Nicholas Roosevelt (inventor)
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Isaac Roosevelt (December 27, 1767, New York City
– July 30, 1854, Skaneateles, New York
) was an American
inventor, a major investor in Upstate New York
land, and a member of the Roosevelt family
. His primary invention was to introduce vertical paddle wheels for steamboat
s.
by the British during the American Revolutionary War
, Roosevelt returned to New York City from Esopus
, where he then resided. In Esopus, he had made a small wooden boat, across which was an axle projecting over the sides with paddles at the ends, made to revolve by a tight cord wound around its middle by the reaction of hickory
and whalebone springs.
In New York City, he engaged in manufacturing and inventing. He became interested in the Schuyler copper mines in New Jersey
on the Passaic River
, and from a model of Josiah Hornblower
's atmospheric machine
completed a similar one, built engines for various purposes, and constructed those for the water works of Philadelphia.
He was also at the same time under contract to erect rolling works and supply the government with copper drawn and rolled for six 74-gun ships. In 1797, with Robert R. Livingston and John Stevens
, he agreed to build a boat on joint account, for which the engines were to be constructed by Roosevelt, and the propelling agency was to be that planned by Livingston. The experiment failed, the speed attained being only equivalent to about 3 miles per hour (1.3 m/s) in still water.
On 6 September 1798, Roosevelt had fully described to Livingston a vertical wheel, which he earnestly recommended. This is the first practical suggestion of the combination that made steam navigation a commercial success, although four years later Robert Fulton
believed that chains and floats were alone to be relied on. Livingston, however, had replied to Roosevelt's proposition on 28 October 1798 saying that “vertical wheels are out of the question.” But in the spring of 1802, Livingston having communicated Roosevelt's plan to Fulton, they adopted the former's view, and in January of the next year launched a boat that was propelled by Roosevelt's vertical wheels.
Roosevelt in the mean time became greatly embarrassed financially, the government failed to fulfil its contract with him, and he was unable to put his plans in operation. In 1809, he associated himself with Fulton in the introduction of steamboats on the western waters, and in 1811 he built and navigated the “New Orleans
,” the pioneer boat that descended the Ohio
and Mississippi
rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in 14 days. He had previously descended both rivers in a flatboat
to obtain information.
In January 1815, Roosevelt applied to the legislature of New Jersey for protection as the inventor of vertical wheels, for which he had obtained a patent from the United States in December 1814. The legislature, after discussion, decided that “it was inexpedient to make any special provision in connection with the matter in controversy before the body,” and there the matter rested. Roosevelt's papers came into the possession of Richard S. Cox, his executor, from whom they were obtained in 1828, and from these, with others from the papers of Chancellor Livingston, a case was prepared and submitted to Roger B. Taney
, which had been already submitted to William Wirt
, and, both opinions being favorable, a suit was about to be begun when the consideration of the great expense involved in its prosecution caused the whole matter to be abandoned.
Roosevelt had by this time retired from active life, residing with his family at Skaneateles. In the case submitted for Wirt's opinion, it is said that Fulton never made oath to the application for a patent for vertical wheels over the sides; and that the application itself was signed by another person — a statement that would seem to be corroborated to a great extent by Fulton's own account of his invention in an interview with B. H. Latrobe on 7 February 1809, when the latter was endeavoring to bring about what subsequently took place — a connection between Fulton and Roosevelt in regard to the introduction of steamboats on the western waters. “I have no pretensions,” said Fulton, “to be the first inventor of the steamboat. Hundreds of others have tried it and failed. Neither do I pretend to the right to navigate steamboats, except in New York. . . . That to which I claim an exclusive right is the so proportioning the boat to the power of the engine and the velocity with which the wheels of the boat, or both, move with the maximum velocity attainable by the power, and the construction of the whole machine.” In the same conversation Mr. Fulton said: “As to Mr. Roosevelt, I regard him as a noble-minded, intelligent man, and would do anything to serve him that I could.”
, to George Scriba in 1793 which is now the town of Scriba
.
Nicholas Roosevelt married Lydia Latrobe, daughter of his best friend and business partner, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the distinguished American architect. Lydia was thirteen years old when Nicholas began courting her. They married when she was seventeen and he was forty-one years old. Nicholas Roosevelt died at Skaneateles, New York
, where he had a home, built in 1831 and extant at 101 East Genesee Street. He was survived by Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt, who died in 1878. Nicholas Roosevelt was a great-grand uncle of President Theodore Roosevelt
. Other members of the Roosevelt family resided in the village of Skaneateles, including Frederick Roosevelt, cousin of the president.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
– July 30, 1854, Skaneateles, New York
Skaneateles (village), New York
Skaneateles is a village in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York, United States. The village is named from and located on the shores of Skaneateles Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. The village, as of the 2000 census, has a population of 2,616 residents. The main highway through the...
) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor, a major investor in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
land, and a member of the Roosevelt family
Roosevelt family
In heraldry, canting arms are a visual or pictorial play on a surname, and were and still are a popular practice. It would be common to find roses, then, in arms of many Roosevelt families, even unrelated ones...
. His primary invention was to introduce vertical paddle wheels for steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s.
Inventor
Nicholas Roosevelt was carefully educated. Soon after the evacuation of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by the British during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, Roosevelt returned to New York City from Esopus
Esopus, New York
Esopus is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 9,331 at the 2000 census. The name comes from the local Indian tribe and means "high banks."...
, where he then resided. In Esopus, he had made a small wooden boat, across which was an axle projecting over the sides with paddles at the ends, made to revolve by a tight cord wound around its middle by the reaction of hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
and whalebone springs.
In New York City, he engaged in manufacturing and inventing. He became interested in the Schuyler copper mines in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
, and from a model of Josiah Hornblower
Josiah Hornblower
Josiah Hornblower was an English engineer and statesman in America Belleville, New Jersey. He was a delegate for New Jersey in the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786.-Engineering career :...
's atmospheric machine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
completed a similar one, built engines for various purposes, and constructed those for the water works of Philadelphia.
He was also at the same time under contract to erect rolling works and supply the government with copper drawn and rolled for six 74-gun ships. In 1797, with Robert R. Livingston and John Stevens
John Stevens (inventor)
Col. John Stevens, III was an American lawyer, engineer and an inventor.-Life and career:Born the son of John Stevens , a prominent New Jersey politician who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and Elizabeth Alexander, daughter of New York lawyer and statesman James Alexander. His...
, he agreed to build a boat on joint account, for which the engines were to be constructed by Roosevelt, and the propelling agency was to be that planned by Livingston. The experiment failed, the speed attained being only equivalent to about 3 miles per hour (1.3 m/s) in still water.
On 6 September 1798, Roosevelt had fully described to Livingston a vertical wheel, which he earnestly recommended. This is the first practical suggestion of the combination that made steam navigation a commercial success, although four years later Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
believed that chains and floats were alone to be relied on. Livingston, however, had replied to Roosevelt's proposition on 28 October 1798 saying that “vertical wheels are out of the question.” But in the spring of 1802, Livingston having communicated Roosevelt's plan to Fulton, they adopted the former's view, and in January of the next year launched a boat that was propelled by Roosevelt's vertical wheels.
Roosevelt in the mean time became greatly embarrassed financially, the government failed to fulfil its contract with him, and he was unable to put his plans in operation. In 1809, he associated himself with Fulton in the introduction of steamboats on the western waters, and in 1811 he built and navigated the “New Orleans
New Orleans (steamboat)
The New Orleans was the first steamboat on the western waters of the United States. Its 1811-1812 voyage from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New Orleans, Louisiana on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers ushered in the era of commercial steamboat navigation on the western rivers.-Background:The New...
,” the pioneer boat that descended the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in 14 days. He had previously descended both rivers in a flatboat
Flatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
to obtain information.
In January 1815, Roosevelt applied to the legislature of New Jersey for protection as the inventor of vertical wheels, for which he had obtained a patent from the United States in December 1814. The legislature, after discussion, decided that “it was inexpedient to make any special provision in connection with the matter in controversy before the body,” and there the matter rested. Roosevelt's papers came into the possession of Richard S. Cox, his executor, from whom they were obtained in 1828, and from these, with others from the papers of Chancellor Livingston, a case was prepared and submitted to Roger B. Taney
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold that office or sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the eleventh United States Attorney General. He is most...
, which had been already submitted to William Wirt
William Wirt (Attorney General)
William Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
, and, both opinions being favorable, a suit was about to be begun when the consideration of the great expense involved in its prosecution caused the whole matter to be abandoned.
Roosevelt had by this time retired from active life, residing with his family at Skaneateles. In the case submitted for Wirt's opinion, it is said that Fulton never made oath to the application for a patent for vertical wheels over the sides; and that the application itself was signed by another person — a statement that would seem to be corroborated to a great extent by Fulton's own account of his invention in an interview with B. H. Latrobe on 7 February 1809, when the latter was endeavoring to bring about what subsequently took place — a connection between Fulton and Roosevelt in regard to the introduction of steamboats on the western waters. “I have no pretensions,” said Fulton, “to be the first inventor of the steamboat. Hundreds of others have tried it and failed. Neither do I pretend to the right to navigate steamboats, except in New York. . . . That to which I claim an exclusive right is the so proportioning the boat to the power of the engine and the velocity with which the wheels of the boat, or both, move with the maximum velocity attainable by the power, and the construction of the whole machine.” In the same conversation Mr. Fulton said: “As to Mr. Roosevelt, I regard him as a noble-minded, intelligent man, and would do anything to serve him that I could.”
Land speculator
He and his brother John sold a large tract of land in Oswego County, New YorkOswego County, New York
Oswego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 Census, the estimated population was 122,109. The City of Oswego and the Village of Pulaski serve as the dual county seats in a two shire system of government...
, to George Scriba in 1793 which is now the town of Scriba
Scriba, New York
Scriba is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 7,331 at the 2000 census. The town is named after landowner George Scriba.The Town of Scriba is east of the City of Oswego...
.
Family
Nicholas Roosevelt's ancestors were early citizens of New York. His father, Isaac, was a member of the New York provincial congress, the legislature, and the city council, and for many years was president of the Bank of New York.Nicholas Roosevelt married Lydia Latrobe, daughter of his best friend and business partner, Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the distinguished American architect. Lydia was thirteen years old when Nicholas began courting her. They married when she was seventeen and he was forty-one years old. Nicholas Roosevelt died at Skaneateles, New York
Skaneateles (village), New York
Skaneateles is a village in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York, United States. The village is named from and located on the shores of Skaneateles Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. The village, as of the 2000 census, has a population of 2,616 residents. The main highway through the...
, where he had a home, built in 1831 and extant at 101 East Genesee Street. He was survived by Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt, who died in 1878. Nicholas Roosevelt was a great-grand uncle of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. Other members of the Roosevelt family resided in the village of Skaneateles, including Frederick Roosevelt, cousin of the president.