Gould was not a member of the Stock Exchange, though he was often the biggest customer the institution had. He was, however, almost always in general or special partnership with some member of the Exchange and thus obtained all the advantages of personal membership. After the dissolution of the house of Smith, Gould & Martin, Gould became the silent partner in the firm of William Belden & Co. This was succeeded by the famous house of W. E. Connor & Co., which lasted about ten years and which engineered some of Mr. Gould’s most successful deals. At the time Mr. Gould retired from the firm, in 1886, it was composed of himself as special partner and of Washington E. Connor, G. P. Morosini and George J. Gould, the great operator’s eldest son. Mr. Connor was the ideal broker and perhaps the most valuable lieutenant Mr. Gould ever had. Not overscrupulous in carrying out the interests of his master, he was faithful to the last minute to him. Tempting offers were made to buy him off at various times, and he might have made several fortunes in betraying the confidences of his chief, but it is believed he was always true. Like Morosini, he allied his interest to those of Gould and profited by the connection. When the firm dissolved, Gould said of his partners: “Both are very rich men. Mr. Connor is worth at least a million and Mr. Morosini two or three times as much. The new firm will have my heartiest good will in whatever it undertakes. Between Mr. Connor, Mr. Morosini and myself there has never been an interruption of good feeling.”