 Pat Speer practiced dentistry in Washington D.C., in the same building where Clara Barton had previously conducted her work with U.S. Civil War veterans and their families.In July 1941, Hickory Hill became the home of newly appointed United States Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson and his wife, Irene, who, in 1955, after his death, sold Hickory Hill to United States Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline.After the 1956 Democratic National Convention, the house was sold to John's brother Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, who had a growing family (eventually eleven children).