A Pictorial History of Minnie's Land Minnie's Land, or Minniesland, was the name of the New York estate that John James Audubon and his wife, Lucy Bakewell Audubon, built for themselves with the funds they were realizing from subscription sales of Audubon's octavo edition of The Birds of America. The name derives from a Scottish endearment for mother that Audubon's sons, Victor Gifford and John Woodhouse, had begun using during the family's residence in Scotland in the 1830s when Audubon was collaborating with James MacGillivray on his Ornithological Biography. The estate was on Manhattan Island, north of New- York (as New York City was then called), and can be seen on a map published by Matthew Dripps in 1851, the year of Audubon's death.
Below are some early prints and photos showing the Audubon home, from the days when the Audubon Family lived in the house to a time in the 1920s when the house, much altered, was being slated for demolition.
The extended Audubon family, including Victor and John Woodhouse's families, lived at Minnie's Land from 1842 to 1863. These two decades were marked by many significant family events, including the continuing publication of several octavo editions of The Birds of America, the publication of the Imperial Folio edition of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845-1848), and the continuing publication of octavo editions of The Quadrupeds of North America. In 1858, John Woodhouse Audubon began publication of a second folio edition of The Birds of America with the help of the lithographer, Julius Bien. The Bien edition was discontinued in 1860 as a result of financial difficulties. The last decade of the family's residence was marked by frequent tragedy, including the long illness and death of John James in 1851, and the early deaths of Victor Gifford Audubon in 1860 and John Woodhouse Audubon in 1862. In 1863, Lucy was forced to sell the property in order to satisfy family debts and to help support the families of her sons.
We have corresponded with sisters Alice Ross and Kathleen McKenna, two members of the McGrath Family, the last family to live in the Audubon house. Alice has written a short description of the family's experience in the house that she was kind enough to share: Many of our ancestors, all members of the McGrath family, were the last people to live in what had been the home of John James Audubon in New York City’s Washington Heights, Minniesland. The McGraths took
up residence sometime after 1910. The elders were our great grandparents,
Patrick McGrath and his wife, Margaret Flynn McGrath. The circumstances
regarding their living in the home are not clear; they were possibly caretakers
or simply renters. The McGraths had emigrated from At one time, many McGraths lived within the rambling structure which had been divided into apartments. McGraths died there, and McGraths were born there. One of those babies was our mother, Helen McCullough. Although it was little more than an aged house, she and her cousins often referred to it as “Audubon’s Mansion.” Quite a few McGrath
birth and death records, military documents and censuses establish them as
living at 4 Audubon Park. We have ascertained #4 was Audubon’s home, as one
the residents achieved infamy. A biography of Audubon describes our great uncle
as ‘a railroad worker named McGrath…” and goes on to mention how, on the
walls in his apartment, he painted and wallpapered over drawings and paintings
of birds Audubon had created. McGraths lived in the house up until it was in the hands of the final owner, or scheduled to be demolished. The individual families would relocate to various apartments in the city. Our mother recalled having to dispose of much of her grandmother’s china, which had been brought to New York from Ireland. And so a sad note closed the story of the last family to inhabit Minniesland, “Audubon’s Mansion.” Through a tip from Alan Gehret (now director of the Audubon Museum in Henderson KY), we located an illustrated article in the February 1932 Bird-Lore that includes one of the last photos of the John James Audubon home before it was moved from its original site. Below are scans of the three pages of the article, written by Harold E. Decker, who stepped in to save the house just as demolition had begun. According to the Bird-Lore article, the house was moved to New York City property at 161st Street, west of Riverside Drive, and work on the foundation was "already well advanced." The bare outlines of the see-saw fight to preserve the house can be found in the New York Times Index covering the period of October 1931 to January 1932. On December 2, 1931, the Times reported the beginning of wrecking, but just four days later, the Times reported that the house had been saved and moved to a nearby park. Subsequent mentions in the Index are too sketchy to draw conclusions about what happened to the house; we hope further research will reveal its ultimate fate. What is there now, where the Audubon family once lived? Visitor Lou Claudio (who lived for many years in a building located on the site of the Audubon home at Minnie's Land), has kindly provided us with some photos. The turn-of-the-century apartment buildings, river views, and areas of green are typical of Washington Heights *An extensive, but unsuccessful, attempt was made to determine the legal status of the material from Bird-Lore. It is thought to be in the public domain, and is posted with the sole intention of adding to historical knowledge. minniesland.com, LLC is responsible for the use of this material. Sincere thanks to David Rumsey and Lou Claudio for giving us permission to post their materials here, and thanks to Bill Steiner and Tom Blanton for items concerning Minnie's Land.
Last updated 02.01.08 |
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