The Wizard of Wall Street and His Wealth; or, The Life and Deeds of Jay GouldWhite, Trumbull
History
The Wizard of Wall Street and His Wealth; or, The Life and Deeds of Jay Gould
White, Trumbull
Businessmen -- United States -- Biography; Capitalists and financiers -- United States -- Biography; Gould, Jay, 1836-1892
During all this time Fifth avenue was crowded with handsome equipages
of all kinds going to and from the park. Among those who drove by were
John Jacob Astor and his wife in a stylish drag. Neither the Anarchists
nor the other spectators recognized them, or there might have been,
judging from the character of the crowd, some unpleasant demonstration.
The police, however, were very alert, and kept a watchful eye upon
every movement of the crowd.
The majority of the men who attended the funeral walked to and from the
house. When the services were over and the doors were opened, the first
to step out were H. Walter Webb and Chauncey M. Depew. Mr. Depew was,
of course, recognized, but Whitelaw Reid, who followed him, was not. As
the guests came out of the house the police still had some difficulty
in keeping the crowd back. A number of women fell into line, expecting
that they would be admitted to the house as soon as the invited guests
had departed. Finding that this was not the case, they lingered for
a few minutes and then slowly went their way. In fifteen minutes
the crowd disappeared entirely, and the avenue resumed its normal
appearance.
The following morning the remains of Jay Gould were placed beside those
of his wife in the mausoleum in Woodlawn cemetery. They were placed in
a catacomb at just half past twelve. Barring the irreverent chatter
of the idle onlookers, nearly all of whom were women, no words were
uttered except by Chancellor MacCracken. A crowd gathered in front of
the Gould residence early this morning. Two policemen kept them back,
and they stood around and looked angry. At 9:30 the flowers were taken
to the cemetery. Soon after 10 o’clock the hearse and eight carriages
appeared. It was an extremely plain hearse and the carriages, except
George Gould’s smart brougham, were of the ordinary four-wheeled
funeral variety. The immediate members of the family entered them and
Undertaker Main, alone in a carriage, led the way up Fifth avenue to
the cemetery. After the brief services were over the mourners departed.
The mausoleum in Woodlawn cemetery in which the dead multi-millionaire
is resting is more magnificent and costly than the homes of many people
whose money paid for it. The station on the New York and Harlem river
railroad is near the northeast corner of the cemetery. Central avenue
goes by the office of the superintendent and winds through the snowy
slopes for about half a mile. About fifty feet from this avenue rises a
mound crowned by a tiny Greek temple. That is Jay Gould’s tomb.
The plot of ground is circular and contains 30,000 square feet. The
price of ground in such a select location is $2 per square foot, so the
space alone cost $60,000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account