Richard Thornton Wilson, Jr.
| Richard Thornton Wilson Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 11, 1866 New York City, New York United States |
| Died | December 29, 1929 (aged 63) 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 |
| Spouse(s) | Marion Steedman Mason |
| Children | Marion Mason Wilson Louisa Steedman Wilson |
| Parent(s) | 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 Richard Thornton Wilson Sr. and Melissa Clementine Johnston. Richard Sr. was 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.
Richard Wilson Jr.'s sister Grace Graham Wilson married Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III of the Vanderbilt family. Neily's sister Gertrude was married to prominent horseman Harry Payne Whitney. In 1896, Richard Wilson Jr. and Harry 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. 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 Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor, youngest daughter of William Backhouse Astor Jr. and Caroline Webster Schermerhorn of the Astor family. Carrie's brother was Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, richest passenger on the RMS Titanic. Wilson's 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."
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