The notion of the Roosevelts as one of America’s Founding Families is something we often overlook. Many people realize that the family traces its roots back to the early Dutch settlers; still, the clan’s role in colonial and revolutionary America usually gets lost in the shuffle. It is important to remember that the Roosevelts were acquaintances of Washington, Hamilton, and other leading figures of the era. Submitted for your approval is an announcement for an April 1784 speaking engagement by Isaac Roosevelt. Cape’s Tavern, site of that talk, was a watering hole in Lower Manhattan. It was an interesting historical moment. The Revolutionary War had ended just a year earlier. Isaac’s talk came just five months after Evacuation Day, the moment that past November when the British finally left New York City and sailed for home. Isaac (1726-1794) was a grandson of Nicolaes, the man from whom the “Franklin” and “Theodore” branches of the family split off. That makes Isaac a progenitor of the Franklins, that part of the clan that eventually begat FDR. In his lifetime Isaac would have been in close contact with relatives from both sides of the family Isaac was state senator during the war and was later a delegate at the New York State Convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. He also cofounded the Chamber of Commerce and was the second president of the Bank of New York. (KM)
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 19:26:59 +0000
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