Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt (1623 - December 4, 1679) was a

Dutch-American Dutch Americans () are Americans of Dutch and Flemish descent whose ancestors came from the Low Countries in the distant past, or from the Netherlands as from 1830 when the Flemish became independent from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ...

businessman and landowner in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...

and is the patriarch of both the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park Roosevelt Families and the 5th great-grandfather of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

.Source: ''The Roosevelt Genealogy 1649-1902,'' by CB Whittelsey, Hartford, Conn.

Early Life and Immigration

Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt was the only child of Maerten Corneliuszen Gelderman Van Rosenvelt (1596-1661) and Cornelia Johanna Lodewijk (1600-1694) in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. Between 1638 and 1649, Claes immigrated to

(present-day

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

). On August 6, 1650, he married Jannetje Samuels Thomas (1625-1662) and the couple had 5 children from 1658 to 1662: Nicholas Roosevelt (1658-1742), Christiaen Roosevelt (born 1650), Elsje Roosevelt (1651/1652-1703), Anna Margariet Roosevelt (1654-1708), Anna Roosevelt (1662-1744).

Later Years and death

In 1652, he bought a farm from Lambert van Valckenburgh, comprising 24

morgens Morgens, morgans, or mari-morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men. Etymology The name may derive from Mori-genos or Mori-gena, meaning "sea-born. The name has also been rendered as Muri-gena or Murigen. The name may also be c ...

(i.e., 20.44 ha or 50.51 acres) in what is now

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

, including the present site of the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

. The property included approximately what is now the area between

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...

and

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

bounded by 29th St. and 35th St. Claes died on December 4, 1679 at the age of 56. His son Nicholas changed their family name from Van Rosevelt to Roosevelt.Raymer, John D. (1980-06). "The Roosevelt Chronicles". ''Magill’s Literary Annual 1980'': 1–4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenvelt, Claes Maartenszen van 1623 births 1679 deaths Roosevelt family Dutch emigrants to New Netherland People from the Province of New York