George William Loft (February 6, 1865 – November 6, 1943) was an American businessman, politician, real estate developer, and owner/breeder of
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorses
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
.
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Biography
He was born in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on February 6, 1865, to English immigrant William Loft (1828–1919), 1860 founder of Loft, Inc. candymakers. Loft attended public schools. He gained considerable wealth in the candy
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
manufacturing business and expanded into retailing, banking, and real estate.[
]
Family
His first wife Elizabeth Marie Loft (nee Lyons), who was born in 1871, died in 1910. Loft remarried in 1911 to Julia McMahon (1883-1962) whom he met when she was a sales
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...
clerk working at his store at 54 Barclay Street in New York. The couple made their home in Baldwin, New York, on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. On May 12, 1921, Julia Loft was appointed an honorary Deputy Police Commissioner for the City of New York and announced she would be active in her position and would fulfill her duties on a full-time basis.
Congress
A member of the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, Loft was elected as a Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
to the Sixty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the 1906 death of Timothy D. Sullivan. He was reelected in 1914 to the Sixty-fourth Congress and served from November 4, 1913, to March 3, 1917. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1916.
Later life
In 1923, the City of New York honored him by naming one of its Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a fare-free passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the Boroughs of New York City, New York City boroughs of Manh ...
boats the ''George W. Loft.''
He formed George W. Loft Markets Inc. as a retail store operator and George W. Loft Realty Company to handle all real estate transactions, primarily for leasing retail space. In 1938 Loft sub-divided forty acres of his estate at Baldwin, Long Island, erecting twelve luxury homes.
In 1927 George Loft founded the Emerald National Bank & Trust Co. in a building he owned at Seventh Avenue and 33rd Street in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
.Rockville Centre, New York
Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated Village (New York), village located in the Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long ...
, and served as president until his death. Following his death, Frank W. Breitbach was elected to succeed George W. Loft as president of the South Shore Trust Company.
Thoroughbred racing
Beginning around 1915, Loft became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
. His stable of horses in flat racing
Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...
were trained by future U.S. racing Hall of Fame trainer, Max Hirsch
Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman Catholic, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thorough ...
.
Loft owned a number of quality racehorses including the very good colt, Papp. In 1917 Papp won the most important race for two-year-olds, the Belmont Futurity Stakes
The Futurity Stakes, commonly referred to as the Belmont Futurity, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September or October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, United States. Open to two-year-old horses, it is raced on turf ...
and that same year his filly, Julialeon, won the 1917 Stuyvesant Handicap at Jamaica Race Course
Jamaica Race Course, also called the Jamaica Racetrack, was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.
History
The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featu ...
. In 1920, he purchased Tippity Witchet
Tippity Witchet (foaled 1915) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, noted for his durability and consistency in a career which lasted from 1917 until 1929.
Background
Tippity Witchet was a son of the great sire Broomstick who was the son of B ...
, a gelding
A gelding (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɛldɪŋ/) is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated Camelidae, camels. By compa ...
who raced through age fourteen and after being sold would later retire with seventy-eight wins, fourth all-time among American horses
In 1925, Loft won the prestigious Manhattan Handicap
The Manhattan Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manhatt ...
with the gelding, Pepp
In Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, his horse Sweepment was the 1921 the Champion timber-toppe
Death and burial
George W. Loft died in Baldwin, New York, on November 6, 1943, and was interred in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, St. Raymond's Cemetery in The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Loft, George William
1865 births
1943 deaths
American bankers
Businesspeople in confectionery
American businesspeople in retailing
American real estate and property developers
American racehorse owners and breeders
Politicians from New York City
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Catholics from New York (state)
Burials at Saint Raymond's Cemetery (Bronx)
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives