Hope Goddard Iselin
Hope Goddard Iselin | |
|---|---|
| File:Hope Goddard Iselin.JPG | |
| Born | January 17, 1868 |
| Died | April, 1970 |
| Occupation | Yachtswoman / Racehorse owner |
| Spouse | Charles Oliver Iselin |
| Parent | Colonel William Goodard |
Hope Goddard Iselin (January 17, 1868 – April 1970) was an American sportswoman who was the first woman to compete as a crew member in the America's Cup yacht race.[1][2] She also owned thoroughbred racehorses.
Hope Goddard was the daughter of Colonel William Goddard, a Chancellor of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1894, she married C. Oliver , a banker and sportsman who Time magazine said was "probably the most famed yachtsman in the U.S." during the latter part of the 19th Century.[3] The headline of their wedding announcement in the May 5, 1896 New York Times read, "Hope Goddard Engaged to C.O. Iselin, Well-Known Yachtsman to Marry Heiress of millions." [4] Twenty-six-year-old Hope Goddard was in line to inherit a huge fortune. Charles Oliver Iselin was already a millionaire at the age of 40, made wealthy by his grandfather’s investments in coal mining and railroads.
The couple had many extravagant homes in the north, including their primary residence in New Rochelle, New York, a palatial waterfront estate overlooking Long Island Sound. Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park, was their personal landscape architect. The Iselins also were drawn to Aiken, the little town where they built a residence named "Hopelands". They spent their winters racing thoroughbreds and modifying the gardens at "Hopelands", planting hundreds of camellia bushes around the massive old oak trees. Hope and Charles organized the Aiken Hospital and Relief Society in 1917 to build and buy equipment for the town’s first hospital.
Although Mrs. Iselin walked among kings and multi millionaires, she and her husband were noted for their philanthropies. They organized the Aiken Hospital and Relief Society, which in 1917, built and equipped Aiken’s first hospital. They continued to support the hospital until it was replaced by the county hospital in 1937. Mrs. Iselin also served as a director of the Martha Schofield School for many years, when it was operated under private auspices for the education of young African-Americans. [5]
The Iselin’s had a son, William, who died in childhood, and a daughter, Edith Hope.
Mrs. Iselin died in her home in 1970 at the age of 102.
References
- ^ Profile and portrait of Hope Goddard Iselin at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum
- ^ Time magazine, April 20, 1970
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745152-2,00.html Time magazine February 13, 1933
- ^ Hope Goddard Engages to C. O. Iselin, New York Times, May 6, 1894
- ^ MRS. ADRIAN ISELIN DEAD.; She Had Been Seriously Ill Since September, but Recently Had Improved.