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Franklin D. Roosevelt
Of Jewish Origin?
Was Franklin D. Roosevelt of Jewish origin? Randy Black says: "FDR’s father James (1828-1900) was a wealthy New York land owner. He was descended from Nicholas Roosevelt, whose father had emigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam in the 1640's. One of Nicholas' two sons, Johannes, fathered the line that ultimately produced President Theodore Roosevelt. The other son, Jacobus, was James' great-great-grandfather. …James graduated from Union College (1847) and Harvard Law School, married, had a son, and took over his family's extensive holdings in coal and transportation. The family's fortune was made in shipping, especially with the China trade. Despite substantial losses in speculative ventures, he remained wealthy enough to journey by private railroad car, to live graciously on his Hudson River estate at Hyde Park, and to travel extensively. His father, a semiretired railway executive, was a cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the U.S. The two had a close and loving relationship. James had a great impact on molding Franklin's values, especially a sense of responsibility for those less fortunate. That simple lesson taught by James Roosevelt was to have a profound impact on the history of the American Republic and countless millions of people.
Franklin's mother Sarah was the great constant in his life. She was as devoted
and doting as a mother could be. She was also the disciplinarian in the family.
Her approach was always to correct Franklin in private and to use disappointment
as the principle tool. Sarah was a Delano and James' second wife, a sixth cousin.
They married 4 years after James' first wife died in 1876, She, too, was a member
of the Hudson River aristocracy. Her father, one of James' business associates,
had made and lost fortunes in the China trade before settling with his wife
and 11 children on the west bank of the Hudson. Sara had sailed to China as
a girl, attended school abroad, and moved in high social circles in London and
Paris. Though only half her husband's age of 52 at the time of her marriage
in 1880, she settled in happily at Hyde Park. Their marriage was serene until
broken by James' death in 1900 when Franklin was 18. The Roosevelts were a mostly
Republican family as was customary for the wealthy elite of the late 19th Century.
The family was related to President Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin visited
the White House as a boy. Sara Delano raised Franklin in luxurious circumstances,
but she stressed to the boy that with his place in society came responsibilities
for the less fortunate. This was the in effect the thrust of the New Deal. Much
of the wealthy in America, the economic royalists as he called them, never forgave
him, and he was considered to be a traitor to his class. Even as an adult, his
mother played an important role in Franklin's life--too great a role for Eleanor.
When a friend in 1910 suggested that Franklin run for the New York legislature,
he replied, "Sounds like a good idea, I'll hve to discuss it with mother."
http://histclo.hispeed.com/pres/ind20/rooseveltf.html
RH: Very interesting, but it does not tell us the religious background of Nicolas
Roosevelt. Nicolas is not a common Jewish first name. However, if he was Jewish,
did the tradition of social responsibility in the family come from the Jewish
ideal of social justice?
Was Franklin D. Roosevelt of Jewish origin? Randy Black comments: "Nicholas'
religion is unknown, but he WAS baptized. Here, from genealogy.com, is what
I found about Nicholas:
101. Nicholas7 Roosevelt (Claes Martenszen8 Van Rosenvelt) was born Sep 1658.
Nicholas died 30 Jul 1742 in New York, New York, New York, at 83 years of age.
He married Heyltje Jans Kunst in New York, New York, New York, 26 Dec 1682.
Heyltje was born in Albany, New York 24 Feb 1664. Heyltje was the daughter of
Jan Barentsen Kunst and Jannetje Adriaens. Heyltje died aft 1730. He was baptized
in New York, New York, New York, 2 Oct 1658. Religion: religion unknown. Nicholas
Roosevelt and Heyltje Jans Kunst had the following children:
102 i. Jannetie6 Roosevelt was born bef 11 Nov 1683. She was baptized in Esopus,
New York, 11 Nov 1683. Religion: religion unknown.
103 ii. Margaretta Roosevelt was born bef 11 Oct 1685. She was baptized in Esopus,
New York, 11 Oct 1685. Religion: religion unknown.
104 iii. Nicholaes Roosevelt was born bef 28 Aug 1687. He was baptized in Esopus,
New York, 28 Aug 1687. Religion: religion unknown. + 61 iv. Johannes Roosevelt
was born bef 3 Mar 1689.
105 v. Elsie Roosevelt was born bef 1 Jan 1691. She was baptized in New York,
New York, New York, 1 Jan 1691. Religion: religion unknown.
106 vi. Jacobus Roosevelt was born bef Feb 1692. He was baptized in New York,
New York, New York, Feb 1692. Religion: religion unknown.
107 vii. Rachel Roosevelt was born bef 21 Mar 1693. Rachel died bef 1699. She
was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 21 mar 1693. Religion: religion
unknown.
108 viii. Sarah Roosevelt was born ca 1696. She was baptized in New York, New
York, New York, 1696. Religion: religion unknown.
109 ix. Rachel Roosevelt was born bef 23 Apr 1699. She was baptized in New York,
New York, New York, 23 Apr 1699. Religion: religion unknown.
110 x. Isaac Roosevelt was born bef 28 Feb 1701. He was baptized in New York,
New York, New York, 28 Feb 1701. Religion: religion unknown.
Source: http://www.genealogy.com/famousfolks/theodore-roosevelt/d0/i0000072.htm?Welcome=1088177259
RH: Notice all those "religion unknown", Baptism meant very little. It was the correct thing to do socially. This discussion is similar to that about the John Kerry family, which in Spanish terminology would be called conversos.
Regarding the ancestry of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adriana Pena says: "
If they were baptized, they were Christians. Which denomination might be open
to debate, but there are so many Christian religions that it is a stretch of
the imagination to suppose Jewish religion, which does not have the rite of
baptism", RH: Of course not, but baptism was largely a social rather than
a religious ritual. Moreover, in Spain many conversos were ostentatious in their
practice of the Catholic faith but continued to practice the Jewish faith in
private. Many travelers left testimony to this. Incidentally, there is only
one Christian religion, although there are many churches or sects.
An idiot to whom?
From Paris, David W, Pike writes:"I take up the statement of Christopher
Jones, and repeat the challenge of
Harry Papasotiriou: What European historians have described Franklyn D. Roosevelt
as an idiot? And I don't need to "take my nose out of dusty tomes,"
and I already watch Arte TV every time it has a historical program. So, yes,
I should like to see the names of these historians who have called FDR an idiot".
John Wonder says: " I do not think Christopher Jones is too far afield
in saying that Europeans regard FDR as an idiot. That is about how I would classify
him myself".
From Greece, Harry Papasotiriou writes: "Given the recent discussion in
WAIS on Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, I am posting two brief paragraphs
on these two American presidents, who in my opinion are likely to be seen by
future historians as the most prominent American leaders of the twentieth century.
The paragraphs are from a forthcoming book that I have co-authored.
FDR: The Democratic standard bearer who led his party to victory in 1932 was
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), a patrician from up-state New York. Roosevelt
became one of the greatest presidents in American history, comparable only to
Washington and Lincoln. Yet his earlier career gave few clues for his later
mastery. His first steps in politics replicated exactly the career of his distant
cousin Theodore Roosevelt (president, 1901-1909), except that FDR seemed like
an inferior copy. His character became less frivolous and gained depth after
1921, when he was struck by poliomyelitis that paralyzed his legs. With enormous
will power he persevered in politics, placing himself at the front rank of the
Democratic party by winning the governorship of New York in 1928, a year in
which the Democrats did badly otherwise. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes shrewdly
assessed FDR’s qualities: “A second-class intellect. But a first-class
temperament!” Franklin Roosevelt proved to be a charismatic leader who
reassured and inspired Americans in the depths of the Depression and during
the mighty challenges of World War II; an open-minded reformer willing to experiment
with new remedies for unprecedented problems; a skillful though often devious
manager who dominated his government and his party, securing its presidential
nomination four times; and in his last years a world leader who in wartime policy
and strategy compares well with Old World giants like Winston Churchill and
Joseph Stalin.
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