Lawrence Waterbury

Lawrence Waterbury II (March 31, 1877 – May 25, 1943) was an American champion polo player and society figure.[1]

Larry Waterbury
Waterbury c. 1914
Born
Lawrence Waterbury II

(1877-03-31)March 31, 1877
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 25, 1943(1943-05-25) (aged 66)
Palm Beach, Florida
EducationWestminster School
OccupationPolo player
Spouses
Maude Livingston Hall
​
​
(m. 1900; div. 1912)​
    Caroline Louise Munn Boardman
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1932)​
    Parents
    RelativesMonty Waterbury (brother)
    Anna Hall Roosevelt (sister-in-law)
    Gurnee Munn (brother-in-law)

    Early life

    Larry, as he was referred to by friends, was born on March 31, 1877, in New York City. He was one of seven children born to Catherine Anthony "Kate" (née Furman) Waterbury and James Montaudevert Waterbury, Sr. (1851–1931).[2] Among his siblings were James Montaudevert Waterbury, Jr. and Livingston Waterbury.[3]

    His paternal grandparents were Lawrence Waterbury I and Caroline Antoinette (née Cleveland) Waterbury. The Waterbury family was considered one of New York's oldest families.[1] His maternal grandfather was John M. Furman.[4]

    Waterbury attended the Westminster School.[1]

    Career

    Waterbury became a stockbroker and, reportedly, made a fortune in the 1907 bear market, also known as the Panic of 1907.[1] Later, he was reported to have suffered great losses and in 1923, during an investigation of the so-called "Mammoth Syndicate", he was identified as one of the members who formed a group to "make a market" for the stock of Mammoth Oil, a subsidiary of Sinclair Oil Corporation. The scandal was later referred to as the Teapot Dome scandal.

    Polo playing

    Waterbury began playing with the Westchester Country Club polo team in 1895, and the following year, he was ranked at seven goals on the U.S. Polo Association handicap list. He later played at the Meadowbrook Polo Club with his brother Monte.[1]

    He participated in the 1902, 1909, 1911 and 1913 International Polo Cup championships, losing only in 1902.[5] Waterbury played polo with many of the most prominent figures of his time, including his brother Monte, Devereaux Milburn, J. S. Phipps, E. W. Hopping, Harry Payne Whitney, and Henry Carnegie Phipps.[5]

    At the time of his death, he was the "only man to ever play every position in the international polo competition between Great Britain and the United States."[1]

    Military service

    During World War I, he was a lieutenant in the United States Office of Naval Intelligence and later became a captain in the Chemical Warfare Section in France.[1]

    Personal life

    In 1900, he married his first wife, Maude Livingston Hall (1877–1952), the youngest daughter of Valentine Hall Jr. and Mary Livingston Ludlow. Maude was the sister of Anna Hall (Mrs. Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt), and therefore the maternal aunt of Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Before they divorced in 1912, they were the parents of two children:[6]

    • Lawrence Waterbury III (b. 1901)[6]
    • Anne Livingston "Nancy" Waterbury (1903–1959),[6] who married Harry Carter Milholland Jr. (1904–1968), son of Harry Carter Milholland of Pittsburgh, in 1927.[7][8] After Nancy's death, he married Marion Bock Kellogg.[9]

    After their divorce, Maude married David Gray, who later served as United States Envoy to Ireland. In 1932, Waterbury married his second wife, Caroline Louise "Carrie" Munn (1889–1979), formerly the wife of Reginald Boardman.[3] She was the daughter of Charles Alexander Munn and Carrie Louise (née Gurnee) Munn,[3] and the sister of Gurnee Munn,[3] and Charles Alexander Munn Jr., who married Mary Astor Paul in 1909.[10]

    For many years, he lived at 132 East 38th Street in New York City. Waterbury died on May 25, 1943, at his home on Pelican Lane in Palm Beach, Florida.[1]

    References
    1. "L. Waterbury Dies; Noted Polo Player" (PDF), The New York Times, New York City, 27 May 1943
    2. "James M. Waterbury: Former leading sportsman dies of apoplexy aged 79". New York Times. 13 July 1931. James M. Waterbury, one of the founders of the New York Yacht Club, and father of Lawrence and the late "Monte" Waterbury, international polo players, died Saturday at his residence at the Knickerbocker Club, Sixty-second Street and Fifth Avenue of apoplexy. He was 79 years old.
    3. "LARRY WATERBURY, POLO PLAYER, WEDS; Marries Mrs. Carrie L. Munn Boardman in Quiet Ceremony Here. MEMBER OF 1909 'BIG FOUR' Aided In Bringing to This Country International Polo Challenge Cup, Held by England". The New York Times. 11 September 1932. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    4. Hall, Henry (1895). America's Successful Men of Affairs: The City of New York. New York Tribune. pp. 700–701. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    5. "Polo at Aiken. Larry Waterbury and Devereux Milburn Among the Many Players". New York Times. 23 March 1913. Retrieved 29 March 2011. With some of the best polo players in the world here, Aiken is now the polo centre of the United States. Among the thirty or more players on the field to-day were Larry Waterbury, Devereaux Milburn, J. S. Phipps, E. W. Hopping, and H. C. Phipps.
    6. Reynolds, Cuyler (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1332. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    7. "NANCY WATERBURY IS ENGAGED TO WED; Great-Great-Granddaughter of Robert Livingston Betrothed to H. C. Milholland Jr. DAUGHTER OF POLO PLAYER Her Father, Lawrence Waterbury, Also Former Racquet Champion Mother is Mrs. David Gray". The New York Times. 18 May 1927. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    8. "NANCY WATEBBURY BRIDE AT SARATOGA. Wed to Harry Carter Milholland Jr. Before a Throng of Society Notables. MANY NEW YORK GUESTS Ceremony in Bethesda Church Performed by Rev. I. G. Rouillard 300 -- 300 at Wedding Breakfast". The New York Times. 28 August 1927. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    9. "Mrs. Kellogg Wed To H. C. Milholland". The New York Times. 16 September 1960. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
    10. "MISS MARY ASTOR PAUL WEDS.; Niece of Late Mrs. William Waldorf Astor Marries Charles A. Munn". New York Times. 22 June 1909. ProQuest 96972647.
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