To continue your tour, return to the Staircase Hall and enter the open doorway on your right.
This is Olive’s boudoir, part of the Owners’ suite – which also includes a dressing room, bedroom, bathroom, and plenty of closet space. In this room with its lovely view and romantic balcony, Mrs. Plant might have enjoyed her breakfast, conducted correspondence, or served afternoon tea to a visiting friend.
The lovely chaise, desk, and chairs in this room were crafted by the Tobey Furniture Company of Chicago. These original furnishings were generously returned to Lucknow by the Tobey family – no relation to the furniture company – who occupied the estate during the 1940s and 1950s.
With a cool breeze blowing through the open door, this would have been a comfortable and – thanks to pocket doors – private space for the lady of the house. But who was the lady of the house?
Olive Cornelia Dewey was born in Toulon, Illinois, in 1883. She was the oldest of six children born to Charles and Flora Dewey. The Dewey family was a fixture in their hometown – they were members of the Tulon Congregational Church and were well-known in the business community. Olive’s grandfather, Samuel Dewey, founded the local bank, which served the community until 1938.
The Dewey children were well-educated and polished to represent the family’s social standing. Olive graduated from Toulon Academy before attending Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She served as the recording secretary for her class while studying Greek. After graduating in 1905, Olive returned to her hometown where she taught at Toulon Academy and worked as a bank teller. In 1912, Olive was traveling to Europe with her cousins when she met Thomas Plant.
After they were married, Olive settled into life at the Lucknow Estate, which she loved dearly. In 1930, she wrote:
“We are still in the country and each year I grow more enamored of nature and the wonderful scenic beauty of our part of New Hampshire. It is all the time an inspiration and a lifting up out of the materiality of daily living.”
When not overseeing the daily management of the household, Olive could be found horseback riding on the estate or enjoying her greenhouse and gardens. She held progressive views and maintained her independence, while also doting on Tom.
“I drive my own car and do my own marketing once a week in our nearest town, seventeen miles away. I sew, read and study, play a little golf, have our friends visit us, and as I have no children, my husband gets a good deal of attention.”
