Gladys Mills Phipps (June 19, 1883 - October 19, 1970) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

socialite, sportsperson, and a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse owner and

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, ...

who began the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century t ...

dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of the turf".

Early life

She was born in New York on June 19, 1883 to Ruth Livingston (1855–1920) and Ogden Mills (1856–1929). She had a twin sister, Beatrice, Countess Granard (1883–1972), and a brother,

Ogden Livingston Mills Ogden Livingston Mills (August 23, 1884October 11, 1937) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury in President Herbert Hoover's cabinet, during which time Mills pushed for tax increa ...

(1884–1937) who served as the

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Career

This sportswoman was an avid

ice skater Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be perf ...

and an excellent

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er; she won a number of tournaments, including a

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

championship at the

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

golf course in which she beat her male counterparts. She was, however, first and foremost a lover of horses. Her father had owned racing stables in the United States and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Her twin, Beatrice, would inherit the French stable and become a leading owner in that country. Gladys Phipps became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in 1926, when she and her brother Ogden L. Mills established the highly successful

Wheatley Stable Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. History Over the ye ...

. Both of her children became involved in

Thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

Personal life

In 1907, Gladys Mills married

Henry Carnegie Phipps Henry Carnegie Phipps (May 11, 1879 – March 21, 1953) was an American Sportsperson, sportsman and financier, the owner of Wheatley Stable along with his wife Gladys Mills Phipps, and a member of the wealthy Phipps family. Early life Phipps was b ...

(1879–1953), son of the wealthy

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

businessman,

Henry Phipps Henry Phipps may refer to: * Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), sportsman and financier * Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), entrepreneur and major philanthropist * Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, ...

. Together they had: *

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...

(1908–2002), who was married to Ruth Pruyn (1907–1994), and later, Lillian Stokes Bostwick (1906–1987) * Barbara Phipps (1911–1987), who married Stuart Symington Janney Jr. (1907–1988). They were the parents of Stuart S. Janney IIIChris Korman
Maryland's Janney shuns limelight, even with Derby favorite Orb
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'', May 01, 2013 * Audrey Phipps (d. 1992), who was married to Philip Dana Holden (d. 1973), an investment banker * Sonia Phipps (1919–2006), who was married to Hans Christoph Farrell, Count of Seherr-Thoss (1912–1992). Gladys Mills Phipps died on October 19, 1970 in

Roslyn, New York Roslyn ( ) is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the Greater Roslyn area's anchor community. The population was 2,770 at the 2010 census. History Ros ...

Philanthropy

Following her brother's death in 1937, Gladys Mills Phipps inherited their parents' mansion at Staatsburg, New York. In 1938, she gave the house and to the State of New York.

References

External links

* ''Halcyon Days: An American Family Through Three Generations'' by Peggie Phipps Boegner (daughter of John Shaffer Phipps), Richard Gachot (1987)

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...

* Bowen, Edward L. '' Legacies of the Turf'' (Vol. 1) (2003) Eclipse Press (See also

Mills Mansion at Staatsburg, New York

Phipps family at Thoroughbred Times Company, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Gladys Mills American racehorse owners and breeders Philanthropists from New York (state) People from Staatsburg, New York 1883 births 1970 deaths Livingston family Phipps family People from Roslyn, New York