Elbridge T. Gerry, Sr.
Elbridge T. Gerry, Sr., a.k.a. Ebby Gerry, (1908–1999) was an American banker and polo player.[1][2]
Contents
Biography
Early life
His great-great-grandfather was Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation.[1] His uncles were New York Gov. W. Averell Harriman and E. Roland Harriman.[1] He was born in New York City on November 22, 1908.[1] His brother were Henry A. Gerry and Edward H. Gerry.[1] He attended St. Bernard's School, the Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, South Carolina, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harvard College, where he graduated in 1931.[1] At Harvard, he was the Captain of the polo team.[1]
Banking career
He started his career in banking at the Hanover Bank in New York. In 1936, he joined Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.. During the Second World War, he served as an intelligence officer for Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and rose to the rank of Major.[1] In 1956, he became a general partner of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.[1] From 1957 to 1986, he was a director of the Union Pacific Railroad and head of its board's Executive Committee from 1969 to 1986.[1]
Horseracing and polo
He was a founding member and President of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York, where he was inducted in 1975.[1] He was a partner in the Arden Homestead Stable with his uncle E. Roland Harriman. The stable produced two winners of the Hambletonian Stakes: Titan Hanover in 1945 and Flirth in 1973.[1]
He won the U.S. Open Polo Championship and the Monty Waterbury Cup, three times each.[2] He played with Thomas Hitchcock, Sr. and Stewart Iglehart.[1] He served as Chairman of the United States Polo Association (USPA) from 1940 to 1946.[1][2][3] He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame on March 15, 1991.[2]
Philanthropy
He served as a Vice President and Trustee at The Boys' Club of New York.[4] He also served as Trustee and President of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, founded by his grandfather, Elbridge Thomas Gerry, in 1875.[1]
Personal life
He lived in Delhi, New York with his wife, Marjorie Kane, who died shortly after he did.[1] He had two sons, Elbridge T. Gerry, Jr. and Peter G. Gerry, and a daughter, Marjorie Gerry Ryland.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Joseph Durso, Elbridge T. Gerry, 90, Polo Star And Banker Who Bred Trotters, The New York Times, March 06, 1999
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, Elbridge T. Gerry, Sr.'s biography
- ↑ William Clark Hetherington, Six Chukkers Of Love, AuthorHouse, 2005, p. 122 [1]
- ↑ BusinessWeek
