Monday, September 17, 2012

The Mackay Family Mausoleum

The Mackay family mausoleum built for John William Mackay (1831-1902) after the death of his eldest son John (Willie) and designed by John R. Lowe in 1895 in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.  Also here is John Sr.'s younger son Clarence (1874-1938), owner of 'Harbor Hill' in Roslyn.  Click HERE to see the Mackay mausoleum on google earth and HERE on bing.





14 comments:

archibuff said...

FYI: While Green-wood usually holds Saturday tours of their grounds and monuments, this spectacular mausoleum and countless others are open for viewing during Open House New York Weekends and this years event is being held October 6th and 7th. Countless historic sites and normally inaccessible structures and interiors throughout the city are open to the public. A most do if you're in the area. Just check back on their site for this years selections.

http://www.openhouseworldwide.org/openhouse/newyork.php

Old Grey Dog said...

Zach . . . There is a small stone at the rear of the Mackay mausoleum ~ visible in the fourth view. Did you notice it while there, and if so, can you tell us what is enscribed upon it ?

The Down East Dilettante said...

well, one cannot deny that it is impressive

Zach L. said...

It was a headstone for a gentleman with the last name Hungerford...the H. in Clarence H. Mackay. I think it was for someone who perhaps died in WWI....family but not family enough to get inside I guess.

Zach L. said...

I believe it to be the stone of Daniel E. Hungerford (1832-1896), a Lt. Col. in the Civil War and related to the Mackays through John Sr.'s wife, Marie Louise Hungerford.

Anonymous said...

NSP-

Impressive. Nice to see some Mackay things are still here (Happy House, Dairyman's cottage). Destruction of Harbor Hill was tragic but considering the fate of many estates of that magnitude and the family's diminished fortune-not shocking. It is less understandable , however why they made no effort to save John Mackay's farmhouse residence on Glen Cove Road in the early 60's and it was certainly appalling that they recently sold the now demolished, centuries old, magnificent and manageable Underhill house on Factory Pond Road without any covenants.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Louise Mackay's father was a Col. Daniel Hungerford. The dates on this stone would suggest that this was her brother?

The Down East Dilettante said...

The Mackay's silver service, for those who aren't familiar with it, was commissioned from Tiffany's using half a ton of Comstock silver (how much does your ancestral silver service weigh? After reading this, I took my silver chest, with 19th century Gorham service for 12 to the scale and it weighed in at 18 pounds, just for point of comparison) It was one of the largest and most elaborate such services ever created. It survived in family hands for a long time, but in the last couple of decades, pieces have appeared on the market. The punch bowl from the service was sold at Christies in 1998 for 222,000.

More about the service here: http://www.mines.unr.edu/museum/silver_collection.html

and here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35619509@N03/3304752410/

The Down East Dilettante said...

correction 22.3 lbs.

At any rate, the comparison between weight of an average service and the MacKays conveys the magnitude of the latter.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. While economic pressures doomed Harbor Hill it is nice to see such realities have not altered this solemn resting place. The bronze work is impressive.
Would recommend the "open house" event not only for Mackay's cyrpt but gems like Brooklyn's Soldier's and Sailor's Arch and Ft Greene's Prison Ship Martyrs Monument all within close proximity by subway to GreenWood.

Lodi said...

Here is a link to a story and photos of the Mackay's Mansion in Virgina City, NV. Ihave been by this house many times on vacation and only today put the two together after DED's comment about the silver service. There is another link to the house but for some reason I couldn't pull it up.

http://losangelesparanormalassociation.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/virginia-city-nv-mackay-mansion/

Mar gar et said...

Harbor Hill was not the "happy house" that Clarence wanted to survive after Katherine's death, IMHO, since she really was the catalyst behind its design. He sold his race horses, and was raising his 3 kids alone after Katherine left. That house probably represented many sad days (although he was "dating" Anna...). He eventually went broke, which is odd, considering he had it all at one time. And, having to be bailed out by his once-despised son-in-law, tsk, tsk! More here about his horses:

http://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-2012-fateful-purchase-mare-impacts-racing

Mar gar et said...

John William MacKay (owner of the Nevada house) had a son that passed away as a child, who was Clarence's brother. Not sure where the son died. It may have been the Nevada house, but I read somewhere he died in a traffic accident.

Mar gar et said...

Welp, wrong about John W. MacKay's firstborn son dying in the Nevada house. He died in London in 1895 at age 25 due to a horse racing accident.
Did their original house burn during the Virginia City fire of 1875?
In 1876, the family commissions Tiffany's to make a silver tea serve comprising of 1,250 pieces which took 2 years to complete.