Edwin Gould

Edwin Gould Sr.
BornFebruary 26, 1866
New York City, US
DiedJuly 12, 1933 (aged 67)
EducationColumbia School of Mines
Spouse
Sarah Cantine Shrady
(m. 1892)
Children2
Parent(s)Jay Gould
Helen Day Miller
Relatives

Edwin Gould Sr. (February 26, 1866 – July 12, 1933) was an American railway official, investor and member of the wealthy Gould family.[1]

Early life[edit]

Gould was born in Manhattan, New York City, to railroad financier Jay Gould on February 26, 1866.[1] Time magazine writes on July 24, 1933:

His brothers and sisters, save for Helen, all insisted on marrying actresses or noblemen — generally more than once. His sister Anna divorced Count Boni de Castellane and married the Duc de Talleyrand. His brother Howard (now living abroad) married Actress Viola Katherine Clemmons and separated from her. His brother Frank Jay Gould (now settled on the Riviera as owner of Nice's unprofitable Casino) married Margaret Kelly, a banker's daughter, then British Actress Edith Kelly, then French Actress Florence La Caze. His elder brother George had married Actress Edith Kingdon, by whom he had seven children, and after her death in 1921 married British Actress Guinevere Sinclair, legitimatizing three other children he had had by her. ... But he modestly went his way, made and gave away his modest millions, died without ostentation, of a sudden heart attack.

He studied at Columbia University and was a member of the class of 1888 in the Columbia School of Mines. In 1896, he donated $18,000 to fund the crew team's boathouse, which is still named in his honor.[2][3][4][5]

Career[edit]

From 1917 to 1918 during World War I, he served with Squadron A, New York National Guard. In 1918, he was major of ordnance in the First Brigade of the New York Guard. He was chosen a captain in the 71st Regiment of the New York State Guard.[1]

He served as secretary of the St. Louis, Arkansas, and Texas Railway until it was reorganized as the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and later served as vice-president and president of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway. He organized the Continental Match Company in 1894 (consolidated with the Diamond Match Company in 1899). He was president of the Bowling Green Trust Company and vice-president of the American Writing Paper Company and president of the Five Boroughs Realty Company. He also served as a director of many railroad and other corporations before his retirement in 1926.[1]

Personal life[edit]

Photograph of his wife, Sarah Cantine Shrady

For many years, Gould lived in Dobbs Ferry, on a huge estate, Agawam, that sat along the Hudson River. Gould was a generous benefactor to the small village, and one of his contributions, Gould Park, remains an important recreational site for village residents.[6] He was also a very active member of the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia, along with J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller among others.[7] In 1900, Gould purchased the former cottage of David H. King Jr., "a single-storied, Italian Renaissance house surrounding a central courtyard, complete with a swimming pool fed by an artesian well."[8]

On October 26, 1892, Gould married Sarah Cantine Shrady (c. 1870–1951), the only daughter of George F. Shrady of New York.[9][10][11] Together, they had two sons:

Gould died on July 12, 1933. After his dinner he complained of not feeling well, and died after midnight in his bed, at his estate Highwood in Oyster Bay Cove, New York.[1] He was buried in the family mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery. Upon his death, his widow reportedly inherited $10 million.

Descendants[edit]

Through his son Frank, he was a grandfather of Marianne Gould (1926–1957),[15] who married (and later divorced) Lt. John W. McDonough,[16] and New York real estate investor Edwin Jay Gould (1932–1993).[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Edwin Gould Dies Suddenly at 67. Son of Railroad Financier and Builder Was Noted for Benefactions to Children. Left School of Finance. Made $1,000,000 Profit Operating Alone in Wall Street Before Father Forgave Him". The New York Times. July 13, 1933. Retrieved August 6, 2008. Edwin Gould, second son of the late Jay Gould, financier and railroad builder, died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after
  2. ^ Columbia University Bulletin. New York City: Columbia University. 1890. p. 20.
  3. ^ "Facilities". Columbia University Athletics. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "Historic Boathouse Burned As Throngs Watch On Riverside; Fire, Visible for Miles, Destroys Building Given to Columbia by Edwin Gould in 1896. Palisades a Vantage Point Thousands There and in Homes on Drive Watch Spectacle as in a Colossal Stadium. Traffic Held Up for Hours Firemen Have Hard Battle to Reach Flames at Hudson -- Run Hose From Street as Fireboat Fails. Historic Boathouse On Riverside Burns". The New York Times. August 31, 1927. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Matthews, Brander (1904). A History of Columbia University, 1754-1904. New York City: Columbia University Press, The Macmillan Company, agents. p. 174.
  6. ^ Village Historian
  7. ^ McCash, June Hall (1998). The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony. University of Georgia Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8203-1928-5. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "Chichota Courtyard Rehabilitation". www.jekyllislandfoundation.org. Jekyll Island Foundation. September 24, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  9. ^ "Gould". Time. July 31, 1933.
  10. ^ "Mrs. Edwin Gould Dies in Hospital; Widow of Financier's Son Was Daughter of Surgeon Who Attended President Grant". The New York Times. October 15, 1951.
  11. ^ "Edwin Gould is Married". The New York Times. October 27, 1892. Retrieved July 12, 2010. Miss Sarah Cantine Shrady, only daughter of Mrs. George F. Shrady of 8 East Sixty-sixth Street, was married last evening to Edwin Gould, second son of Jay Gould
  12. ^ "Sublimed Gould". Time. July 24, 1933.
  13. ^ "Edwin Gould Jr. Killed on Hunt with Own Gun; Was Clubbing 'Coon Caught in Trap When Trigger Caught, Firing the Weapon. Shot Severed Artery". The New York Times. February 26, 1917. Young Hunter Died Before His Sole Companion on Lonely Island Could Give Aid. Father is Bringing Body. Mother Prostrated at News of Tragedy, Which Occurred Near Jekyll Island. Left the Body and Called Help. Followed a Local Custom. Mother Prostrated by the News. Edwin Gould Jr. Killed on Hunt. Had Chosen a Business Career. Brunswick, Georgia, February 25, 1917. Edwin Gould Jr., 23 years old, who was staying at his father's Winter home on Jekyll Island, was killed last night by the discharge of a shotgun in his hands while he was trying to kill a racoon found in a trap he had set.
  14. ^ "Frank M. Gould, 45 Dies at Oyster Bay; Son of Edwin and Grandson of Jay Was Rail Executive. Owned Prize Horses". The New York Times. January 14, 1945. Oyster Bay, Long Island; January 13, 1945. Frank Miller Gould, only surviving son of the late Edwin Gould and a grandson of Jay Gould, financier and railroad builder, died at his home here today after a long illness. He would have been 46 years old on February 6.
  15. ^ "MRS. M'DONOUGH DIES; Great-Granddaughter of Jay Gould Succumbs at 31". The New York Times. January 22, 1957. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ Berns, David (March 7, 1945). "MARIANNE GOULD BECOMES A BRIDE; PRINCIPALS IN WEDDINGS YESTERDAY". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  17. ^ Lambert, Bruce (March 26, 1993). "Edwin J. Gould, 61, Real Estate Investor In Manhattan, Dies". The New York Times.