Tadd Roosevelt


James Roosevelt "Tadd" Roosevelt Jr. was an American heir and automobile worker.

Early life

James Roosevelt Roosevelt Jr. was born on August 20, 1879. He was the son of diplomat James Roosevelt "Rosey" Roosevelt of the Roosevelt family and Helen Schermerhorn Roosevelt of the Astor family. He had one sister, Helen Rebecca Roosevelt.
Among his large and prominent family were uncles Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who later became President of the United States, and Colonel John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV, who died during the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Tadd's paternal grandparents were businessman James Roosevelt I and Rebecca Brien Roosevelt, while his maternal grandparents were businessman William Backhouse Astor Jr. and socialite Caroline Astor, who was known as the "Mrs. Astor".
He and Franklin both attended Groton School and Harvard University, with Tadd being ahead of Franklin. Their kinship led to Franklin often being mockingly referred to as "Uncle Frank" while the two attended Groton together.

Career

Upon his mother's death in 1893, Tadd inherited $1,500,000.

Personal life

On June 14, 1900, while still a student at Harvard, Roosevelt married a Hungarian-born working class woman, Sadie Messinger . Tadd's father Rosey, upon learning of the wedding, came down from Hyde Park and brought Tadd home. Their union sparked controversy, and Rosey ended up disowning Tadd.
In 1907, Tadd was arrested for speeding on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. In February 1917, Tadd was again arrested in Florida and required to stay in Florida pending a divorce suit. He had lived in Daytona under the name "M. S. King" with another woman. The Roosevelt family had reportedly opposed the marriage to Sadie and had prevailed in achieving a separation, in which Sadie was to receive a $10,000 annual income. A court soon granted $625 per month alimony to Sadie, pending settlement of the divorce. At the time, Tadd was reported to be the Floridian paying the highest income taxes, having a $12,000,000 fortune.
By October 1921, Tadd and Sadie were reportedly no longer living together. However, they remained married until her death. They never had children.

Death

Roosevelt died in Manhattan on June 7, 1958. A recluse in his later years, his fortune was donated to the Salvation Army.