Our Local History web galleries are digital exhibits pertaining to the history of Roslyn. While some are standalone exhibits, others have been created in conjunction with other forms of research, including articles, video presentations, and other media available on our subject-specific Historical Portals.
William Cullen Bryant – The Bryant Family
In addition to photos of himself and his home, our collection includes images of William Cullen Bryant’s family. This includes his wife, Frances “Fanny” Fairchild Bryant, daughters Julia Bryant and Frances “Fanny” Maria (Bryant), and his son-in-law Parke Godwin...
Read More
William Cullen Bryant – Faces of Bryant
Many depictions of our library namesake exist in various forms – paintings, drawings, engravings, sculpture, and photographs...
Read More
William Cullen Bryant – Cedarmere Estate
Located on Bryant Avenue in Roslyn Harbor, Cedarmere Estate is the home of William Cullen Bryant where he lived until his death in 1878. It is a short distance from the former site of Bryant Hall, the original Bryant Library...
Read More
Marcellena Pearsall’s Album
Marcellena Hicks Pearsall (1868 – 1964) was born in Brooklyn and moved to Roslyn with her family at the age of ten. Her personal photo album was donated to the Local History Collection by her grandson, Bryan Pearsall. While some family...
Read More
Everyday People
For at least two centuries, African Americans have been an integral part of the greater Roslyn community. Though they have always been a small segment of the population, their lives, particularly throughout the nineteenth century, were closely intertwined with and...
Read More
Eugene & Marcellena Pearsall
Eugene and Marcellena Pearsall were married circa 1888 and had eight children, Ethel, Eugenie, Gertrude, Arnold, Marjorie, Hilda, Myrtle, and Arrell. The youngest of his siblings, Arrell wrote extensively about his family in his autobiography, THIS IS MY LIFE...
Read More
Christopher Morley – Works on Paper
Though he did not consider himself to be a visual artist, items from our Christopher Morley Collection suggest that his talent was in his ability to conjure whimsy with simple drawings, marginalia, and portraits of his friends and other members...
Read More
Christopher Morley – The Morley Family
The gallery below includes photographs of the Morley Family, including his mother, Lilian Janet Bird, brothers Felix and Frank, wife Helen Fairchild Morley, and his children Christopher Jr., Louise, Helen, and Blythe...
Read More
Christopher Morley – The Millpond Playhouse
Christopher Morley’s intersection with the history of the Roslyn War Memorial Building, the structure which currently houses The Bryant Library, is most marked by his involvement when it was known as The Millpond Playhouse. Though it had previously been known as the...
Read More
Christopher Morley – Life In Roslyn
Throughout his time living in Roslyn, Morley was an ever-present member of the community and often appeared at various events such as the William Cullen Bryant Centennial at the old Bryant Library. His writing studio, the Knothole, was built on...
Read More
Arrell Pearsall – Activities & Hobbies
Throughout his autobiography, Arrell Pearsall details the various activities he enjoyed during his life. This includes poultry raising, sports, and riflery. The gallery below features photos associated with those activities...
Read More
Arrell & Marion Pearsall Family
E. Arrell Pearsall (1908 – 2003) married Marion Peters Pearsall (1920 – 1987) in 1941. Both born and raised in Roslyn, they lived for the first few years of their marriage with Arrell’s parents, Eugene and Marcellena Pearsall on Power...
Read More
Load More
