Milford chronicle., 1889-05-24
MRS. GREEN'S GIRLHOOD.
THE MIsERLY OLD LADY ONCE A
NEW YORK SOCIETY BELLE.

She Had Lovers by the scOre-she Was
Beautiful, an Heiress to $4,000, 900. and
Attended Balls and Parties-SIarriage on
Business Principles.
Mrs. Hetty Green, who is popularity believed
10 be the wealthiest woman in the United
States Is not seen so frequently in Wall street
as was the case few years ago. She keeps
her bonds and other securities, which are said
TO amount now to about S40,0O0000, in the
vaults of the Chemical bank, and whatever
business she does down in Wall street she does
through the Wall street brokers Of that in
stitution- OF course this manner Of getting
at the market is rather slow and tedious com
pared to the direct fashion to which Mrs
Green was addicted In years gone by, when
her associations in Wall street were with
John ]. Cisco g. Co., and would indicate that
Mrs. Green is not getting into the market
and out as rapidly as she used to do for short
turns, or, In other words, that she is not spec
ulating, but that when she deals In stocks and
bonds they are secured rather as investments
than for any other purpose And this Is
pretty near the truth.
WHEN HETTY WAS A BELLE
But was this misery old lady never youngl
There must have been a time, surely, when
these two eyes Of hers that now CLEAN with
shrewdness and suspicion looked frankly out
on the world; when this tall, 1.-THE form was
clothed in girlish and graceful garments and
when these crooked and clutching fingers
were straight and fair and pink and might
have invited the clasp Of friendship or even
the lovers ardent kiss. OF course there is no
necessity for saying that Mrs. Green was
Young once, but it is rather interesting to
note that she also filled out many of the out
lines Of this gracious picture with which we
are won't to associate the idea Of girlhood.
She was not only young She was fair and,
a matter Of thirty or thirty-fve years ago
was a belle in New York society, ardently
sought by numerous lovers, not only for her
wealth but also for her beauty. And the
transformation from this attractive young
creature. glowing with health and personal
loneliness, to the unlovely and Grabbed old
lady, which the Wall street reporters find to
be fertile occasion for numerous and humor-
Gus paragraphs, has been effected right here
In the city beneath the nose and eyes Of men
and women who knew her as a girl but now
only hear Of her as an old woman.
A number Of people with whom the writer
Is acquainted, and who are veterans in New
York society and authority so far as its his
tory is concerned, remember her perfectly as
the very attractive young girl here described.
She was a tall and rather striking blonde,
notable for animal spirits and her exceptional
skill and brightness as conversationalist. She
used to come down here from New Bedford,
where her father resided, and spend the win
ters in town. She attended nearly all the
balls, parties, concerts and other entertain
ments in which society was interested and
was eagerly sought and woOed by numerous
lovers Freddie Gebhard's uncle is stated to
have been one Of them, and members of the
Union club, who are now veterans, were also
on the list. Naturally her personal attrac-
tons lost nothing because Of the fact that she
was an heiress to S10,OOO,OOO. She was her
fathers only child, and her father was Ed
ward Mott Robinson, who had laid the founda-
tion of his fortune in the whaling business
At that time whales were much more plenti-
full than they are now, and as petroleum was
unknown the oil was very valuable and an
important article of commerce. At the time
that Hetty Robinson first came to New York
and entered society here her father had re-
tired from the whaling business, and in part
nership with Coleman, the once Pacific coast
millionaire, who failed short time ago, en-
tered business in New York. There is some
difference Of opinion even among those who
have known Mrs Green, or known of her
since this girlhood time, exactly how old she
is, but whether she was IS or 20 in 1856 the
fact remains that she ignored all the senti-
mental advances made to her, and did not
marry until year or so after her fathers
death, which occurred just before the close
Of the war.
WALL STREET AND MARRIAGE.
It Is impossible at this distance Of time to
in fnf1 fnfr
gradually dropped out Of society, became de
voted to business, and finally developed into
the Hetty Green whom Wall street knows
today The girls family connections were
exceedingly good, particularly on her
mothers side, and when she came here first
she was chaperoned by the family Of Moses
B. Grinneu, who was a millionaire, to whom,
through her mother, she was related. At
that time she lived in a boarding house on
Twenty-second street, near Fifth avenue, and
occupied a modest hall room for which she
paid the sum Of 80 weekly. These modest &C
commodations for New York society favor
its were provided by her father who was
quite as parsimonious in his day as his famous
daughter Is in ours However, she dressed
well, and people who simply met her in par
lors and bathrooms did not, Of course, stop to
inquire as to the fashion In which she lived.
Her appearance In New York society as a
young girl seem to have extended over four
years or up to the beginning of the war. and
her gradual retirement is variously explained.
One story Is to the effect that she began to
display the parsimonious characteristics that
distinguished her father, and this led to the
wearing of such shabby costumes and the
taking on Of 80 many unattractive habits Of
life that the Grinnen family were finally
compelled to withdraw their chaperonage
and support However this may be, it is
known that during the few years which pre-
coded Mr.. RobinsOn's death the daughter be-
gan faithfDlly to take on the color of her
fathers character, and when she finally did
marry married on purely business basis.
The marriage into which Hetty Robinson
finally entered was made, as stated, wholly
on q business basis The man selected finally
was E. II. Green, who had made fortune in
the China trade. He was reputed to be worth
at the time Of his marriage somewhere in the
neighborhood Of S75OO00 The arrangements
for the marriage were concluded before Mr..
Robinson's death, but the marriage did not
occur until a year or more after it. It is
said that there was very explicit ante
nuptial agreement entered into between the
young woman, now nearly 30 years of age.
whose miseriy characteristics were unfortun-
ately developing very rapidly, whereby Mr..
Green agreed that his wife's fortune should
not be liable for any Of his debts or obhsa-
tons or fOr any Of their joint expenses. That
Is to say, he agreed that he would support
her precisely as though she were without for
tune and provide for the education and main
tenancs At whatever children might result
from the marriage. This agreement has been
gigidly enforced by Mrs. Green from first to
last The husband lost all his fortune in the
crash Of 1884, and since then he has received
no assistance from his wife to rehabilitate
himself He Is still six feet and six inches in
height, but his financial figure has dwindled
almost to nothing. He comes down on the
street two or three times a week, but his fly-
ers are Of the most modest description
York World