John Ellis Roosevelt

John Ellis Roosevelt
Roosevelt, ca. 1915-1916
Born	(1853-02-25)February 25, 1853 New York City
Died	April 9, 1939(1939-04-09) (aged 86) Delray Beach, Florida
Occupation	Lawyer
Spouses	Nannie Mitchell Vance ​ ​ (m. 1879; died 1912)​ Edith Hammersley Biscoe ​ ​ (m. 1914; div. 1916)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Robert Barnhill Roosevelt Elizabeth Ellis
Relatives	See Roosevelt family

John Ellis Roosevelt (February 25, 1853 – March 9, 1939) was a lawyer with the Wall Street firm of Roosevelt & Kobbe, the president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company and secretary of the Broadway Improvement Company.^[1][2] He owned the John Ellis Roosevelt Estate.

Early life

John Ellis Roosevelt was born on February 25, 1853, in New York City. He was the second child of Robert Barnhill Roosevelt and Elizabeth Ellis. Roosevelt had an older sister, Margaret Barnhill Roosevelt, and a younger brother, Robert Barnhill Roosevelt Jr.^[3] They were the first cousins of President Theodore Roosevelt through their shared paternal grandfather, Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt.^[4]

He also had three half siblings; Kenyon Fortescue, Granville Roland Fortescue, and Maude Fortescue. They were the children of Robert Barnhill Roosevelt and his second wife, Marion Fortescue, also known as Marion O'Shea Roosevelt.

Career

Law practice

During his career as an attorney, John Ellis Roosevelt was a partner in the Wall Street law firm of Roosevelt & Kobbe, along with George C. Kobbé, at 44 Wall Street.^[1] His half brother, Kenyon Fortescue was also a lawyer at the same firm.

The firm represented John Ellis Roosevelt's father, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, in the lawsuit Robert B. Roosevelt v. Elbert A. Brinckerhoff, 143 F. 478 (2nd Cir. 1906). Brinckerhoff alleged that Robert Barnwell Roosevelt had committed malpractice by permitting a mortgage on a valuable piece of Manhattan real estate at 33 Nassau Street to be cancelled. Damages were assessed against Robert Barnwell Roosevelt in excess of $100,000. Robert Barnwell Roosevelt died four months after the decision was entered.

Other business ventures

In addition to practicing law, Roosevelt was the president of the Elkhorn Valley Coal Land Company and secretary of the Broadway Improvement Company.

Personal life

Miss Gladys Roosevelt, c. 1913, from Harper's Bazaar

On February 19, 1879, he married Nannie Mitchell Vance (1860–1912), the daughter of Samuel B. H. Vance (1814–1890), at the recently built St. Nicholas Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, Fifth Avenue and 48th Street, in New York City in Manhattan.^[5] Before her death of typhoid in 1912,^[6][7] they had three daughters:^[8]

• Anita Blanche "Pansy" Roosevelt (1882–1929),^[6][9] who was "ill from nervous prostration in a sanitarium in New York" in 1903.^[10]
• Gladys Roosevelt (1889–1926), who married Fairman Rogers Dick (1885–1976), son of Evans R. Dick in 1913. Fairman's sister, Isabelle Mildred Dick (1884–1972) was married to Stuyvesant Fish, Jr. (1883–1952), and stood up in their wedding.^[11] Gladys was killed in a horse riding accident at the Meadow Brook Hunt Club in 1926.^[12][13]
• Jean Schermerhorn Roosevelt (1891–1984),^[14] who married Philip James Roosevelt (1892–1941), a cousin and the son of Emlen Roosevelt, in 1925.^[15][16]

His wife died on September 26, 1912, of typhoid.^[2]

On January 6, 1914, he married Edith (née Hammersley) Biscoe (1884-1943), the former wife of Lt. H. E. Biscoe.^[17][18] Edith's sister, Lillie O. Hammersley was married to John's brother, Robert.^[19] In 1915, Roosevelt tried to have the marriage annulled, claiming he was the victim of misrepresentation.^[20] The case was heavily reported in the News at the time.^[21][22] Edith won the case in 1916 and Roosevelt was ordered to pay her $400 a month in alimony.^[23]

John E. Roosevelt was a founder of The Sayville Yacht Club and served as its inaugural Commodore from 1901 to 1907. His former summer estate, Meadow Croft is now a county park in Suffolk County.^[24]

Roosevelt died on March 9, 1939, in Delray Beach, Florida.^[1]

References

1. "John E. Roosevelt, A Retired Lawyer. Cousin of Theodore Roosevelt Dies in Florida at 86". The New York Times. March 10, 1939. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
2. "Mrs. John E. Roosevelt" (PDF). The New York Times. September 27, 1912. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
3. "R. B. Roosevelt Jr. Dies At Age Of 63; Cousin of Late President Is Victim of Heart Disease on Sayville Estate. Naval Officer In The War. Commanded a Station on Long Island. Devoted Recent Years to Management of His Property". The New York Times. September 10, 1929. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
4. Collora, Christopher M. (2013). Long Island Historic Houses of the South Shore. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738598031. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
5. "THE VANCE-ROOSEVELT WEDDING. | MR. JOHN E. ROOSEVELT UNITED TO MISS NANNIE MITCHELL VANCE--SOME OF THE PRESENTS". The New York Times. 20 February 1879. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
6. "MRS. J.E. ROOSEVELT ESTATE; Valued at $25,000 and Goes to Her Two Daughters". The New York Times. 30 October 1912. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
7. "TR Center - Letter from John Ellis Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org. Theodore Roosevelt Papers. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
8. Whittelsey, Charles Barney (1902). The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649-1902. Press of J.B. Burr & Company. p. 90. ISBN 9780722288979. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
9. Depew, Chauncey M. (October 20, 2013). Titled Americans, 1890: A list of American ladies who have married foreigners of rank. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781783660056. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
10. "Miss Pansy Roosevelt III". The New York Times. 6 January 1903. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
11. "Miss Gladys Roosevelt's Wedding" (PDF). The New York Times. November 8, 1913. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
12. "Mrs. F.R. Dick Dies In Hunting Accident". The New York Times. November 23, 1926. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
13. "MRS. DICK WILLS BULK OF ESTATE TO HUSBAND; Sister and Father Share Rest of Property of Woman Killed in Fall Off Horse". The New York Times. 9 November 1926. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
14. "Luncheon for Miss Jean Roosevelt". The New York Times. 22 December 1909. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
15. "Died. Philip James Roosevelt, 49". TIME. 1941-11-17. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
16. "untitled". Time. 1925-05-18. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
17. "J.E. ROOSEVELT SUES TO ANNUL MARRIAGE; Cousin of the Former President Asserts He Was the Victim of Misrepresentations. WANTS WIFE'S SUIT DELAYED Says Expense of Trying Her Action for Separation on Charges of Cruelty May Be Avoided". The New York Times. 13 November 1915. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
18. "ROOSEVELT WEDDING CALLED A 'MISTAKE'; Robert B. Disapproved of an "Old Man Marrying a Young Woman." SAYS SO IN BROTHER'S SUIT Mrs. Roosevelt, Defendant in the Annulment Case, Too Ill to Appear in Court". The New York Times. 16 February 1916. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
19. "J. E. ROOSEVELT MARRIES.; New York Lawyer Weds Mrs. Biscoe, Sister of Brother's Wife". The New York Times. 7 January 1914. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
20. "J. Roosevelt Weeps In Accusing Wife. Elderly Cousin of the Colonel Says His Bride Spurned His Efforts to Win Her. 'I've Been an Ass,' Husband Tells Court in Testifying in His Annulment Suit". The New York Times. February 15, 1916. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
21. "DAUGHTERS TESTIFY FOR J.E. ROOSEVELT; Mrs. Dick Says Young Wife "Made Life an Awful Mess" for Her Father. STEPMOTHER DIDN'T PLEASE Defendant in Separation Suit Breaks Down and Weeps as Trial Comes to an End". The New York Times. 9 June 1916. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
22. "HUSBAND WAS CRUEL, SAYS MRS. ROOSEVELT; Bases Suit for Separation on Allegations of Physical Violence. DEFENDANT TO FIGHT CASE Annoyed Because Auto Trip Was Spoiled;- Declares New Notions Are Spoiling Women". The New York Times. 30 October 1915. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
23. "MRS. J.E. ROOSEVELT WINS.; But Justice Newburger Gives Her Only $400 a Month Alimony". The New York Times. 20 January 1916. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
24. "Meadow Croft". www.suffolkcountyny.gov. Retrieved 15 June 2023.