ARTICLES

Beatrice Ayer Patton’s Greatest Irritation

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the straightforward narrative—based on hard facts and not unsubstantiated rumors, which read like historical fiction—makes it abundantly clear that General Patton’s untimely death was nothing more than an unfortunate accident.
Spotlight: The Ayer-Tiffany Mansion on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue

It was said that men who came face-to-face with the Tiffany Chapel at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (a.k.a. the World’s Columbian Exposition) doffed their hats in reverence. Whether the chapel’s mosaic columns and stained glass windows had that effect on Frederick Ayer is unknown, but his wife Ellie–a famed horticulturalist in the Boston area–undoubtedly…
Snippet – A Magical Place Called Avalon

Thirty miles from Boston, in the Pride’s Crossing section of Beverly, stood the Ayer family’s majestic country home. Avalon was a magical place along the rocky Massachusetts’ North Shore George Patton described as “almost more beautiful than it is possible to imagine.” Completed in 1906 in a mere eight months, Avalon was named after the…
General Patton’s Poetry “To Beatrice”

George Patton considered himself to “have a hell of a memory for poetry and war.” He liked to pick up the pen and write poetry to inspire himself during war, while Beatrice tried to get his work published.
General Patton’s Second in Command

Beatrice Ayer Patton never wanted to be known. All she ever wanted was for people to remember her husband, General George S. Patton Jr. Yet, she was instrumental in him reaching his destiny, and was “a person in herself, with a great deal to offer.”
Snippet – The 2nd Armored Division March

For General Patton, there was nothing more beautiful than a well-executed dress parade, especially when his wife composed the music. Beatrice Patton possessed an “artistic temperament” and an ear not only for languages but also for music. She had a perfect understanding of harmony, “played the piano by ear, could transpose as she played, liked…