Camilla Lowell Lyman was born into a very prominent Boston family. The "blue blood" that ran through her veins was the confluence of generations of Cabots, Lowells, Forbes, Rices, Perkins and Lymans. It is hard to imagine a lineage that represented more old money and social distinction.
Arthur T. Lyman, Camilla's father, was the scion of a family prominent as far back as the early 19th century when Harvard-educated Theodore Lyman (1792-1849) was a brigadier general, a member of the Massachusetts state senate, mayor of Boston, author of several scholarly books on diplomacy, and a philanthropist who donated large sums of money to schools. The family continues a distinguished history of achievements in the military, scholarly writing, philanthropy and public service.
Camilla's mother, Margaret Perkins Rice Lyman, was a member of the exceptionally wealthy and prominent Forbes, Cabot, Perkins, Rice and Lyman families. Thomas H. Perkins (1764-1854) was a highly successful merchant prince who founded the world-famous Perkins School for the Blind. The Forbes family, known today for U.S. Senator John Forbes Kerry, first made its fortune in the 18th century trading furs and other items for Chinese tea and opium.
The Cabot family patriarch was John Cabot, another Boston merchant prince, who made his family's fortune in opium and slavery in the 18th century. Unlike its controversial enterprises of centuries past, the family has for many generations maintained a distinguished record of philanthropy and public service.
The Lowell family is known best for its literary talents, including those of poets James Russell Lowell, Amy Lowell and Robert Lowell. Francis Cabot Lowell founded the city of Lowell, Mass.
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