Hetty (35 page)

personal hygiene of, 53, 77, 82

pet dog of, 150, 153, 154, 155–56, 182, 237n

physical threats against, 161–64

as popular icon, 191–92

populism of, 145

public prayer of, 141–42, 143

public ridicule of, 106–7

purported unhappiness of, 95, 169–71

Quakerism of, 7–8, 49, 71, 99–100, 106, 190

real estate holdings of, 74, 115–16,
135–36, 1
37. 139. 160, 164. 167, 187–88, 191, 204

restaurant encounters of, 152–53

rheumatism cure offered by, 152–53

sense of isolation in, 14, 108, 163

society as viewed by, 154–55

strokes suffered by, 197–99

tax avoidance of, 104, 135, 149, 150, 205

unfashionable clothing of, 18, 27, 77. 78–79, 95, 105, 134, 170

unpretentiousness of, 105–7

will of, 155, 180, 192, 204–5

women’s rights and, 111–12

Green, Hetty Sylvia Ann Howland,
see
Wilks, Hetty Sylvia Ann Howland Green

Green, Mabel Harlow, 208–9, 210, 215, 225

adopted “wards” of, 216–17

Dallas residence of, 131

Hetty’s disapproval of, 131, 186, 187, 202, 218

lawsuit of, 219–20

prenuptial agreement of, 208, 219–20

Sylvia Wilks’s relationship with, 218, 219–20, 221

trust fund of, 208

wedding of, 208

greenback notes, U. S., 72–73

Grinnell, Henry, 18–19, 65

Guild, Helen, 223–24, 239n

Guiness Book of World Records
, xi, 197

Gunther, Robert, xii

Harlow, Mabel,
see
Green, Mabel Harlow

Hart, Simpson, 39

Hartsdale Canine Cemetery, 237n

Haskell, Julia H., 5

hat-trimming contest, 191

Hayes, Lyman Simpson, 78, 82, 234n

Hinson, Colin, 234n

History of the Texas Railroads, A
(Reed), 129, 235n

Hoboken, N.J., xi, 105, 149–57, 176, 182, 197, 236n

Hodges, Leigh Mitchell, 16, 71, 73, !53–55

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 56, 58–59, 62

Hopkins, Mark, 119

Houston Texas Central Railroad, 88–89, 91–92, 96, 120–23

Howland, Gideon, 3, 9, 13, 17

descendants of, as beneficiaries, 41, 164, 206–8, 225–26

Howland, Henry, 6–7

Howland, Isaac, Jr., 2–3, 8–10, 13

business interests of, 8–9

see also
Isaac Howland Jr. and Company

Howland, Mehitable, 9–10

Howland, Peleg, 34, 35–36

Howland, Sylvia Ann, 9–10, 13, 14, 15, 20–29

as allegedly murdered, 164

birth of, 9

death of, 44–45, 46, 64–65

employees of, 21–23, 25–26, 27–29, 39–40, 44–45, 232n-33n

fortune of, 10, 17, 22, 25, 38, 44

funeral of, 47, 50–51

Hetty’s relationship with, 16, 22–23, 25–29, 36–38

ill health of, 10, 20–21, 25, 36, 44

literary interests of, 21

locked trunk in bedroom of, 22–23, 51, 68–69

loneliness of, 21–22, 45

poetry of, 21

Howland, Sylvia Ann, last will of, 33–63

and attempted bribery of judge, 52–53

attorneys’ fees and, 64

beneficiaries of, 34, 35, 39–41, 42–43, 47–48, 51–52, 53, 69–71, 82, 164, 206–8

codicil to, 42–43, 48, 52

expert testimony on, 56–63, 233n

Gideon Howland’s descendants in, 41, 164, 206–8, 225–26

judge’s decision on, 64, 68–69, 233n

lawsuit against, 28, 35, 42, 48, 50–63, 64–65, 66, 68–70, 138, 232n-33n

mutual wills vs., 33–36, 38, 40, 41–42, 50, 51, 54–55, 68–69

previous will vs., 33–34

reading of, 47–48

“second page” scheme and, 51, 54–63, 65, 66, 68–69

signature comparisons and, 21, 54, 56–63

signing of, 38–39, 52

trustees of, 41, 43, 48, 53, 69, 70, 205

trust funds in, 39–40, 41, 42, 47, 51, 52, 69–71, 206–8, 232n

undue influence on, 36–38, 39, 41, 52, 53;
see
also Gordon, William A.

witness to, 39, 50

Howland
Heirs, The
(Emery), 70–71, 232n

Hoyt, Mary Irene, 142

Hunt, Richard Morris, 103

Huntington, Collis P., 118–23, 145. 196, 235n-36

appearance of, 120

in Big Four, 89, 119

California farmers exploited by, 119–20, 126, 161

in California gold rush, 103, 118–19

death of, 157–58, 236n

dishonest business practices of, 91–92, 96, 120

Fifth Avenue mansion of, 103

Hetty’s feud with, 98, 100, 118, 120–23, 125–27, 1
57–58, 212
, 236n

Texas railroads and, 124–27

“If I Were As Rich As Hetty Green” (Toler), 191

inheritance taxes, 204–6. 220–21

“Inverted Jenny” stamp sheet, 210–11

Irish, Benjamin, 34, 164

Isaac Howland Jr. and Company, 2–3, 8-g, 10, 12, 17, 21

closing of, 23, 24, 38, 43, 123, 164

ships of, 8-g, 214

success of, 9

John J. Cisco and Son, 85–86, 87–100, 118, 234n

assignee of, 95–100

Edward Green’s indebtedness to, 89-91, 93, 94, 97, 98, 99, 100

failure of, 87–94, 122–23

Hetty’s cash deposits in, 86, 89–91, 93–94, 96–97, 100, 122–23

Hetty’s securities in, 86, 88, 89, 93, 97

lawsuit against, 98–100

press coverage of, 92–95, 97, 99

railroad bond investments of, 88–89, 91–92, 96, 120

Johnson, Samuel, 67, 210

Judah, Theodore, 119

Keane, Patrick J., 78

Keiley, William S., 98, 100

Kemp, Mrs. George, 191

Klepper, Michael, xii

Knickerbocker Trust Company, 166, 168

Knowlton, Elliott Burris, 212

Krell, George, 156

Kruttschnitt, Julius, 125

Ladies’ Home Journal
, 71, 153–55

LaFranche, Louis, 152–53

Lawrence, Amory, 205

Lawrence, Ruth, 205

lawsuits, 15, 162–63, 174, 219–21, 236n, 237n

against Cisco and Son, 98–100

court costs of, 98, 100, 127

against Henry Barling, 138–43, 163

of Mabel Green, 219–20

for slander, against Hetty, 142

of states, for inheritance taxes, 205–6, 220–21

Waco and Northwestern Railroad

in, 125–27

see also
Howland, Sylvia Ann, last will of

Leary, Annie, 65–66, 133, 147–48, 156, 171–72. 173. 175, 176, 196, 203

Hetty’s stroke and, 197–98

philanthropy of, 65, 107–8, 191

Leary, James, 65

Lincoln, Abraham, 30, 183

Loomis, Henry A., 225–26

Louisville and Nashville Railroad, 85, 89, 90, 94

Lowell, John A., 60, 61

Lowell, Mrs. James, 16, 19

Lowenstein, R. F., 188

McBurney, Charles, 114, 235n

McClellan, George, 167

McCofftry, Hannah, 39

McDonald, Thaddeus, 147

Mandell, Edward D., 34, 157

Mandell, Thomas, 10, 17, 21, 29, 38, 40, 42, 55, 70, 139

Marshall, Walter, 189, 194–96, 233n, 238n

Mary (Anna Green’s maid), 77–80

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 7

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 213–14

Round Hill mansion donated to, 223

Mathiot, George, 60–61, 62

May, Lewis, 95–100, 120

Mayflower
, 6

Melville, Herman, 5–6

Men
of Wealth
(Flynn), 73

Merrill, Horace A., 207

Miami, Fla., 215, 216

Mikulecky, Frank, 136

Miles, George, 158

Miner, A. L., 159

mines, 31–32, 136, 204

Moby Dick
(Melville), 5–6

money supply, 11, 102

Montague, Electa, 22, 26, 29, 38, 44–45, 55

as beneficiary, 39, 51–52, 69

court testimony of, 51, 53

Hetty’s correspondence with, 27–28

mutual wills and, 35, 36

Morgan, Charles, 92

Morgan, J. P., ix, xi, 30, 31–33, 103, 165

abused workforce of, 31–32

Civil War swindles of, 32–33

and panic of 1907, 168–69, 237n

philanthropy of, 33

Morrow, James, 114–15, 118, 128

mortgages, 115–16, 135, 136, 189, 205

Moses, Robert, 225

municipal bonds, 136–37

Mussel Slough Tragedy, 119

Nantucket, 3, 8, 9

National Gazetteer of Great Britain and
Ireland, The
, 67, 234n

New Bedford, Mass., 1–17, 157, 161, 164 216, 219, 232n

abolitionist movement of, 5

cholera epidemic in, 11

in Civil War, 23–24, 28

fires in, 11–12

Hetty’s inherited house in, 20, 25

Home for Children in, 34, 40, 70

money shortage in, 11

Oak Grove Cemetery of, 44

population of, 5

prosperity of, 4–5, 11, 18, 40

public library of, 5, 40, 70, 226

Quakers in, 5, 6–8, 16

red-light districts of, 5

schools of, 5, 16

as Sylvia Howland’s beneficiary, 34, 35, 40, 47–48, 69–70

whale oil odor in, 2

whaling industry in, 2–4, 7, 8–9

Newpost, R.I., 108, 147–48, 156, 171–72, 173

New York, N.Y.:

Fifth Avenue mansions in, xi, 103–4, 106, 107, 136, 147, 158, 171, 235n

gun permits issued by, 161–63

Hetty’s debut in, 18–20

Hetty’s loans to, ix, 137, 167

panic of 1907 in, 167

New York Stock Exchange, 74, 91, 96

Niblo, Frank, 143

Nicholls, C. W. deLyon, 47, 190–91

Nims, Mary,
sec
Bolles, Mary Nims

Norris, Frank, 119, 120

Noyes, Alexander, 101, 235n, 237n

Octopus, The
(Norris), 119, 120

Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, 115

Painter, Henry M., 198, 199

Palfrey, Francis W., 56

panics, economic, ix, 72–73

of 1857, 133

of 1873, 74

of 1893, 144

of 1907, 166–69, 191, 237n

Pascal, Henry S., 218, 219

Pease, Zephaniah, 5

Peirce, Benjamin, 56, 62, 63

Peirce, Charles, 62–63

philanthropy, xi, 33

of Annie Leary, 65, 107–8, 191

Hetty’s anonymous, 190–91, 200–201

of Ned Green, 215–16, 217

Philpott, A. J., 201

Plaza Hotel, 176, 181–82

pork futures, 32

Potter, Wilbur, 189, 211

Price, Kezia R., 35–36

Pulitzer, Joseph, 106–7

Puritans, 7

Quakers, 5–8, 14, 16, 49, 71, 99–100, 106, 190

Quill, Dan, 220

Quinlan, William J., Jr., 122

railroad bonds, 73, 74, 88–89, 91–92, 96, 120–23, 127, 205

railroads, 115, 135, 145, 204

development of, 102, 129

land rights of, 119–20, 125–26

standardized time and, 31

in Texas, 118, 120–23, 124–32, 158

transcontinental, 89, 102, 119

see also
Huntington, Collis P.;
specific railroads

Reed, S. C. G., 129, 235n

rheumatism cure, 152–53

R. L. Day and Company, 211–12

Robinson, Abby Howland, 9–11, 12–13, 14. 33, 44

childbirths of, 12, 13

death of, 20, 21, 22, 25

fortune inherited by, 10, 17, 20, 25

Robinson, Edward Mott, 1–3, 9–11, 12–14, 15, 23, 24, 49, 50, 212

as allegedly murdered, 164

background of, 8

as beneficiary, 40–41, 42, 48

business of, 2–3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 17, 23, 24, 38, 43, 123

cheap cigars smoked by, 1–2

death of, 43, 48, 64–65. 139

estate of, 43–44, 73, 135, 138–43, 163, 196, 205

Hetty’s relationship with, 1–2, 3, 6, 16–17, 18, 20, 44, 111, 195–96

Hetty’s trust fund from, 43–44, 73, 138–43. 205

infant son’s death and, 3, 13–14

marriage of, 9–10

nickname of, 1, 17

residence of, 10–11, 12–13, 20

weak eyesight of, 3, 16

Robinson, Isaac Howland, 13–14

Robinson, William, 8

Rockefeller, Frank, 32

Rockefeller, John P., ix, xii, 30, 32, 33, 103

Round Hill farm, 14, 21, 22, 25, 34, 37. 38. 44, 210

Round Hill mansion and estate, 209–10, 212–15, 216, 219, 221, 223, 238n-39n

Russell, Sturgis and Company, 48–49

Sage, Russell, 103, 133, 188–89

Sawyer, George A., 61

Sayre, Lewis A., 113

Schieren, Charles A., 144

Schmid, Josephine, 175

Serrano y Domínguez, Francesco, duke de la Torre, 173

shell corporations, 31

Sherman, Hepsa, 39

Sister Carrie
(Dreiser), 144–45

Smith, James and Michael, 155, 236n

Smith, Nelson, 98, 99

Southern Pacific Railroad, 119–20, 125, 158, 212

sperm whales, 4, 9

Spinelli, Mrs. Pasquale, 192

spiritualism, x

Stanford, Leland, 119

Star Island estate, 215, 216

Stern House, 136

strikes, 31, 144–45

Strobech, Maria E., 207

Sturges, Philemon F., 179

Swett, Samuel W., 59–60

Tarpon Club, 184

taxes, 104, 135, 149, 150, 215

inheritance, 204–6, 220–21

Taylor, Bayard, 21

Texas, 156, 159–60, 173, 181, 182–86, 215, 219, 220–21

railroads in, 118, 120–23, 124–32, 158

Republican Party in, 183–84

Texas Central Railway Company, 127

Texas Midland Railroad Company, 127–32, 203, 212, 235n

Ned Green’s improvements to, 128–29, 131

requests for free passes on, 130

Texas World’s Fair Commission, 184–85

Thaxter, Caleb, 12

Thomas, B. F., 64

“To Esther” (Sylvia Howland), 21

Toler, Sidney S., 191

Tracy, J. Everts, 141

Treasury, U.S., 169

trolley cars, 143–45, 156

trolley workers’ strike, 144–45

Tucker House, 80, 82–83, 90, 145, 157–59, 203

demolition of, 222–23

Tucson, Ariz., 136–37

Tumbridge, J. W., 143

Twain, Mark, 67

United States
(yacht), 208–9

Van Buren, Martin, 19

Van de Graf, Robert J., 213–14

Vanderbilt, Alva, 103–4

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, x, xi, 133

Vanderbilt, Henry, 103