Viola Katherine Clemmons

Viola Katherine Clemmons, stage name Katherine Dayan, (17 November 1874 – 24 December 1930)[1] was a stage actress best known for her romantic relationship with Buffalo Bill, and for her marriage to Howard Gould which ended in a divorce that was highly publicized in the press.

Katherine Dayan
Clemmons in 1894
Born
Viola Katherine Clemmons

17 November 1874
Died24 December 1930 (aged 56)
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)
(m. 1898; div. 1909)

Early life

She was born Viola Katherine Clemmons in Scott County, Illinois. Her father Seldon Perry Clemmons was thirty-one, and her mother Martha Isabell (née) Kilpatrick was twenty-nine.[2] Seldon worked in retail running his own company called "S. P. Clemmons" and her mother Martha was a homemaker. In Katherine's first years of life, she was raised in Montezuma, Pike County, Illinois. Katherine was the couple's third child. Their oldest daughter was named Ella May (1861–1935). Seldon and Martha would later have Ida Susan (1864–1871). Sadly Ida died young, at the age of six. Katherine's parents later divorced when she was still young. After the divorce, the two surviving children (Ella May and Katherine) went to live with their father. In 1876, they went to live with their mother Martha, who had married Judge Walton Dayan, a stationer for the Southern Pacific Railroad.[3] Occasionally, Katherine and Ella would visit their father and eight half-siblings.[4] In 1891 Katherine, Ella May, Martha, and Walton moved to 449 Seneca Street in Palo Alto, California. Walton and Martha lived there until 1916.[5]

Acting career

Katherine went by the stage name of "Katherine Dayan". Some of her first acting appearances were made at Maguire’s Opera House in San Francisco.[6][7] Later, Katherine acted in a play called A Lady of Venice starring as a woman called "Nina", first in New York City, and then in Boston.[8] The play was bought by Buffalo Bill. According to one newspaper columnist's review, Katherine had a "beautiful profile and a lissome figure but was devoid of any acting ability".[6]

Relationship with Buffalo Bill

Katherine first met Bill at one of his shows in England. Bill at first had doubts about Katherine and in a letter to Frank Butler emphasized that "She is too swift and dishonest for me". But Bill later recanted his views on Katherine and called her "the finest looking woman in the world".[9] However, when asked about her relationship with Buffalo Bill by the media, Katherine stated that "he was only her dramatic agent and as such had advanced her no funds that had not been repaid".[10] Later in divorce court, her husband Howard Gould accused Katherine of improper conduct with Bill while Katherine and Howard were still married.[11]

Marriage to Howard Gould

Katherine traveled to England in 1891, and there she met Howard Gould. After four years of courtship, they announced their engagement in June 1895.[12] His father, Jay Gould, disapproved of his son's wish to marry Katherine and threatened to take away his son's inheritance. This was not enough to dissuade Howard, and the couple wedded on October 12, 1898, in a private ceremony held in Clemmons' apartment at the Holland House.[13] The low-key reception was at Katherine's request; knowing how ferociously her father-in-law disapproved of their marriage. The wedding cost Howard Gould $5,000,000 out of his inheritance.[14]

The marriage itself lasted for less than a decade. Howard accused Katherine of adultery with Dustin Farnum and Buffalo Bill. The couple lived separate lives for several years before the divorce was finalized in 1909.[15] Howard had to pay Katherine $36,000 per year in alimony (approximately $950,000 today). It was the largest alimony settlement at the time.[16]

Later years

After the divorce, Katherine spent much of her leisure days raising thoroughbreds on Blue Gap Farm in Boonsboro, Virginia near Lynchburg.[17] In 1910 Katherine was convinced that someone had tried to poison her three times; however, the doctor found no signs of poison in her system and her physician diagnosed her with "extreme nervousness".[18] She died at the age of sixty-one after an illness of several months at Blue Gap Farm on October 24, 1930.[19]

References

  1. THE EVENING STAR Mrs. Katherine Gould Dies at Virginia Home; December 25, 1930
  2. "National Archives |". www.archives.gov. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  3. Southern Pacific Bulletin. Southern Pacific Company. 1920-01-01.
  4. "HOWARD GOULD´S WIFE HAS RELATIVES HERE". St. Louis Republic. 1898.
  5. "449 Seneca, The Dayan House". www.pastheritage.org. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  6. Enss, Chris (2010-01-19). Many Loves of Buffalo Bill: The True Of Story Of Life On The Wild West Show. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781461746393.
  7. "San Francisco Theatrical Memories". www.sfmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  8. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903-01-01). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. Dodd, Mead.
  9. Enss, Chris (2010-01-19). Many Loves of Buffalo Bill: The True Of Story Of Life On The Wild West Show. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781461746393.
  10. "San Francisco Call 13 October 1898 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  11. "Old Print Article: Mr. Gould Takes A Bride (1898)". Afflictor.com. 2010.
  12. Bigelow, Poultney; Worman, James Henry; Worman, Ben James; Whitney, Caspar; Britt, Albert (1894-01-01). Outing. Outing Publishing Company.
  13. "HOWARD GOULD MARRIES; He Takes as His Wife Miss Kathrine Clemmons, an Actress. FAMILY HAD OPPOSED MATCH He May Lose Part of His Inheritance in Consequence – Off for Wedding Cruise". The New York Times. 1898-10-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  14. "WED IN SECRET AND SAIL AWAY". The Chicago Daily Tribune. October 13, 1898.
  15. McClellan, Michelle. "Katherine Gould's 'Drunken Orgy' and the Perils of Social Climbing". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  16. "FORMER MRS. GOULD FEARS POISONING; Katherine Clemmons Drives Ten Miles at Night to Seek Aid of a Doctor". Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  17. The Southern Planter. 70. T.W. Ormond. 1909-01-01. p. 1148.
  18. "FORMER MRS. GOULD FEARS POISONING; Katherine Clemmons Drives Ten Miles at Night to Seek Aid of a Doctor". The New York Times. November 5, 1910. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
  19. Jefferson City Post-Tribune (December 26, 1930). "Mrs. Katherine Clemmons Gould, estranged wife of Howard Gould, is dead". Newspapers.com. Jefferson City, Missouri. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
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