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Part of the American
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Cornelia Van Ness Roosevelt, 1810 ~ 1876
The niece of Mrs. Van Ness was universally admired and wielded a
personal sway in the society of the national Capital in the
winter of 1828-29. She was a Miss Cornelia Van Ness, the
daughter of Cornelius P. Van Ness who was chief justice and
governor of Vermont. Mrs. C. P. Van Ness, who was the
sister-in-law of the wife of General Van Ness, occupied a
position not less distinguished than that of her sister-in-law.
Her husband was the governor of Vermont and she presided over
his home sustaining her position with dignity and added an
elevating social influence to its political supremacy. Her house
was the resort of distinguished travelers from every part of the
United States as well as Europe, and here General Lafayette was
entertained when he revisited the United States. She accompanied
her husband when he was sent as minister to Spain and made,
while there, an enviable reputation for her countrywomen. Their
daughter, Miss Cornelia Van Ness, while on a visit to her uncle,
General Van Ness of Washington City, became one of the belles of
Washington. While with her parents in Madrid she became
conspicuous and made a most pleasing impression, receiving marks
of honor and personal favor from the Queen. She spoke both
French and Spanish with fluency.
After twenty months in the Spanish capital, she went to Paris on
a visit, and here at the house of Mr. Reeves in the presence of
a most distinguished gathering, among them General Lafayette,
she was married to Mr. James J. Roosevelt of New York.
In September 1831, Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt returned to the United
States and took up their residence in New York City. In 1840 Mr.
Roosevelt was elected a member of Congress and the following
year, accompanied by his family, he took up his residence in
Washington City, and during the winters of 1842-43 Mrs.
Roosevelt became prominent in society and they were among the
first to introduce a new fashion of entertaining. During
Washington's administration very simple forms of entertainment
prevailed, and one of the rules for the President, established
with the concurrence of Jefferson and Hamilton, was that the
President was never to visit anyone but the Vice-President, or
even to dine out. Most of the entertaining was done by the
President and foreign ministers but in 1842 Mr. and Mrs.
Roosevelt brought about a social revolution by frequent and
agreeable dinner and evening parties which President Tyler
attended as an unassuming guest, and it is related by Mr.
Ingersoll in giving an account of social matters in Washington
at this time that he had the honor to play a rubber of whist
with President Tyler, Lord Ashburton, ex-minister to England.
Many letters were written to Mrs. Roosevelt by statesmen of the
greatest distinction in American political life on affairs of
national importance, which serve to show the high esteem in
which she was entertained and the respect for her judgment and
opinions in matters wherein women were not supposed (at that
time) to have opinions of value. Mrs. Roosevelt for many years
was a leader. In society in the city of New York. Her
entertainments were always marked by splendor and refined taste;
her dignified manner, her intellectual conversation gave a charm
to the social intercourse wherever she presided. She was a
patron of many of the charitable affairs and institutions of New
York and she aided conspicuously in the Sanitary Fair held in
New York City.
Women of
America
Source: The Part Taken by Women in
American History, By Mrs. John A. Logan, Published by The Perry-Nalle
Publishing Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1912.
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