Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Munroe Family Papers
Date(s)
- 1903-1979 (Creation)
Extent
21 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ralph Middleton "Commodore" Munroe, avid yachtsman, successful businessman, and celebrated patriarch of the Munroe family, made Coconut Grove his home in the late 1800s. Munroe and his family moved to South Florida from Staten Island, New York, to provide a more beneficial environment for his wife, Eva Maelia Hewitt, who suffered from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, both his wife and daughter succumbed to illness and died shortly after their move to Miami.
Munroe subsequently split his time between Staten Island and the Grove, often staying at the Peacock family hotel, The Bay View House, later known as the Peacock Inn. Several years before the turn of the century he bought land recognized today as the Barnacle State Historic Park, where he built his permanent home. Munroe also founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, and through his continual enjoyment of sailing and boating life, met his second wife, Jessie Wirth. They had two children, Wirth and Patty.
The Commodore's passion for the sea was only matched by his interest in photographing. Munroe's constant recording of the beauty of Miami with his camera provides an invaluable and lasting visual record of the time and place. The Ralph M. Munroe Family Papers consists of letters, diaries, household accounts, journals, and photographs chronicling the activities of one of South Florida's earliest families. Among the holdings are, the typescript of the popular autobiography, The Commodore's Story, as well as diaries written by Patty Munroe detailing South Florida "happenings." Photographs offer at look at South Florida scenic sites during the first three decades of the twentieth century.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection includes correspondence, logbooks, photographs albums, slides, and diaries pertaining to various members of the Munroe Family who settled in Coconut Grove, Florida.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
The collection is open for research.
Physical access
Items from this collection are kept on-campus and may be requested from the first floor Kislak Center in the Otto G. Richter Library at University of Miami.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
University of Miami does not own copyright. It is incumbent on the user to obtain copyright from the original creator.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Ralph M. Munroe Family Papers, 1882-1995
Ralph M. Munroe Family Papers (Digital Collection)
The Commodore's Story: Early Miami History (Digital Exhibit)
Alan Crockwell collection, 1873-1996
Information about related materials is available at Everglades Digital Library : Everglades Biographies, Ralph Middleton Munroe http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/bios/munroe.htm.
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Munroe, Ralph, 1851-1933 (Subject)
- Munroe, Ralph, 1851-1933 -- Family (Subject)