Martha B. Farish Gerry (October 20, 1918 – September 17, 2007) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

owner named an Exemplar of Racing by the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

Early life

Martha B. Farish was born on October 20, 1918, in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. She was the daughter of Libbie Randon Rice and her husband,

William Stamps Farish II William Stamps Farish II (February 23, 1881 – November 29, 1942) was a pioneer in East Texas oilfield development, president of Standard Oil and a founding member and president of the American Petroleum Institute. He was a member of the influ ...

(1881–1942), president of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

from 1937 to 1942.174 Years of Historic Houston: Who's Who – William Stamps Farish
/ref> She was raised in New York where she studied at

The Masters School The Masters School (colloquially known as Masters), is a private, coeducational boarding school and day college preparatory school located in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Its campus is located north of New York City in the Hudson Valley in Westches ...

Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2019, its population rose to an estimated 11,027. The village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a p ...

and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. She was the aunt of

William Stamps Farish III William Stamps Farish III (born March 17, 1939) is an American businessman and a former US ambassador to the UK from 2001 until 2004. Family and early life He was an only child, his father, Army Lt. William Stamps Farish Jr., died in a trainin ...

, the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as the ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's) is the official representative of the president of the United States and the Federal government of the United S ...

under President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Career

Gerry was best known as the owner and breeder of three-time

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

Forego Forego (April 30, 1970 – August 27, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter. Background Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky ...

whom she raced under the Lazy F. Ranch banner. In 57 starts, Forego had 34 wins, 9 seconds and 7 thirds and registered 24 stakes victories including 14 Grade 1 wins. His lifetime earnings amounted to $1,938,957. She was a member of

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its s ...

, a long-time trustee of the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park ...

and of the

Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...

. In 1974, she was the recipient of the New York Turf Writers Association award as the woman who did the most for racing and was the Thoroughbred Club of America's Honored Guest of 1978. In 1983, Gerry,

Allaire du Pont Allaire du Pont (May 4, 1913 – January 6, 2006) was an American sportswoman and a member of the prominent French-American Du Pont family of chemical manufacturers who is most remembered as the owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fam ...

, and

Penny Chenery Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery (January 27, 1922 – September 16, 2017) (married names: Penny Tweedy until 1974 and later Penny Ringquist until 1980) was an American sportswoman who bred and owned Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown. T ...

became the first women to be admitted as members of

Personal life

In 1939, she married Edward Harriman Gerry (1914–2003) at St. James Episcopal Church on

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

and Seventy-first street in New York City. Gerry was the son of

Robert Livingston Gerry, Sr. Robert Livingston Gerry Sr. (May 31, 1877 – October 31, 1957) was an American businessman and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Early life Gerry was born on May 31, 1877 and was the son of Louisa Matilda Livingston (1836–1920) and Elbridge ...

(1877–1957) and Cornelia Averell Harriman (1884–1966), the daughter of railroad executive

E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...

and his wife

Mary Williamson Averell Mary Williamson Averell Harriman (July 22, 1851 – November 7, 1932) was an American philanthropist and the wife of railroad executive E. H. Harriman. Born in New York to a successful family, Averell married Harriman in 1879. Averell's father i ...

. Robert was also the nephew of Peter G. Gerry and Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, and the grandson of

Elbridge Thomas Gerry Elbridge Thomas Gerry (December 25, 1837 – February 18, 1927), usually called "Commodore" Gerry due to the office he held with the New York Yacht Club from 1886 to 1892, was an American lawyer and reformer who was the grandson of U.S. Vice P ...

, himself the grandson of

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry (; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death in 18 ...

, the 5th U.S. Vice President. The Gerry's maintained residences in

Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas ...

and

Mill Neck, New York Mill Neck is a village in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. History Mill Neck incorporated as a village in 1925. Many Gold Coas ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Libby Farish Gerry * Cornelia Harriman Gerry, who married Richard A. Corbett in 1970. * Martha Rice Gerry, who married Frank Bradford Townley in 1978. * William Farish Gerry (b. 1955), who married Gay Caroline Vincent, daughter of

Betsy von Furstenberg Countess Elizabeth Caroline Maria Agatha Felicitas Therese von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (August 16, 1931 – April 21, 2015), known as Betsy von Furstenberg, was a German-born American actress who starred in several Broadway plays, films and tele ...

in 1988. Gerry died September 17, 2007, following heart surgery at

New York Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New ...

, of which she had been a Life Trustee. Her husband predeceased her on January 24, 2003.

References

;Sources
Martha F. Gerry at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerry, Marth F. 1918 births 2007 deaths Vassar College alumni American racehorse owners and breeders People from Houston New York (state) Republicans People from Monticello, Florida Gerry family The Masters School people