James Roosevelt, Sr. (July 16, 1828 – December 8, 1900) was a businessman and father of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. He was born in Hyde Park, New York to Isaac Roosevelt (1790–1863) and his wife Mary Rebecca Aspinwall (1809–1886).

 

James with his son Franklin Roosevelt in 1895

 

Roosevelt's father Isaac Roosevelt was a fourth-generation descendant of Nicholas Roosevelt (1658–1742), who was also a sixth-generation ancestor of Theodore Roosevelt. His wife Mary Aspinwall was a sixth-generation descendant of Rebecca Stoughton, sister of William Stoughton, judge and prosecutor during the Salem Witch Trials.

 

James Roosevelt graduated from Union College (NY) in 1847. He was an eligible bachelor: tall, slender and wealthy, with considerable society connections. In 1853, he married his first-cousin-once-removed Rebecca Howland (b.1831). A year later, they had a son, James "Rosey" Roosevelt. Howland died in 1876, leaving James Sr. a widower.

 

Four years later, at a party celebrating graduation of his cousin Theodore Roosevelt from Harvard University, he met Sara Delano; they were married on October 7, 1880 and became parents of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. James 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.

 

Roosevelt's business interests were primarily in coal and transportation. He was vice president of the Delaware and Hudson Railway, and president of the Southern Railway Security Company.

 

Roosevelt died twenty years after he married Sara. His estate went to his sons.