...

Quarry Farm in Greenwich, CT Nancy Susan Reynolds (1910-1985), youngest daughter of R.J. and Katharine Reynolds, was interviewed by Lu Ann Jones in the summer of 1980 as part of the Reynolda House Oral History Project. Over the course of four interview sessions, Reynolds intimately discusses her parents and early childhood, growing up at Reynolda, and what life was like for her and her three siblings after their parents’ death. In the second interview held on 17 June 1980, Nancy Reynolds describes her father’s family including her grandfather, William Hardin Reynolds, and some of her father’s siblings, Abram D. Reynolds, Harbour Reynolds, and Lucy Critz. In remembering her aunt Lucy Critz, Nancy recalls that she played the stock market when living in Winston, which “most of the ladies were doing at that time…before the Crash.” Nancy Reynolds also recalls stories about how the William Hardin Reynolds family and the property in Virginia were affected by the Civil War, and tells of the different locations that the descendents moved to, including Richmond, Virginia, and Long Island, New York. Mention is also made of Katharine Reynolds’ family, specifically her sister Maxie and her husband James Dunn. One recollection from her childhood is how she and her older brother, Dick, dealt differently with being from a prominent family. Nancy Reynolds expressed that she “just wanted to be treated like anybody else,” and so on one occasion--when being placed for housing at a convention of a Girl Scout-type group in Raleigh, denied her relationship to the “tobacco Reynoldses.” Dick, on the other hand, made his association known when a student at the state school in Raleigh, yet nobody believed him. At this time Reynolds’ mother was still alive, and she says, “Oh, she [Katharine] was so upset about me, she thought I was ashamed of it. But it wasn’t [that], … [I] just didn’t want to be conspicuous. Nancy Reynolds recalls various trips she took over the years, including Mediterranean cruises and an extended trip to Florida. She and her sister Mary had chaperones for these travels, and while also living in New York City, and both found the situation disconcerting. Their chaperone, Miss Green, “…wanted to introduce us to high society, and we didn’t like that,” says Reynolds. Katharine’s sister, Maxie Dunn, would also chaperone them in Florida and on a later trip to Europe. While the sisters traveled fairly extensively, she recalls, “I always thought we should be home with our brothers at Christmas Time…” During this second interview, Reynolds returns to discussion of her childhood and describes her happiness over her mother’s marriage to J. Edward Johnston in 1921. She offers an extended look at life for the family in New York, when Katharine, Johnston, Mary, Nancy, and Smith occupied a flat in the city awaiting the birth of Katharine’s child with Johnston. Reynolds oldest brother, Dick, was away at school during this time and not living with the family in New York. Reynolds’ discussion about her relationships with her siblings provides some insight into their personalities. She thought of Dick as her “hero,” but admits, “Dick had been very much a trial to mother …” since he did not like Katharine’s marriage to Johnston. Nancy thought of Smith as her friend, even though he was younger, “…he was so intelligent, so adult in his thinking…” She recalls flying with him often, saying “I always went with him [Smith] because I said nothing could happen to him if I was with him.” She also reveals that in her teens she felt older than Mary, and that Mary was more timid: “She was afraid of animals, and I wasn’t; I loved them.” Nancy also speaks about all of her sibling’s interests in flying, and that Dick and Smith were licensed by Orville Wright. Near the end of the interview Reynolds touches on a variety of topics, including how Ed Johnston was not accepted into the family business and the changes that occurred for him after her mother’s death. She also talks about thinking of her mother as the head of the household when her father was alive, and that Katharine handled all the discipline. One story Reynolds remembers fondly is when she was about 11 years old and realized she needed glasses. Her mother was so upset and didn’t want her to get them, because, Reynolds says, “She [Katharine] thought her children should be perfect.” After getting glasses, Reynolds recalls, “I had never realized how beautiful the world was.”