Ellen Lawson McClung was born in 1893 to Judge Hugh Lawson and Ella (Gibbins) McClung in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was educated at Charles Coffin Ross's school in Knoxville, and later at the Ogantz School for Girls in Philadelphia.
Ellen was presented as a debutante in 1914, then traveled abroad a great deal with her parents. Ellen McClung married Thomas Huntingdon Berry, a coal magnate in 1928 at their estate named “Belcaro” in the elaborate gardens there. Mr. And Mrs. Berry had one son, Hugh Lawson McClung Berry in 1932. After Hugh McClung died in 1936, Ellen and her family returned to Belcaro to care for her mother who was now widowed.
On February 28, 1951, on annual vacation to Palm Beach, Hugh Berry shot his grandmother and father, as well as a policeman in his ensuing escape. His father survived, but his grandmother died of his wounds. Hugh Berry was eventually captured, and after a medical examination was pronounced insane with his Mother believing that their son's problems began when he suffered a head injury three years earlier. She ultimately agreed to have him committed to a mental health facility in Chicago.
(Biographical information above gleaned from family records/writings of the events of this sad portion of this esteemed family’s history.)
Hugh Berry was eventually released and died from complications of pneumonia in 1963, in Mexico. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. and Mrs. Berry involved themselves with a number of historic preservation causes. In late 1951, Ellen Berry became the organizing chairman of the Upper East Tennessee Division of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and helped to organize the Jefferson County branch of the organization. In the same year, she assisted the Knoxville chapter of the APTA in purchasing the crumbling Ramsey House. She and her husband also purchased and restored Fairfax (built by Major Lawson Franklin in about 1840). Ellen Berry also donated some of her property to the University of Tennessee in 1965 with the purpose of building a plaza comtaining a fountain and statuary.
In 1977, the Berrys built a smaller home which they named Berrymount on a hill looking over Knoxville. Thomas Berry died in 1978, and Ellen retreated to Berrymount with her housekeeper and companion, Dan Tondevold. Tondevold, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the Berrys' late son, claimed to be from Denmark and moved into Berrymount's guest house after Thomas Berry's death under the pretext of writing a book. He eventually took over the management of the estate and was granted power of attorney in April of 1982.
Using his position, he stole the majority of Ellen Berry's savings and belongings. A body believed to be his (but never adequately identified) was found shortly after the theft; however, it was rumored that Tondevold escaped to Europe, the Caribbean, or South America.
Ellen Berry moved into a small apartment in Jefferson City, where she lived modestly on the proceeds of the land she had donated to the University of Tennessee. She died on April 18, 1992, at 98 years of age.
Ellen was presented as a debutante in 1914, then traveled abroad a great deal with her parents. Ellen McClung married Thomas Huntingdon Berry, a coal magnate in 1928 at their estate named “Belcaro” in the elaborate gardens there. Mr. And Mrs. Berry had one son, Hugh Lawson McClung Berry in 1932. After Hugh McClung died in 1936, Ellen and her family returned to Belcaro to care for her mother who was now widowed.
On February 28, 1951, on annual vacation to Palm Beach, Hugh Berry shot his grandmother and father, as well as a policeman in his ensuing escape. His father survived, but his grandmother died of his wounds. Hugh Berry was eventually captured, and after a medical examination was pronounced insane with his Mother believing that their son's problems began when he suffered a head injury three years earlier. She ultimately agreed to have him committed to a mental health facility in Chicago.
(Biographical information above gleaned from family records/writings of the events of this sad portion of this esteemed family’s history.)
Hugh Berry was eventually released and died from complications of pneumonia in 1963, in Mexico. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. and Mrs. Berry involved themselves with a number of historic preservation causes. In late 1951, Ellen Berry became the organizing chairman of the Upper East Tennessee Division of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and helped to organize the Jefferson County branch of the organization. In the same year, she assisted the Knoxville chapter of the APTA in purchasing the crumbling Ramsey House. She and her husband also purchased and restored Fairfax (built by Major Lawson Franklin in about 1840). Ellen Berry also donated some of her property to the University of Tennessee in 1965 with the purpose of building a plaza comtaining a fountain and statuary.
In 1977, the Berrys built a smaller home which they named Berrymount on a hill looking over Knoxville. Thomas Berry died in 1978, and Ellen retreated to Berrymount with her housekeeper and companion, Dan Tondevold. Tondevold, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the Berrys' late son, claimed to be from Denmark and moved into Berrymount's guest house after Thomas Berry's death under the pretext of writing a book. He eventually took over the management of the estate and was granted power of attorney in April of 1982.
Using his position, he stole the majority of Ellen Berry's savings and belongings. A body believed to be his (but never adequately identified) was found shortly after the theft; however, it was rumored that Tondevold escaped to Europe, the Caribbean, or South America.
Ellen Berry moved into a small apartment in Jefferson City, where she lived modestly on the proceeds of the land she had donated to the University of Tennessee. She died on April 18, 1992, at 98 years of age.
Ellen Lawson McClung was born in 1893 to Judge Hugh Lawson and Ella (Gibbins) McClung in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was educated at Charles Coffin Ross's school in Knoxville, and later at the Ogantz School for Girls in Philadelphia.
Ellen was presented as a debutante in 1914, then traveled abroad a great deal with her parents. Ellen McClung married Thomas Huntingdon Berry, a coal magnate in 1928 at their estate named “Belcaro” in the elaborate gardens there. Mr. And Mrs. Berry had one son, Hugh Lawson McClung Berry in 1932. After Hugh McClung died in 1936, Ellen and her family returned to Belcaro to care for her mother who was now widowed.
On February 28, 1951, on annual vacation to Palm Beach, Hugh Berry shot his grandmother and father, as well as a policeman in his ensuing escape. His father survived, but his grandmother died of his wounds. Hugh Berry was eventually captured, and after a medical examination was pronounced insane with his Mother believing that their son's problems began when he suffered a head injury three years earlier. She ultimately agreed to have him committed to a mental health facility in Chicago.
(Biographical information above gleaned from family records/writings of the events of this sad portion of this esteemed family’s history.)
Hugh Berry was eventually released and died from complications of pneumonia in 1963, in Mexico. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. and Mrs. Berry involved themselves with a number of historic preservation causes. In late 1951, Ellen Berry became the organizing chairman of the Upper East Tennessee Division of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and helped to organize the Jefferson County branch of the organization. In the same year, she assisted the Knoxville chapter of the APTA in purchasing the crumbling Ramsey House. She and her husband also purchased and restored Fairfax (built by Major Lawson Franklin in about 1840). Ellen Berry also donated some of her property to the University of Tennessee in 1965 with the purpose of building a plaza comtaining a fountain and statuary.
In 1977, the Berrys built a smaller home which they named Berrymount on a hill looking over Knoxville. Thomas Berry died in 1978, and Ellen retreated to Berrymount with her housekeeper and companion, Dan Tondevold. Tondevold, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the Berrys' late son, claimed to be from Denmark and moved into Berrymount's guest house after Thomas Berry's death under the pretext of writing a book. He eventually took over the management of the estate and was granted power of attorney in April of 1982.
Using his position, he stole the majority of Ellen Berry's savings and belongings. A body believed to be his (but never adequately identified) was found shortly after the theft; however, it was rumored that Tondevold escaped to Europe, the Caribbean, or South America.
Ellen Berry moved into a small apartment in Jefferson City, where she lived modestly on the proceeds of the land she had donated to the University of Tennessee. She died on April 18, 1992, at 98 years of age.
Ellen was presented as a debutante in 1914, then traveled abroad a great deal with her parents. Ellen McClung married Thomas Huntingdon Berry, a coal magnate in 1928 at their estate named “Belcaro” in the elaborate gardens there. Mr. And Mrs. Berry had one son, Hugh Lawson McClung Berry in 1932. After Hugh McClung died in 1936, Ellen and her family returned to Belcaro to care for her mother who was now widowed.
On February 28, 1951, on annual vacation to Palm Beach, Hugh Berry shot his grandmother and father, as well as a policeman in his ensuing escape. His father survived, but his grandmother died of his wounds. Hugh Berry was eventually captured, and after a medical examination was pronounced insane with his Mother believing that their son's problems began when he suffered a head injury three years earlier. She ultimately agreed to have him committed to a mental health facility in Chicago.
(Biographical information above gleaned from family records/writings of the events of this sad portion of this esteemed family’s history.)
Hugh Berry was eventually released and died from complications of pneumonia in 1963, in Mexico. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. and Mrs. Berry involved themselves with a number of historic preservation causes. In late 1951, Ellen Berry became the organizing chairman of the Upper East Tennessee Division of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and helped to organize the Jefferson County branch of the organization. In the same year, she assisted the Knoxville chapter of the APTA in purchasing the crumbling Ramsey House. She and her husband also purchased and restored Fairfax (built by Major Lawson Franklin in about 1840). Ellen Berry also donated some of her property to the University of Tennessee in 1965 with the purpose of building a plaza comtaining a fountain and statuary.
In 1977, the Berrys built a smaller home which they named Berrymount on a hill looking over Knoxville. Thomas Berry died in 1978, and Ellen retreated to Berrymount with her housekeeper and companion, Dan Tondevold. Tondevold, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the Berrys' late son, claimed to be from Denmark and moved into Berrymount's guest house after Thomas Berry's death under the pretext of writing a book. He eventually took over the management of the estate and was granted power of attorney in April of 1982.
Using his position, he stole the majority of Ellen Berry's savings and belongings. A body believed to be his (but never adequately identified) was found shortly after the theft; however, it was rumored that Tondevold escaped to Europe, the Caribbean, or South America.
Ellen Berry moved into a small apartment in Jefferson City, where she lived modestly on the proceeds of the land she had donated to the University of Tennessee. She died on April 18, 1992, at 98 years of age.
Inscription
Daughter of Judge Hugh Lawson McClung and Ella Gibons McClung, Great, Great Granddaughter of General James White, Great Granddaughter of Charles McClung
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