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 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 him ...

descendants to marry into European aristocracy.

Early life

Helen Vivien Gould was born on May 2, 1893, in the United States. She was the fourth of seven children born to

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 ...

(1864–1923), a railroad executive; and Edith Kingdon (1864–1921), an actress. Among her siblings were Kingdon Gould I, Marjorie Gwynne Gould,

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 und ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Her paternal grandparents were

, a leading American railroad developer and speculator known as 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 Wes ...

, and Helen Day ( née Miller) Gould.

Personal life

On February 7, 1911, Helen married John Graham Hope de la Poer Horsley Beresford (1866–1944), the 5th

Baron Decies Baron Decies, of Decies in the County of Waterford, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1812 for the Right Reverend William Beresford, Archbishop of Tuam from 1794 to 1819. He was the third son of the Marcus Beresford, 1st Ea ...

. John was the son of William Robert John Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies and Catherine Anne Dent. Together they had the following children: * Eileen Vivien de la Poer Beresford (1912-?) who married Robert Alfred O'Brien * Catherine Moya de la Poer Beresford (1913–1967) who married Patrick Herbert Bellew in 1936. They divorced and she married Max Wilhelm Johannsen in 1946. * Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford (1915-1992) the 6th

She died in February 1931 of jaundice and a heart attack in London. After her death Lord Decies married Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, the daughter of Joseph William Drexel, on May 25, 1936. He died on 31 January 1944 at age 77.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decies, Helen Beresford, Baroness 1893 births 1931 deaths American socialites

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

Gould family Irish baronesses