Lord
and Lady Shea were the couple who brought my Grandmother, Inga Iverson, a
Norwegian teenager, to the Bahamas when she was 15 or 16.
At
the time Lord Shea was Governor of the Bahamas.
Nana
(Grandma) had been working in London as a helper in a “lying In” hospital
(Maternity Hospital.)
In
the Bahamas she took care of their baby. This led to her career as a Governess.
She worked for several
families
including the Marshall Field family of Chicago. I have a photograph of her
holding the Marshall Field baby while both were
wearing yards of Irish Lace. It seems to have been taken prior to a baptism.
Grandma
spoke impeccable English with a slight hint of a Scandinavian accent
that
could be detected only by those who listened for it.
She
became friends with another Governess, Olivia Collins, who was Governess
for the Bouvier Family, including Jackie.
Somewhere
I have a Birthday letter that Jackie sent to Miss Collins at the end of her
life, when she was staying with my mother in
Forest Hills. My brother, Joe, told me that she was a crackerjack poker
player.
At
the time of the letter, John Kennedy had been elected President, but not yet
inaugurated. The letter came from an address in
Georgetown.
,m
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