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
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 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
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:
Frank Miller Gould (c. 1895–1945), who married Florence Amelia Bacon in 1924. They divorced in Reno in 1944 and Frank remarried to Helen Dolores (née Roosen) Curran at Macon, Georgia, on June 7, 1944, shortly before his death in 1945.[1][14]
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
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]
^"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.
^"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
^"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.
^"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.
