Hermann Oelrichs

Hermann Oelrichs (June 8, 1850 – September 1, 1906) His uncle, Henry May, was a U.S. Representative from Maryland, and the father of Lilian May, who married William Bagot, 4th Baron Bagot in 1903.

He graduated from Yale University, where he was on the rowing team.

Career

His firm, Oelrichs & Co.,

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,

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. Her younger sister Birdie was married to William K. Vanderbilt II, 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. 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. who married Dorothy Haydel (1893–1961) in 1925. After his death, she married Prince Ferdinand of Liechtenstein (1901–1981) in 1950. He served as a lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy during the First World War. After his body was returned to the United States, his remains were interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City. He left his full estate to his brother Charles May Oelrichs, thinking that Tessie would be content with her own fortune, but Tessie contested the will. Eventually, they settled the dispute and she received half of the estate. His widow died in Newport on November 22, 1926.

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." He was also the first president of the U.S. Lacrosse Association, and a director of the New York Athletic Club.