American investment banker and capitalist 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. (1829–1910) and Melissa Clementine Johnston (1831–1908). Born in Georgia, his father was a multimillionaire railroad owner and investment banker in New York City who served as the commissary general of the Confederate States of America. Wilson attended private schools and graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in 1887. While at Columbia, he joined the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall). In 1896, Richard Wilson Jr. and Harry Payne Whitney teamed up with a group of investors to purchase the Saratoga Race Course, which had fallen into the hands of an undesirable New Jersey brothelkeeper, Gottfried Waldbaum. Wilson served as president of the Saratoga Racing Association for the Improvement of the Breed of Horses, which operated the facility. Wilson is credited with enlarging the facility and improving its appearance. He also welcomed women horse owners, creating the Lady-Owners Handicap. In addition, Wilson oversaw Belmont Park as a director of the Westchester Racing Association. He was also a steward in the Jockey Club. In 1896, Wilson hired Thomas J. Healey to manage his racing stable. For three decades, they would win a number of the most important East Coast races, including the Travers Stakes three times, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. In 1916, he bought Kirklevington Nursery in Lexington, Kentucky, which contained over 500 acres of bluegrass land and was considered "one of the most up-to-date nurseries in the district." On March 11, 1902, Wilson married Marion Steedman Mason (1875–1947) of Boston, daughter of Louisa Blake Steedman and Dr. Amos Lawrence Mason, a cousin of Bishop of Massachusetts William Lawrence.[20][1] Marion's grandparents included Rear Admiral Charles Steedman of Charleston, South Carolina, captain of the USS Ticonderoga, and Rev. Charles Mason who was the son of the U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, Jeremiah Mason. Together, they had two daughters: Louisa Steedman Wilson (1904–1974) and Marion Mason Wilson (1906–1982). Their main home include 300 Park Avenue in New York City; with summer homes "Shady Lawn" in Newport, Rhode Island; and "Indian House" in Middletown, Rhode Island. In 1902, Wilson purchased an 18,000 hunting estate at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina where he raised livestock and champion horses, hunted, road, and farmed. So his wife would also enjoy winters in South, he built a four-story mansion there in 1916. The mansion had a gold-gilded ballroom and a vast library. The home burned on March 2, 1926, and the property was sold shortly afterwards. Because of Wilson's and his siblings' advantageous marriages, the Wilsons were known in New York and Newport society as the "marrying Wilsons." His sister Grace Graham Wilson married Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III. His older brother, Marshall Orme Wilson, married Caroline Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor. His sister Belle married the Sir Michael Henry Herbert, the British Ambassador to the United States and the brother of the Earl of Pembroke. His sister Mary Wilson married New York real estate heir Ogden Goelet. Wilson was a member of many prominent social clubs, including The Brook, the Knickerbocker Club, and the Union Club of the City of New York. His sports clubs included the Racquet and Tennis Club, the South Side Sportsmen's Club, and the Turf & Field Club at the Belmont Park He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. After an illness lasting several months, Wilson died of pneumonia at his home in New York City on December 29, 1929 at the age of 63. Wilson's funeral service at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York on January 1, 1930 was attended by more than 1,000 people. His Delta Psi fraternity brothers conducted a special ceremony at the funeral. He was interred in the family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
American investment banker and capitalist 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. (1829–1910) and Melissa Clementine Johnston (1831–1908). Born in Georgia, his father was a multimillionaire railroad owner and investment banker in New York City who served as the commissary general of the Confederate States of America. Wilson attended private schools and graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in 1887. While at Columbia, he joined the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall). In 1896, Richard Wilson Jr. and Harry Payne Whitney teamed up with a group of investors to purchase the Saratoga Race Course, which had fallen into the hands of an undesirable New Jersey brothelkeeper, Gottfried Waldbaum. Wilson served as president of the Saratoga Racing Association for the Improvement of the Breed of Horses, which operated the facility. Wilson is credited with enlarging the facility and improving its appearance. He also welcomed women horse owners, creating the Lady-Owners Handicap. In addition, Wilson oversaw Belmont Park as a director of the Westchester Racing Association. He was also a steward in the Jockey Club. In 1896, Wilson hired Thomas J. Healey to manage his racing stable. For three decades, they would win a number of the most important East Coast races, including the Travers Stakes three times, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. In 1916, he bought Kirklevington Nursery in Lexington, Kentucky, which contained over 500 acres of bluegrass land and was considered "one of the most up-to-date nurseries in the district." On March 11, 1902, Wilson married Marion Steedman Mason (1875–1947) of Boston, daughter of Louisa Blake Steedman and Dr. Amos Lawrence Mason, a cousin of Bishop of Massachusetts William Lawrence.[20][1] Marion's grandparents included Rear Admiral Charles Steedman of Charleston, South Carolina, captain of the USS Ticonderoga, and Rev. Charles Mason who was the son of the U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, Jeremiah Mason. Together, they had two daughters: Louisa Steedman Wilson (1904–1974) and Marion Mason Wilson (1906–1982). Their main home include 300 Park Avenue in New York City; with summer homes "Shady Lawn" in Newport, Rhode Island; and "Indian House" in Middletown, Rhode Island. In 1902, Wilson purchased an 18,000 hunting estate at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina where he raised livestock and champion horses, hunted, road, and farmed. So his wife would also enjoy winters in South, he built a four-story mansion there in 1916. The mansion had a gold-gilded ballroom and a vast library. The home burned on March 2, 1926, and the property was sold shortly afterwards. Because of Wilson's and his siblings' advantageous marriages, the Wilsons were known in New York and Newport society as the "marrying Wilsons." His sister Grace Graham Wilson married Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III. His older brother, Marshall Orme Wilson, married Caroline Schermerhorn "Carrie" Astor. His sister Belle married the Sir Michael Henry Herbert, the British Ambassador to the United States and the brother of the Earl of Pembroke. His sister Mary Wilson married New York real estate heir Ogden Goelet. Wilson was a member of many prominent social clubs, including The Brook, the Knickerbocker Club, and the Union Club of the City of New York. His sports clubs included the Racquet and Tennis Club, the South Side Sportsmen's Club, and the Turf & Field Club at the Belmont Park He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. After an illness lasting several months, Wilson died of pneumonia at his home in New York City on December 29, 1929 at the age of 63. Wilson's funeral service at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York on January 1, 1930 was attended by more than 1,000 people. His Delta Psi fraternity brothers conducted a special ceremony at the funeral. He was interred in the family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79586615/richard_thornton-wilson: accessed
), memorial page for Richard Thornton Wilson Jr. (11 Sep 1867–29 Dec 1929), Find a Grave Memorial ID 79586615, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx,
Bronx County,
New York,
USA;
Maintained by Stories Of The Gilded Age (contributor 46959922).
Add Photos for Richard Thornton Wilson Jr.
Fulfill Photo Request for Richard Thornton Wilson Jr.
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.