Ogden Goelet (June 11, 1851

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– August 27, 1897

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from

during the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

. With his wife, he built Ochre Court in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, his son built Glenmere mansion, and his daughter, Mary Goelet, married Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe.

Early life

Ogden Goelet was born on September 29, 1851, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

to Sarah Ogden (1809–1888) and Robert Goelet (1809–1879). His father was a prominent landlord in New York City, as was his uncle, Peter Goelet, who was named after Peter Goelet, Ogden's great-grandfather. His parents resided at 5 State Street, overlooking the Battery in

. Goelet's older brother was real estate developer Robert Goelet, and his nephew was Robert Walton Goelet. His paternal aunt, Hannah Green Goelet, was married to Thomas Russell Gerry, a son of

U.S. Vice President The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

. His grandfather was the merchant and landowner

Peter P. Goelet Peter P. Goelet (August 18, 1764 – October 23, 1828), was an American merchant and real estate investor. Early life Goelet was born on August 18, 1764, in New York City. He was the second son of Peter Goelet (1727–1811) and, his first wife, E ...

. Through this marriage, Goelet was a first cousin of

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. His paternal grandfather was U.S. ...

Career

Along with his brother, he managed the real estate of his father, Robert Goelet, and his uncle Peter Goelet, who both died in 1879. After his father's and uncle's deaths, he inherited almost half their fortune, along with his brother. In New York, he was one of the stockholders of the Metropolitan Opera House, holding Box No. 1.

Society life

In 1892, Goelet and his wife Mary were included in Ward McAllister's "

Four Hundred 400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. Mathematical properties A circle is divided into 400 grads. Integers from 401 to 499 400s 401 401 is a prime number, tetranacci number, Chen prime, prime index p ...

", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom. Mary was known as one of the viceregal leaders of the Ultra-fashionable 150, among Mrs. Astor, Mrs. Ogden Mills, Mrs. John Jacob Astor, and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr.

Yachting

He had several yachts including a schooner, ''Norseman'' that was designed by William Townsend and built in 1881 at the Richard & Cornelius Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn. From 1893 he also chartered

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

's yacht '' White Ladye''. His final yacht was named ''Mayflower'' and was designed by

George Lennox Watson George Lennox Watson (30 October 1851 – 12 November 1904) was a Scottish naval architect. Born in Glasgow, son of Thomas Lennox Watson, a doctor at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and grandson of Sir Timothy Burstall, engineer and entrant at th ...

in 1896 and built on the Clyde (Scotland) by J & G Thompson. After Goelet's death the yacht was sold to the US Navy and became . Goelet's brother, Robert, had a similar yacht built at the same time, at a different Clydeside shipyard. This later became .

Homes

Goelet and his wife owned a townhouse at 608

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

in New York City and a villa in

Nice, France Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million

. When in London, they lived at Wimbourne House. In 1892, he and his wife commissioned Ochre Court, a

châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a revivalist architectural style based on the ...

mansion in

. The home was built at a cost of $4.5 million and was the second largest mansion in Newport after nearby

The Breakers The Breakers is a Gilded Age mansion located at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, US. It was built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. The 70-room mans ...

, both designed by architect

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of architecture of the United States. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 ...

Personal life

In 1878, he married Mary Rita Wilson (1855–1929), daughter of Richard Thornton Wilson Sr. and Melissa Clementine Johnston. Her siblings included the banker Richard Thornton Wilson Jr. and socialite

Grace Graham Wilson Grace Graham Vanderbilt ( Wilson; September 3, 1870 – January 7, 1953) was an American socialite. She was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt III. She was one of the last Vanderbilts to live the luxurious life of the "head of society" that her pr ...

, who was married to Cornelius Vanderbilt III. Together, they were the parents of two children: * Mary Goelet (1878–1937), who married Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe (1876–1932) in 1903. * Robert Wilson Goelet (1880–1966), who built Glenmere mansion. He was a member of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

for 17 years, as well as the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most Aristocracy (class), aristocratic gent ...

, Metropolitan Club, and Union Club. On August 27, 1897, after over five years spent abroad, Goelet died aboard his yacht in the town of

in the

after having been ill for two months. He had been attended to by William Broadbent, doctor to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, with whom he was close friends. His family and body sailed back to the United States and his funeral was held aboard his yacht in Newport and he was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 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 durin ...

. In his will, he left his entire estate to his wife and two children. His widow died in 1929.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goelet, Ogden 1851 births 1897 deaths Goelet family Businesspeople from New York City American businesspeople in real estate Members of the New York Yacht Club Wilson family (New York)