Connecticut, April 18th, 1731, died in Lebanon, OLIVER WALCOTT, Physician, born in Windsor, Connecticut, November 26th, 1726, died in Litchfield, Connecticut, December 1st, 1797. Unanimously adopted in Congress, July 4th, 1776, at Philadelphia. Theodore Roosevelt HEODORE ROOSEVELT was born in New York City, October 27th, 1858; son of Theodore and Martha (Bulloch) Roosevelt, a de scendant in a direct line from Claes Martenszen and Janetje (Thomas) Van Roosevelt, who came to New Amsterdam from Holland about 1649. Nicholas van Roosevelt was a City Father just before George Washington was born. Jacobus I. Roosevelt was a commissary to the Continental Army during the Revolution. Theodore Roosevelt's father was an alderman, an assemblyman, a representative, and a Supreme Court justice; one of the founders of the Union League Club, the Orthopaedic Hospital, the Children's Aid Society and altogether the founder of the Newsboys' Lodging House. Theodore was graduated from Harvard in 1880, and became a student in the New York Law School. He was a Republican member of the New York assembly, 1882, 1883, and 1884; was candidate of his party for speaker of the assembly in 1884; chairman of the committee on cities, and of a special committee known as the Roosevelt Investigating Committee. He supported the civil service reform and introduced bills which became laws affecting the government of New York City, and especially the patronage exercised by the sheriff, county clerk and register, which greatly reformed the conduct of their respective offices. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention of 1884; delegate-at-large from New York and chairman of the New York delegation to the Republican National Convention that met at Chicago June 3rd, 1884. He refused two nominations to Congress, and purchased the Elk Horn and the Chimney Butte Ranches at Medora on the Little Missouri River in North Dakota, where he lived, 1884-86. He was a member of the New York State militia, 1884-88, serving in the 8th regiment, N.G.S.N.Y., as lieutenant, and for three years as captain. He was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for mayor of New York City in 1886, when Abram S. Hewitt was elected. In May, 1889, he was appointed on the United States civil service commission in Washington, D.C., by President Harrison and served as president of the commission. He was continued in office by President Cleveland, but resigned in May, 1895, to accept the position of police commissioner of New York City in the administration of Mayor Strong. He was president of the bi-partisan board, 1895-97. He was appointed assistant secretary of the United States navy in April, 1897, by President McKinley, and on the declaration of the war with Spain in April, 1898, he resigned to recruit the 1st U.S.V. cavalry, a regiment of "Rough Riders" made up mostly of his acquaintances on the Western Plains, including cowboys and miners, with some members of the college athletic clubs of New York and Boston-men who could ride, shoot and live in the open. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, May 6th, 1898, and was promoted to the rank of colonel after the battle of La Quassina, San Juan, when Colonel Leonard Wood was promoted brigadier-general and assigned to the governorship of Sanitago. When the war closed the Republican party of his native State nominated him their candidate for governor and he was elected over Van Wyck, Democrat, Kline, Prohibitionist, Hanford, Social Labor, and Bacon, Citizen's |