Image title: Lyndhurst – a happy Christmas at “Woody Crest,” December, 1905.
Summary: Five boys in costumes, with toys, in front of Christmas tree, Lyndhurst school, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Helen Miller Gould Shepard was the eldest daughter of New York financier Jay Gould and Helen Day Miller. Helen’s adult life was marked by her dedication to philanthropy, patriotism, and religious endeavors. Helen began her most notable philanthropic activities in the last decade of the 19th century. Helen opened the Lyndhurst estate to the community and hosted ill and impoverished children and families, entertained and tended to injured soldiers during the Spanish-American war, and established a sewing school for young ladies in Lyndhurst. Helen also maintained Woody Crest, a fresh air charity and home for physically handicapped children in Tarrytown, New York. (Guide to the Helen Miller Gould Shepard Papers, New York Historical Society Museum & Library)
Library of Congress image.