William Emlen Roosevelt (April 30, 1857 – May 15, 1930) was a prominent

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 ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

who held a wide range of positions in numerous organizations and was a cousin of

United States President 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 State ...

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 ...

. He was 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 ...

, the banking firm founded by his father

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 ...

Early life

William Emlen Roosevelt was born to

and Elizabeth Norris Emlen. His maternal grandparents were William Fishbourne Emlen (1786–1866) and Mary Parker Norris (1791–1872) and his paternal grandparents were

Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt Cornelius Van Schaack "C.V.S." Roosevelt (January 30, 1794 – July 17, 1871) was an American businessman from New York City. He was a member of the prominent Roosevelt family and the paternal grandfather of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Ea ...

(1794–1871) and Margaret Barnhill (1799–1861).

Career

He was director of the Chemical Bank of New York, the Gallatin National Bank, and the Astor National Bank, and later sat on the boards of the Grand Hanover and the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...

. He was president of

Roosevelt Hospital Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The fac ...

, founded by his distant cousin James H. Roosevelt. He was an officer of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

for 16 years, major and quartermaster of the First Brigade. Roosevelt became involved in telecommunications companies, formed the Mexican Telegraph Company and Central and South American Telegraph Company, and was eventually director of the International Telephone and Telegraph Company. Theodore Roosevelt and he had a very close relationship as cousins. Emlen was not interested in politics other than to support his cousin's bids for public office, and Theodore, busy with conservation advocacy, had little time to attend to financial matters. Thus, "Cousin Emlen" was Theodore's financial adviser before, during and after his presidency.

Personal life

In 1883, he married Christine Griffin Kean (1858–1936), the sister of John Kean and

Hamilton Fish Kean Hamilton Fish Kean (February 27, 1862December 27, 1941) was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Early life Kean was the son of Lucy (née Halstead) and John Kean. He was related to several prominent American politicians including his great-grandfathe ...

, who both served as United States senators from New Jersey. They were the parents of: * Christine Kean Roosevelt (1884–1913), who married James Etter Shelley (1871–1936), in 1909. *

George Emlen Roosevelt George Emlen Roosevelt (October 13, 1887 – September 4, 1963) a banker and philanthropist, was a first cousin once-removed of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and one of the most prominent railroad financiers of his day, involved in no fewer ...

(1887–1963), who married Julia Morris Addison (1888–1937), the sister of James Thayer Addison in 1914. After her death, he married Mildred Cobb Rich (1895–1979). * Lucy Margaret Roosevelt (1888–1914), who died of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

after a trip in South America. * John Kean Roosevelt (1889–1974), who married Elise Annette Weinacht (1896–1972) in 1916. * Philip James Roosevelt (1892–1941), who married his cousin, Jean S. Roosevelt, the daughter of

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 ...

, in 1925. He also owned the James Alfred Roosevelt Estate at

Cove Neck Cove Neck is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. History Cove Neck incorporated as a village in 1927. Cove Neck is the s ...

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...

. Emlen, together with Christine Roosevelt, donated land to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center 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 ...

in 1923. Roosevelt died at his home, 804

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

in New York City, on May 15, 1930, at the age of 73. His funeral was held at St. Thomas' Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Emlen 1857 births 1930 deaths Emlen Schuyler family American people of Dutch descent Businesspeople from New York City American bankers Quartermasters

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References