Roosevelt Smith Zanders (1912–1995) was the owner of
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 ...
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...
service Zanders Auto Rental Service. Starting out with a US$3000 Cadillac, his fleet grew to sixteen cars, including three
Rolls-Royces.
[
] After establishing the company in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
in 1946, he kept the offices and garage in the same neighborhood, even as his client roster began to represent the elite of
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 ...
.
Early life
Zanders was born in
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...
, on July 13, either 1910 or 1912, to the alleged Reverend Arthur Zanders and his wife, Ethel Smith Zanders.
[
] His father was actually a barber. During his childhood, he won a
marbles
A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...
shooting championship in Georgia and often competed in official games. When he was still a child, his family began relocating to
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
, where Zanders attended the public schools. On November 3, 1919 his father killed his mother Ethel and a younger brother named Henry with a shotgun, and then shot himself after returning from a trip. With both parents dead, Zanders took a position as a locker room attendant at the Mahoning Valley Country Club to help support himself and his four siblings.
In July 1941, Zanders enlisted in Co. E 15th Regiment of the
New York Army National Guard
The New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approximat ...
and gave his birth date as July 13, 1912 in Youngstown, Ohio. Zanders served in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, where he achieved the rank of captain in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
.
Career
Zanders was working as a construction engineer on the