Hope Goddard Iselin

Edith Hope Goddard Iselin (January 17, 1868 – April 5, 1970) was an American heiress and sportswoman who was the first American woman to compete as a crew member in the America's Cup yacht race.[2][3] She also owned thoroughbred racehorses.

Hope Goddard Iselin
BornJanuary 17, 1868
Providence, Rhode Island[1]
DiedApril 5, 1970(1970-04-05) (aged 102)
Aiken, South Carolina
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn, Bronx, New York
OccupationYachtswoman, racehorse owner, philanthropist
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1894; died 1932)​
ChildrenWilliam Goddard Iselin
(1903-1909)
Edith Hope Iselin Jones
(1905-2001)
Parent(s)Colonel William Goodard
Mary Edith Jenckes Goddard

Early life

Hope Goddard was the daughter of Mary Edith (née Jenckes) Goddard (1844–1921) and Colonel William Goddard (1825–1907) of Providence, Rhode Island, a chancellor of Brown University and a scion of a family that had accumulated great wealth from mercantile and manufacturing activities.[4]

Life

Hope and her husband Oliver had many extravagant homes, including their primary residence in New Rochelle, New York, "All View", a palatial waterfront estate on a private peninsula overlooking Long Island Sound.[5] The home was designed by renown architect Stanford White. Fredrick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park, was their personal landscape architect. A breakwater was constructed adjacent to Premium Point in Echo Bay so that they could dock their yachts including the Vigilant, Defender and Columbia safely next to their home.[6][7][8] The Iselins were influential in bringing the popularity of yacht racing to the Long Island Sound shore communities of Westchester, making New Rochelle the focal point of all the pre-racing activities.

Philanthropy

Although Mrs. Iselin walked among kings and multi-millionaires, she and her husband were noted for their philanthropies. In Aiken, South Carolina, where the Iselins maintained a winter residence named "Hopelands", they organized the Aiken Hospital and Relief Society, which built and equipped Aiken's first hospital in 1917. They continued to support the hospital until it was replaced by the county hospital in 1937.

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. On her death she bequeathed Hopelands Gardens, where the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum is located, to the city of Aiken.[9] There is a bust of Hope Goddard Iselin at Hopeland Gardens that was sculpted by Maria Kirby Smith.[2][10][11]

Personal life

In 1894, she married C. Oliver Iselin, 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.[12] 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."[13] Twenty-six-year-old Hope Goddard was in line to inherit a huge fortune. C. Oliver Iselin was already a millionaire at the age of 40, made wealthy by his grandfather's investments in coal mining and railroads.[14] Together, the Iselin's had a son, who died in childhood, and a daughter:

  • William Goddard Iselin (1903-1909), who died young.
  • Edith Hope Iselin (1905-2001), who married Archer G. Jones.

Iselin died in her home in Aiken, South Carolina in 1970 at the age of 102.[15]

References
  1. "Edith Hope Goddard (1868-1970)". New York Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014.
  2. Profile and portrait of Hope Goddard Iselin at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum
  3. "Hope Iselin". Time. April 20, 1970. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  4. "Portrait Collection: Iselin, William Goddard (1903 - 1909)". Brown University Office of the Curator.
  5. Scientific American Building Monthly. Munn and Company. 1902. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  6. "New Rochelle, New York" Barbara Davis p. 49
  7. "Big Yachts to Race Again". NY Times. Retrieved June 2012
  8. "Defender Out Sailing". NY Times. Retrieved June 2012
  9. "The Iselins: Winter Colonists and Philanthropists". Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
  10. Photograph of the Bust of Hope Goddard Iselin at Hopeland Gardens
  11. MRS. ADRIAN ISELIN DEAD.; She Had Been Seriously Ill Since September, but Recently Had Improved.
  12. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745152-2,00.html Time magazine February 13, 1933
  13. Hope Goddard Engages to C. O. Iselin, New York Times, May 6, 1894
  14. "Edith Hope Goddard (1868-1970)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  15. "Mrs. Charles Iselin, Turf Figure And Social Leader, Dies at 102". New York Times. April 6, 1970. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
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