other type of an elected official.John Edgar was born to Annie Hoover on New Year's Day, 1895 at their home on 413 Seward Square in Washington DC. He was the fourth and youngest of the Hoover family and had become somewhat of a godsend since the sister born before him had died at the age of three making Annie fall into a depression. Hoover's birth however, gave her a new purpose in life and he soon became her favorite. This was part of what led to a bitter rivalry between Hoover and his older brother Dickerson Naylor Hoover, Jr. who would many times jeer at Hoover's accomplishments as if they were insignificant. Hoover's family background had once been somewhat lavish as Annie's family usually kept servants and regularly entertained their more aristocratic friends. After the death of her father in 1878 this all began to fade away as the family slowly used up their money. By the time Hoover was born his mother was hiring "help" at an hourly wage on Sundays to assist her in entertaining guests from the neighborhood Presbyterian Church. This placed the Hoover family in a group known as the "demimonde" by the brahmins of Georgetown. This meant they had the desire and knowledge of how to act as the upper class, they just no longer had the money. For this reason Annie was remained embarrassed of their situation and was determined to improve it through her sons. While her son Dickerson was good looking, strong, and athletic, her son Edgar was skinny, sickly, and considered "excessively fearful". He also had a problem with stuttering that he did not truly overcome until he was a grown man. Still his mother favored him as the one who would give her the type of life she desired. He was inspired by her want for him to succeed, and he would show this in the classroom as he constantly improved his grades. This is also where he discovered he had the ability to create an adversarial environment in the classroom always trying to keep the opposition on...
