Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Amys girlfriends say that she stopped getting their phone messages, so they resorted to writing her letters, but they believe she didnt get those either. She died peacefully in her sleep at age 89. It is an American industrial, banking, and political family that originally came from Germany. The courtroom process so far has been an exhausting and futile effort. The only time that even the slightest clues to the 1934 trust and other family assets were revealed was in 1974, during Georges great-uncle Nelson Rockefellers confirmation hearings to become Gerald Fords vice president. (Amy had hired Terri to help her with the children while the family was on vacation.). [2], In 1968 she created the Greenacre Foundation, of which she was president, in order to maintain and operate parks in New York State for the benefit of the public. As she reaches for her coffee cup, her hands are trembling. She was the eldest grandchild of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. George testified, She said she was going to SeaWorld. Her account has yet to come out in court. A Philadelphia Main Line socialite described to the judge in Orlando how painful it was to observe what happened: Amy sat on one end of the boat with Paul Henry in her lap, and George was on the other, flirting and laughing and making a movie date with the young woman. We just knew she was a single mother raising five kids by herself, says one, a parent at her childrens school. They remained married until his death in January 1974. This generation, known as the "cousins," also wanted to be philanthropists. That part could be enough: allegations of John D. juniors great-grandsons diddling everyone from baby-sitters to the local funeral directors wife, employing a harem of big-breasted young women in his business, trying to force his wife into threesomes with the help, andas if there could be anything worsesupporting Pat Buchanan. Another baby-sitter testified that Jennifer Acreman would parade around in Georges boxer shorts. A significant portion of the renovation involved the execution of a light and airy modernist dining room for which the present chairs were created. Although she went through with the election, and won, she found herself at 35 a widow with three childrenseven, six, and 17 monthsand a bankrupt estate. The Rockefeller family ( pronounced /rkflr/) is the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and his brother William Rockefeller (1841-1922). For weeks she and her husband, unaware of Amys mothers ties to Reagan, were convinced they were spying for the Bush campaign. Strange as it seems, the situation has come to this: Amys mother, the gung-ho Reaganite who made a career of infuriating feministsfrom the days when she handed out pot holders during her campaigns for the Pennsylvania state legislature to the time she advised Reagan that the gender gap was overblownis now championing the rights of her daughter against the oppressive Rockefeller empire. Some individuals who are familiar with the family documents believe that his stake in the Rockefeller fortune may be as high as $200 million. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? I need him to help me raise these children. Still, he remained devoted to Buchanan, taking Amy and Faith to the convention in Houston, where Buchanan made his infamous Christian-family-values speech, a screed that was widely viewed as, if not downright racist, at least hate-filled. The employee says she almost dropped the fish when she saw them groping each other. When she converted, her father-in-law, George ONeill Sr., the reigning Catholic of the Rockefeller family, was her godfather. Mrs. O'Neill was Chairman of Rockefeller Financial Services and Rockefeller & Company from 1998 to 2004 and Trustee from 1979 to 1998. I want him to get past his anger. Her other four children come tumbling toward her with their grandmother Faith, who is running to keep up. In 1988 a G.O.P. In mid-1973, Whittleseys advertising business failed at the same time that his major stockholdings plummeted. So, wheres the 50 grand?) George testified that the first time he heard about the $50,000 was in court. A collection of the RAC's archival documentation. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? George and Amy had already moved to Mountain Lake, which comprises some 120 houses on 3,000 acres. As the case of ONeill v. ONeill finally heads to trial after a bitter, year-and-a-half-long battle, money will become a major issue. She died peacefully in her sleep at age 89. Year should not be greater than current year. For the tawdry revelations that have so far come out in court and in depositions in Orlando are nothing compared with what might follow. Meanwhile, according to witnesses, George took charge of Amys medication, which comprised a cocktail of antidepressants. Verify and try again. I dont know whether I still am [vice president]. But she was very elusive. (motherfucking bitch) and the Dragon Lady, with George, according to other employees, egging them on. In his New York loft days, he became fascinated with a couple in the building who made their living by performing in live sex shows. I did not want to disgrace my husband. Overwhelming shame prevented me from fully articulating my experience, even in therapy. RENO, Nev., Aug. 25 (U.P.) David Kessler's top 4 tips for dealing with holiday grief. Theyd get there in the morning, fix something for themselves in the kitchen, then go up to the office. (Amy denies this.) Wafflerama was suspended only when Georges parents were in Mountain Lake. They all seemed to have a lookthe skank look, says one employee. In issue 6, "Tell A Woman", published in May 1973, she contributed an article called "Sex: The Basis of Sexism",[3] which posited that one driving force in sexism was male desire to access and control female sexuality for their own ends. Political friends of Georges say his time with the Buchanan camp ended badly. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Often when she shopped, one of the Lost Classics Girlswho held the credit cards and signed the sales slipswould escort her. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Mrs. O'Neill was Chairman of Rockefeller Financial Services and Rockefeller & Company from 1998 to 2004 and Trustee from 1979 to 1998. I thought, Well, O.K., his intentions are honorable., Eight months after the inaugural ball, in September 1989, George and Amy were married at St. James Episcopal Church on the Upper East Side, with 350 guests and eight bridesmaids. Beside her was her mother, Faith Ryan Whittlesey, the former ambassador to Switzerland and director of public liaison under Ronald Reagan, who had fought her way up through conservative Republican circles to be the only woman on Reagans senior staff with a West Wing office. As she later testified, He would stroke her hair, rub her shoulders, give her backrubs. She soon reverted to what the Lost Classics Girls call her zombielike state. based on information from your browser. But, as he told the court in the fall of 1998 when asked what his duties were, for years Ive done nothing. Abby Rockefeller Milton O'Neill is the great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, the oil baron who is widely considered to be the richest person in history. During one dinner party, a guest recalls, George was outraged to find that the husband of one of the housekeepers had parked his car in the driveway, so he deliberately sideswiped it, then told the woman her husband would have to pay for the damages., The Lost Classics Girls, however, could do no wrong. Most of the girls got between $3,500 and $5,000. Links: en.wikipedia.org. Their job was to sit with George in his office in the house and read and typeset 19th-century childrens books. I was in shock, says Alyse ONeill (no relation), a longtime supporter of conservative Florida Republicans, who was often invited to the house for fund-raisers and strategy sessions. Amy with her notebook became a figure of fun for the Lost Classics Girls, and Wafflerama soon evolved into a trash-Amy session, during which the girls would refer to her as the M.F.B. An old Spanish-style house that rented for $1,100 a month and hadnt been lived in for years, it lacked modern kitchen appliances and air-conditioning. The Miltons were divorced in 1943. Accessibility Statement Amy, who delivered all her children by cesarean section, became an exhausted wreck, says Shirley Hare, the childrens former nanny. Learn more about merges. After hearing Jennifers car pull out of the driveway, she confronted George: How could you do this to me after everything that Ive been through in the last year?, He told her she was imagining things. He said, Youre lying, I dont believe you, and hung up the phone. Then he stopped taking her calls. Now, as Lisa DePaulo reports, Americas most famously wealthy clan faces the scrutiny of divorce court, threatening the long-held secrecy of the Rockefeller trusts. Abby Rockefeller Milton Dining With Her New Husband Irving H. Pardee (Original Caption) Dr. Irving Hotchkiss Pardee and his bride, the former Mrs. Abby Rockefeller Milton, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr., are shown as they dined in the Wedgewood room of the Waldorf Astoria just before they left for a honeymoon in Bermuda. 1967). Both George and Acreman strongly deny that anything sexual went on between them, and she claims that Amy is a very sick individual. In another odd twist, however, Amy isnt asking for much. The two-week cease-fire, as George later called it in court, resulted in the conception of their fifth child, Phoebe. So he went from one project to another, trying to find his place in the world and in the family., When Amy married George, she was automatically included in the regular family meetings at Pocantico, the fabled Rockefeller estate in New Yorks Hudson River Valley. I did spend a lot on fabric, admits Amy, who began to sew her own clothes. Shes crazy! As for the nose job, Acreman says, I paid him back.. Youd better tell Faith, his wife advised. She was very idealistic, very pure. She was dedicated to Bradford and served as its Board Chairman for nine years. There was one other guest, but they had a chef, two servants, and Faith putting this on. Managed by: David Ethan Wolfe. He was concerned about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms confiscating his guns. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, George D. O'Neill of Oyster Bay, New York and their six children: George D. O'Neill, Jr. (Erica) of Lake Wales, FL; Abby O. Caulkins (Charles) of Chappaqua, NY; David M. O'Neill (Connie) of Greenwood Village, CO; Catharine O. Broderick (Kevin) of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI; Wendy H. O'Neill (David Rayner) of Sarasota, FL and Peter M. O'Neill (Katie) of New York, NY. Her husband was in Palm Beach at a business meeting with his father. He even agreed to counseling. GREAT NEWS! She would float around the room at embassy parties, speaking fluent French with all these diplomats and aristocrats and Swiss bankers. Most of those parties featured a mother-daughter act: Faith would play the piano, and Amy would sing Cole Porter. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Her father is professor of Egyptology at Yale University and curator of the. ), George sometimes referred to his mother as Acid Abby, a nickname she had acquired in boarding school. This generation, known as the "cousins," also wanted to be philanthropists. E-mail: archive@rockarch.org. But she passed out, said Nelson. He insisted that I wear it, Amy testified, because he said that I couldnt remember anything. I never forced her, George testified. She went upstairs and locked the door to the bedroom suite. ), During Wafflerama, Amy was usually in her room. The Lost Classics Girls were also in charge of picking up the mail from the post-office box in town. He even insisted that I rent these videos so that should I ever expose him, I could be discredited as the one who likes it. During these weekends I would retreat to the privacy of a motel shower where, doubled over in anguish, I cried silent tears., Details of these alleged adventures have so far only been hinted at in court. Immediate Family: Daughter of David Merriwether Milton, Jr. and Abby 'Babs' Rockefeller. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. [5], Rockefeller owned property in Bermuda, the Roman Corporation at One Beekman Place in New York City, and at the Pocantico family estate Kykuit in Westchester County, New York. George is capable of being very unpleasant when he doesnt get his way.. I still have a few pounds to lose, she says. When Amy met George, she was young, beautiful, and grieving. So she promptly called him. please help]Abigail Rockefeller 09 Nov 1903 - 27 May 1976 Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States: John Davison Rockefeller Jr. 29 Jan 1874 - 11 May 1960 Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States We were all very surprised a month later, says G.O.P. Abby was cold, indifferent, and dismissive, Amy says sadly, as though the last thing she needed to hear was that her daughter-in-law wished to check herself into the local mental institution. George was the knight in shining armor to this family, says one of his former friends. She was also a resident of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Lake Wales, Florida, where she was a member of the Mountain Lake Club. When they arrived there, she had neither an insurance card nor a credit card. She was devoted to her husband, her six children, her 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. At his wedding-rehearsal dinner, one of his best friends, in a toast to Abby, called her the Reichsfhrer. His bride was horrified. Phoebe Elizabeth was born three days before Christmas in 1998. A longtime resident of Oyster Bay, NY, Mrs. O'Neill was a Trustee of the Community Foundation of Oyster Bay which she and her husband George were instrumental in establishing and on whose Board they served as Trustee for over 50 years. Because, to him, it was either youre at the very very top or youre a failure. Shed put the hors doeuvres down and lose it., Another friend remembers taking the couple a gift of homemade granola. I think, says Amy, George was a type of father figure to me.. The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now, Inside Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushners Gilded Florida ParadiseFar From Donald Trump or 2024, Chaos lingers at the periphery, but the Trump-Kushner marriage is thriving in exile. He followed her up in a rage, she says. And to help me raise these children. (He admitted in court to teaching Paul Henry to count with empty bullet shells at the kitchen table.) This page was last edited on 10 December 2022, at 07:40. Amy promptly called Barrett Nelson, the father of Terris four children, and informed him of what she says she had witnessed. Amys lawyers say thats not true, and want to prove it by opening to the public sacred, highly confidential family documents, among them the famous 1934 trust formed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. for the Brothers, the Cousins, and their heirs. Well, I was in a panic! It was one thing to hobnob with the token right-wing Rockefeller, but quite another to think of him seducing your precious child. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. I think there were actually drug dealers on the corner when we arrived, says Faith. A housekeeper says she would be instructed to start the waffles, and then the girls would sit with George around the table and hed entertain them with stories. Theyd hang on his every word. She was a member of Cell 16, a radical feminist organization, in the 1970s. It started at the cocktail hour (though at the missuss age, we like to call it the cocktail 40 minutes), when George took a fancy to one of the only other guests under 80a stunning woman who attended as the paid companion of one of the elderly guests. We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. She would blush at the mention of anything sexual. One Swiss friend remembers when Amy was kind of dating a dashing young student with a Porsche. The brutal murders of four Idaho college students shocked millions. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. George denies this: I always defended her, he told the court. Whittlesey welcomed him at the embassy and posed for him. Friends of Amys say that there were other red flags, but that for some time Amy didnt recognize them. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. George is the black sheep of the family, and he comes from the black-sheep line of the family, as one close family friend puts it. And he said that money wasnt a problem, that when we decided where that was, that he could get the money from the trusts. George, on the other hand, testified that Amy was always asking about money and trying to take it out of the trust. What do I want? asks Amy ONeill, holding little Phoebe and looking out over the beach in Delray. Published by New York Times on May 5, 2017. George says his guns are a sportsmans hobby, but, Amy testified, there was a distinct change in the number of ammunition and guns that he had. When Abby Milton ONeill, who is now 71, dies, the 1934 and other trusts, according to the terms laid out by John D. junior, will be liquidated, so George ONeill Jr. and his five siblings stand, in the view of family friends, to inherit an enormous sum. Now, as they think back, it doesnt seem so funny. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. The judge denied his motion. Reports by those who have conducted research at the RAC. George signed on big-time to the Buchanan for President campaign of 1992which was really more a crusade on behalf of the populists (read angry white males) of America than a serious bid for election. Resend Activation Email. 1928) to Nelson Rockefeller's youngest son, Mark (b. Yet instead of getting angry with George, she says that she groveled, asking him what she could do to make him love her again. This is a carousel with slides. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., the son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. I asked him to submit a list of names. She spends money at a fantastic pace, he testified. She never said a word about who her husband was., My friends ask me, If you were to do it over again, would you have married him? she says as her eyes fill with tears. I think they took advantage of him, says Douglas. Amy and others say she also took naps in George and Amys bed. There were greater shocks for visitors inside, where the paint was peeling off the walls, the dogs peed on the carpets, and the rented furniture had mildew stains. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? That was, I believe, at least a month and a half ago, she said in court when she was seven months pregnant. Acreman denies this and says the boxer shorts were her own. But thats beside the point, says a family friend, because he will inherit a bundle, some without inheritance tax. (John D. junior intentionally drew up the 1934 trusts before dramatically raised gift taxes went into effect.). Amy begged her to help her. I really didnt have any other, you know, boyfriend to speak of before George.. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. That included having breast implants and liposuction. In a nine-year marriage during which, his wife alleges, he became a sexual pervert, George was best known publicly for his vigorous support of the far right and its pro-family causes. He beat in the door and came in screaming at me, You mother-fucking bitch, dont you ever lock me out of our bedroom. He told me that I was seeing things, that I was crazy like my brother., Nothing could have hurt her more, Amy says. [9], For other people named Abby Rockefeller, see, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections, "No More Fun and Games, A Journal of Female Liberation", "Feminist Says Physical Desire Is Cause of Female Oppression", "AN 'Oppressed Majority' Demands Its Rights", "Indoor composting toilets waste not, want not", "Civilization and Sludge: Notes on the History of the Management of Human Excreta", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abby_Rockefeller_(ecologist)&oldid=1134979415, This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 21:38. Abigail was the first child and only daughter of philanthropists John Davison Rockefeller Jr. and Abigail Greene "Abby" Aldrich. Before their divorce in 1943, they had two daughters: Born in New York, Mrs. O'Neill was the daughter of David Meriwether Milton and Abby Rockefeller Mauze. When he proposedhe gave her a family heirloom as an engagement ringshe dropped out of Fordham, where she was studying philosophy and classics. My heart went out to her, says Hare, who is 66 and was known in the household as Miss Shirley. Perhaps it would be better to remain silent. Pardee. -- Mrs. Abby Rockefeller Milton obtained a divorce today from David M. Milton, New York broker. However, he soon put one of his huge nude sculptures on view. When he was a teenager, it kept him out of St. Marks and, later, Dalton for months at a timeperiods during which he stayed at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. He was still here, but the person I knew was gone. One date with George that she remembers was the time he drove her and Faith to Cambridge in the middle of the night in response to yet another call from the university. Nine months later, in March 1998, Amy and George attempted to reconcile. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. As an advisory member of the Board of Trustees of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a chief benefactor, she received its Medal of Appreciation in 1965. Thank you, Abby! After a morning ceremony at the Holy Spirit church in Lake Wales, everyone drove through the rigorously patrolled gates of Mountain Lakethe old, established Wasp enclave in rural central Floridafor the customary lobster-Newburg luncheon buffet catered by the Colony House club at the home of the proud parents, Amy and George D. ONeill Jr. Her support for the Parent-Child Home Program enabled it to grow and thrive in her town of Oyster Bay, across Long Island, and across the country. Serving as its president, in 1971 she established Greenacre Park, a small vest-pocket park and waterfall on 51st Street in Manhattan, to provide New Yorkers some moments of serenity in this busy world. Her brother Laurance served as a trustee of the Foundation and helped to create the park. Mrs. O'Neill was a Champion for All. She was a member of Cell 16, a radical feminist organization, in the 1970s. She attended both the Chapin School and the Brearley School in New York City. Ivanka Trump: Hell Yeah I Knew My Fathers Stolen Election Claims Were Bullshit. Typically, ambassadors have wives, Amy explains, who fulfill the role of hostess. A judge in Orlando granted his request last August, at which point Amy ONeill, having trouble with the breast pump, switched to formula. Owing partly to the medical condition known as toxemia, she gained 78 pounds with Catharine. ), It was so hard for George, she says, sipping her coffee. While Amy was pregnant with her third child, Georgie, she decided she needed a baby-sitter. And this would take place on the Saturday night before [church]. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Amy demanded that the Lost Classics Girls be let go. By Champion3 @ 2013-08-29 17:44:36. May the God of Comfort bring you peace during this difficult time. Another morning when a housekeeper showed up early to start her five oclock shift, she says she saw one of the Lost Classics Girls coming down the stairs. [10], As of 2005, Clivus Multrum was still the "largest distributor of composting toilets for public use in North America". Amy testified that she walked in on them and saw Terri Nelson performing oral sex on my husband. Nelson, in her testimony, denied ever having had sex with George, but she admitted that they had spent the evening smoking pot in his parents living roomAmy included. She also founded the Clivus Multrum company, which manufactures composting toilets. Faith was in the throes of her re-election campaigna race her husband had been managing, as he had managed her whole career (It was Rogers idea to hand out pot holders). She also served as a Trustee of Massachusetts Financial Services Mutual Fund from 1992 to 2003. She says she never expected to tell anyone about any of itthe guns, the girls, the sex, the pornbut later she would describe the scene: How her husband stomped around with a semi-automatic gun in his hand, threatening to blow his brains out if she didnt retract, in writing, her accusations of adultery. In addition, Amy wants one lump-sum equitable distribution payment of $775,000 for the purchase of a home, and a family van which would be upgraded every five years. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187 or a charitable organization in which you and she shared an interest.Published in The New York Times on May 5, 2017, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. So it was meant to be., Even while testifying in court that her husband was having sex with the help and forcing her to do perverted things, Amy claims to love George still and to worry about him. When she died in 1976, her fortune was believed to be far greater than that of her brothers, who spent and donated liberally. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). The family was so upset then that, as Rockefeller biographers Peter Collier and David Horowitz wrote, they would rather that Nelson was not Vice-president if the central trusts were exposed.. I said that they wont do it., Amys friends were aghast that a young woman who had traveled the world, had grown up in an embassy, and spoke three languages was stuck in a retirement community in the middle of central Florida. Pitbull is a pal, Carbone is for dinner, and, Exclusive: Inside the S--tshow That Was the Trump-Biden Transition. Amy claims that, after the alleged oral-sex incident, George admitted that he and Terri had been involved for four years, but that it wasnt really adultery, because they never crossed the line. (In court, George denied having had any relations with Terri, but he admitted he gave her money to send her children to private school.) He died in 1974. She challenged the status quo, always encouraging us to go above and beyond. (George and his lawyers declined repeated requests for comment. The day before she slashed herself, Amy says, she went to see Georges mother, who was in Mountain Lake on vacation. She died peacefully in her sleep at age 89. There is a problem with your email/password. 15 Dayton Avenue Faith never entirely got over the loss, and she never remarried. COVID-19 Prevention Policy for Researchers and Visitors, Our Statement in Solidarity with the Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander Community, Our Statement in Solidarity with the Black Community. L. I. Known as Meriwether, this grand 17-room estate on Long Island's North Shore was the longtime home of George O'Neill and his wife, Abby Rockefeller O'Neill, the eldest grandchild of John D.. He wasshe pausesmy first love. Amy Whittlesey ONeill is sitting at a small caf in Delray Beach with her hands folded in her lap.
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