125
Gould Family and Gould Homestead Papers
Collection, Ms 6
1729 – 1891
1908 – 1977
1908 – 1977
Nathan Gold of St. Edmondsbury, England arrived in the new village of Fairfield in the year 1648, establishing within a short time his preeminence in the community as, among other things, constable, assistant judge of Connecticut's General Assembly, and the commander of Fairfield's militia. His descendants carried on this tradition of civic responsibility: his son, Nathan, Jr. (d. 1723), served as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut for many years; his great-grandson, Colonel Abraham Gold (1732-1777) was killed fighting the British in Ridgefield, CT; and his descendant, Captain John Gould (1801-1871), served as notary public, representative (and later senator) in Connecticut's General Assembly, railroad commissioner, moderator of town meetings and United States Marshall by appointment of President Abraham Lincoln. Captain John Gould was also a businessman, the owner of a fleet of schooners that over a period of approximately forty years (1826-1865) plied trade between New York City and Richmond, VA and later Liverpool, England. A measure of his success, both as a businessman and as a public official, was the stately mansion known as Gould Homestead which he had built in 1840. This Greek revival home stood at 172 Post Road in Fairfield until 1956, when it was torn down to be replaced by a Food Fair supermarket. The Gould Homestead was the site of the Gould Homestead Summer Home for Women during the years 1910-1955. The Gould Homestead Summer Home for Women was established under the will of Captain Gould's daughter, Elizabeth Gould (1825-1908) to provide a free vacation home to working women of Fairfield County. After the demolition of the original Homestead in 1956, the vacation home was run at 85 Post Rd., Fairfield. By 1967 however, the Homestead no longer attracted working women as a vacation home. The trustees of the Gould estate then established a scholarship fund for female residents of Fairfield County, initially under the auspices of the Gould Foundation (1968-1977) and later (1977 to present) under the management of Bridgeport University.
This collection is composed of 4 boxes of documents and account books and 4 oversize items--
an account book and three photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of the papers, both
personal and business, of Captain John Gould. The personal papers of the Captain range from
numerous bills for tailor-made clothes to poetry on small bits of paper. Equally diverse are his
business papers, which include not only bills but also insurance and sales contracts for his
schooners and a few letters regarding cargoes of the same.
Also in this collection are: (1) some older Gould family papers, chiefly legal documents (which
are quite fragile); (2) legal documents, correspondence, reports and newspaper clippings of the
Gould Homestead Summer Home for Women (later the Gould Foundation); and (3) photographs
of the Gould family members and their residence, the Homestead.
an account book and three photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of the papers, both
personal and business, of Captain John Gould. The personal papers of the Captain range from
numerous bills for tailor-made clothes to poetry on small bits of paper. Equally diverse are his
business papers, which include not only bills but also insurance and sales contracts for his
schooners and a few letters regarding cargoes of the same.
Also in this collection are: (1) some older Gould family papers, chiefly legal documents (which
are quite fragile); (2) legal documents, correspondence, reports and newspaper clippings of the
Gould Homestead Summer Home for Women (later the Gould Foundation); and (3) photographs
of the Gould family members and their residence, the Homestead.
Within the folders, the arrangement is alphabetical according to subject matters where feasible,
and within those categories, chronological. Otherwise, chronological order prevails.
and within those categories, chronological. Otherwise, chronological order prevails.
Loading...