Roderick Terry (April 1, 1849 - December 28, 1933) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

clergyman and philanthropist.

Early life

Terry was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on April 1, 1849. He was the son of Elizabeth Roe ( Peet) Terry (1826–1899) and merchant and banker John T. Terry, an associate of

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

. Among his siblings were Frederick Peet Terry (who married Ellen Mills Battell), and John Taylor Terry Jr. (who married Bertha Halsted, sister of

William Stewart Halsted William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (September 23, 1852 – September 7, 1922) was an American surgeon who emphasized strict aseptic technique during surgical procedures, was an early champion of newly discovered anesthetics, and introduced several ...

). His maternal grandparents were Frederick Tomlinson Peet and Elizabeth Roe ( Lockwood) Peet. His paternal grandparents were Harriet ( Taylor) Terry and Roderick Terry, a member of the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

who was president of The Exchange Bank in Hartford. Terry traced his lineage to Gov. William Bradford of ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'' and

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...

fame as well as

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

Col.

Nathaniel Terry Nathaniel Terry Jr. (January 30, 1768 – June 14, 1844) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge who served a single term in the United States House of Representatives, representing the at-large congressional district of Connecticut from 18 ...

. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1870 and from Union Theological Seminary in New York City five years later in 1875. In 1881,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

conferred on him an

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

degree.

Career

Shortly after graduating from Seminary, he was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry and his first church was in

Peekskill Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. His father had been among the founders of the Irvington Presbyterian Church in June 1853. Shortly after 1881, he became minister of the South Reformed Presbyterian Church in New York, later disbanded, which he held for twenty-four years until his retirement in 1905. From 1890 to 1900, he served as

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of the 12th Regiment Infantry New York Volunteers in the

New York State National Guard The New York (state), New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutan ...

. With that outfit, he took part in the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

as a chaplain. In 1910, his name was mentioned as a possible candidate for mayor of Newport. In 1911 Terry was elected as a hereditary member of the Connecticut

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

. In Newport, he was president of the

Newport Historical Society The Newport Historical Society is a historical society in Newport, Rhode Island that was chartered in 1854 to collect and preserve books, manuscripts, and objects pertaining to Newport's history. History of the society Although the society ...

and as president of the Board of Directors for the

Redwood Library and Athenaeum The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...

from 1916 to 1933.

Books and manuscript collection

Similar to his father-in-law, who owned the famous Marquand Collection, Terry "was an assiduous collector of books and manuscripts and a major part of his collection was sold after his death (making $270,000 at three sales in 1934 and 1935), but his son did keep several thousand items." Upon his son's death in 1951, many of the items retained by him were left to the

Redwood Library The Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a subscription library, museum, rare book repository and research center founded in 1747, and located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The building, designed by Peter Harrison and completed ...

, including a number of letters.

Personal life

On September 22, 1875, Terry married Linda Marquand (1852–1931), a daughter of Elizabeth Love ( Allen) Marquand and

Henry Gurdon Marquand Henry Gurdon Marquand (April 11, 1819 – February 26, 1902) was an American financier, philanthropist and art collector known for his extensive collection. Early life Marquand was born in New York City on April 11, 1819, not long after the dea ...

. Together, they lived at 169

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 ...

in New York City and were the parents of: * Roderick Terry (1876–1951), a lawyer who also served as president of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum from 1940 to 1948. * Eunice Terry (d. 1919), who married Eugene Hale Jr., a banker with Pendergast, Hale & Co. who was a son of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Eugene Hale Eugene Hale (June 9, 1836October 27, 1918) was a Republican United States Senator from Maine. Biography Born in Turner, Maine, he was educated in local schools and at Maine's Hebron Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1857 and served for n ...

and brother of U.S. Senator Frederick Hale and diplomat

Chandler Hale Chandler Hale (March 2, 1873 – May 23, 1951) was a United States diplomat who served as Third Assistant Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913. Early life Chandler Hale was born in 1873. He was the son of the former Mary Douglas Chandler (1848 ...

, in 1906. They inherited his father-in-law's home in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, known as Linden Gate, on the corner of Rhode Island Avenue and Old Beach Road. The house was designed by noted architect

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

and was built between 1872 and 1873. They were noted for their entertaining in Newport. Linden Gate, which was inherited by their son Roderick, destroyed by fire in 1973. His wife died at Linden Gate on May 28, 1931 after a long illness. Terry died in Newport on December 28, 1933. He was buried at

Island Cemetery The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...

in Newport.

References

External links

Roderick Terry, Jr. autograph collection (RLC.Ms.024)
at the

1907 Portrait of Roderick Terry
by

Albert Sterner Albert Edward Sterner (March 8, 1863 – December 16, 1946) was a British-American illustrator and painter. Early life Sterner was born to a Jewish family in London, and attended King Edward's School, Birmingham. After a brief period in Germany, ...

, at the National Portrait Gallery
The library of the late Rev. Dr. Roderick Terry of Newport, Rhode Island, to be dispersed at unrestricted public sale by order of his son Roderick Terry, jr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Roderick 1849 births 1933 deaths Yale University alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni American Presbyterian ministers 19th-century Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Presbyterian ministers