Gladys Mills Phipps Explained

Gladys Mills Phipps
Birth Name:	Gladys Mills
Birth Date:	June 19, 1883
Birth Place:	Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Death Place:	Roslyn, New York, U.S.
Known For:	"First Lady of The Turf"
Children:	4, including Ogden Phipps
Parents:	Ogden Mills Ruth T. Livingston
Relations:	Beatrice Mills (sister) Ogden L. Mills (brother)

Gladys Mills Phipps (June 19, 1883 - October 19, 1970) was an American socialite, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder who began the Phipps family dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of the turf".

Early life

She was born in New York on June 19, 1883, to Ruth Livingston (1855–1920)^[1] and Ogden Mills (1856–1929).^[2] She had a twin sister, Beatrice, Countess Granard (1883–1972),^[3] and a brother, Ogden Livingston Mills (1884–1937) who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury.^[4]

Career

This sportswoman was an avid ice skater and an excellent golfer; she won a number of tournaments, including a match play championship at the Newport, Rhode Island, golf course in which she beat her male counterparts.^{[5] [6]} She was, however, first and foremost a lover of horses. Her father had owned racing stables in the United States and in France. Her twin, Beatrice, would inherit the French stable and become a leading owner in that country. Gladys Phipps became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in 1926, when she and her brother Ogden L. Mills established the highly successful Wheatley Stable. Both of her children became involved in Thoroughbred horse racing.

Personal life

In 1907, Gladys Mills married Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), son of the wealthy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, businessman, Henry Phipps. Together they had:

• Ogden Phipps (1908–2002), who was married to Ruth Pruyn (1907–1994), and later, Lillian Stokes Bostwick (1906–1987)
• Barbara Phipps (1911–1987), who married Stuart Symington Janney Jr. (1907–1988). They were the parents of Stuart S. Janney III^[7]
• Audrey Phipps (d. 1992), who was married to Philip Dana Holden (d. 1973), an investment banker^[8]
• Sonia Phipps (1919–2006), who was married to Hans Christoph Farrell, Count of Seherr-Thoss (1912–1992).^{[9] [10]}

Gladys Mills Phipps died on October 19, 1970, in Roslyn, New York.^{[11] [12]}

Philanthropy

Following her brother's death in 1937, Gladys Mills Phipps inherited their parents' mansion at Staatsburg, New York. In 1938, she gave the house and 192acres to the State of New York.^[13]

External links

• • Halcyon Days: An American Family Through Three Generations by Peggie Phipps Boegner (daughter of John Shaffer Phipps), Richard Gachot (1987) Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Bowen, Edward L. Legacies of the Turf (Vol. 1) (2003) Eclipse Press (See also: http://www.eclipsepress.com/current_titles/B11-1079.html)
• Mills Mansion at Staatsburg, New York
• Phipps family racing at Chicago Barn to Wire
• Phipps family at Thoroughbred Times Company, Inc.

Notes and References

1. News: MRS. OGDEN MILLS DIES IN PARIS HOME; New York Social Leader Who Was Noted for Her Aristocratic Gatherings.HUSBAND AT HER BEDSIDE Mother of Countess Granard, Mrs.H.C. Phipps and Ex-Senator O.L. Mills Was Ruth Livingston.. 25 February 2017. The New York Times. 14 October 1920.
2. News: Ogden Mills Dies At His Home Here. Financier Is the Victim of Pneumonia After Three Weeks Illness. He Was 72 Years Old. Active in Many Philanthropies and Long a Leader in Social Affairs. A Native of California. Interested in Racing . Ogden Mills financier and father of Ogden L. Mills, Under-Secretary of the Treasury, died at 1:30 A.M. today at his home, 2 East Sixty-ninth Street, following an illness of more than three weeks. ... . . January 29, 1929 . 2013-12-18 .
3. News: Lady Granard, Daughter Of Ogden Mills, Dies at 88. The New York Times. 3 February 1972. 18 December 2013.
4. News: Ogden Mills Dies Suddenly At 53. Former Secretary of Treasury Is Stricken by Heart Attack in His Home Here . Ogden L. Mills, former Secretary of the Treasury and a Republican party leader often suggested as a possible Presidential nominee, died suddenly yesterday of a heart attack in his home at 2 East Sixtyninth Street. . . October 12, 1937 . 2013-12-18 .
5. News: Miss Gladys Mills Golf Winner . The New York Times . August 15, 1907.
6. News: The News Of Newport . The New York Times . August 16, 1900.
7. Chris Korman, Maryland's Janney shuns limelight, even with Derby favorite Orb, The Baltimore Sun, May 01, 2013
8. News: Audrey P. Holden, 77, Active in Philanthropy. 25 February 2017. The New York Times. 14 July 1992.
9. News: Sonia (Sunny) (Phipps) Countess of Seherr - Thoss. 25 February 2017. The Wickenburg Sun. June 21, 2006.
10. Web site: Seherr-Thoss, Hans Christoph (1912-1992). www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Litchfield Historical Society. 25 February 2017. en.
11. News: Racing World Mourns Death . ... at her home in Roslyn on Long Island. . . October 20, 1970 . 2011-03-29 .
12. News: Alden Whitman . Alden Whitman . Mrs. H.C. Phipps, Leader in Horse Racing, Dies; Wheatley Stable Owner, 87, Was Noted for Breeding of Winning Thoroughbreds . Mrs. Gladys Mills Phipps, widow of Henry Carnegie Phipps and celebrated for many years as the First Lady of the Turf, died yesterday after a short illness at Spring Hill, her Westbury, L. I., estate. The New York and Palm Beach society leader and owner of Wheatley Stable was 87 years old. . . October 20, 1970 . 2015-04-28 .
13. Web site: HV/Net - Hudson Valley Network . 2006-10-19 . 2006-10-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061028172056/http://www.hvnet.com/houses/mills/ . dead .