W. Sheffield Cowles, Teddy Roosevelt’s Nephew and Ex-Legislator, Dies at 88

W. Sheffield Cowles, a nephew of Teddy Roosevelt and Speaker of the state House of Representatives in the 1950s, has died at the age of 88.

Cowles, a Republican who was the only son of Rear Adm. William S. Cowles and Anna Roosevelt Cowles, sister of President Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday in the Farmington house where he had lived since World War II.

Cowles’ son, William, said his father had told of roller skating on the roof of the White House with Quentin Roosevelt, son of the president, when they were youngsters.

Cowles graduated from Yale University in 1921, the same year he married Margaret A. Krech, who died in 1982. In World War II, he rose to the rank of captain in the Navy, serving in the Pacific under Rear Adm. William (Bull) Halsey.

Former Republican National Chairman H. Meade Alcorn said Cowles, who was elected to the state Legislature in 1949 and became Speaker of the House in 1953, supported open government before it became a catchword. “He was a great believer in increasing the voice of the people,” Alcorn said.

Cowles decided not to seek reelection to the Legislature in 1956 and was elected mayor of Farmington, a post he held until 1960. Besides his son, Cowles is survived by six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.