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Helen Beresford, Baroness Decies

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American-born British noblewoman

The Right HonourableThe Lady Decies
Lady Decies in 1919
BornVivian Gould
(1893-05-02)May 2, 1893
DiedFebruary 3, 1931(1931-02-03) (aged 37)
London, UK
Spouse John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies
​ ​(m. 1911)​
Children3
Parent(s)George Jay Gould
Edith Kingdon
RelativesJay Gould (grandfather)

Helen Vivien Beresford, Baroness Decies, formerly Helen Vivien Gould (May 2, 1893 – February 3, 1931) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was one of the two Jay Gould descendants to marry into European aristocracy.

Early life

Helen Vivien Gould was born on May 2, 1893, in the United States. She was the fourth of seven children born to George Jay Gould (1864–1923), a railroad executive; and Edith Kingdon (1864–1921), an actress. Among her siblings were Kingdon Gould I, Marjorie Gwynne Gould, Jay Gould II, Edith Catherine Gould, and Gloria Gould.

Her paternal grandparents were Jay Gould, a leading American railroad developer and speculator known as one of the ruthless robber barons of the Gilded Age, and Helen Day (née Miller) Gould.

Personal life

On February 7, 1911, Helen married John Graham Hope de la Poer Horsley Beresford (1866–1944), the 5th Baron Decies. John was the son of William Robert John Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies and Catherine Anne Dent. Together they had three children:

  • Eileen Vivien de la Poer Beresford (1912-?) who married Robert Alfred O'Brien
  • Catherine Moya de la Poer Beresford (1913–1967) who married Patrick Herbert Bellew in 1936. They divorced and she married Max Wilhelm Johannsen in 1946.
  • Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford (1915-1992) the 6th Baron Decies

She died in February 1931 of jaundice and a heart attack in London. After her death, Lord Decies married Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, the daughter of Joseph William Drexel, on May 25, 1936. He died on 31 January 1944 at age 77.

References

  1. ^ "Lady Decies Dies at 38 in London. Former Helen Vivien Gould Was Principal in Brilliant International Wedding of 1911. Was Noted As Hostess. Her Entertaining Was a Feature of British Capital. Husband Is Distinguished Irish Peer". New York Times. 3 February 1931. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Mr. and Mrs. G.J. Gould May Formally Announce Daughter's Engagement on Jan. 19". New York Times. 15 December 1910. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  3. ^ MacColl, Gail; Wallace, Carol McD (2012). To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery. Workman Publishing. p. 334. ISBN 9780761171980. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. Montgomery, Maureen E. (2013). 'Gilded Prostitution': Status, Money and Transatlantic Marriages, 1870-1914. Routledge. p. 339. ISBN 9781136214950. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. "Died". Time magazine. 16 February 1931. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  6. "Lord Decies dies in England at 77. Soldier, Sportsman, Friend of Taxpayer. Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911". New York Times. 2 February 1944. Retrieved 21 July 2007. Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911.

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