Authors: Charles Slack
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