A memorabilia collector has found a document that could trace Theodore Roosevelt back to the small hamlet of Gleno, County Antrim.
Gary Campbell came across a piece of yellowed paper in an old book about Larne, County Antrim, which holds information about the 26th President of the United States’ Northern Irish roots.
Gleno, or Glenoe (that’s up for debate), is a small town with a population of just 100 people. Apart from its stunning waterfall its largest claim to fame is that it may have been Roosevelt’s ancestral home and now Campbell has connected the President to a family named Bullock in or near Gleno.
Campbell admitted that the facts are a little sketchy.
He told the Belfast Telegraph “I'm intrigued by this scribbled information in a tattered old volume I received in a bundle, from whom I haven't a clue.
"There must be a plaque somewhere about presidential connections.
"I know a few occupiers of the White House were associated with this district."
According to publication Electric Scotland, Roosevelt’s mother, Martha Bulloch, had Ulster Scots ancestors who emigrated from Larne, County Antrim, in May 1729.
Larne government's website states that “During the period of Ulster-Scot emigration, many thousands of families sailed for America, among them members of the Irvine and Craig families of Carneal and the Gleno Valley. They are said to have been among the ancestors of Theodore Roosevelt.”
According to records Roosevelt, who was born in New York City, but held Ireland in high regards and planned to travel to his ancestral home during his retirement. He often referred to the Irish as a “bold and hardy race.” Unfortunately ill health prevented his trip.
Roy Beggs, a Northern Irish politician who lives in Gleno, said "It is a fact that President Andrew Jackson (in office 1829-1837) had connections with east Antrim and especially Carrick.
“And President Andrew Johnson's (1865-1969) family came from Raloo, just up the road from Gleno.
"I have never heard of the Roosevelt connection, but who knows everything about those olden times?"
Roosevelt retired in February 1884 on the day his wife died during childbirth and his mother died in the same house. He was heartbroken.
He took up cattle ranching for a time but made a comeback as Governor of New York and then made his way to the White House. In 1906 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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