Miss Florence Greenfield (1865-1946)

When Miss Florence Greenfield died in Carlisle on January 31, 1946, she was the last member of her family.¹ The contents of her will, published in a Harrisburg newspaper a week later, revealed that the Carlisle Hospital was named the beneficiary of her estate. In addition to that bequest, she left $1,000 to her friend Mary Dalton of Woodbury, N. J., $2,000 to the Farmers Trust Company in a trust for the First Presbyterian Church in memory of her mother Mrs. Margaret J. Greenfield, and a bequest of $550 to Annie Parker Harden² of Carlisle. The remainder of her estate was to be converted into a trust fund and paid semi-annually to Carlisle Hospital in memory of her brother L. Thompson Greenfield, Jr.³

A two-day public sale was held at her late residence on April 17^th and 18^th, 1946. The advertisement for the sale said it included her entire collection of early American furniture, antiques and decorations. Dealers from a radius of 200 miles and 600-700 persons attended the sale. They said that prices were much higher than they would have been before the war. The highest price was paid for a 150-year old Chippendale eight-day clock with a moon dial and carving. It brought $670. Other items included a pair of mahogany carved dining tables made about 1800, a 200-year old walnut Chippendale high chest of drawers with original willow brasses which sold for $340, and a Hepplewhite high chest of drawers with authentic oval brasses sold for $336. Other pieces of furniture, mirrors, needlework made by students at the Lititz Academy, pottery, rare porcelains, china, Dresden, Royal Worcester and sterling silver were among the items sold.⁴

Her home, a two-and-a-half-story brick house at 124 West High Street located immediately west of the United Telephone Company, sold for $22,600 to O. G. Richter.⁵

Florence was born in Carlisle on May 4, 1865. Her father, L. Thompson Greenfield, operated a successful dry goods store on High Street and was well known throughout the valley. Florence, “said to be one of Carlisle’s handsomest young ladies,”⁶ never married. A member of First Presbyterian Church, she devoted herself to work for local charities including the Ladies Aid Society, the Female Benevolent Society and the Carlisle Hospital Auxiliary for whom she served as Corresponding Secretary for many years. She is buried in Ashland Cemetery with her father, mother, and several brothers and sisters.