Gertrude T. Widener

Who was Gertrude T. Widener?

Gertrude T. Douglas Widener was an American socialite and a successful Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. Born in Albany, New York, she was the daughter of New York State Senator, Curtis N. Douglas.

Known to her friends as "Gertie," she married first to Frederick Peabody, a successful men's clothing manufacturer with whom she adopted a daughter, Joan, the natural daughter of Edward C. Johnson and Alice Brandt. The couple divorced in 1924 and in November of that year Gertrude remarried to prominent Philadelphian Peter Arrell Brown Widener II, son and heir of Joseph E. Widener, a family heavily involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. In 1925 Joseph Widener had the stables at his Lynnewood Hall estate converted into a home for Peter and Gertrude.

Gertrude Widener and her husband both owned Thoroughbred racehorses and after his death in 1948 she continued to own, breed and race Thoroughbreds with considerable success both in the United States and in France where Joseph Widener maintained a second home and operated a racing stable. By the mid-1950s, Gertrude Widener was living almost full time in Paris and remained there until 1968 when her failing health led to her returning home to New York City in 1968 where she died from cancer on February 3, 1970. Her remains were returned to Philadelphia for burial next to her husband, Peter.