Cornelius Roosevelt
American businessman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
January 30, 1794
Cornelius Roosevelt | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt January 30, 1794 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 1871 (aged 77) Oyster Bay, New York, U.S. |
| Other name | C.V.S. Roosevelt |
| Education | Columbia College |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Employer | Chemical Bank |
| Spouse |
Margaret Barnhill
(m. 1821; died 1861) |
| Children | 6, including James, Robert, and Theodore Sr. |
| Father | James Jacobus Roosevelt |
| Relatives | Roosevelt family |
Early life
Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1794, in New York City, to James Jacobus Roosevelt and Maria Helen Van Schaack.[1] He was the last full-blooded Dutch Roosevelt of his line.[2] His great-grandfather was Johannes Roosevelt, the founder of the Oyster Bay branch of the Roosevelt family. Through his grandfather Cornelius Van Schaack Jr., he was a grandnephew of Peter van Schaack and great-great-grandson of Maria Schuyler from the Schuyler family.[1] Through Maria, he was a great-great-great-grandnephew of Dutch-American settler Philip Pieterse Schuyler[3] and a great-great-great-grandson of David Pieterse Schuyler.
Cornelius's younger brother, James John Roosevelt, served as a United States Congressman from New York from 1841 until 1843.[4] He attended Columbia College but academic life did not suit him, and he did not graduate.[5][6]
Career
In 1818, after leaving college, Roosevelt became his father's partner in importing hardware.[5] "Economy is my doctrine at all times," he once said, "at all events till I become, if it is to be so, a man of fortune." At his insistence, the focus of the business changed from hardware to plate glass.[7] After his father's death in 1840, he inherited a large fortune and was one of the five richest men in New York City.[8][9] He continued to work in the business until his retirement in 1865.[5]
In the Panic of 1837, he bought many lots in Manhattan for building.[7]
In 1844, when New York Chemical Manufacturing Company's original charter expired, the chemical company was liquidated and was reincorporated as a bank only, becoming the Chemical Bank of New York in 1844.[10] Roosevelt was among its first directors under its new charter, along with John D. Wolfe, Isaac Platt and Bradish Johnson, and the bank's president John Q. Jones.[11] The company sold all remaining inventories from the chemical division as well as real estate holdings by 1851 and later became the present day Chase Bank.[8]
Personal life
On October 9, 1821,[12] Roosevelt married Margaret Barnhill (1799–1861), a daughter of Robert Craig Barnhill and Elizabeth Potts.[13] She was a descendant of English and Irish Quakers[7] and of Thomas Pott of Wales. They had six sons:
- Silas Weir Roosevelt
- James Alfred Roosevelt,[14]
- Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt Jr.
- Robert Barnhill Roosevelt
- Theodore "Thee" Roosevelt Sr.
- William Wallace Roosevelt.
When each of his sons married, he gifted them houses in New York.[15]
On July 17, 1871, Roosevelt died at his home in Oyster Bay, New York. The New York Times memorialized him as a "merchant of the old school".[5] His estate was valued at between $3 million and $7 million.[16]
Descendants
Roosevelt's grandchildren include John Ellis Roosevelt (1853–1939), president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company, William Emlen Roosevelt (1857–1930), a banker and president of Roosevelt & Son, Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the President of the United States from September 14, 1901, until March 4, 1909,[17] and Granville Roland Fortescue (1875–1952), an author and soldier. One of Roosevelt's great-granddaughters was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. A great-great-grandson was Sir Humphrey Clarke, 5th Baronet (1906–1973).[18]