Francis Skiddy von Stade Sr.

J. Parks, Harry Payne Whitney, and F. Skiddy von Stade Sr., circa 1914

Francis Skiddy von Stade Sr. (1884–1967) was a champion polo player and the president of the Saratoga Association (Saratoga Race Course) from 1943 to 1955.^[1]

Biography

He was born in New York, New York on September 4, 1884, son of Frederick Hebbert Von Stade and Frances Sarah Skiddy Fischer. He married Kathryn Steele in 1915.^[2] He died in Westbury, New York on February 19, 1967.^[1] They had eight children, including a son, Charles S. von Stade, who was also a polo champion who died fighting in World War II. Charles was the father of opera singer Frederica von Stade.

References

1. "Skiddy von Stade Sr. Dies at 82; Horseman and Star Polo Player; Saratoga Track's President In 40's and 50's Kept Old Course Going". New York Times. February 21, 1967. Retrieved 2011-03-27. F. Skiddy von Stade Sr., one of the country's best-known horsemen and a polo player of distinction in that sport's golden era in the nineteen-twenties, died here yesterday at his home in Powell's Lane. Death was attributed to a heart attack. He was 82 years old.
2. Spanburgh, Sally (May 25, 2015). The Southampton Cottages of South Main Street: The Original Hamptons Summer Colony. Arcadia Publishing. p. 133. ISBN 9781625847775. Retrieved Sep 21, 2015.