker, gave his age as 42 and his fiancee's as 21. Their engagement was announced in September."


\emdash Daily Capitol News (Jefferson City, MO), 15 Dec 1938, "Former Son-in-Law of Roosevelt to Wed Today" : "Haverford, Pa, Dec 14 \emdash (AP) \emdash Curtis B. Dall, divorced husband of President Roosevelt's daughter Anna, will be married tomorrow to Miss Katherine Miller Leas, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stewart Leas. Announcing wedding plans, Dall said he regretted "Sistie and Buzz," children by his former wife, "could not be present at the ceremony owing to their being in school in faraway Seattle." Dall's son and daughter live with their mother, now the wife of John Boettiger, Seattle newspaper publisher. Dall is a New York broker."


San Mateo Times, 3 Sep 1938, page 2, "Curtis Dall to Wed Philadelphia Girl" "Haverford, PA. Sept 3 (UP) \emdash Curtis B Dall, former son-in-law of President Roosevelt, will marry Katherine Miller Leas, daughter of a prominent and wealthy Philadelphia family, it was announced today. Miss Leas' parents, Mr and Mrs Donald Stewart Leas, announced her engagement today. No date had been set for the wedding. Dall, a Wall Street man, was the husband of the President's daughter, Anna. After the divorce, she married John Boettiger, Seattle publisher."

Curtis next married Anna Roosevelt, daughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt , Sr. and Eleanor Roosevelt, on 25 Jun 1926 in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, USA.¹ (Anna Roosevelt was born on 3 May 1906 in 125 East 36Th Street, New York, NY,⁵ died on 1 Dec 1975 in New York, New York, USA and was buried in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, USA.)