Quick Facts
Biography
Robert Goelet (September 29, 1841 – April 27, 1899) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Robert Goelet was born on September 29, 1841 in Manhattan, New York City to Sarah Ogden (1809–1888) and Robert Goelet (1809–1879). His parents resided at 5 State Street, overlooking the Battery in Manhattan. His father, Robert Goelet, was a prominent landlord in New York, as was his uncle, Peter Goelet, named after his great-grandfather, Peter Goelet (1727–1811), Robert's great-grandfather. He had a brother, Ogden Goelet, who later built Ochre Court in Newport, Rhode Island.
Career
He graduated from Columbia College in 1860 and was subsequently admitted to the bar. He managed the real estate of his father, Robert Goelet, and his unmarried uncle. After their deaths, he inherited half their fortune. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Chemical National Bank.
Yachting
His yacht Nahma was designed by George L. Watson and built for him on the River Clyde in 1897. After his death it was extensively used for summer cruising in European waters by his son Robert Walton Goelet, who lent the yacht at no cost to the United States Navy, who operated it as USS Nahma (SP-771) from 1917 to 1919, after which it was returned.
Personal life
He married Sarah Ogden (1813–1879). After her death in 1879, he married Harriette Louise Warren, the daughter of George Henry Warren of New York, a prominent lawyer. They resided in a townhouse located at 591 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan as well as seasonal residences in Tuxedo Park, New York and Newport, Rhode Island. Together, they had two children:
- Robert Walton Goelet (1880–1941)
- Beatrice Goelet (1885–1902), who died of pneumonia in 1902, aged 17. As a child, she was painted by John Singer Sargent.
He was a member of the exclusive Philadelphia Club, the New York Yacht Club and the Union Club of the City of New York. He was also a member of the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, Georgia.
He died on April 27, 1899 in Naples, Italy of heart disease.