June 2012 Volume 25 Number 8 - Our Town | St. James, NY

y Bradley harris,
Smithtown historian
Especially for Our Town, I
have been writing articles
about the lives of people
who made St. James their
home not so long ago. This
article is about Alice
Throckmorton McLean, a
remarkable lady who made
St. James her home from
1919 until 1944. This is her
story.
alice Throckmorton Mclean
was truly a remarkable lady. She
“was a child of the gilded age and
lived a privileged life within the
wealthiest american social circles.”
She spent her childhood in
New York City and on her father’s
– 34–
H I S T O R I C A L L Y S P E A K I N G
LIVES, LOVES AND LAMENTS OF THE PEOPLE OF ST. JAMES
Alice Throckmorton McLean,
a Remarkable Lady Whose Spirit Lives On
farm estate in South Kortright in
upstate N.Y. She was home
schooled and taught by tutors. as
a young girl, she spent much of
her time travelling with her father
and learning the ins and outs of
the business world. By the time
she was in her twenties, she was
married and the mother of two
boys, helping her father with the
running of his upstate farm and
carefully nurturing her children.
With her divorce at age 33, alice
Mclean moved to St. James
where, throughout the 1920’s and
30’s, she led the life of a wealthy
socialite spending her time riding,
participating in fox hunts, horse
shows, and polo matches.
Then with the approach of
World War ii, alice Mclean became
the founder, organizer and
president of the american
Women’s Voluntary Services, a
highly successful volunteer organization
that grew to include
325,000 women across america
dedicated to helping the war effort
by providing material aid, assistance
and information to the
armed forces and civilians during
the war years. her work with the
aWVS and the contribution it
made during the war is alice
Mclean’s legacy to us all, and
shows what one “resourceful, energetic
and tenacious american
patriot” can do to help others in
time of need. (“alice Throckmorton
Mclean,” harbor in the
News, ttp://www.harborcountrydayschool.org/page.cfm?p=532)
“Born in New York City on
continued on page 36
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OUR TOWN • JUNE 2012