Edith Kingdon Explained

Edith Mary Kingdon Gould
Birth Name:	Edith Mary Kingdon
Birth Date:	August 23, 1864
Birth Place:	Brooklyn, New York, US
Children:	7, including Helen Vivien, Kingdon, Jay II and Gloria Gould
Death Place:	Georgian Court Lakewood Township, New Jersey

Edith Mary Kingdon Gould (August 24, 1864  - November 13, 1921) was an American actress. She married George Jay Gould.^[1]

Early life

She was born in 1864 in Brooklyn, New York, and educated in England. She was the daughter of Charles Dennis Kingdon and Mary Carter of Toronto, Ontario.

Career

She worked as a stage actress until her marriage to George Jay Gould I.^[2] In 1908, she returned to acting, appearing in a one-act play opposite Frederick Townsend Martin.^[3] The play, Mrs. Van Vechten's Divorce Dance, was performed in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel.^{[2] [4]} Her performance was attended by Commodore Elbridge Thomas Gerry and his wife, Louisa Livingston Gerry, Mrs. Vanderbilt, Gladys Vanderbilt, Count Széchenyi, Ellen French Vanderbilt (wife of Alfred G. Vanderbilt), Mrs. Emily Vanderbilt Sloane, Marion Anthon Fish (wife of Stuyvesant Fish), Ruth Livingston Mills (wife of Ogden Mills), Anne Harriman Vanderbilt (wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt), and many others prominent in New York society.^[2]

Edith and George hired Bruce Price, to build their home, which they called Georgian Court.^[5] The site is now Georgian Court University.^[6]

Personal life

She married George Jay Gould I (1864–1923), a financier and railroad executive who led both the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad. Gould was the son of Jay Gould, who is considered one of the ruthless robber barons of the Gilded Age.^[7] Together, George and Edith had the following children:^[8]

• Kingdon Gould, Sr. (1887–1945), who married Annunziata Camilla Maria Lucci (1890–1961).^[9]
• Jay Gould II (1888–1935), a tennis player who married Anne Douglass Graham, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty.^{[10] [11]}
• Marjorie Gwynne Gould (1891–1955), who married Anthony Joseph Drexel III (1887–1946), the son of Anthony Joseph Drexel, Jr. and grandson of Anthony Joseph Drexel.^[12]
• Helen Vivien Gould (1893–1931) who married John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies (1866–1945).^[13]
• George Jay Gould II (1896-1963) who married, and later divorced,^[14] Laura Carter.^[15]
• Edith Catherine Gould (1901–1937) who married Carroll Livingston Wainwright I (1899–1967).^[16] They divorced and she married Sir Hector Murray MacNeal.^[17]
• Gloria Gould (1906–1943) who married Henry A. Bishop II,^[18] and after a divorce married Walter McFarlane Barker.^{[19] [20]}

She died on November 13, 1921, at the golf course of their home at Georgian Court in Lakewood Township, New Jersey.^{[21] [22]} After a private funeral at the Gould home, she was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, in the Jay Gould Mausoleum.^[23]

Descendants

Through her daughter Edith, she was the grandmother of Stuyvesant Wainwright (1921–2010), a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.^[24]

Through her daughter Helen, she was the grandmother of Arthur Beresford, 6th Baron Decies (1915–1992).

Notes and References

1. Web site: Theatre in Context Collection | Alexander Street, part of Clarivate. search.alexanderstreet.com.
2. News: MRS. GOULD TURNS ACTRESS FOR A DAY; Large and Fashionable Audience Greets Her in "Mrs. Van Vechten's Divorce Dance." PLAZA TEA ROOM THRONGED Guests Came Early to Obtain Seats -- Star's Acting Shows She Has Lost None of Her Skill.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. January 22, 1908.
3. News: MRS. GOULD TO RE-APPEAR IN A ONE-ACT PLAY; To be Seen Next Week in Semi-Private Theatricals at the Plaza After an Absence of Twenty Years from the Stage. Nordica Upsets Programme. How It All Happened.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 1908.
4. Book: Gathje. Curtis. At the Plaza: An Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Hotel. 2014. St. Martin's Press. 9781466867000. 40. 25 September 2017. en.
5. News: GEORGIAN COURT.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 23 July 1899.
6. News: Georgian Court College Opens.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 27 September 1934.
7. Book: Maury Klein. The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. 1997. 393. 9780801857713. September 25, 2017.
8. The Goulds Are Going . https://web.archive.org/web/20081202080030/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881484,00.html . dead . December 2, 2008 . . March 23, 1925. 2007-08-21 .
9. News: Kingdon Gould, 58, Long A Financier. Grandson Of Founder Of Family Fortune Dies. Once On Rail Boards. Officer In 1918. . . November 8, 1945 . 2008-06-19 .
10. News: Jay Gould Is Dead. Court Tennis Star. Grandson of the Financier Had Held Championship for Quarter of Century. . . January 28, 1935 . 2007-07-21 .
11. Web site: The Colfax chronicle. (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, July 22, 1911, Image 7 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress . 9 May 2013 .
12. News: Marjorie Gould to Wed A.J. Drexel, Jr. Engagement of George Jay Gould's Eldest Daughters is Announced at a Dance . . January 19, 1910 . 2012-08-10 .
13. News: Lady Decies Dies at 38 in London. Former Helen Vivien Gould Was Principal in Brilliant International Wedding of 1911. Was Noted As Hostess. Her Entertaining Was a Feature of British Capital. Husband Is Distinguished Irish Peer. . . February 3, 1931. 2007-11-26 .
14. News: George J. Gould Jr. Wins Divorce at Nice; Wife, Former Dancer, Takes Children. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 15 March 1923.
15. News: He Is George Jay Gould, Jr. . . May 15, 1896 . 2008-08-22 .
16. News: Carroll Wainwright, Artist and Member Of L.I. Family, Dies. 25 April 2017. The New York Times. 7 July 1967.
17. News: Lady MacNeal Dies. Was Edith Gould. Granddaughter of Financier, 36, Succumbs at Estate in East Hampton. Wife of British Knight. Wrote Autobiography Telling of Family Life ... . . September 12, 1937. 2008-08-22 .
18. News: GLORIA GOULD WEDS HENRY A. BISHOP JR; Daughter of Late Mr. and Mrs. George J. Could a Bride in St. Bartholomew's.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 19 September 1923.
19. News: MISS MAE C. FLYNN HONORED AT DINNER; Mrs. W. McFarlane Barker Is Hostess for Bride-Elect. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 24 May 1938.
20. News: Gloria Gould Barker Is Drowned In Swim Pool at Arizona Home. Mrs. W.M. Barker Drowns In A Pool. Victim Of Accident. . . August 16, 1943 . 2008-06-07 .
21. News: Mrs. George J. Gould Dies Playing Golf . . November 14, 1921 . 2014-12-31 .
22. News: Mrs. George J. Gould Dies On Golf Links. Before Marriage Was Edith Kingdon, Noted And Beautiful Actress . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605045912/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/ajc_historic/access/516575532.html?dids=516575532:516575532&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Nov+14,+1921&author=&pub=The+Atlanta+Constitution&desc=MRS.+GEORGE+J.+GOULD+DIES+ON+GOLF+LINKS&pqatl=google . dead . June 5, 2011 . . November 14, 1921 . 2010-04-02 .
23. News: GOULD FUNERAL PRIVATE.; Services for Capitalist's Wife at Fifth Av. Home Tomorrow at 2 P.M.. 25 September 2017. The New York Times. 15 November 1921.
24. News: WAINWRIGHT, STUYVESANT II. 25 April 2017. The New York Times. 14 March 2010.