Elbridge Thomas Gerry
Elbridge Thomas Gerry | |
---|---|
Born | December 25, 1837 |
Died | February 18, 1927 (aged 89) New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater | Columbia College (1857) |
Spouse |
Louisa Matilda Livingston
(m. 1867; died 1920) |
Children | Angelica L. Gerry Mabel Gerry Drury Robert Livingston Gerry, Sr. Peter Goelet Gerry |
Parent(s) | Thomas Russell Gerry Hannah G. Goelet |
Relatives | Elbridge Gerry (grandfather) Robert L. Gerry Jr. (grandson) Peter P. Goelet (grandfather) |
Elbridge Thomas Gerry (December 25, 1837 – February 18, 1927), usually called "Commodore" Gerry due to the office he held with the
Early life
Gerry was born on December 25, 1837, In Charlestown, Rhode Island, the son of Thomas Russell Gerry (1794–1848), who was active in the Sons of the American Revolution, and Hannah Green Goelet (1804–1845), of another prominent family. In 1857, Gerry graduated from Columbia College, with honors.[1] During his time there he also joined the Chi Psi fraternity, eventually becoming its national president.
His paternal grandfather was
In 1879, he inherited $500,000 after the death of his unmarried uncle, Peter Goelet.[5]
Career
After graduation from Columbia, he read law with William Curtis Noyes and was admitted to the New York bar in 1860. He later became partner with Noyes until his death, after which he joined William F. Allen and Vaughn Abbot, practicing as Allen, Abbott & Gerry.[1]
In 1874, Gerry took up the case of
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
In 1875, as a result of Mary Ellen McCormack's case, he co-founded the
Gerry served as vice-president of SPCC, then as Wright's successor from 1879 to 1901, and finally as legal advisor until his death. The Society's deputies, nicknamed "Gerry men" or "the cruelty," aroused controversy by enforcing various laws, including child labor laws concerning public performances and were allowed to remove children from homes. Some criticized their activities as interfering with family life, or for imposing aristocratic white Protestant values upon immigrants, many of whom were Catholic or black.[8]
After 1903, many such child protection societies changed their focus from police to welfare work, following a Massachusetts model.
New York Yacht Club
Gerry was Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. He held office from 1886 to 1892. The pilot boat Elbridge T. Gerry was named in honor of him.[11][12]
Politics and boards
Gerry was a notable member of
From 1878 until 1912, he served as governor of the New York Hospital and was also a trustee of the
Personal life
In 1867, Gerry married Louisa Matilda Livingston (1836–1920). Louisa was the daughter of Robert James Livingston (1811–1891) and Louisa Matilda Storm (1807–1883) and the granddaughter of Maturin Livingston (1769–1847) and Margaret Lewis (1780–1860). Margaret was the only child and sole heiress of Gov. Morgan Lewis (1754–1844).[14] Together, Elbridge and Louisa had six children:
- Angelica Livingston Gerry (1871–1960),[15] died unmarried.[16] (See Ancrum House.)
- Mabel Gerry (1872–1930),[15] who married Francis Saxham Elwes Drury (1859–1937), a widower, in 1925.[17] Drury had previously been married to Mary Gertrude Peek (1861–1921)
- Lillian Goelet Gerry (1873-1891)
- Margaret "Pearl" Louisa Gerry (1868-1872)
- Mary Williamson Averell, in 1908.[18]
- Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958), the widow of George Washington Vanderbilt II(1862–1914).
In 1904, the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862–1947) painted Gerry's portrait, which still hangs in the New York Yacht Club.
Gerry died on February 18, 1927, about two weeks after breaking his hip in a fall, outliving his wife by seven years. He was entombed in the churchyard of
Residences
His family's New York mansion at 2 East 61st Street had long been a center of cultivated and fashionable life, even as it came to be surrounded by skyscrapers.
Gerry maintained a summer home named "Seaverge" on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. His wife's estate in the Catskill Mountains was called "Aknusti", supposedly from an American Indian word meaning "expensive proposition."[23]
References
- ^ a b c "COMMODORE ELBRIDGE T. GERRY | A SKETCH". The Tammany Times. Tammany Publishing Company. January 1, 1896. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ Political Register and Congressional Directory, p. 408
- ^ "Biographical Abstract of Elbridge Gerry". United States Congress. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- ^ Hendrick, Burton J. (June 1912). "PERMANENT OWNERS OF NEW YORK". McClure's Magazine. 39 (2). S.S. McClure: 121–138. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ^ "PETER GOELET'S WILL.; DIVIDING AN ESTATE THAT MAY BE WORTH TWENTY MILLIONS". The New York Times. December 6, 1879. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ^ Markel, Howard (December 14, 2009). "Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
In fact, though, the quotation is from the 1874 case of Mary Ellen McCormack, below, a self-possessed 10-year-old who lived on West 41st Street, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. It was Mary Ellen who finally put a human face on child abuse — and prompted a reformers' crusade to prevent it and to protect its victims, an effort that continues to this day.
- ^ Gerry, Elbridge Thomas. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07
- ^ a b "Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children - Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society".
- Fair Labor Standards Act in United States v. Darby Lumber Co.
- ^ "House of Mercy". myinwood.net. October 5, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ "A New Pilot Boat. The Launch of the Beautiful Schooner Elbridge T. Gerry". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. August 24, 1888. p. 3. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- OCLC 3804485.
- ^ The Electrical World and Engineer. McGraw Publishing Company. 1902.
- ^ "New York, Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999". Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Operations, Inc. 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b "$6,998,284 ESTATE LEFT BY MRS. DURY Husband Has Life Interest in Residue, Under Will of Sister of Former Senator Gerry. CHARITY TO GET $90,000 Family Shares Starrett Fortune — Jersey Man Leaves $1,700 to Repay Hostess at Dinners". The New York Times. April 9, 1932. p. 16. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ "ANGELICA L. GERRY DIES | 2 Ancestors Were Signers of Declaration of Independence". The New York Times. November 5, 1960. p. 23. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ a b Robinson, Grace (November 1, 1925). "NEWS OF NEW YORK SOCIETY | Social Register at Gerry Wedding". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ "MISS HARRIMAN BRIDE OF ROBERT L. GERRY; Grace Church So Crowded by Friends of the Pair That Many Had to Stand in Aisles. GREAT CRUSH IN BROADWAY Wedding Held at Noon and Followed by Reception at Home in Fifth Avenue". The New York Times. March 4, 1908. p. 7. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Hutton, Ann (October 5, 2016). "Historic Graveyard Tours in Hyde Park". Hudson Valley One. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Kopser, Arnold. Wapnick, Dyan (ed.). "A Brief History of St. James' Church". St. James Episcopal Church. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "Our 2013 Tour Season Has Ended. Thank you!". St. James' Episcopal Church, Hyde Park, New York Historic Graveyard Tours. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Wos, Andy (January 2014). "GILDED AGE IN ANDES: HISTORY OF THE GERRY ESTATE — January 2014 | Andes Gazette". Andes Gazette. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ Cairns, Robert (March 22, 2016). "Broadlands mansion, lands listed for sale". Watershed Post. Retrieved January 17, 2018.