Name Emlen Roosevelt Grandparents Cornelius Roosevelt Died March 15, 1930 | Parents James A. Roosevelt Children George Emlen Roosevelt | |
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William Emlen Roosevelt (April 30, 1857 – May 15, 1930) was a prominent New York City banker who held a wide range of positions in numerous organizations and was a cousin of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. He was president of Roosevelt & Son, the banking firm founded by his father James Alfred Roosevelt.
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Early life
William Emlen Roosevelt was born James Alfred Roosevelt and Elizabeth Norris Emlen. His maternal grandparents were William Fishbourne Emlen (1786–1866) and Mary Parker Norris (1791–1872) and his paternal grandparents were Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt (1794–1871) and Margaret Barnhill (1799–1861).
Career
He was director of the Chemical Bank of New York, the Gallatin National Bank, and the Astor National Bank, and later sat on the boards of the Grand Hanover and the Bank of New York. He was president of Roosevelt Hospital, founded by his distant cousin James H. Roosevelt. He was an officer of the National Guard for 16 years, major and quartermaster of the First Brigade. Roosevelt became involved in telecommunications companies, formed the Mexican Telegraph Company and Central and South American Telegraph Company, and was eventually director of the International Telephone and Telegraph Company.
Theodore Roosevelt and he had a very close relationship as cousins. Emlen was not interested in politics other than to support his cousin's bids for public office, and Theodore, busy with conservation advocacy, had little time to attend to financial matters. Thus, "Cousin Emlen" was Theodore's financial adviser before, during and after his presidency.
Personal life
In 1883, he married Christine Griffin Kean (1858–1936), the sister of John Kean and Hamilton Fish Kean, who both served as United States Senators from New Jersey. They were the parents of:
He also owned the James Alfred Roosevelt Estate at Cove Neck in Nassau County, New York.
Roosevelt died at his home, 804 Fifth Avenue in New York City, on May 15, 1930 at the age of 73. His funeral was held at St. Thomas' Church.