James Roosevelt Roosevelt

James Roosevelt "Rosy" Roosevelt (April 27, 1854 – May 7, 1927) was an American diplomat, heir, and the older half-brother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States.[1]

James Roosevelt Roosevelt
BornApril 27, 1854
DiedMay 7, 1927 (1927-05-08) (aged 73)
Other namesRosy
Alma materColumbia University (1877)
OccupationDiplomat
Spouse(s)
Helen Schermerhorn Astor
(m. 1878; died 1893)

Elizabeth Riley
(m. 1914)
ChildrenTadd Roosevelt
Helen Rebecca Roosevelt
Parent(s)James Roosevelt I
Rebecca Brien Howland
RelativesRoosevelt family

Early life

James Roosevelt Roosevelt was born on April 27, 1854.[2] He was the son of James Roosevelt I (1828–1900) and his first wife, Rebecca Brien Howland (18311876), who were second cousins.[3] When his father died in 1900, the family's estate was split between Rosy and his half-brother, Franklin.[1] Throughout his life he was considered "an aimless if charming member of New York society's sporting set."[4]

Career

Roosevelt graduated with honors from Columbia College in 1877.[5] President Grover Cleveland, who counted Rosy's father as a friend and supporter, appointed him first secretary of the United States legation in Vienna, Austria and as first secretary of the embassy in London, England.[1][6]

Roosevelt was a trustee of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and a close friend of Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes. He donated more than $250,000 to St. Francis Hospital in New York and also to give substantial funds to the parish of St. James Episcopal Church in Hyde Park, New York.[1]

During World War I, he sold Liberty bonds and war savings stamps from an office he maintained in New York's Post Office Building.[7]

Personal life

On November 18, 1878, Roosevelt married Helen Schermerhorn Astor (1855–1893), the second daughter of businessman William Backhouse Astor Jr. (1829–1892) and socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn (1830–1908).[8][9] Together, Roosevelt and Helen had two children:

After his first wife's death in 1893, Roosevelt married Elizabeth Riley on August 7, 1914.[1] on May 7, 1927, Roosevelt died at his Hyde Park home as a result of complications related to bronchitis and asthma, according to news reports at the time. His second wife died in 1948.[1]

References

Notes
Sources
  • Black, Conrad Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (2005)
  • Miller, Nathan Theodore Roosevelt: A Life (1992)
  • Moffat, R. Burnham The Barclays of New york: who they are and who they are not,-and some other Barclays (1904)
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