By DIANE HARRIGAN

He is remembered as a Wall Street wizard and self-made millionaire and as an elder statesman and advisor to seven presidents. Sure, he was one of the most powerful men of the early 20th century, but what of the private man behind the august public persona?

In the largest possible sense, for much of his life Bernard Baruch was a public servant, a caretaker of a nation. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he excelled in quite another, more tender stewardship role: that of godfather. BCAM is delighted to share the reminiscences and photos of his goddaughter Virginia Van Ess Lindsey with our readers. Her account and photographs help us better understand the private man behind the larger-than-life image, the man who is also, to some extent, this college’s godparent.

“My mother, Helen Blanche Higgins, first met Mr. Baruch when she was a nurse in New York in the late 1930s,” said Van Ess Lindsey this spring on her first visit to the college named for her godfather. “My mother had been assigned to him when he was in the hospital, and he persuaded her to work for him as his private nurse when he returned home to recuperate. After he recovered, she also became his secretary. She was part of his staff and was with him almost nonstop, traveling with him during the war years.” She helped the sought-after sage receive guests as well, many of whom consulted with him at his 17,500-acre Southern estate, Hobcaw Barony. One of her mother’s jobs, according to Virginia, was to ensure that Baruch was not kept up to all hours. “She would say to the company, ‘Mr. Baruch is not well enough to stay up so late. I will stay with you, but he has to retire.’ That was their routine.” South Carolina–born Baruch had purchased Hobcaw, which comprised 11 former rice plantations, in 1905 to use as a winter hunting retreat.

Higgins (Baruch called Virginia’s mother simply “Higgins”) worked for him until she met her future husband, Dr. Jerome Van Ess, a surgeon in New York Public Clinic Hospital. Leaving Baruch’s employ did not break their bond, however. When it came time to choose a godfather for her first child, Higgins decided on Baruch. But there was a hitch: the baby was to be baptized in the Catholic Church and Baruch was Jewish. Even Baruch’s close friend Cardinal Spellman could not smooth over the difficulties. “Finally, my mother said, ‘That’s it. He’s the godfather.’”

Virginia spoke with loving admiration of her godfather. “I did not have a living grandparent, and he didn’t have any grandchildren, so he really became my grandfather.” Baruch was godfather to her sister and brother as well.

Some of Virginia’s earliest memories are of times spent at Hobcaw Barony. “Hobcaw was so beautiful—lots of horses and dogs. Also, there was a playhouse he had built for his daughters. It was a wonderful mini-house with a large living room and working kitchen.” And even though Baruch was 76 when Virginia was born, she remembers him swimming in his indoor pool down at Hobcaw with her and her siblings. “He was well into his 80s, but he jumped right in there and played with us. I also remember fishing with him at the Clambank. . . . Staying at Hobcaw was such a treat. We hated to leave.”

When Virginia got older, she came to respect Hobcaw and Baruch’s involvement more. “Hobcaw was more than just his home. If you read up on Hobcaw, you learn about the community—the little villages—Mr. Baruch created and sustained. Hundreds of families lived in them in the thirties, with Mr. Baruch also providing education and medical care. He built churches, too. My mother said he just loved churches.”

Virginia remembers her family dropping by Baruch’s big, beautiful Park Avenue apartment: “I visited him in that apartment from the time I was young up to the time I went to college.” (Baruch died when Virginia was 19.) “He was always dressed in a suit and a tie. He had so many visitors: you never knew who would be there or what was on the agenda. I remember being there once when Eleanor Roosevelt stopped by.” At quieter times, Baruch would simply inquire about Van Ess family life. “Once we had just come back from shopping for camp clothing. He asked my mother what she spent. He said, ‘Go into my sock drawer.’ He kept all this money—$50 bills—in a sock in his drawer. You felt funny, but he would insist.”

Not only was her godfather generous, he was also very loving. “When you’re a child and someone dotes on your every word, how could you not like that? Your parents don’t dote on your every word, but your grandparents and the older people you are close to do. This special regard is the basis of so many wonderful memories: I got to sit next to him all the time, and I would tell him little stories and recite poems, things from school. He just got a big kick out of it.”

As his godchildren got older, Baruch became very interested in their education. “He always talked about how important it was to have a good education and how much education meant to him,” Virginia recalled. “He absolutely insisted I take four years of Latin in high school. Also, French. He really thought that the schools should offer more languages. I remember his quizzing me on Latin declensions—and he remembered them all!” Ever practical, Baruch also insisted that the three children read and understand the stock quotes in The Journal American.

What does Virginia believe Baruch’s lasting legacy is? “I think his love of people, of people from different countries. You see that here at the College. He would be so proud to see today’s mix of students from different ethnic backgrounds.”

Maybe it’s not just coincidence that today Virginia is director of a nursery school in Connecticut. From her godparent, she learned the importance of education and affection.