At the end of the first episode of The Gilded Age, we meet James Roosevelt, affectionately referred to as “Rosy” by Carrie Astor, the youngest daughter of Mrs. Astor, whose full name is Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor. When Mrs. Astor asks Carrie about where Helen Astor, Carrie’s older sister is, Carrie explains that Rosy needs to be up at the break of dawn, so they’ve gone to bed.

In reality, James Roosevelt was also often referred to as “Rosy,” and he was actually President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s older half-brother. As was traditional during the Gilded Age, to keep wealth in the family, cousins and distant relatives often married. James’s parents were actually second cousins, James Roosevelt I and Rebecca Brien Howland. The New York Times wrote that Rosy was considered, “an aimless if charming member of New York society's sporting set.”

Rosy married Helen Astor in 1878, which means that The Gilded Age must take place around that time since they don’t yet have children in the series. In reality, Rosy and Helen had two children — James “Tadd” Roosevelt Jr. in 1879 and Helen Rebecca Roosevelt in 1881. Helen Roosevelt continued the tradition of marrying close to the family when she married Theodore Douglas Robinson, President Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest nephew.