Franklin D. Roosevelt

official photo of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933

Birth Name: Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Date of Birth: January 30, 1882

Place of Birth: Hyde Park, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: April 12, 1945

Place of Death: Warm Springs, Georgia, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, some Dutch, small amount of Scottish, distant Belgian Walloon, French Huguenot, and Welsh, remote German and Swedish

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader. A Democrat, he was the 32nd President of the United States, having served from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945. He was elected to the position in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. He served as President until his death. He was previously Assistant Secretary of the Navy, from March 17, 1913 to August 26, 1920, and the Governor of New York, from January 1, 1929 to January 1, 1933.

He was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1920.

President Roosevelt was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 1932, 1934, and 1941.

President Roosevelt was the son of Sara (Delano) and James Roosevelt I, a businessman. He was married to politician, diplomat, and activist Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt), until his death, with whom he had six children, including lawyer, politician, and businessperson Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., writer and newspaper editor Anna Roosevelt Halsted, aviation official Elliott Roosevelt, politician and activist James Roosevelt, and businessperson John Aspinwall Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt was a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as President of the United States, from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909. Franklin’s great-great-great-grandfather, Jacobus Roosevelt, was a brother of Theodore’s great-great-great-grandfather, Johannes Roosevelt. The brothers’ parents were Nicholas Roosevelt and Heyltje Jans Kunst. President Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor was Theodore’s niece, the daughter of his brother Elliott, making President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor fifth cousins, once removed. His first cousin was tennis player Ellen Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt was of Colonial American descent, with deep roots in New York and Massachusetts. His paternal grandfather was of mostly Dutch descent, the origin of the surname Roosevelt. His other roots were English, a small amount of Scottish, as well as distant Belgian [Walloon] and Welsh, and remote German and Swedish. One of President Roosevelt’s great-great-great-great-grandfathers, Henry Smith, was born in Tangier, Morocco, in Africa, to English parents.

President Roosevelt’s patrilineal line can be traced to Maerten Cornelius van Rosenvelt, who was born, c. 1595, in Haarlem, Noord-Holland, Nederlands, and to his wife Cornelia Lodewyck, who was also born in Haarlem.

President Roosevelt’s paternal grandfather was Isaac Daniel Roosevelt (the son of Jacobus “James” Roosevelt and Maria Eliza Walton). Isaac was born in New York, New York. Jacobus was the son of Isaac Roosevelt and Cornelia Hoffman. Maria Eliza was the daughter of Abraham Walton and Grace Williams.

President Roosevelt’s paternal grandmother was Mary Rebecca Aspinwall (the daughter of John Aspinwall, Jr. and Susan Howland). Mary Rebecca was born in New York, New York. John was the son of John Aspinwall and Rebecca Smith. Susan was born in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, the daughter of Joseph Howland and Lydia Bill.

President Roosevelt’s maternal grandfather was Warren Delano, Jr. (the son of Warren Delano and Deborah P. Church). President Roosevelt’s grandfather Warren was born in Fairhaven, Bristol, Massachusetts. He was a merchant, who smuggled illegal opium into China. President Roosevelt’s great-grandfather Warren was the son of Ephraim Delano and Elizabeth/Elisabeth Cushman. The Delano surname, also earlier spelled de Lannoy or de la Noya, originates with distant French Huguenot ancestry. Deborah was the daughter of Joseph Church and Deborah Perry.

President Roosevelt’s maternal grandmother was Catharine/Catherine Robbins Lyman (the daughter of Joseph Lyman III and Anne/Anna Jean Robbins). Catharine was born in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts. Joseph was the son of Joseph Lyman, Jr. and Mary Sheldon. Anne was the daughter of Edward Hutchinson Robbins and Elizabeth Murray, who was born in North Carolina, to parents from Scotland, with her father having been from Dumfriesshire. Edward Robbins was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, from 1802 to 1806.

President Roosevelt’s matrilineal line can be traced to Dorothy Collingwood, who was born, c. 1695, likely in Little Ryle, Northumberland, England. She was the daughter of Alexander Collingwood.

President Roosevelt was a fourth cousin, once removed, of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. His maternal great-great-great-great-grandparents, Jonathan Delano and Mercy Warren, were also President Grant’s paternal three times great-grandparents.

Sources: Genealogies of President Roosevelt – http://www.geni.com
http://www.wikitree.com
http://famouskin.com

19 Responses

  1. andrew says:

    His maternal grandfather was a merchant: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Delano_Jr.

  2. andrew says:

    his wife was his 5th cousin, once removed.

  3. andrew says:

    from his “Delano” line he has no French Huguenot ancestry. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ancestor Phillippe De Lannoy was born, c. 1602, in Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, and was a Walloon.

    http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_Lannoy-16

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