Lloyd Bruce Wescott (November 21, 1907 – December 24, 1990) was an

agriculturalist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Born and educated in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, he moved to New York after college before settling in New Jersey where he served as a member of agricultural boards, chairman of the New Jersey State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies, and founder and first president of the

Hunterdon Medical Center Hunterdon Medical Center is a 178-bed non-profit community hospital located in Raritan Township, New Jersey near Flemington. In May 2024 it earned its ninth consecutive A grade by the Leapfrog patient safety organization. Hunterdon Medical Cen ...

. He was also a major fundraiser and donor of land that became Wescott Preserve in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a County (United States), county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, 4th-least populous ...

. Novelist

Glenway Wescott Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 – February 22, 1987) was an American poet, novelist and essayist. A figure of the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s, Wescott was openly gay.Eric Haralson, ''Henry James and Queer Mo ...

was his brother.

Biography

Wescott was born in 1907 on a dairy farm outside Farmington, Washington County,

, the son of Bruce and Josephine Wescott. His elder brother Glenway was also born in Wisconsin in 1901. He graduated from high school in

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,863 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Ripon (town), Wisconsin, Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White S ...

and attended Ripon College. He then lived for several years in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In March 1935, Wescott married Barbara Harrison, the daughter of

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American-Filipino Politics of the United States, statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed Governor-General of the Philippines ...

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

under

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. In 1936 they purchased a dairy farm along the Mulhocaway Creek in Union Township near

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

. Mulhocaway Farm, as it was known, became the headquarters for the Artificial Breeding Association, a pioneer in the

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

of dairy cows. In the 1950s, Mulhocaway Farm was acquired by the State of New Jersey under

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

in order to create the

Spruce Run Reservoir Spruce Run Recreation Area is a New Jersey state recreation area located in Union Township and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. It encompasses the Spruce Run Reservoir that is used as a backup reservoir to pro ...

. In 1959 the Wescotts moved to a farm further south in Hunterdon County, near the community of

Rosemont Rosemont may refer to: People Rosemont is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * David A. Rosemont, American television producer * Franklin Rosemont (1943–2009), American poet, artist, historian * Norman Rosemont (1924–2018), ...

in Delaware Township. The farm had been previously owned by big band leader

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

. Wescott was a member of the State Board of Agriculture from 1952 to 1956. He was appointed as chairman of the State Board of Control of Institutions and Agencies (later renamed the State Board of Human Services) in 1956. He also served as Chairman of the National Agricultural Stabilization Committee for Dairy Products in 1961. Wescott was one of the founders of the

in Raritan Township near

Flemington, New Jersey Flemington is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Doctor of Humane Letters from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

in 1955. He was awarded a similar degree by

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in 1960. In 1966 the Wescotts donated their farmland in Rosemont for the creation of the Wescott Preserve, the first county park in Hunterdon County. In 1987, Wescott sold most of his remaining farmland. He remained active in farmland preservation, helping to dedicate the

New Jersey Museum of Agriculture The New Jersey Museum of Agriculture was an American agriculture museum, located in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and focused on the evolution of agriculture in New Jersey. The museum's exhibits included farm tools and machinery, household imple ...

on the

Cook College The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) is a constituent school of Rutgers University's New Brunswick-Piscataway campus. Formerly known as Cook College—which was named for George Hammell Cook, a professor at Rutgers in ...

campus of

in 1989.

Personal life

Before her marriage to Wescott, Barbara Harrison lived in France, where she worked closely with other American expatriates in the literary world. She and

Monroe Wheeler Monroe Wheeler (13 February 1899 – 14 August 1988) was an American publisher and museum coordinator whose relationship with the novelist and poet Glenway Wescott lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death in 1987. Biography Wheeler was born in Evan ...

established Harrison of Paris, a press publishing limited-edition literary paperbacks. From 1930 to 1934, Harrison of Paris published thirteen titles, including two new works by

, Monroe Wheeler's longtime companion. In 1934, shortly before Barbara Harrison married Lloyd Wescott, the press relocated to New York, where it published a final title,

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, poet, and political activist. Her 1962 novel '' Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in the United States that y ...

's ''Hacienda''. Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler returned to the United States and maintained an apartment in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

with photographer

George Platt Lynes George Platt Lynes (April 15, 1907 – December 6, 1955) was an American fashion and commercial photographer who worked in the 1930s and 1940s. He produced photographs featuring many gay artists and writers from the 1940s that were acquired by t ...

. When Lloyd and Barbara Wescott moved to Mulhocaway Farm, Glenway along with Wheeler and Lynes took over one of the farmhand houses and called it Stone-Blossom. When Lloyd and Barbara later moved to the Rosemont farm, a two-story stone house, dubbed Haymeadows, was reserved for Glenway. He died at the Rosemont residence in 1987. Barbara Wescott continued her patronage of the arts throughout her life. She was a noted collector of artwork, and she played a critical role in the development of the

New Jersey State Museum The New Jersey State Museum is located at 195-205 West State Street in Trenton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The museum's collections include natural history specimens, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, and cultural history and fin ...

, serving on the museum's Advisory Council. After her death in 1977, a sculpture garden was dedicated in her memory at the State Museum.

Death

Wescott died in 1990 at his Rosemont home at the age of 83. In 2007, the Hunterdon Medical Center named the Wescott Medical Arts Center in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wescott, Lloyd 1907 births 1990 deaths American agriculturalists People from Washington County, Wisconsin People from Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey People from Union Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni