Hill, Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor 1870-1961.

Dates:

Active 1739

Active 1995

Language: English, French, Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928),

Biographical notes:

Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor was born in Staten Island, New York, on April 11, 1870, to a wealthy family descended from early American colonists. She met Louis W. Hill, son of railroad baron James J. Hill, while living with her family in St. Paul, Minnesota. Maud began studying to become a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in New York in 1900 but ended her schooling when she became ill with typhoid later that year. She became engaged to Louis Hill in April of 1901 and they married at the home of her brother on June 5. After a trip through Europe the couple settled on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, later moving into a newly constructed house immediately next door to the James J. Hill residence.

Maud and Louis had four children, Louis Jr., Maud, Jerome, and Cortlandt, all born between 1902 and 1906. The family split their time between their homes on Summit Avenue in St. Paul and at the North Oaks family farm. Maud was heavily involved in charity work; she and Louis founded a family foundation, later known as the Northwest Area Foundation, and she was active in the Red Cross, the Colonial Dames of America, the Schubert Club, and the Church of St. John the Evangelist in St. Paul. The Hills frequently traveled to California, Glacier National Park in Montana, New York City, St. John River in Quebec, the Caribbean, and the British Isles and continental Europe; in later years Maud regularly visited France, where her son Jerome kept a home. Maud and Louis separated in 1934 after which she maintained her own home on Portland Avenue in St. Paul. Maud died on August 23, 1961 in St. Paul.

1870 Born April 11 in Staten Island, New York, to Cortlandt Mulcaster Taylor and Mary Beekman Foulke Taylor. 1888 Family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, when Mr. Taylor accepted the position of secretary of the St. Paul Real Estate Title Insurance Company. 1888 Joined the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist. 1899 Family returned to New York City. 1900 Began nursing school at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York in September, but quit after becoming ill with typhoid in December. 1901 Engagement to Louis W. Hill announced on April 10. 1901 Marriage to Louis W. Hill June 5, at the home of Maud's brother Walter Taylor, 9 East 18st Street, New York, New York. 1901 Maud and Louis tour Europe on a honeymoon trip, returning to St. Paul in September. 1901 Maud and Louis moved from James J. Hill's home at 240 Summit Avenue in St. Paul to a rented house at 217 Summit Avenue. 1902 Birth of first child, Louis W. Hill, Jr., May 19. 1903 Birth of second child and only daughter, Maud Van Cortlandt Hill, June 1. 1903 Moved in December into a newly constructed home at 260 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, next door to the home of James J. Hill. 1905 Birth of third child, James Jerome Hill, II, March 2; he was always known as Jerome. 1906 Birth of fourth and final child, Cortlandt Taylor Hill, March 31. 1917 Organized a Red Cross chapter at the Church of St. John the Evangelist. 1931 Awarded the "National Patron of Honor" certificate by the Disabled American Veteran's of the World War in recognition of her work with the American Red Cross. 1934 Separated from Louis W. Hill and moved into her own home at 475 Portland Avenue, St. Paul. 1940 Purchased winter home, "Stonehill," in Palm Springs, California. 1948 Husband Louis W. Hill died April 27. 1961 Died August 23 in St. Paul, Minnesota at the age of 91.

From the guide to the Maud Van Cortlandt Taylor Hill papers, 1777-1986., (Minnesota Historical Society)