| |
Cowes, Isle of Wight, Aug.27._Ogden Goelet of New
York is dead. he expired on board his yacht, the
mayflower, which was at anchor in Cowes roads.
Mr. Goelet had been ill for about two months. His
illness became serious a few days ago, and his
physician, Dr. Dawson, then deemed it necessary to
hold a consultation, and summoned Sir William Henry
Broadbent, Physician in Ordinary to the Prince of
Wales, who came to Cowes on Sunday last, accompanied
by his son, and both were in constant attendance
upon Mr. Goelet until his death. Mr. Goelet suffered
from affections of the chest, and succumbed
literally through weakness.
His wife, son, and daughter, and the Hon. Michael
Henry Herbert, brother of the Earl of Pembroke and
Montgomery, and Mrs. Herbert, who is a sister of Mrs.
Goelet, were present when the end came. The body
will be embalmed and taken to New York.
The lowering of the mayflower's ensign to half mast
was the first intimation to the people on shore that
Mr. Goelet was dead.
It is said that for some time past Mr. Goelet had
been very much worried over family affairs. The
marriage of his daughter to the Duke of Manchester,
which it was recently announced had been arranged,
was strongly opposed by him. The Goelets
relinquished Lord Wimborne's house, in London, which
they had leased for the season, a fortnight ago.
****************
Ogden Goelet's Career: One of the Richest in New
York
Ogden Goelet belonged to one of the oldest of New
York families, and was almost as well known in the
society of London and at Continental resorts as he
was in this city and at Newport. For the last five
or six years he had spent most of his time abroad.
In 1893, on the occasion of the cup races between
the Vigilant and Valkyrie II., he was here with the
yacht White Ladye, and entertained quite
extensively. He was in Newport last Summer, and in
the Fall his town house at 608 Fifth Avenue was open
for a short time. He was on terms of personal
friendship with the Prince of Wales, and his
frequent visits to Nice and Cannes during the
yachting seasons when social life is at high pitch
kept him among the leaders in society on the
Continent.
He was born in 1851, and was one of the two sons of
the late Robert Goelet. Mr. Goelet and his brother
Robert, who is now at Newport, were born in a house
at the corner of Broadway and Nineteenth Street.
From their father and uncle, Peter Goelet, who died
in 1879, the two brothers came into possession of
immense fortunes. Their wealth was in the form of
real estate, and they have made a practice of rarely
or never selling, so that the estate was constantly
increasing in value, and is now one of the richest
in the city. The "Goelet farm" originally extended
from the Windsor Hotel to the East River, and they
have many other parcels of real estate in New York
City owned by them. The land on which Sherry's
establishment, the Imperial Hotel, and the
Knickerbocker Theatre are erected belongs to the
Goelets, being leased at graduated rentals so that
the income of the estate is constantly increasing.
Donor of the Goelet Cups
In the business world Mr. Goelet figured chiefly as
the manager of his own estate. he was one of the
stockholders of the metropolitan Opera House,
holding Box No. 1, but rarely took any active
interest in its business affairs. He had a beautiful
villa at Newport, and one at Nice, where he
entertained the Prince of Wales on more than one
occasion.
Mr. Goelet was an enthusiastic yachtsman, but was
never a racing man. He was a member of the New York
Yacht Club for seventeen years, and sixteen times
the Goelet Cups of $1,000 and $500 value have been
the chief prizes contested for annually by the club.
He built the schooner Norseman shortly after joining
the yacht club, but she was for cruising and not for
racing. When he went abroad several years ago he
chartered the White Ladye from Mrs. Langtry, but in
1896 he had the twin screw steel yacht Mayflower
built at Glasgow from designs by George L. Watson,
and it is said that in luxurious appointments this
yacht has never been surpassed. The Mayflower became
his favorite habitation, and it was on board of her
he breathed his last.
Mr. Goelet married Miss Wilson, daughter of Richard
T. Wilson, the banker, about twenty years ago and
had two children, the daughter, Miss May, a young
woman of about nineteen, and a son, Robert Goelet
II., two years younger. Rumors were published
recently in London that Miss Goelet was engaged to
the young Duke of Roxburghe, whose estates cover
60,000 acres and have an annual rental value of
$250,000. A previous report of the engagement of
Miss Goelet to the Duke of Manchester was promptly
denied both by the Duke and by Mr. Goelet, although
it was asserted even afterward that there was some
truth in it.
On April 7 last, while at Nice, the Prince of Wales
received Queen Victoria on board his yacht,
Britannia, and his Royal Highness took the occasion
to present Mr. and Mrs. Ogden Goelet to her Majesty.
Jubilee Dinner to the Prince
Mr. Goelet's London residence was Wimborne House,
one of the handsomest establishments in London.
During the jubilee festivities Mr. and Mrs. Ogden
Goelet gave a dinner to the prince of Wales at
Wimborne House, which was one of the social
successes of the season. After that the Goelet
family went to Cowes on the Mayflower and took an
active interest in the yacht racing at that place.
it is believed the strain which he underwent
entertaining guests at this place contributed to
cause his death, although his health had not been
rugged for several years.
The family connection affected by Mr. Goelet's death
is large. The recent marriage of Cornelius
Vanderbilt, Jr., and Miss Grace Wilson made young
Mr. Vanderbilt Mr. Goelet's brother-in-law.
Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry, whose mother was a
Goelet, was his cousin.
Mr. Goelet was a member of the Knickerbocker,
Metropolitan, Union, Racquet, New York, and
Seawanhaka Yacht Clubs, the Tuxedo, Players, and
Riding Clubs, the American Museum of natural History
and Fine Arts Society and belonged to the Patriarchs
during their existence. He also had membership in
numerous other associations and kept up an active
interest in New York's public affairs. He was
generous in his gifts to charitable projects.
|
|
