Howard Marks

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Lore & Background

Gould was born in Manhattan on June 8, 1871, to railroad financier Jay Gould and Helen Day Miller. He was the fourth of six children. He attended Columbia College, matriculating with the class of 1894, but did not graduate according to official records. On February 24, 1898, he purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and maintained an office at 195 Broadway. By 1955, his seat was the second oldest on the Exchange and he maintained it until his death in 1959. He served as a director of many firms, including the Missouri Pacific Railway Co., Texas and Pacific Railway Co., Kansas and Arkansas Valley Railway, Kansas City Northwestern Railroad Co., Western Union Telegraph Co., International and Great Northern Railroad Co., Manhattan Railway Co., St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway Co., Rio Grande Southern Railroad Co., Rio Grande Western Railroad Co., St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co., Western Maryland Railway Co., American Pneumatic Service Co., New York Mail and Newspaper Transportation Co., and the Gold & Stock Telegraph Co.

Reader's Guide

Howard Gould's life as a financier and yachtsman is documented through his stock exchange seat and his fleet of vessels. In 1895, he commissioned a 65-foot sloop named Niagara, designed and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, with which he won Lord Dunraven's challenge cup. He also owned a large steam yacht, also called Niagara, built in 1898 by Harlan and Hollingsworth. In 1912, he installed a Welte Philharmonic Organ aboard the ship. On August 10, 1917, the U.S. Navy purchased her and converted her into an armed patrol yacht, commissioned on April 16, 1918. In 1901, Gould purchased the steam yacht Vamoose, built in 1891 by Herreshoff for William Randolph Hearst, known for her racing pedigree and speed trials. His personal life included an engagement to actress Odette Tyler in 1894, which was broken due to family objections. He married Katherine Clemmons on October 12, 1898; she filed for divorce in 1907, finalized in 1909, with Gould ordered to pay $36,000 per year in alimony, the largest such settlement up to that time. He later married Grete Mosheim in 1937, divorcing in 1947.

Did You Know?

• Howard Gould purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange on February 24, 1898, and by 1955 it was the second oldest on the Exchange.
• He won Lord Dunraven's challenge cup with his 65-foot sloop Niagara in 1895.
• His 1909 divorce from Katherine Clemmons resulted in a $36,000 per year alimony settlement, the largest ordered up to that time.
• Gould's Sands Point estate, Hempstead House, was an exact copy of Kilkenny Castle in Ireland.
• He was buried in the Gould Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, as the last surviving son of Jay Gould.

Career & Financial Legacy

Howard Gould entered the world of high finance in the shadow of his father, Jay Gould, the legendary railroad tycoon. Though he attended Columbia College and was matriculated in the class of 1894, official records show he never completed his degree. Instead, Gould turned his attention to the trading floor. On February 24, 1898, he purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and set up his office at 195 Broadway. That single membership became a defining fixture of his professional identity: by 1955 it was the second-oldest seat still active on the Exchange, and he held it until his death in 1959. Beyond the trading floor, Gould accumulated an extraordinary portfolio of board seats across the railroad, telegraph, and financial worlds. His directorships spanned the Missouri Pacific Railway, Texas and Pacific Railway, Western Union Telegraph, Manhattan Railway, Rio Grande Western Railroad, St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and numerous other carriers and service companies. This web of affiliations placed him at the intersection of America's transportation and communications infrastructure for most of the twentieth century.

Yachting & Maritime Pursuits

Gould was a passionate competitive yachtsman whose fleet reflected both his ambition and his wealth. In 1895 he commissioned a 65-foot sloop called Niagara, designed and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island. That vessel earned him a victory in Lord Dunraven's challenge cup, a notable mark in the racing world. Two years later, a far larger steam yacht also named Niagara was built for him by Harlan and Hollingsworth in Wilmington, Delaware. By 1912 he had installed a Welte Philharmonic Organ aboard the ship, and in 1917 the U.S. Navy purchased the vessel, converting it into an armed patrol yacht. She was commissioned in Brooklyn's Tebo's Yacht Basin on April 16, 1918, under Commander E.B. Larimer. In 1901 Gould added another celebrated name to his collection: the steam yacht Vamoose, originally built in 1891 by Herreshoff for media magnate William Randolph Hearst. Vamoose was already famous for her racing pedigree and a series of high-profile speed trials around New York City in the early 1890s, making her one of the most talked-about vessels on the water.

Personal Life & Marriages

Gould's romantic life was marked by high-profile drama and family friction. In 1894 he became engaged to actress Odette Tyler, but both sets of parents objected and the match was broken off. Four years later, on October 12, 1898, he married Katherine Clemmons, an actress whose career had been heavily supported by Buffalo Bill Cody. The marriage quickly soured; Katherine filed for divorce in 1907, and the proceedings were finalized in 1909. Gould counter-accused his wife of infidelity, specifically naming Cody as the other party. Despite those allegations, the court ordered Gould to pay $36,000 per year in alimony, a sum that made it the largest such settlement ordered up to that time, roughly $1.29 million in today's dollars. Katherine died in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1930. Decades later, in 1937, Gould married actress Grete Mosheim in Klagenfurt, Austria, after serving as a financier and producer for at least one of her London stage appearances. The couple divorced in 1947, closing another chapter in a long and turbulent personal history.

The Sands Point Estate & Final Years

In 1901 Gould purchased undeveloped land at Sands Point on Long Island to build a grand home for Katherine. Even after their separation in 1909, he pressed forward with construction, engaging architects Hunt & Hunt to design an English Tudor-style mansion. The result, which Gould called Hempstead House, was a 40-room estate measuring 225 feet long and 125 feet wide, crowned by an 80-foot tower. Its first and second floors each covered more than an acre and a half. The design was an exact replica of Kilkenny Castle in Ireland, making it one of the most elaborate Gold Coast properties. Gould moved to Europe in 1917 and sold the estate to Daniel Guggenheim and his family. The property, which had cost him over a million dollars to build, fetched only $600,000 including furnishings. In 1971, Nassau County assumed a 128-acre portion of the grounds from the federal government to serve as a nature preserve, and the mansion received a $10 million renovation. Gould died on September 13, 1959, at Doctors Hospital in Manhattan at age 88. He was the last surviving son of Jay and Helen Gould, interred in the Gould Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.