Helen Miller Shepard

Infobox Person
name = Helen Miller Shepard


image_size = 180px
birth_name= Helen Miller Gould
birth_date = June 20, 1868
birth_place = Manhattan
death_date = December 21, 1938
death_place = Roxbury, New York
occupation = Socialite
spouse = Finlay Johnson Shepard (1867-1942)
parents = Jay Gould
Helen Day Miller (1838-1889)
children =

Helen Miller Shepard (June 20, 1868 – December 21, 1938) was an American philanthropist born in Manhattan in New York City.

Birth

Born as Helen Miller Gould she was the first born daughter of Jay Gould and Helen Day Miller (1838-1889). Her sister Anna Gould was another prominent heiress. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Useful Daughter |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760528,00.html |quote=When the late Jay Gould, maker and breaker of railroads, lay dying, his devoted daughter Helen, then 24, was a constant attendant at his bedside. Last week at Roxbury, New York, Jay Gould's birthplace, she died, after a stroke, an extraordinary daughter of an extraordinary father, of an extraordinary family. |publisher=Time (magazine) |date=January 2, 1939 |accessdate=2007-06-18 ]

Marriage

She attended NYU School of Law and in 1913 she married Finley Johnson Shepard (1867-1942). [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Helen Against Revolution |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,743004,00.html |quote=It was not until 1913 that she married Railman Finley Johnson Shepard. In the 45 years of her spinsterhood—she was plain, plump, not much concerned with "Society"—she dedicated herself to good works while her brothers and sister went out in the world. She scarcely approved of Sister Anna, who spent much money, married successively Count Boniface ("Boni") de Castellane and the Due de Talleyrand; or smart Brother Frank Jay twice-divorced, who dabbled (and still does) in French gambling palaces; or her late Brother George Jay, whose second wife (Guinevere Sinclair) bore him three children before he married her in 1921. Helen Gould stayed by her father, who trained her in finance, took her in his confidence before he died of tuberculosis in 1892. |publisher=Time (magazine) |date=January 25, 1932 |accessdate=2008-07-30 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Helen Gould Weds. Her Hudson Home a Floral Garden for Her Marriage to Finley J. Shepard. |url= |quote=The wedding of Miss Helen Miller Gould and Finley J. Shepard, Eastern representative of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, part of the great railroad system created by Jay Gould, the bride's father, was solemnized yesterday at 12:30 o'clock at Lyndhurst, the magnificent country estate of the bride at Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson. |publisher=New York Times |date=January 23, 1913, Thursday |accessdate=2007-06-18 ]

They adopted three children, Finley Jay, named for Finley Johnson Shepard and Jay Gould, and Olivia, named for Helen's dear friend Mrs. Russell Sage, and Helen Anna, named for Helen and her sister, Anna and had one foster child, Louis Seton. The first of the adopted children, Finley Jay Shepard, was a three-year-old abandoned child who was found on the steps of Manhattan's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1914. They later adopted two daughters, Margaret and Dorothy, of her brother Frank Gould. [cite book |last=Snow |first=Alice Northrop |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Story of Helen Gould |year=1943 |publisher=F. H. Revell |quote= | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Q6QbGQAACAAJ&dq |isbn= ]

American Bible Society

In 1918 she and Emma Baker Kennedy (c1833-1930) became the first female vice presidents of the American Bible Society.

Philanthropy

At the commencement of the Spanish-American War, she donated US$100,000 to the United States government in support of the war. She gave an additional US$50,000 toward military hospital supplies and worked in a hospital for wounded soldiers. She donated the library building at New York University and began the Hall of Fame. She gave US$10,000 for the engineering school. She gave additional contributions to Rutgers College. Both the YMCA and the YWCA benefited from her contributions, as well as other organizations.

Golf Course

She purchased Shepard Hills in Roxbury, New York including Kirkside Lake. The facility originally produced ice for the Roxbury in the winter months and the lake was used for recreation for the community in the summer months. Construction of the 9 hole golf course began around 1916 and upon completion served her estate.cite web |url=http://www.roxburyny.com/visit/history/shepard_hills_golf_course.html |title=Shepard Hills Golf Course | quote=Shepherd Hills was originally part of the estate of Helen Gould Shepard, daughter of railroad magnate Jay Gould, a Roxbury native son. She purchased the property which included Kirkside Lake, the facility that supplied ice for the village in the winter months and recreation for the community in the summer. Construction of the 9 hole facility began around 1916 and upon completion served as an estate golf course which included a stone cottage for the Shepard's summer visitors. Upon the death of Finley Shepard it was deeded to their daughter Helen Anna and remained in the family until 1972 when it was sold to a private developer. At this time the course was leased to the Shephard Hills Golf Association becoming a membership driven organization open to the public. |accessdate=2008-07-18 |format= |publisher=Roxbury, New York ]

Death

She died on December 21, 1938 and was buried in the family mausoleum on December 23, 1938. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=1,500 In Tribute To Mrs. Shepard; Society, Finance And Patriotic And Religious Groups Are Represented At Service Her Charities Win Praise Dr. Sizoo Conducts Funeral. Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer Delivers Eulogy. Dr. Zwemer Gives Eulogy Among Relatives Present. |url= |quote=Leaders in society and finance joined with representatives of many patriotic and religious organizations in tribute to Mrs. Finley J. Shepard, philanthropist, at funeral services yesterday at the Collegiate Reformed Church of St. Nicholas, Fifth Avenue and Forty-eighth Street. More than 1,500 persons, |publisher=New York Times |date=December 24, 1938, Saturday |accessdate=2007-06-18 ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Mrs. F. J. Shepard Dies of a Stroke. Former Helen Gould, Famous for Philanthropy, Stricken at Her Summer Home Gave Away Much of Fortune. Mrs. Finley J. Shepard Is Stricken at 70. Philanthropist and Daughter of Jay Gould Got Permission to Marry. Wed at Lyndhurst. Benefactions in War With Spain. Descendant of Pioneers.|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F12FE3F5F1B7A93C3AB1789D95F4C8385F9 |quote=Mrs. Finley J. Shepard of New York, the former Helen Gould, who was famous for her philanthropies in many fields, died at her Summer home here at 12:15 this morning, after being in a coma for more than 24 hours. She had suffered an apoplectic stroke ten days ago, and had been ill for two months. Her age was 70 years. |publisher=New York Times |date=December 21, 1938, Wednesday|accessdate=2007-06-18 ]

References