US President in a kilt

[ccga3359]

Interesting question and I actually learned something. By using both hands I can drink more water...

[macwilkin]

Thanks for that tidbit! I especially appreciate it after having worn a kilt in Puerto Rico a few months ago. I wonder if any illustrations of that evening exist.

That still, however, doesn't clear up the Roosevelt-kilt connection.

Good question. The Roosevelts were a Dutch family from New Netherland days. I know TR's mother, Martha Bulloch, was of Ulster-Scottish heritage (and reportedly the "real-life" Scarlett O'Hara, as she was from the South) -- as the artilce accompanying the picture stated, kilt suits were in fashion with the wealthy in the 19th century, just as it was popular to dress children in military-style uniforms during the Civil War, especially the French Zouave uniform.

BTW, there is a very interesting article on the American Heraldry's web site about the arms of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt:

http://americanheraldry.org/pages/in...dent.Roosevelt

Not to go off-topic, but it does discuss the Dutch heritage of the family.

T.

[gilmore]

Good question. The Roosevelts were a Dutch family from New Netherland days. I know TR's mother, Martha Bulloch, was of Ulster-Scottish heritage (and reportedly the "real-life" Scarlett O'Hara, as she was from the South) -- ....

I don't know if it's true, but I came across this online recently: "The Roosevelts were Jewish Dutch, arriving in NYC in 1682 (originall y
named Claes Rosenvelt before name change to Nicholas Roosevelt) Sarah
Delano, FDR's mother, was descended from Sephardic Jews..."

Heard it before?

As to Martha Bulloch being the real life Scarlett O'Hara, there are so many families here in Atlanta (Martha Bulloch was from Roswell, a good day's travel from Atlanta at the time) who claim that distinction for an ancestress that I would have to take off my shoes to ennumerate them all. Scarlett was of course fiction, and largely drawn from Margaret Mitchell's own fantasies, but there were anecdotes drawn from ante bellum and wartime experiences of many young women. My favorite contender is a young woman from the Walker family whose family's plantation is now the site of Piedmont Park. During the weeks-long battle of Atlanta, she was the only capable adult there. Soldiers had taken all their livestock, so they couldn't escape. A mule wandered onto the plantation. She named it providence, hitched it to a wagon, loaded her aged parents and young brothers on it and refugee'ed, sleeping in woods, and churches when they could, until it was safe to return home.

[macwilkin]

I don't know if it's true, but I came across this online recently: "The Roosevelts were Jewish Dutch, arriving in NYC in 1682 (originall y
named Claes Rosenvelt before name change to Nicholas Roosevelt) Sarah
Delano, FDR's mother, was descended from Sephardic Jews..."

Heard it before?

Can't say I have...interesting. As I remember, New Netherland was relatively tolerant in terms of Jews in the colonial era.

As to Martha Bulloch being the real life Scarlett O'Hara, there are so many families here in Atlanta (Martha Bulloch was from Roswell, a good day's travel from Atlanta at the time) who claim that distinction for an ancestress that I would have to take off my shoes to ennumerate them all. Scarlett was of course fiction, and largely drawn from Margaret Mitchell's own fantasies, but there were anecdotes drawn from ante bellum and wartime experiences of many young women. My favorite contender is a young woman from the Walker family whose family's plantation is now the site of Piedmont Park. During the weeks-long battle of Atlanta, she was the only capable adult there. Soldiers had taken all their livestock, so they couldn't escape. A mule wandered onto the plantation. She named it providence, hitched it to a wagon, loaded her aged parents and young brothers on it and refugee'ed, sleeping in woods, and churches when they could, until it was safe to return home.

Hence my use of the word "reportedly". :mrgreen:

I was a bit skeptical of the claim when I first heard it on a documentary about Teddy.

T.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Well, There was a president that did wear kilts. FDR wore kilt when he was a child he wore them up to the age of seven or eight.

Notice how his kilt is a solid color with a dark horizontal stripe across the bottom. We have a child's kilt in the museum just like it. Most likely from the same time period, as well.

[kiwipipinghot]

Prince Charles and other royals do wear the kilts regularly from what I have seen in the past.
Posting reply a have been away for a wee bit

[Phil]

As for SNP leader Alex Salmond, here are his thoughts on kilts:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/294290.stm

Cheers

Bruce

You know you just can't trust anything you read nowadays -

[Galician]

Notice how his kilt is a solid color with a dark horizontal stripe across the bottom. We have a child's kilt in the museum just like it. Most likely from the same time period, as well.

It also strikes me that the tunic of his outfit would match that of the Zouave soldiers mentioned as being in fashion for boys' wear at that time.

[kiltimabar]

Apparently Queen Victoria's preference for Highland culture led to a fad for kilts as a boy's clothing style in that era. At least it looked more masculine than the dresses and gowns also used.


http://histclo.com/style/style.html

[Galician]

Can't say I have...interesting. As I remember, New Netherland was relatively tolerant in terms of Jews in the colonial era. Hence my use of the word "reportedly". :mrgreen: I was a bit skeptical of the claim when I first heard it on a documentary about Teddy. T.

Actually, here in the former colony of New Amsterdam, Pieter Stuyvesant, the governor of the colony, refused to allow the Jews to build a synagogue. They were able to do so only after the Dutch East India Company, under whose authority the colony was established and run, overruled him and allowed the Jewish community to build a house of worship.

I hadn't heard of a Jewish connection for the Roosevelts, though, and question the source. Given the hatred still held for him and his political legacy in some circles, I can't help but wonder if it might not have come from a smear campaign against him.