One of the most prominent American families: The Roosevelt family produced two presidents in the 20th century: Theodore, or Teddy (1901-1909), and Franklin Delano (1933-1945). The only president to be elected four times. Franklin was also married to one of Teddy’s cousins, Eleanor Roosevelt. This American family has Dutch roots, and probably originated from the town where you are now. After all, this is where the ‘Rosevelt’ is located. It was once a field on which three houses were sited.
When Theodore was elected, research was carried out into the origins of the Roosevelt family, which revealed that they had roots in Oud-Vossemeer. A family Van ’t Rosevelt became the owner of a homestead in the village in 1648.
The Rosevelt is mentioned for the first time in a notarial deed from 1481 in which 13 ‘gemets’ of land were assigned to the dean and the chapter of Tholen to be used for memorial services.
The Rosevelt was also mentioned several times in the 16th century. In 1590, for example, a house on ’t Rosevelt is described that had been sold to Corten Huybrechts. This house seems to have been damaged by soldiers to such an extent that permission was given to demolish it.
At the beginning of the 17th century, more and more people started taking a a surname that referred to their origins. The first surnames based on ’t Rosevelt therefore appeared at this time. Dingenis Mertens op ’t Roosevelt is a good example of this. He is mentioned for the first time in 1626. A link with the oldest American Roosevelt, ‘Claes Martenzen van Rosenvelt‘, is obvious, but the final proof that they are actually family is still missing.
The name of ’t Rosevelt could come from the poppy that possibly grew here. Wild rose varieties grow on rough terrain and can withstand bad weather. But the name Rosevelt probably originated from ‘reed field’. The word for reed comes from the old Dutch word ‘roos’.
In 1950, Eleanor Roosevelt was the first in the family to visit Oud-Vossemeer, and many have followed since then. In 2016, the Roosevelt Information Center was opened by Princess Beatrix in the manor house. Two grandchildren of Franklin were also present.
