George L. Lorillard
George Lyndes Lorillard (March 26, 1843 – February 3, 1886) was an American tobacco manufacturer, yachtsman, and a prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner.[1]
George L. Lorillard | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Lyndes Lorillard March 26, 1843 Westchester, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1886 (aged 42) Nice, France |
| Education | Yale Scientific School |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Louise La Farge
(m. 1882; |
| Parent(s) | Pierre Lorillard III Catherine Anne Griswold |
| Relatives | Pierre Lorillard IV (brother) Pierre Lorillard II (grandfather) Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (cousin) Mary Lorillard (sister) |
Early life
He was born in Westchester, New York, the son of Pierre Lorillard III (1796-1867) and Catherine Griswold. In 1760, his great-grandfather founded P. Lorillard and Company in New York City to process tobacco, cigars, and snuff. Lorillard Tobacco Company remains the oldest tobacco company in the United States to this day.
Lorillard graduated with a degree in medicine from the Yale Scientific School in 1862.[1]
Yachting
Lorillard was an avid yachtsman and bought the sloop Eva in 1865. He joined the New York Yacht Club in 1866. He then bought the yacht Magic and won the Regatta at the New York Yacht Club in 1866. He built the Challenge, which sank in a storm in the Bahamas. He built and launched the schooner Meteor in 1869 and took her to the Mediterranean. In 1871, he owned the yacht Enchantress that was designed by Robert Fish. He sold the Enchantress and gave up yachting in 1872 to pursue horse racing.[2]
Thoroughbred horse racing
George Lorillard, like his brother Pierre, was a prominent racehorse owner in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. At his Long Island estate, he built a large stable and training track. Lorillard arranged to take in boys from the New York House of Refuge, who were given stable work and educated in a specially built schoolroom. The boys learned to ride horses and after a five-year apprenticeship were given an opportunity to become a professional jockey. Notable among them was Tom Costello, who won numerous important races, including three American Classics.[1]
George Lorillard's racing stable was handled firstly by trainer Wyndham Walden followed by John Alcock. Notably, Lorillard and Walden won the Preakness Stakes a record five straight years between 1878 and 1882; the Belmont Stakes in 1878, 1880, and 1881; and the Travers Stakes in 1878 and 1880. Among George Lorillard's best horses were Saunterer, Spinaway, Vanguard, Grenada, Tom Ochiltree, and Duke of Magenta.[1][3]
In 1878, George Lorillard headed a group of investors which included David D. Withers and Gordon Bennett, Jr., who bought Monmouth Park Racetrack. Under Lorillard's management, they built a new racing facility on 660 acres (2.7 km2) of land with the then-largest grandstand in the United States. Opened on July 4, 1890, the track flourished and became known as the "Newmarket of America."[1]
Personal life
In 1882,[1] George Lorillard was married to Marie Louise La Farge (d. 1899),[4] the daughter of artist John La Farge, and the sister of Christopher Grant La Farge.[5] Marie was the former wife of Edward Whyte, whom she divorced before marrying Lorillard.[1]
Death
George Lorillard died in Nice, France in 1886, aged 42.[6] His funeral was held in Grace Church in New York City, on April 17.[7]
After his death, Lorillard's widow married Count de Ágreda, becoming the Countess de Ágreda. After the Count's death in 1886, she married Leopold Morse (son of Leopold Morse), who changed his name to Leopold Morse de Ágreda.[5][8]
Legacy
Lorillard owned a mansion on an estate of 800 acres (3.2 km2) on Long Island, located north of the Montauk Highway on the west bank of the Connetquot River. In 1884, he sold much of this estate to William Bayard Cutting, who built a notable house, Westbrook, on the land. Lorillard also maintained a winter home in St. Augustine, Florida.[1]
Lorillard Avenue in The Bronx is named for him and his brother Pierre.[9]
References
- Sowers, Richard (2014). The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes: A Comprehensive History. McFarland. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9780786476985. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- "George Lorillard's Death. His Career as a Yachtsman and on the Turf". New York Times. New York, New York. 1886-02-05. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
- Crickmore, Henry G. (1878). Krik's Guide to the Turf. | Part I | Record of Races Run in the United States in 1877, with Index. New York: H.G. Crickmore. p. 121. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- "Had Four Husbands: Artist La Farge's Daughter Died in Florence". The Hartford [Conn.] Weekly Times. July 10, 1899. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- "DEATH LIST OF A DAY. | Countess de Agreda". The New York Times. July 3, 1899. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- "GEORGE LORILLARD'S DEATH.; HIS CAREER AS A YACHTSMAN AND ON THE TURF". The New York Times. 5 February 1886. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- "Funeral of George L. Lorillard". The New York Times. April 18, 1886. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- "WHAT IS DOING IN SOCIETY". The New York Times. September 8, 1899. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- Shrager, Mark (2016). The Great Sweepstakes of 1877: A True Story of Southern Grit, Gilded Age Tycoons, and a Race That Galvanized the Nation. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 308. ISBN 9781493018895. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
External links
Bibliography
- Reeves, Richard Stone, and Ashforth, David. Crown Jewels of Thoroughbred Racing (1997) Eclipse Press ISBN 978-0-939049-90-5