Rosedale Estate Papers | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
Collection Overview
Title: Rosedale Estate Papers
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
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Rosedale Estate Papers contain historical manuscript materials, ranging from the 18th to the 20th 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.
Collection Historical Note
The Rosedale Estate Papers are centered around the homestead named Rosedale, in Hyde Park, New York, with its contributors largely the members of the Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families who resided or were related to residents of this property.
The property was purchased by Dr. Isaac Roosevelt in 1832, followed soon after by the construction of a home. Isaac, and his wife Mary Rebecca Aspinwall, would raise their family of two sons, James Roosevelt and John Aspinwall Roosevelt, at Rosedale. The estate was acquired by John in 1863, upon the death of his father, Dr. Roosevelt. His mother Mary, continued to reside at Rosedale, until her death in 1886. John and his wife, Ellen Murray Crosby, would live at Rosedale until their deaths in 1909, and 1928 respectively. During their period of residence there, John and Ellen would raise two daughters, Grace Walton Roosevelt, and Ellen Crosby Roosevelt. Grace and Ellen would become tennis champions in the United States and would rank in the sport nationally. Their victories included the Women’s Singles title, won by Ellen, and the Women’s Doubles title, won by both sisters, at the U.S. National Championships (U.S. Open) in 1890. Ellen would also win the Mixed Doubles title along with partner Clarence Hobart, at the 1893 U.S. National Championships. Ellen would be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1975. Rosedale, would host significant events in the family’s history, including the wedding of Grace Walton Roosevelt to Appleton LeSure Clark in 1895.
Rosedale was located approximately 2 miles south of Springwood, the home and property of James Roosevelt, John Aspinwall Roosevelt’s older brother. James’ son, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the President of the United States.
Upon the death of John Roosevelt in 1909, ownership of Rosedale would ultimately pass to his daughter, Ellen Crosby Roosevelt, until her death in 1954. The property would be subsequently reduced by sale and subdivision, but the home remains and is largely intact. In 1993, the Rosedale home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Administrative Information
Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
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, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers. Additionally, the FDR Library’s General Photograph Collection includes related content within 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
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby Family Papers],
[Series 2: Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Collection],
[Series 3: Tennis],
[Series 4: Photographs],
[All]
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Series 1: Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby Family Papers
- This series includes Roosevelt family papers, as well as papers concerning the Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby families. The bulk of the materials concern 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. 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.
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Box 1
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Clark, Appleton L. and Grace W. Roosevelt - Pages from Wedding Scrapbook, 1894-1896
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Crosby, Ellen Murray - Invitation to Prince of Wales Ball, 1860
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Roosevelt, Ellen Crosby - Poem: "The Columbia Crew", 1895
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Roosevelt, Ellen Murray Crosby - Simple Will, April 8, 1916
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Roosevelt, Grace Walton - Letter to her father John A. Roosevelt [from Grace Roosevelt Photo Album, Series 4], August 21, 1879
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Roosevelt, Harriet Howland - Will, April 19, 1852
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Roosevelt, Isaac - Financial Document Concerning Thomas Hunt, December 22, 1791
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Roosevelt, Isaac - Will, September 27, 1794
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Roosevelt, Dr. Isaac - Will, September 20, 1854
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Roosevelt, James (I) - Letter from Mary Rebecca Aspinwall Roosevelt, September 18, 1828
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Roosevelt, James (I) - Will, 1841-1844
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Roosevelt, James (II) - Letters, 1858-1890
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Roosevelt, James (II) - Will, April-May 1900
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Roosevelt, John A. - Condolence Letters for his Mother's Death
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Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from F.H. Weeks to John A. Roosevelt and others
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Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from James Roosevelt (brother), 1865-1866
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Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence from Mary R.A. Roosevelt (mother), 1860s-1880s
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Roosevelt, John A. - Misc. Correspondence
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Roosevelt, John A. - Will, December 4, 1871
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Roosevelt, John A. - Will, February 18, 1909
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Roosevelt, Mary Rebecca Aspinwall - Final Wishes/Simple Will
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Roosevelt, Mary Rebecca Aspinwall - Will, 1877-1882
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Rosedale - Correspondence of the Roosevelt Family regarding inheritance of Rosedale, the sale of Mount Hope, and related subjects, 1864-1867
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Rosedale - Property Deeds of Conveyance, 1803-1870
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Rosedale - Inventory, 1931
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Rosedale - Appraisal of Family Bibles, 1940
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Rosedale - Family Donations to the FDR Library, 1940-1959
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Rosedale - Roosevelt Family Genealogy
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Rosedale - Newspaper Clippings and Printed Materials Concerning FDR
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Rosedale - Map of Green-Wood Cemetery
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Rosedale - C.H. Pinet - Point Etching of Notre Dame, Paris, France
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Box 2
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Series 2: Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Collection
- This series consists of one box of family papers that was reviewed and curated 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.
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Box 3
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Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Papers - Arrangement Overview, December 1940
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Roosevelt, Isaac - General
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Roosevelt, Isaac - Correspondence with Richard Varick, 1788-1789
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Roosevelt, Isaac - Loan Contract of Thomas Hunt, 1767-1788
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Roosevelt, James (I) - Correspondence and other materials, 1752-1827
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Roosevelt, James (I) - Letter to Richard Varick, 1782
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Roosevelt, Dr. Isaac - Correspondence, 1820-1846
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Roosevelt, John A. - Correspondence, 1809-1907
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Roosevelt, John A. - Power of Attourney from his brother James, April 20, 1865
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Roosevelt, John A. - Rosedale Property, 1906-1908
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Roosevelt, Mary R. Aspinwall - Release/Permission to use Rosedale furnishings by her sons James and John Roosevelt, 1865
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Roosevelt, Grace W. - Letter from Ellen C. Roosevelt, October 18, 1935
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Roosevelt, Grace W. and Ellen C. - Rosedale Property Survey, 1935
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Clark, Russell Crosby - Correspondence with FDR Library, 1955
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Aspinwall Family Papers - Fragment
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Reynolds, Helen Wilkinson - Correspondence and notes concerning Roosevelt Family
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Rosedale - Article concerning John A. Roosevelt and the Mount Hope fire, The Sunday Courier (Poughkeepsie, NY), April 13, 1919
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Rosedale - Miscellaneous family papers
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Rosedale - Newspaper Clippings
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Series 3: Tennis
- 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’ career. Photographs concerning the subject of tennis from this collection appear in series 4.
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Series 4: Photographs
- 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.
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Roosevelt, Aspinwall, Clark, and Crosby Family Papers],
[Series 2: Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Collection],
[Series 3: Tennis],
[Series 4: Photographs],
[All]