Vernon Meredith Geddy Sr. (November 11, 1897 – October 18, 1952) was an
attorney based in
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
. He attended the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
and the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, and served W&M as the head coach for the
William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team for the 1918–19 season.
Geddy was born in 1897. Following his brief career on the staff of William and Mary athletics, Geddy began practicing law in 1920, working from a second floor of the Peninsula Bank on Duke of Gloucester Street. He was elected as Williamsburg's
Commonwealth's Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
.
In the late 1920s, Geddy became a key member of the small inner circle working with Reverend Doctor
W.A.R. Goodwin
William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin (June 18, 1869 – September 7, 1939) (or W.A.R. Goodwin as he preferred or "the Doctor" as commonly used to his annoyance) was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, ...
, the rector of
Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epis ...
, as the latter headed the secretive project which became the
Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. Mr. Geddy was an officer of the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
for about 25 years, from its incorporation in Virginia until his death in 1952.
Head coaching record
As the head coach for the
William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team for the 1918–19 season,
[William & Mary men's basketball history – Media Guide 2007–08]
. Accessed March 24, 2008. Geddy produced a 3–6 record during that time.
[ Geddy was also the head ]football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach for the two-game 1918 season, but failed to notch a victory in either contest.
Football
Basketball
Notable accomplishments, heritage
Vernon Geddy was a descendant of James and Ann Geddy. James Geddy was a silversmith
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...
in Williamsburg during the 18th century. The Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg features an exhibition of James Geddy's silversmith shop and its operations, as well as the adjacent Geddy House. The building is a composite of restored and reconstructed entities. It has been restored to the period of James Geddy Jr.'s ownership. It was opened to visitors as an exhibition in 1968 with a promotional piece featuring original artwork of Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
.
Rich Neck Plantation property
In the first half of the 20th century, Vernon Geddy and his wife Carrie Cole (née Lane) Geddy, built a home on a piece of land which had been passed down in her family and was part of Rich Neck Plantation
Rich Neck Plantation was located in James City County, Virginia in the Colony of Virginia.
History
Rich Neck Plantation (not to be confused with Richneck Plantation in nearby Warwick County), was established around 1632 as part of the community ...
in James City County
James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg.
Located ...
which had been established in the 17th century near the community of Middle Plantation (which was renamed Williamsburg in 1699).
Although the house and dependencies had long since disappeared, Rich Neck Plantation had been home to a number of noted Virginians, including three of seventeenth-century Virginia's big-name secretaries of the colony: Richard Kemp, Sir Thomas Lundford, and Thomas Ludwell, as well as dozens of slaves and servants. Later, Rich Neck became the home of Reverend Doctor James Blair James Blair may refer to:
*James Blair (Australian judge) (1870–1944), Australian judge, lawyer, and politician
*James Blair (cricketer) (1900–1961), Australian-born New Zealand cricketer
* James Blair (farmer) (1825–1901), Scottish-born farm ...
, who in 1693 became the founder and first president of the College of William and Mary.
Vernon and Carrie Geddy named their home "Holly Hill" for numerous holly trees in near the house. Williamsburg's Holly Hills subdivision now occupies a portion of the former Rich Neck Plantation property west of College Creek
College Creek (formerly named Archer's Hope Creek) is located in James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. From a point of origin near the independent city of Willi ...
. As of May 2010, Vernon and Carrie's grandson, Vernon Geddy III, and his wife, owned and occupied his grandparents' home, Holly Hill.[ He was also continuing a family tradition of the practice of law in the area. Vernon Meredith Geddy IV also resides in Williamsburg with his wife and her three kids. They own a fly infested barbecue restaurant/brothel. Their eldest son, Eric Maguire(19), was arrested in James City Co. in 2022, charged with DUI.
]
Legal practice, role with Colonial Williamsburg
During the period after he began practicing law in 1920, Vernon Geddy Sr.'s secretary, Mary Inman, read law under his supervision in her spare time. In 1932, she became one of the first women attorneys for the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...
, and later served as the City of Williamsburg's first attorney.
Shortly before his death at the age of 53, together with Mary Inman, Mr. Geddy and his son, Vernon M. Geddy, Jr. (1926–2005) established the law firm of Geddy & Geddy in 1952. Vernon Geddy, Jr. had graduated from 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 ...
and was later named as president of the Virginia Bar Association during 1972–73.
During the early years of the Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg in the late 1920s, Geddy worked closely with the Reverend Doctor W.A.R. Goodwin
William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin (June 18, 1869 – September 7, 1939) (or W.A.R. Goodwin as he preferred or "the Doctor" as commonly used to his annoyance) was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, ...
, the rector of Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epis ...
, who had successfully enlisted the participation and financial role of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...
and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (October 26, 1874 – April 5, 1948) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller ...
in the project. Geddy was one of only a handful of confidants as he assisted Dr. Goodman in his role as Rockefeller's silent partner
A silent partner is one who shares in the profits and losses of a business, but is not involved in its management.
Silent partner or Silent Partners may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Silent Partner'', a 2005 film starring Tara Reid ...
acquiring numerous properties in what became the Historic Area of the old colonial capital city. He later drafted the Virginia corporate papers, filing them with the Virginia State Corporation Commission
The State Corporation Commission, or SCC, is a Virginia (USA) regulatory agency whose authority encompasses utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads. It is the state's central filin ...
(SCC). After receiving the charter authorization from the SCC for the two corporations, he served briefly as the first President of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
, and for many years, was its Executive Vice President.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddy, Vernon
1897 births
1952 deaths
20th-century American lawyers
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Virginia
Basketball players from Virginia
Sportspeople from Williamsburg, Virginia
Virginia lawyers
William & Mary Tribe athletic directors
William & Mary Tribe baseball coaches
William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches
William & Mary Tribe men's basketball players
William & Mary Tribe football coaches
William & Mary Tribe football players