George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was 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 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 him ...
.
[ He was himself a ]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 prep ...
executive, leading 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 ...
(DRGW), 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 ...
(WP), and the Manhattan Railway Company.
Early life
Gould was born on February 6, 1864, the eldest 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 him ...
(1836–1892) and Helen Day Miller (1838–1889). His father was a leading American railroad developer and speculator who has been referred to 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 ...
, whose success at business made him one of the richest men of his era.
Railroad management
Upon his father's death George inherited the Gould fortune and his father's railroad holdings, including the DRGW and the Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
. While in charge of the DRGW at the turn of the 20th century, he sent surveyors and engineers
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the li ...
through California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
's Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over . The main stem Feather ...
canyon to stake out a route for the railroad to reach San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. Through legal wranglings led by E. H. Harriman, who at the time led both the Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
and Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
s, Gould was forced to set up third-party companies to manage the surveying and construction to disguise his role. The route that Gould's engineers built became the WP mainline.
In later years, the DRGW and WP would work together on trains that were passed off to each other in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
, including the prestigious passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...
, the ''California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
''.
Personal life
He married Edith Mary Kingdon (1864–1921), a stage actress, and had the following children:
* Kingdon Gould, Sr. (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 unde ...
(1888–1935) who was a tennis player and 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 ...
, 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 foun ...
through 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 ( ...
* 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 lif ...
(1893–1931) who married John Graham Hope DeLaPoer Horsley Beresford, 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, 1st Baron Decies, William Beresford, Church of Ireland Archdiocese of Tuam, Archbishop of Tu ...
(1866–1945).
* George Jay Gould II
George Jay Gould II (March 28, 1896 – June 7, 1963) was an American lawyer and oil company executive.
Early life
Gould was born on March 28, 1896 in Manhattan, New York City. He was one of seven children born to millionaire George Jay Gould I ...
(1896-1963) who married Laura Carter.
* Edith Catherine Gould (1901–1937) who married Carroll Livingston Wainwright I (1899–1967; their son was 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– ...
) and after a divorce married Sir Hector Murray MacNeal.
* Gloria Gould (1906–1943) who married Henry A. Bishop II, and after a divorce married Wallace McFarlane Barker.
Gould also had a mistress, Guinevere Jeanne Sinclair (1885–1978), and had the following children with her:
*George Sinclair Gould (1915–2003)
*Jane Sinclair Gould (1916–1948)
*Guinevere Gould (1922–1968)
After the death of his first wife in 1921, Gould married Sinclair on May 1, 1922. Then with the three children in tow, they moved to England.
Death and burial
He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...
on May 16, 1923, on the French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...
after contracting a fever in Egypt where he visited the tomb of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...
. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York. His estate was valued at $15,054,627 but after debts were paid it was worth $5,175,590 in 1933 dollars.
Legacy
Gould's estate 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 ...
is now the site of 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 ...
.
See also
* Curse of the Pharaohs
Further reading
* Brehm, Frank (2005),
The SF&GSL
'. Retrieved March 2, 2005.
* Geis, Sister M. Christina,
'. Retrieved March 2, 2005.
* White, John H., Jr. (Spring 1986), America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders, ''Railroad History'', ''154, p. 9-15.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, George Jay, I
1864 births
1923 deaths
19th-century American railroad executives
20th-century American railroad executives
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
George Jay Gould I
Missouri Pacific Railroad
People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Western Pacific Railroad
Burials in the Jay Gould Mausoleum
Deaths from pneumonia in France