Clementine Lockwood Peterson, Her Life and Extraordinary Legacy

At this time of year it is fitting that we honor Clementine Lockwood Peterson, born June 3, 1903. Her extraordinary legacy to the Greenwich Library is well worth remembering. The blog post reprinted below and taken from the Greenwich Library Oral Project’s book The Lady in the Portrait was first published September 24, 2013. The book, comprised of eleven interviews, tells the story of this remarkable woman whose multi-million dollar bequest to the library remains unparalleled.

   

Below is the original 2013 post: 

There are three portraits hanging in the Greenwich Library, two on the wall to the left of the main entrance and the third in the listening area of the music room on the second floor. Regular visitors will no doubt pass these portraits many times, perhaps glancing at them hurriedly, momentarily wondering why these almost “homey” images are on display in their town library. The two on the first floor are of Mr. and Mrs. J. Whitney Peterson, and the third is of their son, Jonathan. Their family story in many ways reads like a fairy tale of good fortune and graceful living, but it is also a tale of great sorrow. Ultimately though, it is a story of love and generosity. And the lady in the portrait on the first floor of the library, Clementine Lockwood Peterson, is the subject of the Oral History Project’s latest book fittingly entitled, The Lady in the Portrait. Clementine Lockwood Peterson.

Recently, the Oral History Project hosted a reception to launch the book about Mrs. Peterson’s, her life and her legacy to the Greenwich Library. The reception was not only in recognition of this accomplished and generous woman, but was also to honor those narrators who gave of their time to make this book a reality. 

Born June 3, 1903 in Greenwich, Clementine Lockwood Peterson spent her early life in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She attended prominent schools in the East before graduating from Bennett Junior College, a finishing school, in Millbrook, New York. Then, in 1925, she 

J. Whitney Peterson

married tobacco heir, J. Whitney Peterson, later settling into the Zaccheus Mead Estate in Greenwich where they lived for many years. Mr. Peterson later became president of the United States Tobacco Company. The couple had only one child, Jonathan, of the portrait on the second floor, who was known as Jay.

Mrs. Peterson, who in many ways led a charmed life, came to know tragedy and heartbreak. Jay died in an automobile accident in 1957 at the age of twenty-three and then, just two years later, her husband died. In 1992, after her death on the eleventh of April of that year, to honor her husband and son, Clementine Lockwood Peterson, through her attorneys, left a bequest of $25 million to the Greenwich Library. Her wish was for the funds to be distributed by trustees through a foundation established in her will. The Clementine Lockwood Peterson Foundation was created primarily to benefit two main areas in the library, business and music, in honor of her husband who had led one of the nation’s largest companies and in honor of their son whose great passion had been music. 

Jonathan "Jay" Peterson

The bequest remains the largest ever made to a local library in the United States.

After much deliberation and with deep commitment to honor the terms of the bequest, the Peterson Wing, which added 32,000 square feet to the library and would house, among other subjects, the library’s business and music collections, officially opened its doors on June 12, 1999.

Although she had been born in Greenwich and had spent many years in town, Mrs. Peterson was not a well-known presence at the library. In fact, when news of the bequest was announced, few among the library trustees knew who she was. Many of the narrators in the interviews that make up the book who did know her comment on her penchant for privacy, but she was at the same time an active member of the community. In fact, what emerges from the interviews is a woman with many sides. At various times during her years in Greenwich, she was an active volunteer in local organizations. She was an avid dog breeder and owner of show dogs, literally having written the book on Keeshonds, her favorite breed. In addition to writing, she was a skilled sculptor of animals, primarily of birds and dogs. 

In her personal life, she was the formal Mrs. Peterson, the informal Mrs. Pete, and the familiar Auntie Clem. There is the proper, businesslike mistress of a large estate and the fun-loving hostess with a playful sense of humor. But most poignantly perhaps, there is the observant and caring benefactor who sees need and intervenes to provide help. 

But the light must have gone out of the life of this accomplished and generous woman when she lost in quick succession her son and her husband. A year after her husband’s death, she sold the estate. She then lived for many years in a house on Taconic Road. Finally, she moved to a retirement home, Crosslands, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania where she died in 1992, but not before she meticulously set up one last act of incredible generosity. And the town of Greenwich will forever be the beneficiary of her largess. 

The Lady in the Portrait is a compendium of eleven interviews. They include interviews with three trustees of the Peterson Foundation, past members of the board of trustees of the Greenwich Library and of the Friends of Greenwich Library. Also included are interviews of former employees of the library and an interview with a daughter of a family who were employees of the Petersons at their Greenwich estate. The book is divided into three sections: “The Lady,” “The Bequest,” and “The Legacy.” 

The Lady in the Portrait is available through the Oral History Project office and can be purchased for $18. Call the project office at 203.622.7945 for further information. The book is also part of the library’s circulating collection. 

"Aunt Mary" of the Bush Family: Her life, the Bushes, and Her Nephew, President George H.W. Bush

The following is contributed by Greenwich Library Oral History Project volunteer Joseph Campbell.

This month we are taking a look at the interview of another member of the Bush family, Mary Carter Walker. Mary was married to George H. Walker, Jr., 

George H. Walker, Jr.
Photo: Wikipedia

brother of Dorothy Walker Bush, who was the mother of President George H.W. Bush.

It’s a long and complicated family tree, but suffice it to say, Mary Carter Walker was affectionately known in the Bush family as “Aunt Mary.” And that is who she was.

This interview was completed in 1991 by Greenwich Library Oral History Project volunteer Esther H. Smith.

Mary was born in St. Louis in 1905 and first met her future husband there when they were children. As she describes it, the meeting was not love at first sight. In fact it was not until later when they were in Maine as teenagers that things began to change. His mother came home one day and said, “I met the perfect girl for you today.” When he asked whom that might be, she replied, “Mary Carter,” to which he responded, “Oh Ma.” In spite of this rather inauspicious beginning, they met again soon thereafter at a dance, and their romance blossomed, mother vindicated.

After they married, they moved to Greenwich when her husband's father became the head of his brokerage firm, G.H Walker and Company. Prior to Greenwich, they lived for a short while on Long Island. Mary claims they eventually moved to Greenwich because of the Bush family. They built their own home in town and at the time of the interview had lived there for 55 years.

Mary also reminisces about their “baseball years.” Her husband was an owner of the Mets. While Mary initially disliked baseball, she eventually was introduced to the players and became a huge fan, even going on several road trips with them.

Mary also shares insights about living in Kennebunkport in Maine, remembering the future president when he was a child. She, as others have noted, mentions George Bush’s kindness toward others, especially toward his brother for whom he had great affection. She remembers fondly how the Bush brothers were close with their sister Nancy as well and how they played together, frequently getting into mischief. 

Bush Family Picnic
Photo: Wikipedia

In addition, she reminisces about the fabled Bush family athleticism, including that of George Bush’s mother, claiming it was Dorothy who spurred the boys’ interest in athletics. Mary also goes into George Bush’s years at Andover and then into his World War II experiences in the Navy, noting his becoming, at the time, the youngest Naval Aviator. She also recounts how nervous the family was when George was shot down and presumed to be missing—and how relieved they were to learn he had been rescued.

After coming came back from the war, the future president went to Yale. When Mary is asked about his marriage, she goes into detail about George and Barbara having been in love during the war. Their romance went back to their having first met when they were very young. Mary remembers their meeting at a dance in Rye, New York, but history has it they met at the Greenwich Country Club. She recounts how they were both very athletic, Barbara, a tomboy, and a good match for the handsome athlete, George. The young family flourished, but those early years were marred, tragically, by the loss of the their young daughter Robin to leukemia.

In addition to retelling family stories, Mary shares insights into the Bush family move to Texas to become involved in the oil business; she discusses President George H.W. Bush’s service at the United Nations and his political losses before winning the presidency. 

But what also makes the interview so engaging are Mary Walker’s insights into the more mundane problems coming with fame, such as the neighbors at Walker Point in Kennebunkport being both proud to have a president in their midst but also upset because of all the commotion and traffic caused by his visits. 

Bush Compound, Kennebunkport, Maine
Photo: Wikipedia

Much of the interview deals with the houses and family in Kennebunkport and about their lives there. All the details in this interview help to put the finishing touches on a portrait of a close and loving family, imbued with a deep sense of social responsibility to serve the country that had treated them so well.

Thanks to this interview, the accomplishments and the love inherent in this family are not lost to us.

Bush Family
Photo released by the White House

The Oral History Project interview “George Bush,” April 26,1991, can be found in the local history reference area on the first floor of the library and in the OHP office.

The Bush Family of Greenwich Remembered

George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018), the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993, was once a resident of Greenwich. His father and mother, Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush, moved to Greenwich in 1924, the year George Herbert Walker was born. Prescott Bush Sr. lived here until he died in 1972. Once moderator of the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting, the elder Bush was buried at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich. We at the Greenwich Library Oral History Project are fortunate enough to have several interviews with members of the Bush family, one, conducted in 1991(by OHP volunteer Esther H. Smith), is with Mary Walker, aunt to the Bush children, and the other, conducted in 1992 (by OHP volunteer Marian Phillips), is with Prescott Sheldon Jr., the eldest of the Bush children, brother to one former United States president and uncle to another. 

This interview summation is by Oral History Project volunteer Joseph Campbell. We begin with the Marian Phillips interview of Prescott Sheldon Jr., “Political Activity in the Bush Family.” 

The Bush family loomed large in Connecticut and in Greenwich. They lived here in town, conducted business here, and also famously became involved in local, state, and national politics while here. In January and February of 1992, Prescott Bush Sr., the elder brother of former President George H.W. Bush and the uncle to George W. Bush, sat down for an interview with Greenwich Oral History Project volunteer Marian Phillips. In two parts, the interview is a fascinating look into the Bush family, who we often hear about but rarely get to see up close. 

Bush Family portrait
George H.W. Bush, second from right. Prescott S. Bush Sr., to his  right
photo: Greenwich Oral History Project files

The interview is wide-ranging, covering Prescott Bush Jr.’s and the family’s involvement in politics. His own political career in Connecticut was brief, and he retired as an insurance executive before his death in 2010 at 87. In the interview, he tells about his father, Prescott Sr., a “Wonderful guy with a tremendous sense of humor,” a trait that appears to have filtered down to his children. He was a man who always made sure the family, though wealthy, managed to stay grounded in reality. He taught his children that though they had a comfortable life and even a life of privilege, they also had a duty to give back and look out for those who were less fortunate. This teaching may have motivated George H.W. Bush to leave school to join the Navy, where he become the youngest pilot during World War II. 

Bush Sr. was apparently well aware of the role good fortune played in their family’s circumstances. They had money because they worked hard, yes, but the elder Bush impressed upon the family the importance of not taking good fortune for granted.

Prescott S. Bush Sr.
Photo: Wiki Commons

Another significant point: In the interview, Bush Jr. addresses the issue of the family’s pursuing politics and makes it clear that the elder Bush never pushed politics—or any career for that matter. (Prescott Bush Sr. was himself a United States senator, representing Connecticut, for almost ten years.) According to his son, not only did he encourage his children to make their own career decisions, he also told them he was not going to offer them advice, unless asked. Prescott Bush Jr. paints a warm and glowing portrait of the Bush family, leaving the reader to conclude that this must have been a wonderful family in which to grow up. 

Bush Jr. spends ample time on his family’s foray into politics and what that was like for his father and the family. Politics, it seems, provided for them a way to serve, to work to help others. There is discussion about the view of the family as patrician. Bush Jr. makes it clear that this was a distinction the family did not want. They worked hard to keep that perception out of the minds of the electorate. Bush Jr. also discusses in detail his brother George H.W. Bush’s decision to seek the presidency and the role his family played in his final determination to run. In this and in other areas, the reader senses the importance of family. Prescott Bush Jr. describes the famous BBQs, the games of horseshoes, and the sense of togetherness that defined the family. 

Throughout, Prescott Bush Jr. impresses upon the reader the family’s love of country. The elder Bush, the son says, instilled in the family the belief that, rich or poor, we are all Americans. 

Food for thought then and now.

The Oral History Project interview, “Political Activity in the Bush Family,” January and February 1992, can be found in the local history reference area on the first floor of the library and in the OHP office on the lower level of the library.