Legendary naturalist and Orient native son Roy Latham spent decades examining the natural world of the East End, amassing what’s thought to be the most extensive natural history collection ever assembled by one individual. In 2023, Latham’s daughter Diana donated her father’s papers to OHS, which include his Journal (1902-1978), correspondence, field notes, and more.
Click here to view a video of John Holzapfel’s 5/24/2025 talk in the Old Point Schoolhouse entitled, “Roy Latham’s Unpublished Journals (1902-1978).”
Click here to listen to a interview of John Holzapfel on WLIW-FM (NPR Public Radio), July 18, 2025. Note that the interview starts @ 22:10.
Download Roy Latham’s Transcribed Journals
You can download* the transcribed versions of Roy Latham’s original journals by clicking the link below.
The journals have been loosely transcribed into a Word document, allowing for easy text searches. During transcription, many obvious spelling and grammatical errors were corrected; however, some misspelled or illegible words remain unchanged or are marked with “???”. Please note that some genus and species names were difficult to decipher; in such cases, Latham’s original spelling was retained without verification. Additionally, scientific and common names may have changed over time.
This transcription is preliminary. If you discover any errors—especially in genus and species names—please let us know by emailing latham_corrections@ohsny.org .
If you wish to compare the transcriptions (including text or charts) to the original journal entries, please contact the archivist at ohsarchives@optonline.net .
In the future, updated versions of the journals as well as additional materials, including Latham’s notes, correspondence, and photographs, will be made available.
If you quote or reference any part of the journals, please credit: Courtesy of Oysterponds Historical Society – Roy Latham’s Journals.
Click here to access the Journals.
Acknowledgements – The following people and organizations have been critical in bringing these journals to the public: Diana Latham, Oysterponds Historical Society staff, Eric Lamont, The Robins Island Foundation, Sarah Leety-Stevens, Luiba Kalynchuk, Kate Criss, Daniel Ferro.
* Note that the document is huge (i.e. 2,645 pages); please be patient when downloading.