Rosedale Estate Papers

Collection Overview

Title: Rosedale Estate Papers

ID: 30/32/

Extent: 0.0

Arrangement:

The Rosedale Estate Papers are divided into four series.

The papers are arranged as one series of family papers concerning the Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families; a second series of family papers, arranged by the historian Helen Wilkinson Reynolds of Dutchess County, New York, in December 1940; a third series highlighting the tennis careers of Grace and Ellen Roosevelt; and a fourth series consisting of photographs belonging to the Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families.

Abstract

The collection, which was donated by the descendants of John Aspinwall Roosevelt, and his daughter Grace Walton (Roosevelt) Clark, consists of hundreds of pages of correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, photo albums, scrapbooks, a blueprint, maps, and legal documents, including wills, mortgage records, a property deed for Rosedale, and other materials.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Rosedale Estate Papers contain historical manuscript materials, ranging from the 18^th to the 20^th Century, and span several generations of the Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families that trace their lineage to and through the homestead named Rosedale (Hyde Park, NY).

The bulk of the materials relate to the correspondence of John Aspinwall Roosevelt and his brother James Roosevelt (II), and their mother Mary Rebecca Aspinwall Roosevelt. There is additional correspondence of the family including Dr. Isaac Roosevelt, James Roosevelt (I), Isaac Roosevelt (I), Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ellen Crosby Roosevelt, Grace Walton Roosevelt, as well as other family members. Subjects within this correspondence include family matters such as the inheritance of Rosedale and the sale of the Mount Hope homestead in the 1860s. There is also correspondence of Isaac Roosvelt (I) during his service in New York State’s convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution. There is also correspondence between Ellen Crosby Roosevelt and her cousin President Frankin D. Roosevelt, regarding the appraisal of family bibles.

The collection includes newspaper clippings concerning topics such as the wedding of Grace W. Roosevelt to Appleton L. Clark, and the fire at James Roosevelt’s Mount Hope.

Also of significance are materials related to the tennis careers of sisters Ellen Crosby Roosevelt and Grace Walton Roosevelt. Grace and Ellen were tennis champions in the United States and would rank in the sport nationally. This portion of the collection offers important and valuable documentation of early American tennis (1880s – 1900s) and the women who competed in the era.

There are also photographs in this collection, which include subjects ranging from the Roosevelt family, and the Rosedale property, to the picnic at FDR’s Top Cottage hosted by the President and First Lady for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: None

Acquisition Source: The papers were presented to the Library by Casey Catherine Simmons Clark, David Aspinwall Clark, and William Bedlow Clark

Acquisition Method: The papers were donated to the Library in 2021. Copyright interest was then assigned to the United States Government.

Related Materials:

Files related to the Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families can be found throughout collections such as the Roosevelt Family Papers, FDR’s Papers as President, FDR’s Personal Papers, the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, and the Edgewood Club Papers. Additionally, the FDR Library’s General Photograph Collection also contains related subjects such as the Town of Hyde Park, and family members such as Ellen Crosby Roosevelt, whose photos include subjects such as tennis. Files related to Helen Wilkinson Reynolds also reside outside the Rosedale Estate Papers and can be found throughout the President's Papers. These files contain useful information concerning papers from Rosedale, including those found in this collection.

Researchers should also consult the collection: “Roosevelt Family - Material Accumulated by George Roach for an Editorial Project, 1753-1963,” and its microfilms, as this collection contains copies of original documents that are found in the Rosedale Estate Papers and may contain documentation from the family not found elsewhere.

Furthermore, documents now part of the Rosedale Estate Papers, may have been previously copied for inclusion in the Roosevelt Family Papers.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby Family Papers

test This series includes Roosevelt family papers, as well as papers concerning the Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families. The bulk of the material consists of correspondence and legal documents, including wills for several members of the family, and correspondence concerning the inheritance of Rosedale and the sale of Mount Hope. There are also many business-related documents, such as a business ledger used by James Roosevelt (I) and later his great grand-daughter Ellen Crosby Roosevelt. There are also deeds, mortgages, and insurance documents concerning the Rosedale property and home. There is also a Roosevelt family Bible dated to 1760, which contains genealogical entries inside its cover. Researchers should note that the folder containing letters of James Roosevelt (II) dated 1858-1890 may have had order imposed on it by George Roach dating to his editorial project with the family’s papers.

Box 1

Clark, Appleton L. and Grace W. Roosevelt - Pages from Wedding Scrapbook, 1894-1896
Crosby, Ellen Murray - Invitation to Prince of Wales Ball, 1860
Roosevelt, Ellen Crosby - Poem: "The Columbia Crew", 1895
Roosevelt, Ellen Murray Crosby - Simple Will, April 8, 1916
Roosevelt, Grace Walton - Letter to her father John A. Roosevelt [from Grace Roosevelt Photo Album, Series 4], August 21, 1879
Roosevelt, Harriet Howland - Will, April 19, 1852
Roosevelt, Isaac - Financial Document Concerning Thomas Hunt, December 22, 1791
Roosevelt, Isaac - Will, September 27, 1794
Roosevelt, Dr. Isaac - Will, September 20, 1854
Roosevelt, James (I) - Letter from Mary Rebecca Aspinwall Roosevelt, September 18, 1828
Roosevelt, James (I) - Will, 1841-1844
Roosevelt, James (II) - Letters, 1858-1890
Roosevelt, James (II) - Will, April-May 1900
Roosevelt, John A. - Condolence Letters for his Mother's Death
Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from F.H. Weeks to John A. Roosevelt and others
Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from James Roosevelt (brother), 1865-1866
Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from Mary R.A. Roosevelt (mother), 1860s-1880s
Roosevelt, John A. - Misc. Correspondence
Roosevelt, John A. - Will, December 4, 1871
Roosevelt, John A. - Will, February 18, 1909
Roosevelt, Mary Rebecca Aspinwall - Final Wishes/Simple Will
Roosevelt, Mary Rebecca Aspinwall - Will, 1877-1882
Rosedale - Correspondence of the Roosevelt Family regarding inheritance of Rosedale, the sale of Mount Hope, and related subjects, 1864-1867
Rosedale - Property Deeds of Conveyance, 1803-1870
Rosedale - Inventory, 1931
Rosedale - Appraisal of Family Bibles, 1940
Rosedale - Family Donations to the FDR Library, 1940-1959
Rosedale - Roosevelt Family Genealogy
Rosedale - Newspaper Clippings and Printed Materials Concerning FDR
Rosedale - Map of Green-Wood Cemetery
Rosedale - C.H. Pinet - Point Etching of Notre Dame, Paris, France

Box 2

Rosedale - Roosevelt Family Bible [on loan - available for research], 1760
Rosedale - Business Ledger, 1815 - 1935

Series 2: Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Collection

test This series consists of one box of family papers that was reviewed for the Roosevelt family in December 1940, by the historian Helen Wilkinson Reynolds of Dutchess County, New York. No formal arrangement of documents appears to have been imposed by Reynolds. Papers in this series include correspondence and business records of Isaac Roosevelt (I), including during his time as a delegate to the New York State convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution. There is also correspondence of Dr. Isaac Roosevelt (II) and his son John Aspinwall Roosevelt, as well as other family members.

Box 3

Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Papers - Arrangement Overview, December 1940
Roosevelt, Isaac - General
Roosevelt, Isaac - Correspondence with Richard Varick, 1788-1789
Roosevelt, Isaac - Loan Contract of Thomas Hunt, 1767-1788
Roosevelt, James (I) - Correspondence and other materials, 1752-1827
Roosevelt, James (I) - Letter to Richard Varick, 1782
Roosevelt, Dr. Isaac - Correspondence, 1820-1846
Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence, 1809-1907
Roosevelt, John A. - Power of Attourney from his brother James, April 20, 1865
Roosevelt, John A. - Rosedale Property, 1906-1908
Roosevelt, Mary R. Aspinwall - Release/Permission to use Rosedale furnishings by her sons James and John Roosevelt, 1865
Roosevelt, Grace W. - Letter from Ellen C. Roosevelt, October 18, 1935
Roosevelt, Grace W. and Ellen C. - Rosedale Property Survey, 1935
Clark, Russell Crosby - Correspondence with FDR Library, 1955
Aspinwall Family Papers - Fragment
Reynolds, Helen Wilkinson - Correspondence and notes concerning Roosevelt Family
Rosedale - Article concerning John A. Roosevelt and the Mount Hope fire, The Sunday Courier (Poughkeepsie, NY), April 13, 1919
Rosedale - Miscellaneous family papers
Rosedale - Newspaper Clippings

Series 3: Tennis

test This series includes documentation that highlights the tennis careers of Grace and Ellen Roosevelt, who were amongst the earliest and very successful names in the sport of tennis in the United States. Materials include a scrapbook, newspaper clippings, and scorecards from the Roosevelts’ careers. Photographs concerning the subject of tennis from this collection appear in series 4.

Box 4

Rosedale - Tennis Scrapbook
Roosevelt, Grace W. and Ellen C. - Newspaper Clippings and Correspondence
Roosevelt, Grace W. and Ellen C. - Tennis Scores

Series 4: Photographs

test This series contains photographs and photo albums belonging to the family. Subjects range from Roosevelt and Clark family members, the tennis careers of Ellen and Grace Roosevelt, the Rosedale property, ice yachts owned by John A. Roosevelt, as well as the “Royal Picnic” at FDR’s Top Cottage in June 1939.