George W. Loft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from New York's13th district | |
| In office November 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Timothy Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Christopher D. Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George William Loft February 6, 1865 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 1943(1943-11-06) (aged 78) Baldwin, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Saint Raymond's Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | George Leon Loft (1895-1935) |
| Occupation |
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George William Loft (February 6, 1865 – November 6, 1943) was an American businessman, politician, real estate developer, and owner/breeder ofthoroughbredracehorses.[1]
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He was born inNew York City on February 6, 1865, to English immigrant William Loft (1828–1919),[2] 1860 founder ofLoft, Inc. candymakers. Loft attended public schools. He gained considerable wealth in thecandy manufacturing business and expanded into retailing, banking, and real estate.[1]
His first wife Elizabeth Marie Loft (nee Lyons), who was born in 1871, died in 1910.[3] Loft remarried in 1911 to Julia McMahon (1883-1962) whom he met when she was asalesclerk working at his store at 54 Barclay Street in New York. The couple made their home inBaldwin, New York, onLong Island. On May 12, 1921, Julia Loft was appointed an honorary Deputy Police Commissioner for theCity of New York and announced she would be active in her position and would fulfill her duties on a full-time basis.[4]
A member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromNew York, Loft was elected as aDemocrat to theSixty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the 1906 death ofTimothy D. Sullivan. He was reelected in 1914 to theSixty-fourth Congress and served from November 4, 1913, to March 3, 1917. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1916.
In 1923, the City of New York honored him by naming one of itsStaten Island Ferry boats theGeorge 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 atSeventh Avenue and 33rd Street inManhattan.[5][6] In 1929 he founded the South Shore Trust Co. inRockville Centre, New York, 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.
Beginning around 1915, Loft became involved in the sport ofThoroughbredhorse racing. His stable of horses inflat racing were trained by futureU.S. racing Hall of Fametrainer,Max Hirsch.
Loft owned a number of quality racehorses including the very goodcolt, Papp. In 1917 Papp won the most important race for two-year-olds, theBelmont Futurity Stakes and that same year his filly, Julialeon, won the 1917Stuyvesant Handicap atJamaica Race Course. In 1920, he purchasedTippity Witchet, agelding who raced through age fourteen and after being sold would later retire with seventy-eight wins, fourth all-time among American horses.[1] In 1925, Loft won the prestigiousManhattan Handicap with the gelding, Pepp.[2] Insteeplechase racing, his horse Sweepment was the 1921 the Champion timber-topper.[3]
George W. Loft died inBaldwin, New York, on November 6, 1943, and was interred inSt. Raymond's Cemetery inThe Bronx.[1]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 13th congressional district November 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
