Charles May Oelrichs was an American broker and clubman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Oelrichs was born on August 27, 1858, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of German-born Henry Ferdinand Oelrichs, a senior partner in the firm of Oelrichs & Lurman, and Julia Matilda Oelrichs, who was born in Washington, D.C. His siblings included Hermann Oelrichs, an agent of Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping who married Theresa Alice Fair, daughter of United States Senator and Comstock Lode millionaire James Graham Fair; and Henry Oelrichs. Upon his older brother's death in 1906, Charles inherited the bulk of his estate. Oelrichs was the grandson of Gesche Catharina Oelrichs and Johann Gerhard Oelrichs, a German merchant in Bremen. The Oelrichs came to America from Bremen around 1830. His grandfather later married a daughter of statesman Harrison Gray Otis. His maternal grandparents were Julia Matilda May and Frederick May, who was a member of the May family, prominent in Virginia and Maryland during the American Revolutionary War.
Career
In his youth, Charles was an amateur cowboy on a ranch near Cheyenne, Wyoming where "he 'punched' cows, 'broke' bronchos, and lassoed bulls." Oelrichs then entered business, becoming a member of the New York Stock Exchange with the firm E. C. Potter Co. The firm was later known as C. M. Oelrichs & Co., which was in business for sixteen years until his retirement in 1912.
Society life
In 1892, Oelrichs and his wife Blanche were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times. Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom. Oelrichs was a member of the Union Club of the City of New York. The family spent summers in Newport, Rhode Island at their residence on Kay Street, amidst the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and numerous other wealthy elites of American society during the Gilded Age. The Oelrichs' were known for their lavish entertaining, including costume balls and dressing up in the "full regalia, including war paint and tomahawk".
Personal life
Oelrichs was married to Blanche de Loosey, the daughter of Chevalier Charles F. de Loosey, the Austrian Consul to New York. Blanche was also the sister of Emilie de Loosey, who was married to Theodore Havemeyer, a co-founder of the Newport Country Club. Together, the family lived in a town house on Madison Square and their summer cottage in Newport. Charles and Blanche were the parents of four children:
Through his eldest daughter, he was the grandfather of Charles Oelrichs Martin, who was disinherited by his mother after her death. Through his son Charles, he was the grandfather of socialite Marjorie Oelrichs, who was married to band leaderEddy Duchin. Marjorie died six days after the 1937 birth of the couple's son, pianist and band leader Peter Oelrichs Duchin. Through his daughter Blanche, he was the grandfather of three, including Diana Blanche Barrymore, who married three times before her death which was attributed to a drug overdose.
