Kirk Munroe

Kirk Munroe (September 15, 1850 – June 16, 1930) was an American writer and conservationist.

Kirk Munroe
Born(1850-09-15)September 15, 1850
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
DiedJune 16, 1930(1930-06-16) (aged 79)
Orlando, Florida
Occupationwriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1876 to 1905
GenreChildren's novels
Signature

Biography

Born Charles Kirk Munroe in a log cab near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin,[1][2] Munroe was the son of Charles and Susan (Hall) Munroe. His youth was spent on the frontier, after which his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he attended school until he was sixteen. He publicly dropped "Charles" from his name in 1883.[3]

In 1876, Kirk Munroe was hired as a reporter for the New York Sun. Three years later he became the first editor of Harper's Young People magazine;[2] he resigned in 1881. From 1879 to 1884, he was the commodore of New York Canoe club. During this time he helped found the League of American Wheelmen with Charles E. Pratt on May 31, 1880.[2][4] Munroe was the Wheelmen's first Commander.[5]

He married Mary Barr, daughter of Amelia E. Barr on September 15, 1883.[2] The couple settled in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida in 1886.[6] Mary accompanied him on several cruises on the Allapata, a thirty-five foot sharpie-ketch sailboat designed by Ralph Middleton Munroe. While in Florida, Munroe became a noted member of the Florida Audubon Society, and recommended a family friend Guy Bradley to the position as game warden in southern Florida. Bradley was later killed by plume hunters while on duty in the Everglades. Munroe built a tennis court on his property. It was the first tennis court in Miami-Dade county.[7] Munroe helped establish what is today called Ransom Everglades School.[8]

After Mary died in September 1922, he married his second wife, Mabel Stearns, in 1924.[2] Kirk Munroe died in Orlando, Florida on June 16, 1930 at the age of 79.[1][2] He was buried next to his first wife, Mary at Woodlawn Park Cemetery in Miami.[9]

Legacy

The city of Miami's only tennis park is named Kirk Munroe Park and is located at 3101 Florida Avenue in Coconut Grove.[10][11] The Library of Congress holds the papers of Kirk Munroe.[12]

Bibliography
  • Wakulla (1886)
  • The Flamingo Feather (1887)
  • Derrick Sterling (1888)
  • Chrystal Jack & Co and Delta Bixby (1889)
  • The Golden Days of '49 (1889)
  • Dorymates (1890)
  • Under Orders (1890)
  • Prince Dusty (1891)
  • Campmates (1891)
  • Canoemates (1892)
  • Cab and Caboose (1892)
  • Raftmates (1893)
  • The White Conquerors (1893)
  • The Coral Ship (1893)
  • The Fur-Seal's Tooth (1894)
  • Big Cypress (1894)
  • Snow Shoes and Sledges (1895)
  • At War with Pontiac (1895)
  • Rick Dale (1896)
  • Through Swamp and Glade (1896)
  • The Painted Desert (1897)
  • With Crockett and Bowie (1897)
  • Ready Rangers (1897)
  • The Copper Princess (1898)
  • In Private Waters (1898)
  • Shine Terrill (1899)
  • Forward March (1899)
  • Midshipman Stuart (1899)
  • Brethren of the Coast (1900)
  • Under the Great Bear (1900)
  • The Belt of Seven Totems (1901)
  • A Son of Satsuma (1901)
  • The Blue Dragon (1905)
  • For the Mikado, or A Japanese Middy in Action (1905)

References
Notes
  1. "Kirk Munroe, Author and Explorer, Is Dead". The Tampa Times. June 17, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Kirk Munroe's Death Removes Miami Pioneer". The Miami News. June 17, 1930. p. 3. Retrieved November 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. A Lost "Psyche": Kirk Munroe's Log of a 1,600 Mile Canoe Cruise in Florida Waters, 1881-1882; Edited By IRVING A. LEONARD (PDF).
  4. Oliver, Smith Hempstone; Berkebile, Donald H. (1974). "Wheels and Wheeling: The Smithsonian Cycle Collection". Smithsonian Institution Press. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  5. Vaux, C. Bower (1887). "1879 - 1883" (PDF). History of American Canoeing. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. Leonard 1975. p. 27
  7. McIver 1987. p. 15
  8. Munroe 1930. p. 152.
  9. Grove Antiquarian: Kirk Munroe Time Line
  10. City of Miami Parks
  11. New Times - Best tennis park 2011
  12. Kitchens 2011
Bibliography
  • Kitchens, Allen H. (2011), Kirk Munroe Papers / Library of Congress, retrieved Oct 11, 2012
  • Leonard, Irving A. The Florida Adventures of Kirk Munroe. Chuluota, FL: Mickler House, 1975.
  • McIver, Stuart. One Hundred Years on Biscayne Bay. Coconut Grove, FL: Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, 1987.
  • Munroe, Ralph Middleton and Gilpin, Vincent. The Commodore's Story. (New York): Ives Washburn, 1930.

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