William Woodward Sr.
William Woodward Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 25, 1953 (aged 77) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, racehorse owner and breeder |
| Known for | Ownership and breeding of thoroughbred horses; president of Hanover National Bank; founding director of Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
William Woodward Sr. (April 7, 1876 – September 25, 1953) was a distinguished American banker and a leading figure in the ownership and breeding of thoroughbred horses.
Early life
Woodward was born in New York City to Sarah Abagail (née Rodman) Woodward and William Woodward Jr., members of a prosperous Maryland family with deep colonial heritage. Their wealth stemmed from textile trading, which supplied both the Union and Confederate sides during the Civil War. His father established the New York Cotton Exchange and was a supporter of Benito Juárez’s Liberal regime in Mexico. Additionally, his uncle James T. Woodward played a pivotal role in financing the United States’ acquisition of rights to the Panama Canal.
Woodward received his education at the Cutler School and Groton School, followed by Harvard University, where he graduated in 1898. He then completed his legal studies at Harvard Law School in 1901 and gained admission to the bar that same year.
Career
Woodward spent two years in London serving as secretary to Joseph Hodges Choate, the U.S. Ambassador, during which time he interacted with prominent political and economic leaders, including King Edward VII.
Upon returning to New York in 1903, he was named vice president of Hanover National Bank by his uncle James T. Woodward, who was then bank president. Through his family inheritance, Woodward controlled a significant stake in the bank. Following his uncle’s death in 1910, he assumed the presidency and remained in that position until 1929 when Hanover National merged with Central Union Trust Company to create Central Hanover Bank & Trust. He served as chairman of the board from 1929 until his retirement in 1933.
In 1914, Woodward became one of the founding directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and later held the presidency of the New York Clearing House between 1927 and 1929.
Belair and thoroughbred racing
Woodward inherited the historic Belair Mansion along with its expansive 2,500-acre Stud in Maryland—a property where Colonial Governor Samuel Ogle first introduced English Thoroughbreds to America in 1747. The estate had been acquired by his uncle James T. Woodward in 1898. From the 1930s through the 1950s, William Woodward Sr. transformed Belair Stud into a premier breeding and racing establishment.
In 1925, he collaborated with Arthur B. Hancock, Marshall Field III, and Robert A. Fairbairn to bring stallion Sir Gallahad III to Claiborne Farm for stud duties. Sir Gallahad III went on to become North America’s leading sire four times, producing 60 stakes winners—nine of which belonged to Woodward’s stable. Among these was Triple Crown champion Gallant Fox, whom Woodward both bred and raced alongside Gallant Fox’s son Omaha, also a Triple Crown winner.
Horses bred at Belair achieved victories in major American stakes races as well as esteemed British contests such as The Oaks and St. Leger Stakes. Woodward’s significant influence within thoroughbred racing earned him a feature on the cover of Time magazine dated August 7, 1939.
He joined the U.S. Jockey Club in 1917 and served as its chairman from 1930 until 1950. During his tenure, he was instrumental in efforts to repeal the British Jersey Act, which had barred American-bred Thoroughbreds from registration in UK stud books.
In recognition of his contributions, Woodward was made an honorary member of the British Jockey Club in 1950.
Personal life
In 1903, Woodward encountered Elsie Ogden Cryder (1882–1981), the daughter of tea importer Duncan Cryder, while in Saratoga Springs, New York. They wed on October 24, 1904, at Grace Church in New York City. Elsie's lineage included prominent associations with figures such as Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr. and Charles Francis Adams Jr. Together, they had five children: one son and four daughters:
- Edith Woodward (1905–1971) married Thomas Moore Bancroft in 1929.
- Elizabeth Ogden Woodward (1907–1986) became the wife of financier Robert Livingston Stevens in 1928; following their divorce in 1935, she remarried John Teele Pratt Jr., and subsequently Alexander Cochrane Cushing, the founder of Squaw Valley Ski Resort.
- Sarah Woodward (1910–1991) first married Charles Arthur Moore III in 1936 and later wed Marshall Christopher Sewall in 1949.
- Ethel Woodward (born 1914) married Philippe de Croisset, son of French dramatist Francis de Croisset, in 1941; they had two sons before their eventual divorce.
- William Woodward Jr. (1920–1955) married Ann Crowell in 1943; tragically, he was fatally shot by Ann in 1955, who subsequently took her own life.
By 1908, the family resided at 11 West 51st Street in New York City and maintained a summer residence in Mount Kisco, New York. Around 1910, they purchased The Cloisters estate located in Newport, Rhode Island, which was remodeled by architects Delano & Aldrich by 1914. The Cloisters was ultimately demolished in 1950 to allow for subdivision. Additionally, the family relocated to a newly constructed home at 9 East 86th Street in Manhattan, also designed by Delano & Aldrich.
Woodward passed away on September 25, 1953, at his Manhattan residence. His funeral service took place at St. James Episcopal Church, followed by interment at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. He bequeathed his estate to his son William Jr., whose death in 1955 precipitated the dissolution of Belair Stud. Elsie Woodward remained an influential social figure in New York until her death at The Waldorf Towers in 1981.
Legacy
The Belair Stable Museum situated in Bowie, Maryland preserves the heritage and accomplishments of William Woodward Sr. along with the Belair Stud tradition. The Woodward Stakes, a Grade II event hosted at Aqueduct during the Belmont at The Big A meeting, commemorates his contributions.
In recognition of his enduring influence on horse racing, Woodward was honored as a Pillar of the Turf with induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.
External links
- A brief biography of William Woodward at the U.K. National Horseracing Museum
- The Baltimore Museum of Art. Annual 1 The Museum: Its First Half Century (Baltimore, Maryland: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1966), 58.