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For a short time he worked for his father in the hardware business; in 1852-in Ohio, and of Oakland county in Michigan,County, and A History of the Late Anti-Rent Difficulties in Delaware (Roxbury, 1856). He then engaged in the lumber and tanning business in western New York, and in banking at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
In 1863, Gould married Helen Day Miller, and through her father, Daniel S. Miller, he was appointed manager of the Rensselaer & Saratoga railway. He bought up and reorganized the railroad when it was in a very bad condition. In the same way he bought and reorganized the Rutland & Washington railway, from which he ultimately realized a large profit. In 1859 he moved to New York City, where he became a broker in railway stocks. In July 1868, the Erie War , which Gould and James Fisk engaged in against Cornelius Vanderbilt over control of the Erie Railroad, ended with Gould and Fisk taking control of the railroad. Gould was elected president of the railroad later that year. Gould and Fisk plundered the railroad and manipulated stock prices. From 1868-1870, the company sold $5 million in fraudulent stock, leading to litigation that forced Gould out of the company in March 1872 and forced him to pay back about $7.5 million
It was during the same period that Gould and Fisk became involved with Tammany Hall; they made Boss Tweed a director of the Erie, and Tweed in turn arranged favourable legislation for them. Tweed and Gould became the subjects of political cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1869. In October 1871, when Tweed was held in $1 million bail, Gould was the chief bondsman.
In August 1869, Gould and Fisk began to buy gold in an attempt to corner the market, hoping that the increase in price of gold would increase the price of wheat such that western farmers would sell, causing a great amount of shipping of breadstuffs eastward, increasing freight business for the Erie railroad. During this time, Gould used contacts with President Ulysses S. Grant's brother-in-law, A. H. Corbin, to try to influence the president and his Secretary General Horace Porter. These speculations in gold culminated in the panic of Black FridayBlack Friday September 24, 1869, was a financial panic in the United States caused by two speculators' efforts to corner the gold market. It was one of several scandals that rocked the presidency of Ulysses S. During the American Civil War, the United Sta, on September 24September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). There are 98 days remaining. Events 622 Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina 1493 Christopher Columbus departs on his second expedition to the New World 1664 Netherlands surren, 18691869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). Events March 1 North German Confederation issues 10 gr and 30gr value stamps, printed on goldbeater's skin May 10 Transcontinental Railroad completed at Promontory, Utah. May 15 Wo, when the price of gold fell from 162 to 135.