Millicent Fenwick | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture | |
| In office June 13, 1983 – March 20, 1987 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Fred Eckert |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Frelinghuysen |
| Succeeded by | Jim Courter (redistricting) |
| Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from the8th district | |
| In office January 13, 1970 – December 14, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Webster B. Todd Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Victor A. Rizzolo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Millicent Vernon Hammond (1910-02-25)February 25, 1910 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 16, 1992(1992-09-16) (aged 82) |
| Resting place | St. Bernard’s Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Ogden H. Hammond Mary Picton Stevens |
| Relatives | SeeStevens family |
| Education | Barnard College New School |
Millicent Vernon Fenwick (néeHammond; February 25, 1910 – September 16, 1992) was an American fashion editor, politician, and diplomat. A four-termRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromNew Jersey, she was renowned for her energy and colorful enthusiasm. She was regarded as a moderate and progressive within her party and was outspoken in favor ofcivil rights and thewomen's movement.
Millicent Vernon Hammond was born the middle of three children to the politician and laterAmbassador to Spain,Ogden Haggerty Hammond (October 13, 1869 – October 29, 1956) ofLouisville, Kentucky and his first wife, Mary Picton Stevens (May 16, 1885 – May 7, 1915) ofHoboken, New Jersey.[1][2] Her paternal grandparents were General John Henry Hammond (June 30, 1833 – April 30, 1890), who served as chief of staff forWilliam Tecumseh Sherman during theVicksburg Campaign,[3] and Sophia Vernon Wolfe (1842 – May 20, 1923), daughter of Nathaniel Wolfe, a lawyer and legislator from Louisville.[4] Her maternal grandparents were John Stevens (July 1856 – January 21, 1895), oldest son ofStevens Institute of Technology founderEdwin Augustus Stevens and grandson of inventorJohn Stevens and Mary Marshall McGuire (May 4, 1850 – May 2, 1905).[5][6][7] Ogden Hammond and Mary Stevens got married on April 8, 1907, and both derived from families who were heavily involved in history.[8] Ogden Haggerty Hammond was “the son of a civil war general,” and after his father's passing, he “entrenched himself in all aspects of superior life.”[8] Mary Picton Stevens “was the heir to a fortune based largely on real estate holdings in Hoboken, New Jersey."[9] Millicent's father attended school atYale University and later in life became a New York financier.[10] She had a sister, Mary Stevens Hammond, and a brother, Ogden H. Hammond, Jr. She was also cousins withJohn Hammond, a well-known record producer.
DuringWorld War I, Hammond insisted on going overseas to help those who needed assistance in Europe, despite the potential dangers that were associated with doing so.[8] In 1915, when Millicent was five years old, her mother perished in the sinking of the Britishocean linerRMSLusitania, which her father survived.[11] When Ogden arrived back home from this tragic event, he did not want to discuss what happened, regarding his wife nor the event, and kept himself busy and distracted by becoming very involved with his work.[8] Everyone, both friends and family, respected his decision and carried on with their normal lives as if nothing transpired. He remarried two years later, to Marguerite McClure "Daisy" Howland, and by that marriage Fenwick had a stepbrother, McClure (Mac) Howland.[8] Ogden's children now had a stepmother. However, Daisy was so preoccupied with herself, Mac, and her social status that she spent minimal time with her stepchildren. Millicent and Daisy did not have a good relationship, and her father was no help. If there were any family issues going on, Ogden requested that his children address them with Daisy and not him. After their mother's passing, Millicent developed a closer relationship with her siblings, especially her sister, Mary. In 1918, the trial of the Lusitania took place, as people were suing the ship's company for failure to show passengers aboard the safety precautions. Ogden was one of the many people to testify and when the jury reached the verdict, the Hammonds were each compensated, receiving over $60,000.[8]
Raised in comfortable circumstances inBernardsville, Millicent attended the exclusiveNightingale-Bamford School in nearbyManhattan, and thenFoxcroft School, a private boarding school inMiddleburg, Virginia. She attendedBarnard College and then theNew School for Social Research, both in Manhattan.
In 1931, she met Hugh McLeod Fenwick (February 17, 1905 – July 24, 1991), who was married to Dorothy Ledyard, the daughter of New York attorneyLewis Cass Ledyard. Hugh briefly attendedHarvard University before he began working in the field of aviation inPensacola, Florida. Fenwick later became a "lieutenant in the flying section of the New Jersey National Guard."[8] The relationship between Hugh and Millicent was kept discreet until he was divorced. When the two became engaged, Millicent's stepmother was beside herself and Ogden, too, was disappointed with his daughter. Daisy, "a devoutCatholic," was so disenchanted with Millicent's marrying a divorced man that she prohibited her from returning to the house.[8] Despite her father's and stepmother's disapproval, Hugh and Millicent married on June 11, 1932. The couple rented a house inBedminster, New Jersey for about a year, and then moved toBernardsville, New Jersey.
The Fenwicks welcomed their first child, Mary Stevens Fenwick, on February 25, 1934, also Millicent's birthday. Becoming a mother did not come easily to Millicent and she hired a nanny to help raise her daughter. When Hugh and Millicent welcomed their second child, Hugo Hammond Fenwick, their marriage started to go downhill. Hugh's dishonesty about telling different stories[clarification needed] and lying played a big role in the separation between the two. Hugh relocated to Europe leaving behind an enormous amount of debt his wife had to pay off. After several years of separation, Hugh and Millicent divorced in 1945. Hugh remarried to Barbara West and had a daughter, Maureen, while Millicent did not remarry and instead focused on working and caring for her children.[8]
While Hugh and Millicent were still together, she briefly modeled forHarper's Bazaar. When they divorced, it was difficult for Millicent to find a job that would support both herself and her children because she never received a high school diploma.[10] After searching for jobs and not being recognized by publishers for the stories she had authored, Millicent was hired to work forVogue magazine as a caption editor.[8] She stayed withVogue for a little over a decade and held several job titles during her employment with the magazine. She concluded her career atVogue in 1948. She compiledVogue's Book of Etiquette, which sold a million copies and eventually went on tour around the country.[12][8]
By 1952, Millicent officially retired from work as her children were old enough to support themselves. She also received an inheritance from her mother, which along with interest from her family's real estate, was substantial enough to support her retirement.[13][14]
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During the 1950s, Fenwick became involved in politics via theCivil Rights Movement. Often described as being blessed with exceptional intelligence, striking good looks, and a keen wit,[16] she rose rapidly in the ranks of the Republican Party. She was elected to the Bernardsville Borough Council in 1957, serving until 1964, and around the same time was appointed to the New Jersey Committee of theUnited States Commission on Civil Rights, on which she served from 1958 to 1974. She was elected to theNew Jersey General Assembly in 1969, serving from 1970 to December 1972, when she left the Legislature to become director of theNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs underGovernorWilliam T. Cahill.[14]
Elected to Congress from New Jersey in 1974 aged 64, Fenwick became a media favorite during her four terms in the House of Representatives. Known for her opposition to corruption by both parties and special interest groups, she was called "the conscience ofCongress" by television newscasterWalter Cronkite. She was one of the most liberal Republicans in the House.[citation needed]
In 1975, theHelsinki Accords were negotiated inHelsinki,Finland. They were primarily an effort to reduce tension between the Soviet and Western blocs by securing their common acceptance of the post-World War II status quo in Europe. One week after the signing of the treaty, Fenwick went toMoscow as a junior member of a congressional delegation. She metrefuseniks who wanted to contact American congressmen and held an unofficial meeting with dissidentYuri Orlov. She was thus convinced that political action in America based on the Helsinki Accords would improve human rights in theSoviet Union. Before departing, Fenwick raised some specific cases withLeonid Brezhnev at a final press conference. Returning to the U.S., Fenwick initiated the establishment of theCommission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which oversaw the implementation of the Helsinki Accords.[17][18] Despite her upper-class, society girl background, Fenwick went to Washington with a tough, blue collar work ethic. Virtually any night, hours after typical congressmen had headed out for dinner and home, she stayed working in her Capitol Hill office, and always was willing to answer reporters' questions about her actions.[19]
Once, when a conservative male congressman attacked a piece of women's rights legislation by saying, "I've always thought of women as kissable, cuddly, and smelling good," Fenwick responded, "That's what I've always thought about men, and I hope for your sake that you haven't been disappointed as many times as I've been."[16]
In 1982, sheran for aUnited States Senate seat, and defeated conservativeJeffrey Bell in the Republican primary. However, she then narrowly lost thegeneral election to progressiveDemocratic businessman andAutomatic Data Processing CEOFrank Lautenberg in an upset.[8] Fenwick said subsequently, "I never expected to lose. I had no concession speech prepared, or anything. I never expected to lose."[20]
In 2008, when Lautenberg was running for reelection to the Senate, his Republican opponents made an issue out of his age of 84, arguing that he had voiced similar criticisms of the then-72-year-old Fenwick during their 1982 election campaign. Lautenberg denied having made an issue of Fenwick's age, saying he "only questioned her ability to do the job."
After leaving the House of Representatives following the 1982 election, Fenwick was appointed by PresidentRonald Reagan asUnited States Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy.[21] She held this position from June 1983 to March 1987, when she retired from public life at the age of 77.[22]
Fenwick died of heart failure in her home town of Bernardsville on September 16, 1992.[12]
She was fluent in Italian, French and Spanish.[12]
The Millicent Fenwick Monument, a sculpture by Dana Toomey, was paid for by voluntary donations and unveiled in October 1995.[23] Always decorated, it is near the Bernardsville train station.
Fenwick is considered by some to be the model for the character ofLacey Davenport inGarry Trudeau's comic stripDoonesbury,[12] although Trudeau insisted the character was modeled on no one in particular.[24] Lacey Davenport first appeared several months before Fenwick first gained prominence after her election to Congress.
She is the grandmother of CEOJonathan Reckford[25] and great-grandmother of U.S. Olympic rowerMolly Reckford.[26]
According to biographer Amy Schapiro:
New Jersey GovernorThomas Kean said:
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's 5th congressional district 1975–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew Jersey (Class 1) 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| New office | United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
