Gladys Mills Phipps
Encyclopedia
Gladys Livingston Mills Phipps (1883-1970) was an United States
socialite
, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred
racehorse
owner and breeder
who began the Phipps family
dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of the turf".
, she was the daughter of Ruth Livingston and Ogden Mills
(son of Darius Ogden Mills
) and the sister of her twin, Beatrice, Countess Granard
, and of Ogden Livingston Mills
who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury
. In 1907 Gladys Mills married Henry Carnegie Phipps
(1879-1953), son of the wealthy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
businessman, Henry Phipps
.
This sportswoman was an avid ice skater
and an excellent golfer
; she won a number of tournaments, including a match play
championship at the Newport, Rhode Island
gold course in which she beat her male counterparts. She was, however, first and foremost a lover of horses. Her father had owned racing stables in the United States and in France
. Her twin, Beatrice, would inherit the French stable and become a leading owner in that country. Gladys Phipps became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in 1926, when she and her brother Ogden L. Mills
established the highly successful Wheatley Stable
. Her son Ogden
(1908-2002) and daughter Barbara (1911-1987) both became involved in Thoroughbred horse racing.
Following her brother's death in 1937, Gladys Mills Phipps inherited her parent's mansion at Staatsburg, New York
. In 1938, she gave the house and 192 acre (0.77699712 km²) to the State of New York.
Gladys Mills Phipps died on October 19, 1970 in Westbury, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
owner and breeder
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
who began the Phipps family
Phipps family
The Henry Phipps family of the United States was founded by Henry Phipps, Jr., the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, Henry Phipps was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of the turf".
Biography
Born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, she was the daughter of Ruth Livingston and Ogden Mills
Ogden Mills
Ogden Mills was an American financier and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Life and career:Born in Millbrae, California, he was the son of Jane Templeton Cunningham and her husband Darius Ogden Mills, a highly successful banker and investor who in 1910 left Odgen Mills and his sister an estate valued...
(son of Darius Ogden Mills
Darius Ogden Mills
Darius Ogden Mills was a prominent American banker, philanthropist and, for a time, California's wealthiest citizen.-Biography:...
) and the sister of her twin, Beatrice, Countess Granard
Beatrice Mills Forbes, 8th Countess of Granard
Beatrice Mills, OBE was an American-born heiress. The daughter of the very wealthy Ogden Mills, she was a twin to Gladys, and brother to Ogden. In 1909, she married Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard with whom she had four children...
, and of Ogden Livingston Mills
Ogden L. Mills
Ogden Livingston Mills was an American businessman and politician.-Biography:The son of Ogden Mills and Ruth T. Livingston, he had twin sisters Beatrice Mills and Gladys Livingston Mills. Odgen L. Mills was the grandson of Darius O...
who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
. In 1907 Gladys Mills married Henry Carnegie Phipps
Henry Carnegie Phipps
Henry Carnegie Phipps was a sportsman and financier, and the owner of Wheatley Stables.-References:...
(1879-1953), son of the wealthy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
businessman, Henry Phipps
Henry Phipps
Henry Phipps, Jr. was an American entrepreneur and major philanthropist.-Biography:He was the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, he was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
.
This sportswoman was an avid ice skater
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
and an excellent golfer
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
; she won a number of tournaments, including a match play
Match play
Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; this is as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes...
championship at the Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
gold course in which she beat her male counterparts. She was, however, first and foremost a lover of horses. Her father had owned racing stables in the United States and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Her twin, Beatrice, would inherit the French stable and become a leading owner in that country. Gladys Phipps became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in 1926, when she and her brother Ogden L. Mills
Ogden L. Mills
Ogden Livingston Mills was an American businessman and politician.-Biography:The son of Ogden Mills and Ruth T. Livingston, he had twin sisters Beatrice Mills and Gladys Livingston Mills. Odgen L. Mills was the grandson of Darius O...
established the highly successful Wheatley Stable
Wheatley Stable
Wheatley Stable was the nom de course for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden L. Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky.-History:...
. Her son Ogden
Ogden Phipps
Ogden Phipps was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist...
(1908-2002) and daughter Barbara (1911-1987) both became involved in Thoroughbred horse racing.
Following her brother's death in 1937, Gladys Mills Phipps inherited her parent's mansion at Staatsburg, New York
Staatsburg, New York
Staatsburg is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
. In 1938, she gave the house and 192 acre (0.77699712 km²) to the State of New York.
Gladys Mills Phipps died on October 19, 1970 in Westbury, New York
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
.
External links
- Halcyon Days: An American Family Through Three Generations by Peggie Phipps Boegner (daughter of John Shaffer PhippsJohn Shaffer PhippsJohn Shaffer Phipps was an American lawyer and businessman who was an heir to the Phipps family fortune and a shareholder of his father-in-law's Grace Shipping Lines. He was a director of the Hanover Bank, U.S. Steel Corp. and W. R...
), Richard Gachot (1987) Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-1064-0 - Bowen, Edward L.Edward L. BowenEdward L. Bowen is an American Thoroughbred horse racing historian and author and the president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, an institution involved in funding equine research....
Legacies of the Turf (Vol. 1) (2003) Eclipse PressBlood-Horse PublicationsBlood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines.Blood-Horse Publications is located in Lexington, Kentucky. Their book-publishing arm is Eclipse Press...
ISBN 1-58150-102-1 (See also: http://www.eclipsepress.com/current_titles/B11-1079.html) - Mills Mansion at Staatsburg, New York
- Phipps family racing at Chicago Barn to Wire
- Phipps family at Thoroughbred Times Company, Inc.
- October 20, 1970 New York Times obituary for Gladys Mills Phipps