Seth Low Pierrepont (1884–1956) was a United States diplomat and politician.

Early life and education

Born in

Brooklyn 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 ...

, New York on December 25, 1884 to Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, a merchant, and Ellen Low, Pierrepont was one of six children. He was the nephew of

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

, mayor of New York City and President of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. In 1907 he graduated from

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Career

Diplomatic and Navy service

Pierrepont was in the diplomatic service in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, Italy, France, and Chile, eventually becoming chief of the Latin-American Division of the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

from 1911 until 1913. During

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was on domestic duty in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Politician

Pierrepont moved to

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York ...

in 1913. While there, he became active in local politics and was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from 1921 to 1927, serving as a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. He served on the Ridgefield Board of Finance from 1921 to 1951. He was president of the

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of t ...

Farm Bureau, was on the board of directors of

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

from 1916 until his death, was a president of the Ridgefield Library, headed Ridgefield's celebration of the Connecticut Tercentenary in 1936, was chairman of the Connecticut Salvage Committee during

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and was an official of St. Stephen's Church of Ridgefield for 40 years. He was a delegate to the 1933 Connecticut Convention to Ratify the 21st Amendment.

Philanthropy

In the early 1930s, Pierrepont purchased the land that would later become Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Reserve. He created a new lake that he later named Lake Naraneka from an "impassable" swamp on the property. He stated: "We are calling it Lake Naraneka after one of the Indian chiefs who signed the deed to the town of Ridgefield." He later complained to Connecticut state authorities when he found the name "Pierrepont lake" being used on maps. In his will, Pierrepont allocated 321 acres of the property to become Seth Low Pierrepont State Park Preserve, as a gift to the Connecticut State Park and Forest Commission. He also expressed his desire for his remaining family to give the remainder of the property to the state, but that never ended up happening as his widow decided to sell it to developers.

Personal life

In 1909, Pierrepont married Nathalie Chauncey. He died in 1956 and is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

in Brooklyn.

References

Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierrepont, Seth Low 1884 births 1956 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn Columbia University alumni American diplomats