James Roosevelt I

Who was James Roosevelt I?

James Roosevelt I, known as "Squire James", was an American businessman. He was the father of James Roosevelt Roosevelt and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was born in Hyde Park, New York to businessman Isaac Daniel Roosevelt and Mary Rebecca Aspinwall.

Isaac's parents were businessman Jacobus Roosevelt III and Catherine Welles. Mary's parents were John Aspinwall and Susan Howland.

James Roosevelt graduated from Union College in 1847. He was an eligible bachelor: tall, slender, and wealthy, with considerable society connections. In 1853, he married his second cousin Rebecca Brien Howland. They had one son, James Roosevelt "Rosey" Roosevelt.

Four years after Rebecca's death, he met a sixth cousin named Sara Ann Delano at a party celebrating graduation of his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. from Harvard University. James and Sara were married on October 7, 1880 and became parents of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was reportedly a good father to Franklin; however, his recurring heart problems eventually turned him into an invalid. Franklin reacted by becoming fiercely protective of his father.