Edith Mary Kingdon Gould (August 24, 1864 – November 13, 1921) was an American actress. She married

George Jay Gould George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW), Western Pacific Railroad (WP), and the Manhatta ...

Early life

She was born in 1864 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and educated in England. She was the daughter of Charles Dennis Kingdon and Mary Carter of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Career

She worked as a stage actress until her marriage to

George Jay Gould I George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW), Western Pacific Railroad (WP), and the Manhatta ...

. In 1908, she returned to acting, appearing in a one-act play opposite

Frederick Townsend Martin Frederick Townsend Martin (December 6, 1849 – March 8, 1914) was a New York City writer, advocate for the poor, and an acknowledged leader of society in New York. He was referred to as a "millionaire with a mission." Early life Martin was born ...

. The play, ''Mrs. Van Vechten's Divorce Dance'', was performed in the ballroom of the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

. Her performance was attended by Commodore

Elbridge Thomas Gerry Elbridge Thomas Gerry (December 25, 1837 – February 18, 1927), usually called "Commodore" Gerry due to the office he held with the New York Yacht Club from 1886 to 1892, was an American lawyer and reformer who was the grandson of U.S. Vice P ...

and his wife, Louisa Livingston Gerry, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Gladys Vanderbilt, Count

Széchenyi Széchenyi or Széchényi is the name of a wealthy Hungarian noble family which produced many politicians, landowners and influential figures within Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is not to be confused with other Szécsényi family that went extinct. ...

, Ellen French Vanderbilt (wife of

Alfred G. Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was a wealthy American businessman, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. A sportsman, he participated in and pioneered a number of related endeavors. He died in the sinking of ...

), Mrs.

Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond (September 17, 1874 – February 22, 1970) was an author, philanthropist, and socialite. She was a member of the Vanderbilt family, and mother of music producer John Hammond. She was a keen musician and was presiden ...

, Marion Anthon Fish (wife of

Stuyvesant Fish Stuyvesant Fish (June 24, 1851 – April 10, 1923) was an American businessman and member of the Fish family who served as president of the Illinois Central Railroad. He owned grand residences in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, entertain ...

), Ruth Livingston Mills (wife of Ogden Mills),

Anne Harriman Vanderbilt Anne Harriman Sands Rutherfurd Vanderbilt (February 17, 1861 – April 20, 1940) was an American heiress known for her marriages to prominent men and her role in the development of the Sutton Place neighborhood as a fashionable place to live. Ea ...

(wife of

William Kissam Vanderbilt William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments. Early life William Kiss ...

), and many others prominent in New York society. Edith M

Edith and George hired

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including F ...

, to build their home, which they called Georgian Court. The site is now

Georgian Court University Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,600 undergraduates and nearly 600 graduate students ...

Personal life

She married

(1864–1923), a

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

executive who led both the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

and the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

. Gould was the son of

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

, who is considered one of the ruthless robber barons of the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

. Together, George and Edith had the following children: *

Kingdon Gould, Sr. Kingdon Gould Sr. (August 15, 1887 – November 7, 1945) was an American financier and champion polo player. Early life He was born on August 15, 1887 in Manhattan, New York City, the eldest son born to George Jay Gould I and Edith M. Kingdon. ...

(1887–1945), who married Annunziata Camilla Maria Lucci (1890–1961). *

Jay Gould II Jay Gould II (September 1, 1888 – January 26, 1935) was an American real tennis player and a grandson of the railroad magnate Jay Gould. He was the world champion (1914–1916) and the Olympic gold medalist (London, 1908, then under ...

(1888–1935), a tennis player who married Anne Douglass Graham, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty. * Marjorie Gwynne Gould (1891–1955), who married

Anthony Joseph Drexel III Anthony Joseph Drexel III (October 19, 1887 – February 23, 1946) was an American banker and aviator. Early life He was the eldest son of Margarita "Rita" Armstrong (1867–1948), Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. Among his siblings were Margaretta ...

(1887–1946), the son of

Anthony Joseph Drexel, Jr. Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. (September 9, 1864 – December 14, 1934) was an American banker and philanthropist who was a close friend of King Edward VII. Early life Drexel was born on September 9, 1864, in Philadelphia to Anthony Joseph Drexel ( ...

and grandson of

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel & Co. of Philadelphia, he founde ...

. *

Helen Vivien Gould Helen Vivien Beresford, Baroness Decies, formerly Helen Vivien Gould (May 2, 1893 – February 3, 1931) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was one of the two Jay Gould descendants to marry into European aristocracy. Early l ...

(1893–1931) who married

John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies John Graham Hope Horsley de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies PC (5 December 1866 – 31 January 1944), styled The Honourable John Beresford until 1910, was an Anglo-Irish army officer, civil servant, and polo player in the 1900 Summ ...

(1866–1945). * George Jay Gould II (1896-1963) who married, and later divorced, Laura Carter. *

Edith Catherine Gould Edith Catherine MacNeal ( Gould, formerly Wainwright) (August 3, 1901 – September 10, 1937) was an American heiress and writer. Early life Edith was born aboard her father's yacht, ''Sybarite'', on August 3, 1901, while it was anchored off Co ...

(1901–1937) who married

Carroll Livingston Wainwright I Carroll Livingston Wainwright (December 2, 1899 – July 6, 1967) was an American artist and socialite. Early life Wainwright was born on December 2, 1899, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Stuyvesant Wainwright (1863–1930) and Caroline Sm ...

(1899–1967). They divorced and she married Sir Hector Murray MacNeal. *

Gloria Gould Gloria Gould (1906 – August 16, 1943) was an American socialite who was the daughter of industrialist heir George Jay Gould I. Early life She was born on March 3, 1906, the youngest daughter of George Jay Gould I. She was one of seven chi ...

(1906–1943) who married Henry A. Bishop II, and after a divorce married Walter McFarlane Barker. She died on November 13, 1921 at the golf course of their home at Georgian Court in

Lakewood Township, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...

. After a private funeral at the Gould home, she was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and a designated National Historic Landmark. Located south of Woodlawn Heights, Bronx, New York City, it has the character of a rural cemetery. Woodlawn Cemetery opened during th ...

, in the Jay Gould Mausoleum.

Descendants

Through her daughter Edith, she was the grandmother of

Stuyvesant Wainwright Stuyvesant Wainwright II (March 16, 1921 – March 6, 2010) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Early life Wainwright was born in New York City, the son of Carroll Livingston Wainwright (1899–1 ...

(1921–2010), a Member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Through her daughter Helen, she was the grandmother of Arthur Beresford, 6th Baron Decies (1915–1992).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdon, Edith Gould family 1864 births 1921 deaths People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey Burials in the Jay Gould Mausoleum