Nicholas Jacobus Roosevelt or Nicholas James Roosevelt (December 27, 1767,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
– July 30, 1854, Skaneateles, New York) was an American inventor, a major investor in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long ...
land, and 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, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progen ...
. His primary invention was to introduce vertical paddle wheels for steamboats.
Early life
Nicholas Roosevelt was born on December 27, 1767, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. He was the son of Jacobus Roosevelt (1724–1777) and Annatje (
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 ...
Bogart) (b. 1728), who wed on December 2, 1746. His siblings were: Anna (1748–1794) who married Andrew Heermanse, John (b. 1755), Jacobus (1759–1840), Helena (1761–1843), and Maria Roosevelt (b. 1763).
After the death of his mother, his father remarried, on July 14, 1774, to Elenora Gibson, widow of Mr. Thompson. His paternal grandfather was
Johannes Roosevelt
Johannes Roosevelt (bap. February 27, 1689 – April 4, 1750), known as John Roosevelt, was a New York City businessman and politician and the progenitor of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts, including Theodore and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Early life and care ...
(1689–1750), a son of Nicholas Roosevelt (1658–1742), himself a son of Dutch immigrant Claes Maartenszen Van Rosenvelt (d. 1659), who established 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 progen ...
in America.
Extended family
Through his brother, James Jacobus Roosevelt (1759–1840), he was the uncle of James John Roosevelt (1795–1875) and Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt, Sr. (1794–1871), progenitor of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts, and through him, a great-grand 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 ...
. Other members of the Roosevelt family resided in the village of Skaneateles, including Frederick Roosevelt, cousin of the president.
His sister Maria Roosevelt married James Alexander Provoost, the brother of
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
Samuel Provoost
Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 – September 6, 1815) was an American Clergyman. He was the first Chaplain of the United States Senate and the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, as well as the third Presiding Bishop of the Epi ...
(1742–1815), and his niece through her, Mary Provoost, was married to the Scottish born artist Alexander Robertson (1772-1841), and had two children, Catherine Robertson and Andrew Robertson.
Career
During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
was evacuated and occupied by the British. After the War's end, Roosevelt returned to New York. While in Esopus, he had made a small wooden boat, across which was an axle projecting over the sides with paddles at the ends, made to revolve by a tight cord wound around its middle by the reaction of
hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in M ...
and
whalebone
Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...
springs.
Back in New York City, he engaged in manufacturing, and became interested in the Schuyler Copper Mine in
North Arlington, New Jersey
North Arlington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 15,392,Passaic River
Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...
. Using a model of Josiah Hornblower's atmospheric machine, he designed a similar one and built engines for constructed for the water works of Philadelphia.
Government commissions
Around the same time, he was contracted to erect rolling works and supply the government with copper drawn and rolled for six 74-gun ships. In 1797, with
Robert R. Livingston
Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...
and John Stevens, he agreed to build a boat on joint account, for which the engines were to be constructed by Roosevelt, and the propelling agency was to be that planned by Livingston. The experiment failed, the speed attained being only equivalent to about in still water.
On September 6, 1798, Roosevelt described and earnestly recommended to Livingston a vertical wheel, which is the first practical suggestion of the combination that made steam navigation a commercial success, although four years later
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
believed that chains and floats were alone to be relied on.
Livingston, however, had replied to Roosevelt's proposition on October 28, 1798, saying that "vertical wheels are out of the question." But in the spring of 1802, Livingston having communicated Roosevelt's plan to Fulton, they adopted the former's view, and in January of the next year, they launched a boat that was propelled by Roosevelt's vertical wheels.
During this period, Roosevelt suffered financially, as the government failed to fulfill its contract with him, and he was unable to put his plans in operation.
Partnership with Fulton
In 1809, he associated himself with Fulton in the introduction of steamboats on the western waters, and in 1811, he built and navigated the "
Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
and
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
rivers from
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
flatboat
A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with ...
to obtain information.
Patent fight
In January 1815, Roosevelt applied to the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and th ...
for protection as the inventor of vertical wheels, he had already obtained a patent from the United States in December 1814. The legislature, after discussion, decided that "it was inexpedient to make any special provision in connection with the matter in controversy before the body," and there the matter rested. Roosevelt's papers came into the possession of Richard S. Cox, his executor, from whom they were obtained in 1828, and from these, with others from the papers of Chancellor Livingston, a case was prepared and submitted to Roger B. Taney, which had been already submitted to William Wirt, and, both opinions being favorable, a suit was about to be begun when the consideration of the great expense involved in its prosecution caused the whole matter to be abandoned.
Roosevelt had by this time retired from active life, residing with his family at Skaneateles. In the case submitted for Wirt's opinion, it is said that Fulton never made oath to the application for a patent for vertical wheels over the sides; and that the application itself was signed by another person — a statement that would seem to be corroborated to a great extent by Fulton's own account of his invention in an interview with
Benjamin H. Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...
on February 7, 1809, when the latter was endeavoring to bring about what subsequently took place — a connection between Fulton and Roosevelt in regard to the introduction of steamboats on the western waters. "I have no pretensions," said Fulton, "to be the first inventor of the steamboat. Hundreds of others have tried it and failed. Neither do I pretend to the right to navigate steamboats, except in New York... That to which I claim an exclusive right is the so proportioning the boat to the power of the engine and the velocity with which the wheels of the boat, or both, move with the maximum velocity attainable by the power, and the construction of the whole machine." In the same conversation Mr. Fulton said: "As to Mr. Roosevelt, I regard him as a noble-minded, intelligent man, and would do anything to serve him that I could."
Land speculator
He and his brother John sold a large tract of land in
Oswego County, New York
Oswego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,525. The county seat is Oswego. The county name is from a Mohawk-language word meaning "the pouring out place", referring to the point a ...
, to George Scriba in 1793 which is now the town of Scriba.
Personal life
Nicholas Roosevelt married Lydia Sellon Latrobe (1791–1878), daughter of his best friend and business partner,
Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was an Anglo-American neoclassical architect who emigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in the new United States, draw ...
(1764–1820), a prominent architect. Lydia was thirteen years old when Nicholas began courting her. They married when she was seventeen and he was forty-one years old. Together, they were the parents of:
* Rosetta Mark Rosevelt (1809–1840), who married Russell Fitch (1805–1865)
* Henry Latrobe Roosevelt (1811–1884), who did not marry.New York Evening Post, 11 Jan 1884
* Samuel Roosevelt (1813–1878), who married Mary Jane Horton (1823–1901)
* Lydia Eliza Roosevelt (1819–1852), who married Montgomery Schuyler (1814–1896), uncle of
Montgomery Schuyler
Montgomery Schuyler AIA, (August 19, 1843, Ithaca, New York – July 16, 1914, New Rochelle, New York) was a highly influential critic, journalist and editorial writer in New York City who wrote about and influenced art, literature, music ...
(1843–1914).
Nicholas Roosevelt died at Skaneateles, New York, where he had a home, built in 1831 and extant at 101 East Genesee Street. He was survived by his wife, who died in 1878.
Descendants
His grandchildren included: James Roosevelt Fitch (1840–1878), Montgomery Roosevelt Schuyler (1845–1924), who married Leila Roosevelt,
Samuel Montgomery Roosevelt
Samuel Montgomery Roosevelt (February 20, 1857 – August 19, 1920) was an American artist and merchant from New York City.
Early life
Roosevelt was born on February 20, 1857, in New York City. He was the son of prominent businessman Samuel Ro ...
(1858–1920), a noted portrait painter, and Nicholas Latrobe Roosevelt (1847–1892), the father of Henry Latrobe Roosevelt (1879–1936), the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy.
From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depa ...
* Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency. ''Onondaga Landmarks: A Survey of historic and Architectural Sites in Syracuse and Onondaga County'', 1975.