Nicholas Roosevelt (born Nicholas van Rosenvelt) (bap. October 2, 1658 – died July 30, 1742) was an American politician. He was an early 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 ...

and a prominent Dutch-American citizen of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

(later

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 ...

), and was the 4th great-grandfather to

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 ...

(1858–1919) and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

(1882–1945). He was the first Roosevelt to hold an elected office in North America, as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, as well as the first to use the familiar spelling of the family name.

Early life

Roosevelt was born in New Amsterdam and baptized on October 2, 1658. He was the son of Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (c. 1626–1659), the immigrant ancestor of the Roosevelt family in America, and Jannetje Samuels Thomas (1625–1660). He was baptized in the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam.

Life and career

By 1680, he had moved to Esopus, near Kingston, another early Dutch settlement in the

New Netherlands New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

. There, on April 5, 1680, he signed a petition asking for a minister for Kingston. During his time in Esopus, he was a

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

on friendly terms with Native Americans. In 1690, he returned with his family to New York, where he was listed as having the occupation of a "bolter." He was made a freeman on August 23, 1698. Politically active, he was a supporter of the party of

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born colonist who served as a politician in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's ...

, who had led an insurrection in 1689 in support of the succession of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

''stadtholder'' William III of Orange-Nassau to the English throne in the Revolution of 1688. Nicholas Roosevelt was an

from 1698 to 1701 and again for the West Ward in 1715. The Roosevelt family, including Nicholas, were slaveholders. One of Nicholas's slaves, Tom, was burned to death on suspicion of having participated in a failed slave rebellion in 1712.

Personal life

He married Heyltje Jans Kunst (1664–1730) in the Reformed Dutch Church of New York on December 9, 1682. With his wife, he had ten children, the first four baptized at Esopus and the rest in New York: * Jannetie Roosevelt (b. 1683) * Margaretta Roosevelt (b. 1685) * Nicholaes Roosevelt (b. 1687) * Johannes Roosevelt (1689–1750), who married Heyltje Sjoerts (Shourd) (1688–1752) on September 25, 1708. * Elsie Roosevelt (b. 1691) * James Jacobus Roosevelt (1692–1776), who married Catharina Hardenbroek. They were the parents of Isaac Roosevelt. * Rachel Roosevelt (b. 1693), who died young * Sarah Roosevelt (b. 1696) * Rachel Roosevelt (b. 1699) * Isaac Roosevelt (b. 1701), who died young He died in New York City on August 30, 1742.

Descendants

Nicholas and his wife were the

last common ancestor In biology and genetic genealogy, the most recent common ancestor (MRCA), also known as the last common ancestor (LCA) or concestor, of a set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all the organisms of the set are descended. The ...

s of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts (including

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Sask ...

and

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 ...

), founded by his son Johannes, and the

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Roosevelts (including

), founded by his son Jacobus. There are also descendants of his other children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Nicholas

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

1650s births 1742 deaths American people of Dutch descent American slave owners New York City Council members

Early life

Life and career

Personal life

Descendants

See also

References