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 of the United States, First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, arti ...

, 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. (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 fi ...

, 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 Chemical Bank was a bank with headquarters in New York City from 1824 until 1996. At the end of 1995, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with about $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees around the world. Beginning ...

; 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 James Henry Roosevelt (November 10, 1800 – November 30, 1863) was an American philanthropist who, by bequest, founded Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Early life Roosevelt was born on November 10, 1800 in New York City on Warren Street near ...

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 Shor ...

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