George Jay Gould II (March 28, 1896 – June 7, 1963) was an American lawyer and oil company executive.

George J. Gould
Gould, 1917
Born(1896-03-28)March 28, 1896
DiedJune 7, 1963(1963-06-07) (aged 67)
Paris, France
EducationColumbia University
Columbia Law School
Spouses
Laura M. Carter
(m. 1917; div. 1923)
Marie Louise Vial
(m. 1927)
Parent(s)George Jay Gould
Edith Kingdon
RelativesJay Gould (grandfather)

Early life

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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 (1864–1923)[1] and former actress Edith Kingdon Gould (1864–1921).[2] Among his siblings were Kingdon Gould Sr., Jay Gould II, Marjorie Gwynne Gould (wife of Anthony Joseph Drexel III), Helen Vivien Gould (wife of John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies), Edith Catherine Gould, and Gloria Gould (wife of Henry A. Bishop II and Wallace McFarlane Barker).[3]

His namesake father was the eldest son of the former Helen Day Miller and Jay Gould, a leading American railroad developer and speculator who has been referred to as one of the ruthless robber barons of the Gilded Age, whose success at business made him one of the richest men of his era.[4] His aunt, Anna Gould, was married to two European aristocrats, Boni de Castellane (the elder son and heir apparent of the Marquis of Castellane) and Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, Duke of Sagan (Boni's cousin).[5]

Gould graduated from Columbia University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa (and had honors in French and History),[6] and Columbia Law School.[7]

Career

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After graduating from Columbia Law School, he went to Oil City, Pennsylvania, in February 1918 to work for the Galena Signal Oil Company.[7] He later returned to New York City and began working at Liggett, Drexel & Co., the brokerage firm of his brother-in-law, Anthony Joseph Drexel III.[8][9]

For many years, Gould lived in Camden, Maine. He also maintained an apartment in Paris, a château in Mons, France (he owned the Petit Manoir in Maxilly-sur-Léman from 1930 to 1952) and a villa in San Remo, Italy.[7]

Personal life

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George, with his father and son, 1919

On July 5, 1917, a few days after his brother Kingdon married, Gould was married to Laura Marguerite Carter of Ardena, New Jersey,[10] to the disapproval of his parents.[11] She was the niece of Maughan Carter.[12] Before their divorce in Nice, France in 1923, they were the parents of two sons:[8]

  • George Jay Gould III (1918–1985), who married Eileen O'Malley (1919–1996), the daughter of Leonard O'Malley,[13] in 1942.[14][15]
  • Maughan Carter Gould (1920–1986), who married Suzanne Florence "Sukie" Close (1920–1989) in 1940.[16]

After their divorce, Laura married, and later divorced, English actor Roy Royston.[17] In 1927, he married Marie Louise Jacqueline Vial (1896–1969) of Paris who had been born in Claveisolles in the Rhône department in eastern France.[18] Together, they were the parents of two sons:

  • Howard Jay Gould (1928–1998), who married in December 1951.
  • Patrick Jay Gould (1934–2018), an ornithologist who received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.[19]

Gould died on June 7, 1963, in Paris following an operation.[7] His widow died in 1969.

References

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  1. ^ "GEORGE J. GOULD DIES IN VILLA IN FRANCE; LEAVES $30,000,000; With His Second Wife and Her Children Near, He Yearned for His Sons. LAST MALADY A SECRET Death Holds Up Litigation With Family Over His Father's Estate. FIRST BECAME ILL IN MARCH Had Apparently Regained Health When He Suffered a Relapse. GEORGE J. GOULD DIES IN VILLA IN FRANCE". The New York Times. 17 May 1923. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  2. ^ "MRS. CARL F. WOLFF". The New York Times. March 14, 1960. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Goulds Are Going". Time. March 23, 1925. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved August 21, 2007. Of the seven older children by his first marriage — Kingdon, Jay, George Jay Jr., Marjorie, Vivien, Edith, Gloria — three eloped, one married an English nobleman, and one the daughter of a Hawaiian princess.
  4. ^ Maury Klein (1997). The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. p. 393. ISBN 9780801857713.
  5. ^ Foreman, John (3 March 2021). "Big Old Houses: In a Very Different World". New York Social Diary. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  6. ^ Catalogue. Columbia University. 1918. p. 272. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "George J. Gould, 67, Dead; Was Financier's Grandson". The New York Times. 8 June 1963. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b "SON TO GEO. J. GOULD, JR.; The Second Born to Mrs. Gould, Who Was Miss Laura M. Carter". The New York Times. 28 January 1920. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  9. ^ "G.J. GOULD, JR., GETS JOB WITH BROTHER-IN-LAW; Will Learn Business from the Ground Up in Firm of Liggett, Drexel & Co". The New York Times. 29 July 1917. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  10. ^ "GOULDS' HONEYMOON HERE.; Geo. J., Jr., and Bride Also Planned a Visit to His Parents". The New York Times. 8 July 1917. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  11. ^ "G. J. GOULD, JR.,WEDS, AVOIDING PUBLIC AS BROTHER DID; Meets Bride in Philadelphia and "Marrying Parson" Performs Ceremony. HIS PARENTS ARE ABSENT But Bride, an Orphan, Says They Knew of Prospective Nuptials. WEDDING PLANS HURRIED Date Was Set Within a Week, Mrs.Gould Asserts;-She Is Skilled as a Dancer. Bride Skilled as a Dancer". The New York Times. 6 July 1917. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  12. ^ "MAUGHAN CARTER DEAD.; Former New Yorker Stricken in Toronto--Burial Here Today". The New York Times. 16 May 1929. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  13. ^ "TROTH IS ANNOUNCED OF ElLEEN O'MALLEY; She Will Become the Bride of George J. Goald Jr". The New York Times. 19 December 1941. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  14. ^ "EILEEN O'MALLEY MARRIED IN MAINE; New York Girl Becomes Bride of George Jay Gould Jr. in Church at Camden GOWNED IN IVORY SATIN Mrs. Maughan Gould Her Only Attendant--Bridegroom Is With Army Air Corps". The New York Times. 4 January 1942. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Gould Heir on K.P. in Australia". The New York Times. 13 April 1942. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Suzanne Close Married; Secret Wedding to Maughan Gould Announced by Her Mother". The New York Times. 3 November 1940. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Laura Carter Gould Reported Engaged In London to Actor in Musical Comedy". The New York Times. 8 December 1927. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  18. ^ "George Jay Gould II (1896-1963), premier patron de Silver Wings | Silver Wings". silver-wings.fr (in French). February 18, 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Gould, Patrick J." siarchives.si.edu. Smithsonian Institution Archives. 1934. Retrieved 27 September 2021.