James Alfred Roosevelt (June 13, 1825 – July 15, 1898) was an American businessman and philanthropist. A member of the

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 ...

, he was an uncle of 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 June 13, 1825, to

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). His siblings were Silas Weir Roosevelt (1823–1870), Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt, Jr., Robert Barnhill Roosevelt (1829–1906),

Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (September 22, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was an American businessman and philanthropist from the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt was also the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandfather of First Lady ...

(1831–1878), who was married to Martha "Mittie" Bulloch (1835–1884), and William Wallace Roosevelt (1834–1835).

Career

Roosevelt became a member of his father's mercantile firm,

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 ...

, at the age of twenty, and eventually succeeded him as its head. He was connected with many other institutions, including as vice president of the Chemical Bank of New York; president of the Broadway Improvement Company; vice president of the Bank of Savings; member of the board of managers of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company; director of the New York Life Insurance Trust. He was a trustee to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and on the New York Board of Park Commissioners during the William Lafayette Strong Administration. He was a 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 ...

that was founded by his distant cousin James H. Roosevelt.

Personal life

On December 22, 1847, he married Elizabeth Norris Emlen (1825–1912), the daughter of William Fishbourne Emlen (1786–1866) and Mary Parker Norris (1791–1872). Together, they had four children, including: * Mary Emlen Roosevelt (1848–1885) * Leila Roosevelt (1850–1934), who married Edward Reeve Merritt (1850–1931). * Alfred Roosevelt (1856–1891), who married Katherine Lowell (1858–1925) in 1882. * William Emlen Roosevelt (1857–1930), who married Christine Griffin Kean (1858–1936) in 1883. He died on July 15, 1898 near

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

while riding a train on his way home to

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 ...

Descendants

Through his son, Alfred, he was the grandfather of Elfrida Roosevelt, who married

Sir Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet (8 October 1880 in Calcutta, India – 31 March 1949) was a British lawyer and military officer. Biography He was the son of Frederick Clarke, second son of Sir Charles Clarke, 2nd Baronet, and Adelaide Catherine ...

, and was the mother of

Sir Humphrey Clarke, 5th Baronet Sir Humphrey Orme Clarke, 5th Baronet (6 July 1906, in London, United Kingdom – 22 January 1973, in Bibury, Gloucestershire), was the son of Sir Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet and Elfrida Roosevelt. He was educated at Eton College and Christ ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, James Alfred

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Schuyler family 1825 births 1898 deaths People from Oyster Bay (town), New York Philanthropists from New York (state) 19th-century American businesspeople