Elbridge Gerry (Maine politician)

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Elbridge Gerry
From 1880's History of Cumberland Co., Maine.
Member of U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851
Preceded byDavid Hammons
Succeeded byMoses Macdonald
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1846[1]–1847[1]
Preceded byJosiah Monroe[1]
Succeeded byJohn Hill[1]
Prosecuting Attorney for Oxford County
In office
1842–1845
Clerk of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1840[2]–1841[2]
Preceded byGeorge Robinson[2]
Succeeded byGeorge C. Getchell[2]
Personal details
Born(1813-12-16)December 16, 1813
Waterford, Massachusetts (now Maine)
DiedApril 10, 1886(1886-04-10) (aged 72)
Portland, Maine
Resting placeEvergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAnna St. Clair Jenness (m. 1849)
Children3
ProfessionAttorney

Elbridge Gerry (December 6, 1813 – April 10, 1886) was an American lawyer, who served as a U.S. Congressman from Maine from 1849 to 1851.

Biography[edit]

Gerry was born on December 6, 1813, in Waterford, Massachusetts (now in Maine); he was the son of Peter and Mary "Polly" (Cutler) Gerry.[3] He attended Bridgton Academy, and studied law with Judge Stephen Emery (who also served as Maine's Attorney General).[3] Gerry was admitted to the bar in 1839 and established a practice in Waterford.[3]

Gerry's father served in the Maine House of Representatives and in local offices including selectman and town meeting moderator.[1] Gerry also served in local offices in Waterford, including town clerk (1842-1843), and town meeting moderator (1847, 1852).[1]

He was clerk of the Maine House of Representatives in 1840, and was appointed a United States commissioner in bankruptcy in 1841.[3] From 1842 to 1845 he was prosecuting attorney for Oxford County.[3] In 1846 he served in the Maine House of Representatives, including holding the post of Speaker Pro tempore during the absence of Speaker Ebenezer Knowlton.[3]

He was elected to a single term in Congress as a Democrat in 1848, and served from March 4, 1849, to March 3, 1851.[3] He did not run for reelection in 1850, and moved to Portland to continue the practice of law.[3]

He died in Portland on April 10, 1886,[4] and was buried at Portland's Evergreen Cemetery.[5]

Family[edit]

In 1849, Gerry married Anna St. Clair Jenness, the daughter of Richard and Caroline Jenness of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[3] They were the parents of three children: Alice, Elbridge, and Elizabeth.[3]

Alice Gerry (1850-1921) was the wife of Arthur Melville Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland.[3][6] After his death, she married John Stewart, the grandson of David Stewart.[6] After her 1913 divorce, she married Francis B. Griswold.[7]

Elbridge Gerry (1853-1907) graduated from Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School.[8] He practiced law in Maine and New York City before accepting appointment as vice consul in Le Havre, France, in 1885.[8] He remained in Europe after resigning in 1887, and died in Siena, Italy.[8]

Elizabeth Jenness Gerry (1852-1912), was the wife of Greek diplomat Constantin Pangiris.[9]

Note[edit]

Many sources indicate that Elbridge Gerry (1813-1886) was the grandson of Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814).[5] This seems to be in error; the ancestry of Elbridge Gerry (1813-1886) can be traced to his father Peter (1776-1847);[10] Peter's father Nathaniel Gerry (or Geary) (1733-1791);[10] Nathaniel's father Thomas;[11] Nathaniel's grandfather, also named Thomas;[11] and Nathaniel's great-grandfather Thomas Gery (or Gary).[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f The History of Waterford, Oxford County, Maine.
  2. ^ a b c d Maine State Year-book, and Legislative Manual for the Year 1876-67.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k History of Cumberland Co., Maine.
  4. ^ "Death of Elbridge Gerry".
  5. ^ a b Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005.
  6. ^ a b Some Account of Capt. John Frazier and His Descendants.
  7. ^ "Wedding Tragedy".
  8. ^ a b c Obituary Record of the Graduates of Bowdoin College.
  9. ^ "Mme. Pangiris Dies in Switzerland".
  10. ^ a b Biographical Review: Oxford and Franklin Counties, Maine.
  11. ^ a b c Historic Homes and Places.

Sources[edit]

Books[edit]

  • Biographical Review: Oxford and Franklin Counties, Maine. Boston, MA: Biographical Review Publishing Company. 1897. p. 20. ISBN 9781934710173.
  • Bowdoin College (1911). Obituary Record of the Graduates of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine. Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College Library. p. 408.
  • Clayton, W. W. (1880). History of Cumberland Co., Maine. Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Peck. pp. 99–100.
  • Cutter, William Richard. Historic Homes and Places and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Vol. II. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 666–667.
  • Hoyt, Edmund S. (1876). Maine State Year-book, and Legislative Manual for the Year 1876-67. Portland, ME: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham. p. 85.
  • Leach, Josiah Granville (1910). Some Account of Capt. John Frazier and His Descendants. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott Company. p. 96.
  • United States House of Representatives (2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1112. ISBN 978-0-16-073176-1.
  • Warren, Henry Pelt (1879). The History of Waterford, Oxford County, Maine. Boston, MA: Hoyt, Fogg & Donham. pp. 208–212.

Newspapers[edit]

External links[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 1st congressional district
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851 		Succeeded by
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