Hermann Oelrichs

Hermann Oelrichs (June 8, 1850 – September 1, 1906),[1] was an American businessman, multimillionaire, and agent of Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping.

Hermann Oelrichs
Born(1850-06-08)June 8, 1850
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedSeptember 1, 1906(1906-09-01) (aged 56)
Aboard SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Atlantic Ocean
Alma materYale University
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1890; his death 1906)​
ChildrenHermann Oelrichs Jr.
Parent(s)Henry Ferdinand Oelrichs
Julia Matilda May
RelativesCharles May Oelrichs (brother)

Early life

Oelrichs was born on June 8, 1850 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German-born Henry Ferdinand Oelrichs (1810–1875), a senior partner in the firm of Oelrichs & Lurman, and Julia Matilda (née May) Oelrichs (1819–1879), who was born in Washington, DC. His siblings included Charles May Oelrichs and Henry Oelrichs.[1]

Oelrichs was the grandson of Gesche Catharina (née Holler) Oelrichs and Johann Gerhard Oelrichs, a German merchant in Bremen. The Oelrichs came to America from Bremen around 1830.[2] His grandfather later married a daughter of statesman Harrison Gray Otis. His maternal grandparents were Julia Matilda (née Slacum) May and Frederick May, who was a member of the May family, prominent in Virginia and Maryland during the American Revolutionary War.[2]

He graduated from Yale University,[3][4] where he was on the rowing team.[5]

Career
The Oelrich's Newport estate, Rosecliff.

His firm, Oelrichs & Co.,[1] became the U.S. agent of the Norddeutsche Lloyd ("North German") shipping company.[3]

Oelrichs was also a member of the Democratic Party and active in New York City politics, even declining to run for Mayor of New York City,[6] before moving to San Francisco, California. The Oelrichses played a role in the rebuilding of San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake as part of the Committee of Fifty.[1]

In the 1890s, the Oelrich's purchased Rose Cliff on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island from the estate of George Bancroft and his wife commissioned architect Stanford White to build them a new residence.[7] The resulting Rosecliff was modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, and was completed in 1902 with a final cost of $2.5 million.[8]

Personal life

In 1889, the almost forty year old Oelrichs met Theresa Alice Fair ("Tessie"), daughter of United States Senator and Comstock Lode millionaire James Graham Fair, while playing tennis at the Newport Casino.[6] They married a year later in 1890.[9] Her younger sister Birdie was married to William K. Vanderbilt II,[10] son of Alva and William K. Vanderbilt and brother of Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, in a wedding that was extensively covered in the society pages.[11][12] In New York, they lived at 1 East 57th Street in "the big house at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifth-seventh Street," which was later occupied by the New York Trust Company.[7] Together, they were the parents of one child:

  • Hermann Oelrichs Jr. (1891–1948),[13] who married Dorothy Haydel (1893–1961)[14] in 1925.[15] After his death, she married Prince Ferdinand von Liechtenstein (1901–1981) in 1950.[16] He served as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy during the First World War.[13]

Oelrichs died on September 1, 1906 aboard SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse while sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.[1] After his body was returned to the United States,[17] his remains were interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City.[18] He left his full estate to his brother Charles May Oelrichs, thinking that Tessie would be content with her own fortune,[19] but Tessie contested the will.[20][21] Eventually, they settled the dispute and she received half of the estate.[22][11] His widow died in Newport on November 22, 1926.[7]

Sportsman

Oelrichs, an avid sportsman, loved polo and has been credited as "the man who brought the first mallets, polo balls and shirts into the United States." as the man who introduced the game of Polo in the U.S.[6] Oelrich's was also the first president of the U.S. Lacrosse Association,[6] and a director of the New York Athletic Club.[3]

References
  1. "HERMANN OELRICHS DIES ON A LINER AT SEA | His Work in the San Francisco Earthquake Hastened His End. | NEWS COMES BY WIRELESS | He Died on Saturday on the Big Kaiser — No Details Yet — Widow Hurries from Newport" (PDF). The New York Times. September 4, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  2. "C. M. OELRICHS DIES AT 73 IN NEWPORT; Retired Broker, Long a Leader in Social Life, Belonged to a Notable Family. ONCE AN AMATEUR COWBOY In His Youth He Had Been Expert as a Horseman--Was the Father of Michael Strange, Playwright" (PDF). The New York Times. January 16, 1932. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  3. Bone, James (2016). The Curse of Beauty: The Scandalous & Tragic Life of Audrey Munson, America's First Supermodel. Simon and Schuster. p. 162. ISBN 9781942872030. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. Newport Gazette, Issues 142-152. Preservation Society of Newport County. 1997. p. 4. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. Hurd, Richard Melancthon (1888). A History of Yale Athletics, 1840-1888: Giving Every Contest with Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Wesleyan, and Others in Rowing, Foot Ball, Base Ball, Track Athletics, Tennis. R.M. Hurd. p. 134. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  6. Laffaye, Horace A. (2011). Polo in the United States: A History. McFarland. p. 10. ISBN 9780786480074. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  7. "MRS. H. OELRICHS, SOCIAL LEADER; With Sister, Mrs. William K, Vanderbilt Jr., Inherited J. G. Fair's Fortune. | ENTERTAINED IN SPLENDOR | One of Three Women Who Succeeded Mrs. William Astor, the Arbiter of Society" (PDF). The New York Times. November 23, 1926. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  8. "Rosecliff | Newport Mansions". www.newportmansions.org. Preservation Society of Newport. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  9. "HERMANN OELRICHS WEDS. HE GOES ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND SECURES A CALIFORNIA BRIDE" (PDF). The New York Times. June 4, 1890. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  10. "MRS. VANDERBILT DIES IN HOME HERE | Former Wife of W. K. 2d, Long Social Leader in New York, Had Been III Nine Weeks | HAD NOTED RACING STABLE | Owner of Sarazen Was Heir to $5,000,000 Left by Father, Senator James G. Fair" (PDF). The New York Times. July 8, 1935. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  11. Gavan, Terrence. The Barons of Newport: A Guide to the Gilded Age. Newport: Pineapple Publications, 1998. ISBN 0-929249-06-2
  12. "VANDERBILT-FAIR WEDDING. | MISS FAIR'S BRIDAL GIFTS | Shown Yesterday to Friends--To be on View to Guests To-day" (PDF). The New York Times. April 2, 1899. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  13. "HERMANN OELRICHS DIES AT HOME HERE; Society Leader Who Had Been in Diplomatic Service Was Son of Shipping Executive" (PDF). The New York Times. August 6, 1948. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  14. "PRINCESS DOROTHY" (PDF). The New York Times. April 12, 1961. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  15. "HERMANN OELRICHS WEDS MISS HAYDEL; New Yorker Married to St. Louis Girl in Biarritz, France, on Last Tuesday. THEIR TROTH TOLD IN MAY Wedding Was First Set for June 29 -- Bridegroom !s Nephew of Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt" (PDF). The New York Times. September 16, 1925. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  16. "LIECHTENSTEIN PRINCE WEDS MRS. OELRICHS" (PDF). The New York Times. August 22, 1950. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  17. "MR. OELRICHS'S BODY BROUGHT TO HIS WIDOW She and Mrs. Vanderbilt Meet It at the Pier. CAUSE OF DEATH MADE KNOWN Bright's Disease Killed the Famous Amateur Athlete and Society Leader — Warned of His Fate" (PDF). The New York Times. September 5, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  18. "HERMANN OELRICHS BURIED. His Funeral Attended by Many Friends and Former Business Associates" (PDF). The New York Times. September 6, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  19. "MRS. OELRICHS LEFT OUT OF HER HUSBAND'S WILL Testator Says She Has a Fortune of Her Own. SON GETS PERSONAL EFFECTS The Fortune, Whose Value Is Unknown, Is Divided Among Relatives — $300,000 to Brother" (PDF). The New York Times. September 11, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  20. "WIDOW MAY CONTEST MR. OELRICHS'S WILL She Now Wants to Administer Her Brother's Estate. TWO WILLS SAID TO EXIST One Executed in 1902 Gave Mrs. Oelrichs the Estate Now Left to Oelrichs's Brother" (PDF). The New York Times. September 12, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  21. "OELRICHS WILL FIGHT BEGUN BY THE WIDOW Refusing a Compromise, She Objects to Probate Here. CALIFORNIA LAWS GOVERN Her Husband Being a Citizen of That State, She Says, Under the Law Half the Estate Is Hers" (PDF). The New York Times. October 25, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  22. "OELRICHS WILL FIGHT ENDED BY COMPROMISE The Widow to Get $100,000 in Bonds and Son a $50,000 Ranch. SHE ABANDONS ALL CLAIMS Settlement Also in Accounting of Trusteeship of Fair Estate by Hermann Oelrichs" (PDF). The New York Times. November 25, 1906. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
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