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The Remarkable Life of Florence Griswold (1850-1937)

Born on Christmas Day in 1850 while her father, Robert Harper Griswold, a successful ship captain was on a voyage to London, Florence Ann Griswold would experience a remarkable life, all achieved while rarely leaving her home or her home town. Described by her grandmother as "quiet and dark-eyed," Florence would become a teacher, participant in town affairs, and supporter of one of the most successful art movements in the country.

The youngest of four, Florence had two sisters, Louise and Helen Adele, and a brother, Robert Jr. She attended the local public school, and received music lessons from her Aunt Caroline Perkins at the Perkins School in New London. Florence was an accomplished equestrian, taking part in local races such as "Hare and Hound." She attended parties and sponsored the local "amusement" club that put on plays. When Florence was 14 years old, her brother Robert Jr. died suddenly of diphtheria. He was only16 years old. The family suffered this tragic loss with difficulty.

In 1878, at the age of 28, Florence, her mother and sisters opened the Griswold Home School for girls that offered lessons in French, painting, drawing, and music. They ran the school for 14 years. In 1882, Florence's father died leaving the family in a troublesome financial position. Her sister Louise, an organist for the First Congregational Church for forty years, died in 1896, and her mother died in 1899 of Bright's disease.

Florence and her sister Adele were alone in the Griswold House, making ends meet by taking in boarders and selling plants and vegetables from their garden. The summer of 1899 brought artist Henry Ward Ranger to Old Lyme. He rented a room from Miss Florence and encouraged other artists to come to the area and stay at the Griswold House. Artists such as Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf and Frank DuMond began spending their summers at the Griswold House. Art students such as Ellen Axson Wilson, President Woodrow Wilson's first wife, came here to study and became life-long friends with Miss Florence. Shortly after the art colony began, Florence's sister Adele became ill, forcing Florence to commit her to a sanitarium in Hartford for the remainder of her life.

Although she never married, Florence had an active life that involved traveling, working, and joining in many town affairs. One winter, she took a trip to Florida where she visited Harry Hoffman and his wife. In 1914, she went to Washington, D.C. to attend the wedding of Jessie Sayer Wilson, President Wilson's daughter. She fashioned a gallery in her front hall, exhibiting and selling paintings and other antiques. In 1921, the Lyme Art Association opened a gallery next to the Griswold House on property given to them by Florence Griswold. She became the gallery's first manager, receiving a percentage of all sales. In 1913, she coordinated a group of residents who petitioned to stop the trolley line from going down Lyme Street. Ten years later, she became a founding member of the Old Lyme Fire Department.

By the mid-1930s, Florence's health was failing and she was in debt to the bank and most local merchants. In 1936, a conservator was appointed to handle her affairs. Out of desperation, it was decided that the sale of her property was the only way to settle her debts and give her a small income. The artists banded together with her cousin and personal physician, Dr. Matthew Griswold, to form the Florence Griswold Association in the hopes of raising enough money to buy the property for her. At the same time, Robert McCurdy Marsh, a lawyer from New York City with ties to Old Lyme, outbid the artists. Marsh then built a new house behind the Griswold house, along the Lieutenant River, but gave life tenancy of the Griswold House to Miss Florence.

On December 6, 1937, Florence Griswold died surrounded by her beloved cats and a few close friends. Her obituary in the New York Times read, "this generous spirit survives; and not in the Griswold house alone, but as part of no inconsiderable chapter in the history of our native art."