1837-1927
Elbridge T. Gerry was born in New York City in 1837 to a wealthy aristocratic family. Named for his grandfather, Elbridge Gerry, the nation’s fifth Vice-President, Gerry graduated from Columbia College in 1857, studied law under William Curtis Noyes, a prominent attorney, and was admitted to the bar in 1860. Gerry practiced law with Noyes until 1864 and then formed a law partnership with William F. Allen, who later served on the Court of Appeals (1870-1878), and Benjamin Abbott, a noted legal scholar. Gerry enjoyed an extensive and varied practice, handling wills, divorces and criminal defense cases, including People v Stokes.[1] In 1867, Gerry was elected a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention.
In 1870, Gerry became counsel to Henry Bergh and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), marking the beginning his interest in humanitarian and philanthropic issues, including service as Chairman of the New York City Commission on Insanity and Chairman of the New York State Commission on Capital Punishment, which introduced the electric chair to the nation.[2]
In 1874, Gerry took on the case of 10-year-old Mary Ellen McCormack, who had been severely abused by her foster parents. With no legal mechanism then in place to authorize state intervention and removal of children from abusive homes, Gerry invoked an obscure habeas corpus statute to support judicial removal and placement of Mary Ellen outside her home.
“The press of the day hailed Gerry’s use of Section 65 of the Habeas Corpus Act as brilliant. The act was rarely invoked, and the legal means for removing a child from its home were nonexistent. In using the little-known law, Gerry created a new method for intervention.”[3]
Gerry’s experience with Mary Ellen McCormack inspired him to collaborate with wealthy philanthropists, including John D. Wright and Cornelius Vanderbilt, to create the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (SPCC). Founded in 1875, it was the first child protective society in the nation and soon became a model for the rest of the country. Upon becoming the SPCC’s President in 1879, Gerry was instrumental in the passage of legislation protecting children from abuse and exploitation, including statutes authorizing SPCC to prosecute parents of children deemed abused or neglected and place them in the care of appropriate agencies. Gerry remained the SPCC’s President until his death, giving up his private law practice for the “hard work and vexatious responsibilities of protector-in-general to the children.” [4]
Gerry, a passionate yachtsman and President of the New York Yacht Club from 1886 to 1893, was known as the “Commodore,” a title he thoroughly enjoyed. Gerry was also a noted bibliophile. His 30,000 volume library became the foundation of the United States Supreme Court’s Library.
Gerry died in his New York City home on February 18, 1927.
[1] McAdam, et al., The History of the Bench and Bar of New York State Vol. 2, New York Hist. Co., 1897, at 171.
[2] “Elbridge T. Gerry Dies in 90th Year,” New York Times, Feb. 19, 1927.
[3] Marian Eide, “The First Chapter of Children’s Rights,” American Heritage, Vol. 41, Iss. 5, July/Aug. 1990.
[4] “Elbridge T. Gerry,” New York Times, Feb. 20, 1898.