Cornelius Van Schaack "C.V.S." Roosevelt (January 30, 1794 – July 17, 1871) was an American businessman from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was a member of the prominent

Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...

and the paternal grandfather of U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Early life

Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1794, in

, to

James Jacobus Roosevelt James Jacobus Roosevelt (October 25, 1759 – August 13, 1840) was an American businessman from New York City who was a member of the prominent Roosevelt family and a paternal great-grandfather of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Early life Jame ...

and Maria Helen Van Schaack. He was the last full-blooded Dutch Roosevelt of his line. His great-grandfather was

Johannes Roosevelt Johannes Roosevelt (bap. February 27, 1689 – April 4, 1750), known as John Roosevelt, was a New York City businessman and politician and the progenitor of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts, including Theodore and Eleanor Roosevelt. Early life and care ...

, the founder of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelt family. Through his grandfather Cornelius Van Schaack Jr., he was a grandnephew of Peter van Schaack and great-great-grandson of Maria Schuyler from the

Schuyler family The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

. Through Maria, he was a great-great-great-grandnephew of Dutch-American settler

Philip Pieterse Schuyler Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler or Philip Pieterse (1628 – 9 May 1683) was a Dutch-born colonist landowner who was the progenitor of the American Schuyler family. Early life Philip Pieterse Schuyler was born in Amsterdam, Holland in the Republ ...

Jonathan Pearson, Chap. 9, "Burning of Schenectady"
''History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times'', 1883, pp. 244-270 and a great-great-great-grandson of

David Pieterse Schuyler David Pieterse Schuyler was a Dutch-born member of the Schuyler family. He was a fur trader, Alderman of Albany, captain, and merchant. Early life Schuyler was born in the Republic of the Seven United Provinces The United Provinces of the ...

. Cornelius's younger brother, James John Roosevelt, served as a United States Congressman from New York from 1841 until 1843. He attended Columbia College but academic life did not suit him, and he did not graduate.

Career

In 1818, after leaving college, Roosevelt became his father's partner in importing hardware. "Economy is my doctrine at all times," he once said, "at all events till I become, if it is to be so, a man of fortune." At his insistence, the focus of the business changed from hardware to plate glass. After his father's death in 1840, he inherited a large fortune and was one of the five richest men in New York City. He continued to work in the business until his retirement in 1865. In the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

, he bought many lots in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for building. In 1844, when New York Chemical Manufacturing Company's original charter expired, the chemical company was liquidated and was reincorporated as a bank only, becoming the

Chemical Bank Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world. Beginning ...

of New York in 1844.Chemical National Bank of New York to Pay Interest on Deposits
Bankers Magazine, Volume 94, 1917 Roosevelt was among its first directors under its new charter, along with John D. Wolfe, Isaac Platt and

Bradish Johnson Bradish Johnson (April 22, 1811 – November 3, 1892) was an American industrialist. He owned plantations and sugar refineries in Louisiana and a large distillery in New York City. In 1858 his distillery was at the heart of a scandal when an exp ...

, and the bank's president John Q. Jones.History of the Chemical Bank 1823–1913
Privately Published by The Chemical National Bank, 1913 The company sold all remaining inventories from the chemical division as well as real estate holdings by 1851 and later became the present day Chase Bank.

Personal life

On October 9, 1821, Roosevelt married Margaret Barnhill (1799–1861), a daughter of Robert Craig Barnhill and Elizabeth Potts. She was a descendant of English and Irish QuakersMcCullough 2001, p. 24. and of Thomas Pott of Wales. They had six sons: Silas Weir Roosevelt,

James Alfred Roosevelt James Alfred Roosevelt (June 13, 1825 – July 15, 1898) was an American businessman and philanthropist. A member of the Roosevelt family, he was an uncle of President Theodore Roosevelt. Early life Roosevelt was born on June 13, 1825, to Corne ...

, Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt Jr., Robert Barnhill Roosevelt, Theodore "Thee" Roosevelt Sr., and William Wallace Roosevelt. When each of his sons married, he gifted them houses in New York.McCullough 2001, p. 20. On July 17, 1871, Roosevelt died at his home in

Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns which make up Nassau County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore o ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' memorialized him as a "merchant of the old school". His estate was valued at between $3 million and $7 million.McCullough 2001, p. 126.

Descendants

Roosevelt's grandchildren include

John Ellis Roosevelt John Ellis Roosevelt (February 25, 1853 – March 9, 1939) was a lawyer with the Wall Street firm of Roosevelt & Kobbe, the president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company and secretary of the Broadway Improvement Company. He owned the John El ...

(1853–1939), president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company;

William Emlen Roosevelt William Emlen Roosevelt (April 30, 1857 – May 15, 1930) was a prominent New York City banker who held a wide range of positions in numerous organizations and was a cousin of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. He was president of Roos ...

(1857–1930), a banker and president of

Roosevelt & Son Roosevelt & Son was an American investment banking firm connected with the Roosevelt family for nearly two centuries. The firm was among the oldest banking houses on Wall Street. Many of the male members of the Roosevelt family worked for the ...

;

(1858–1919), the future

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

from September 14, 1901 until March 4, 1909; and

Granville Roland Fortescue Granville Roland Fortescue (October 12, 1875 – April 21, 1952) was an American soldier, a Rough Rider serving with his cousin, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in Cuba, a presidential aide in the first Roosevelt administration and later, a journalist ...

(1875–1952), an author and soldier. One of his great-granddaughters was First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

. One of his 2x great-grandsons was Sir Humphrey Clarke, 5th Baronet (1906–1973).

References

Notes Sources *

External links

Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt Family Tree
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Cornelius 1794 births 1871 deaths Cornelius Schuyler family American people of Dutch descent American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians Columbia College (New York) alumni