Helen Miller Gould Shepard (June 20, 1868 – December 21, 1938) was an American philanthropist and member of the wealthy

Gould family The Gould family is a wealthy American family that came to prominence in the late 19th century. The family's fortune was primarily earned through a railroad empire built by Jay Gould, Jason "Jay" Gould, a notorious Robber baron (industrialist), " ...

born in New York City.

Birth

Born as Helen Miller Gould, she was the first-born daughter of

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...

and Helen Day Miller (1838–1889). Her sister

Anna Gould Anna Gould (June 5, 1875 – November 30, 1961) was an American socialite and heiress as a daughter of financier Jay Gould. Early life Anna Gould was born on June 5, 1875, in New York City. She was the daughter of Jay Gould (1836–1892) and ...

was another prominent heiress.

Marriage

She attended

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, and she married Finley Johnson Shepard (1867–1942) on January 22, 1913. They adopted three children and had one foster child, Louis Seton. The adopted children were: * Finley Jay (named for Finley Johnson Shepard and Jay Gould), a three-year-old abandoned child who was found on the steps of Manhattan's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1914, * Olivia Margaret (named for Helen's dear friend Mrs. Russell Sage), * Helen Anna (named for Helen and her sister, Anna). Helen had also cared for her brother Frank Gould's twin daughters, Helen Margaret and

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

(b. 1904) by his first wife, Helen Kelly.

American Bible Society

In 1918 she and Emma Baker Kennedy () became the first female vice presidents of the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engag ...

Philanthropy

At the commencement of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, she donated

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

100,000 to the United States government in support of the war. She gave an additional

50,000 toward military hospital supplies and was active in the

Women's National War Relief Association The Women's National War Relief Association was an American relief organization founded during the Spanish–American War to give comfort to the officers, soldiers and sailors in the United States Military. The women founding the association used ...

, working in a hospital for wounded soldiers. She donated the library building at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and began the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. She gave

10,000 for the engineering school. She gave additional contributions to

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

College. Both the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

benefited from her contributions, as well as other organizations. She was a member of the board of the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...

and of the national board of the YWCA.

Golf Course

She purchased Shepard Hills in

Roxbury, New York Roxbury is a town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic characte ...

, including Kirkside Lake. The facility originally produced ice for the Roxbury in the winter months and the lake was used for recreation for the community in the summer months. Construction of the 9-hole golf course began around 1916 and upon completion served her estate.

Death

She died on December 21, 1938, and was buried in the family mausoleum on December 23, 1938.

References

External links

Guide to the Helen Miller Gould Shepard Papers, 1814-1941
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Helen Miller 1868 births 1938 deaths Philanthropists from New York (state) Philanthropists from Manhattan New York University School of Law alumni Gould family People from Roxbury, New York Burials in the Jay Gould Mausoleum American critics of atheism American anti-communists