Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-16

| NEW YORK, December 16.-Announce-
| ment was made yesterday of the en-
gagement of Miss Helen Miller Gould,
| daughter of the late Jay Gould, woman
whose philanthropies have reached around
the world, to Finley J. Shepard, rail-
road man of ST. Louis
The announcement was made by Mr..
and Mrs. George J. Gould at a dinner at
Mr.. Gould's country home in Lakewood,
n. j.. and comes as a surprise to all but
the families and close friends. No date
was set for the wedding. .ut it is believed
it will take place at the end of January.
Possessing great wealth III her own
right Miss Gould probably has received
as many proposals of marriage as any
other woman in the world, suitors who
offered crowns and suitors who had
none She had evaded the soft impeach-
ment so persistentIy and so decidedly that
none of her friends suspected that when
she went west on a tour of inspection OF
the Railroad Young Mems CHRISTIAN AS
sociations, philanthropy chleHy ner
own, she was starting on trip .id'
eventually would lead her to the altar
She had contributed largely to the es-
Establishment of these institutions through
out the country and particularly to those
along the lines of the Gould raliroads
in which she is heavily interested as one
of the four trustees of the jay Gould es-
tate.
Became Acquainted on Trip.
Last March Miss Gould, with officials
of the Gould roads and their wives. left
st. Louis for tour of the ASSOCIATION
branches. In the party was Mr.. Shep-
~,D% hAfn
assistant to the president" b. f. Bush
of the Missouri Pacific-lron Mountain s;1
and the Denver and Rio Grande rail-
roads. During the trip Mr. shepard ana
Miss Gould were in each others com
pany much of the time. and he seemed 10
take a keen interest in the project which
she was furthering.
Mr.. Shepard is a native OF Connecti-
cut In 1899 he entered the railroad serv-
ice I'm the general office OF the northern
Pacific at St Paul After he had been
advanced to the position OF assistant gen
eral manager of that road he went, In
1901, to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe. at Chicago In the following year
he was advanced to general superlntend-
ent i'm charge of the coast lines or the
Santa Fe. with headquarters at Los An
geles There he remained three years.
When he left that position 1t was to en-
gage in private business with railroad
connections.
He went to the operating department of
the Missouri Pacifc-IrOn Mountain in
June, 1911 When Mr.. Bush, president of
the system, was chosen also to head the
Denver and Rio Grande in January OF
this year Mr.. Shepard was selected as his
assistant on the latter road Recently
he was appointed assistant to Mr. BUSH
on the Missouri Pacific-Iron Mountain
road, with jurisdiction over all depart
ments, although he had been performing
the duties of that position in addition to
his other work for some time.
Of American Parentage.
Mr. Shepard comes from American par
ents. of English and Scotch origin. His
father, a retired Episcopal clergyman
who was beloved throughout Connecticut
died recently in his eighty-eighth year
He had been one o fthe first graduates OF
Trinity College, and at the time of his
death was the oldest clergyman in the
state in point Of ordination. Mr.. Shep-
ards mother is still living and is in her
eighty-third year.
When Mr.. Gould was asked If he had
anything to say concerning the engage
ment of his sister he laughed and re-
marked:
There will be nothing more except that
this engagement is most pleasing to Mrs
Gould and myself"
Miss Gould is one of the six children
of the late Jay Gould. who left an estate
Of more than $6O,OO0,OG0 to be divided
among them. The eldest of the four sons
is Mr.. George j. Gould Miss Gould is
the elder of the two daughters the other
being the Duchess Helie de Talleyrand
and formerly the Countess de Castellane
She was originally Miss Anna Gould
Jay Gould died in December 1892 Tn
So, OOO. 600 The remainder of the great
estate. after a few requests to relatives
had been paid. was divided equally among
the six children, each receiving about
$40 100000 Miss Gould received the city
house at NO.579 9Th avenue. and the Use
Of the superb country estate at Irvington
n. Y, with an allowance Of $1,000 a
month for its maintenance. She also was
expected to make home for her sister
and brothers. Messrs. Frank and Howard
Gould, during their minOrities. The two
children of Frank J. Gould were with her
last summer at her country homes at
Tarrytown and at Roxbury. N. Y.
Miss Gould was born in June. 1868. She
ton given by her mother in December
1891, but since then has rarely taken part
in the entertainments of the fashionable
world, being satisfied with having her
friends about her at informal afternoon
receptions.
Soon after her fathers death Miss
Gould began to appear before the public
in the role of benefactor of institutions
organized primarily for the education and
moral uplift of both the very young and
the middle aged of both sexes. Her
largest gifts have been for the extension
of the work of the Young Mems Christian
Association, especially among the men
of the army and navy and among en-
ployes of railroads. She also has estab-
lshed cooking and sewing schools for
girls on the lower East Side and fire.
quently has invited the members to her
country home.
Miss Goulds best known gifts have
been 100000 to Vassar College, an equal
sum to the United States government at
the opening Of the war with Spain, $780, :
oOO to the New York University. $780, 600