Name Elbridge Gerry, | ||
Elbridge T. Gerry Sr. (1908–1999), known as Ebby Gerry, was an American banker and polo player.
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Early life
His great-great-grandfather was Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. His uncles were New York Gov. W. Averell Harriman and E. Roland Harriman. He was born in New York City on November 22, 1908. His brother were Henry A. Gerry and Edward H. Gerry. 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. At Harvard, he was the Captain of the polo team.
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. In 1956, he became a general partner of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. 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.
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. 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.
He won the U.S. Open Polo Championship and the Monty Waterbury Cup, three times each. He played with Thomas Hitchcock Sr. and Stewart Iglehart. He served as Chairman of the United States Polo Association (USPA) from 1940 to 1946. He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame on March 15, 1991.
Philanthropy
He served as a Vice President and Trustee at The Boys' Club of New York. 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.
Personal life
He lived in Delhi, New York with his wife, Marjorie Kane, who died shortly after he did. He had two sons, Elbridge T. Gerry Jr. and Peter G. Gerry, and a daughter, Marjorie Gerry Ryland.