The Bryant Library in Roslyn recently reissued their 2021 short documentary feature “The Two Mrs Mackays,” which chronicles the lives of Katherine Duer and Anna Case, the wives of Clarence Mackay of Harbor Hill.
Carol Clarke and Ariel Morabito of the Bryant Library Local History Collection provided research and narration for the short film using scrapbooks, pictures and other records that relatives and friends of “the two Mrs Mackays” donated to the library over the years.
Duer and Case, who lived at Mackay’s since demolished Harbor Hill estate, captured the public’s imagination in contrasting ways.
“They’re both really extraordinary,” Morabito said.
Duer, born in Manhattan in 1878, came from a British aristocracy background and married Mackay in 1898. While living at Harbor Hill, Duer always stayed the talk of the town by showcasing her outfits in detailed drawings and journaling her outings at nearby charity balls and social events in local newspapers.
Besides her perpetual socialite status, Duer supported social causes by becoming the first woman to serve on the Roslyn Board of Education in 1905 and championed the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Before Duer became vocally active in the women’s rights movement, many looked down on it as a low-class struggle, but by bringing her upper-class femininity to the cause, the documentary said Duer added a new life to the movement.
While Duer made a good name for herself, a scandal broke throughout Roslyn when she left her husband for the doctor who treated his throat cancer.
Mackay would later marry Case, an accomplished soprano with the Metropolitan Opera, in 1931. Unlike Duer’s old-money background, Case built her way up from poverty in South Branch, New Jersey, and became the first member of the Metropolitan Opera to train in the United States rather than Europe.
Morabito said Case proudly showcased her patriotism and would often appear at events to sing the Star-Spangled Banner before it became the national anthem. Duer recorded numerous songs throughout her career and partnered with Thomas Edison to advertise his latest phonograph technology.
Case also documented her adventures through life and published recipes in local newspapers. To Morabito, her rise to national stardom mirrors modern celebrity culture.
“She was like an influencer,” Morabito said. “She would have had an Instagram just like everyone else [now] and would have probably been on it and doing very similar things.”
While Duer died in 1930, Case lived until her death in 1984 at the age of 96. Since the Bryant Library’s history collection began in 1953, Morabito said they have been collecting any documents and personal belongings of Roslyn’s residents that capture historical moments.
The Bryant Library’s Local History Collection is located in the Bryant Room, and is open Mondays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the first Saturday of each month from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To watch “The Two Mrs Mackays” and other mini-documentaries about Roslyn’s history, visit the Bryant Library’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@thebryantlibrary5650.
