| Richard T. Wilson, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1866 New York City, New York United States |
| Died | December 29, 1929 New York City |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York |
| Residence | New York City Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina |
| Occupation | Banker/businessman Racehose owner/breeder |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Spouse | Marion Steadman Mason |
| Children | Marion, Louisa |
| Parents | Richard Thornton Wilson, Sr. & Melissa Clementine Johnston |
Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr. (September 11, 1866 - December 29, 1929) was an American banker and businessman who was a prominent figure in Thoroughbred horse racing in the early decades of the 20th Century.
Wilson was born in New York City one of five surviving children of Melissa Clementine Johnston and her husband Richard T. Wilson, a multimillionaire investment banker originally from Loudon, Tennessee who served on the staff of Lucius B. Northrop, the Commissary-General of the Confederate States of America. [1]
Richard Wilson, Jr. followed in his father's footseps and was successful in banking and business. He married Marion Steadman Mason on March 12, 1902 with whom he had daughters Marion and Louisa.
Richard Wilson, Jr. died on December 29, 1929. His funeral service was held at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York. He was interred in the family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. [2]
In 1896, Richard Wilson, Jr. hired Thomas J. Healey to manage his racing stable. Together for three decades, they would win a number of the most important East Coast races including the Travers Stakes three times, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
Richard Wilson Jr.'s sister, Grace, married Cornelius Vanderbilt III whose sister Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was married to prominent horseman, Harry Payne Whitney. In 1896, Richard Wilson, Jr. and Harry Payne Whitney teamed up with a group of investors to purchase Saratoga Race Course which had fallen into the hands of an undesirable New Jersey brothelkeeper, Gottfried Waldbaum. Richard Wilson then served as president of the Saratoga Racing Association which operated the facility. Wilson's other siblings also married into very prominent families. His older brother, Marshall Orme Wilson, married Caroline Astor, daughter of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor - "the Mrs. Astor" of "the 400" fame. His other two sisters, Mary (May) and Belle, married, respectively, New York real estate heir, Ogden Goelet, and the Honorable Sir Michael Henry Herbert, brother of the Earl of Pembroke and British ambassador to the United States, during Theodore Roosevelt's administration. Wilson's niece, Mary Goelet, married the Duke of Roxburghe. Because of all the family's advantageous marriages, the Wilsons were known in New York and Newport society as the "Marrying Wilsons."
In 1902, Richard Wilson, Jr. purchased an estate at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina from John Holbrook Estill where in 1910 he built a mansion and maintained a stable and a blacksmith shop. The home burned down in 1926 and the property was sold. [3]
Among Wilson's successful racehorses were:
Reeves, Richard Stone & Ashforth, David. Crown Jewels of Thoroughbred Racing (1997) Eclipse Press ISBN 978-0939049905
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, Jr. Queen of the Golden Age