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 Ellis Roosevelt Estate John Ellis Roosevelt Estate, also known as Meadow Croft, is a historic estate located at Sayville in Suffolk County, New York. The main house, roughly L-shaped, is composed of two distinct parts: the original farmhouse, built about 1850, and ...

Early life

John Ellis Roosevelt was born on February 25, 1853, in

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 the second child of Robert Barnhill Roosevelt and Elizabeth Ellis. Roosevelt had an older sister, Margaret Barnhill Roosevelt, and a younger brother, Robert Barnhill Roosevelt Jr. They were the first cousins 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 ...

through their shared paternal grandfather,

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 ...

. He also had three half siblings; Kenyon Fortescue,

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 ...

, and Maude Fortescue. They were the children of Robert Barnhill Roosevelt and his second wife, Marion Fortescue, also known as Marion O'Shea Roosevelt.

Career

Roosevelt was a lawyer and the president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company and secretary of the Broadway Improvement Company. He was a partner in the

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

law firm of Roosevelt & Kobbe, along with George C. Kobbé, at 44 Wall Street. His half brother, Kenyon Fortescue was also a lawyer at the same firm. The firm represented John Ellis Roosevelt's father, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, in the lawsuit ''Robert B. Roosevelt v. Elbert A. Brinckerhoff'', 143 F. 478 (2nd Cir. 1906). Brinckerhoff alleged that Robert Barnwell Roosevelt had committed malpractice by permitting a mortgage on a valuable piece of Manhattan real estate at 33 Nassau Street to be cancelled. Damages were assessed against Robert Barnwell Roosevelt in excess of $100,000. Robert Barnwell Roosevelt died four months after the decision was entered.

Personal life

On February 19, 1879, he married Nannie Mitchell Vance (1860–1912), the daughter of Samuel B. H. Vance (1814–1890), at the recently built

St. Nicholas Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church St. Nicholas Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church was a Reformed Protestant Dutch church in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, which was Manhattan's oldest congregation when it was demolished in 1949. The church was on the northwest corner ...

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 ...

and 48th Street, in New York City in Manhattan. Before her death 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 ...

in 1912, they had three daughters: * Anita Blanche "Pansy" Roosevelt (1882–1929), who was "ill from nervous prostration in a sanitarium in New York" in 1903. * Gladys Roosevelt (1889–1926), who married

Fairman Rogers Dick Fairman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bob Fairman (1885–1916), English footballer who played as a full-back or wing half * Charles E. Fairman (1856–1934), American physician who published in the field of mycology * Ch ...

(1885–1976), son of Evans Rogers Dick in 1913. Fairman's sister, Isabelle Mildred Dick (1884–1972) was married to Stuyvesant Fish, Jr. (1883–1952), and stood up in their wedding. Gladys was killed in a horse riding accident at the Meadow Brook Hunt Club in 1926. * Jean Schermerhorn Roosevelt (1891–1984), who married Philip James Roosevelt (1892–1941), a cousin and the son of

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 ...

, in 1925. His wife died on September 26, 1912, of

. On January 6, 1914, he married Edith (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hammersley) Biscoe (1884-1943), the former wife of Lt. H. E. Biscoe. Edith's sister, Lillie O. Hammersley was married to John's brother, Robert. In 1915, Roosevelt tried to have the marriage annulled, claiming he was the victim of misrepresentation. The case was heavily reported in the News at the time. Edith won the case in 1916 and Roosevelt was ordered to pay her $400 a month in alimony. John E. Roosevelt was a founder of The Sayville Yacht Club and served as its inaugural Commodore from 1901 to 1907. His former summer estate, Meadow Croft is now a county park in Suffolk County, NY . Roosevelt died on March 9, 1939, in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, John Ellis 1853 births 1939 deaths American people of Dutch descent John Ellis Schuyler family Lawyers from New York City New York (state) lawyers