View source for Robert L. Gerry Jr.

{{short description|American polo player}}
{{other people|Robert Livingston Gerry}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| caption     =
| birth_name  = Robert Livingston Gerry Jr.
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1911|12|5}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1979|12|21|1911|12|5}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation  = Businessman, polo player
| parents     = [[Robert L. Gerry, Sr.]]<br />Cornelia Averell Harriman
| spouse      = {{plainlist|
* Martha Leighton Kramer
* Harriet Wells
}}
| children    = Nancy Gerry<br />[[Robert L. Gerry III]]
| relations   = [[Elbridge Thomas Gerry|Elbridge T. Gerry]] (grandfather)<br />[[E. H. Harriman]] (grandfather)<br />[[Mary Williamson Averell|Mary W. Averell]] (grandmother)<br />[[Peter G. Gerry]] (uncle)<br />[[W. Averell Harriman]] (uncle)
}}

'''Robert Livingston Gerry Jr.''' (December 5, 1911 &ndash; December 21, 1979) was an American [[polo]] player.<ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=Deaths|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/23/archives/obituary-3-no-title.html|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=23 December 1979}}</ref>

==Early life==
Gerry was born in New York City on December 5, 1911, to [[Robert L. Gerry Sr.]] and Cornelia Harriman.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=Cornelia Harriman Gerry Bride|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/10/archives/cornelia-harriman-gerry-bride.html?_r=0|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 May 1970}}</ref>  His eldest brother was [[Elbridge T. Gerry, Sr.]] and his younger twin brothers were [[Henry Averell Gerry]] and [[Edward Harriman Gerry]].  Robert's father, a successful real estate developer, died at the family's estate, Aknusti, at the age of 81 on October 31, 1957,<ref>http://www.mi-harness.com/SBreds/Memor60.html {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> just a few hours after his brother, former U. S. Senator [[Peter G. Gerry|Peter Goelet Gerry]], died in Providence, Rhode Island.<ref name="FatherObitNYT">{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=Peter G. Gerry, Ex-Senator, Dies Hours Before His Brother Robert; Rhode Island Democrat, 78, Was a Foe of New Deal-- Supported Strong Navy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/01/archives/peter-g-gerry-exsenator-dies-hours-before-his-brother-robert-rhode.html|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1 November 1957}}</ref>

===Family===
Robert L. Gerry, Jr. was the nephew of U.S. Senator [[Peter G. Gerry|Peter Goelet Gerry]], Governor [[W. Averell Harriman]], [[Junior League]] founder [[Mary Harriman]], and [[E. Roland Harriman]].  His maternal grandfather was railroad baron [[E.H. Harriman]] and his paternal great-great grandfather was [[Thomas Russell Gerry]], his great-great grandfather was [[Elbridge Gerry]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and [[Vice President of the United States]].<ref name="FatherObitNYT"/>

==Sporting career==
===Polo career===
In 1929, he won the [[United States Polo Association|USPA]] Open National Interscholastic Championship. In 1933, he won the [[United States Polo Association|USPA]] Junior Championship and in 1938, he won the [[United States Polo Association|USPA]] Twenty Goal Championship. In 1938, he won the [[Monty Waterbury Cup|Monty Waterbury Memorial Cup]].

Gerry was a renowned [[polo]] player. He won the [[US Open Polo Championship]] twice, first in 1939 playing the #2 position for the Bostwick Field team, and second, in 1940 playing the #2 position for the Aknusti team. He lost in finals of 1941 championship while playing for the Aknusti team.  From 1923 to 1941, all [[U.S. Open Polo Championship]] were played at Meadow Brook on [[Long Island]], New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polomuseum.com/files/attachments/2015_historical_tournament_pages_0.pdf |title=USPA Historical Tournament Results |accessdate=2016-01-09 |quote=USPA Historical Tournament Results. |publisher=USPA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218172459/http://www.polomuseum.com/files/attachments/2015_historical_tournament_pages_0.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 1939 Bostwick Field team included [[Pete Bostwick]], Robert L. Gerry Jr., [[Elbridge T. Gerry Sr.]], [[Eric Horace Tyrrell-Martin]].  In the 1940 [[U.S. Open Polo Championship]] final, the Aknusti team beat Great Neck. The final score was a close 5 to 4. Playing for Aknusti that year were Gerald Smith, Robert L. Gerry, Jr., [[Elbridge Gerry]], and [[Alan Corey Jr.]]  The 1941 Aknusti team was composed of Elbridge T. Gerry Sr., Robert L. Gerry Jr., [[Edward H. Gerry]], and [[Pete Bostwick]].  In the U.S. Open finals, they played against Gulf Stream whose riders were [[Michael Grace Phipps]], [[John H. H. Phipps|Ben Phipps]], [[Charles Skiddy von Stade]], and [[Alan L. Corey, Jr.]], who beat Aknusti 10–6.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polomuseum.com/files/attachments/2015_historical_tournament_pages_0.pdf |title=USPA Historical Tournament Results |accessdate=2016-01-09 |quote=USPA Historical Tournament Results. |publisher=USPA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218172459/http://www.polomuseum.com/files/attachments/2015_historical_tournament_pages_0.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Tennis career===
Gerry was also, an accomplished [[Court tennis]] player. He won the Tuxedo Gold Racquet Singles Champion in 1946, as well as the U.S. Amateur Doubles Championship in both 1949 and 1950 playing with [[Alastair Martin]]. He was a Charter Member of the [[United States Court Tennis Association]].<ref>[http://www.uscourttennis.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/USCTA_AR_05-06-web.pdf USCTA Annual Report]</ref>

==Personal life==
Gerry married Martha Leighton Kramer, daughter of A. Ludlow Kramer.<ref name="DaughterbirthNYT"/> Together, they had:<ref name="NYTObit"/>
*Nancy Gerry (born 1935)<ref name="DaughterbirthNYT">{{cite news|title=Daughter to Mrs. R. L. Gerry Jr.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/30/archives/i-daughter-to-mrs-r-l-gerry-jr-i.html|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=30 June 1935}}</ref>
*[[Robert L. Gerry III]] (born 1937)<ref name="SonsbirthNYT">{{cite news|title=Son Born to Robert Gerrys Jr.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/09/24/archives/son-born-to-robert-gerrys-jr.html|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 September 1937}}</ref>
He later married Harriet Wells.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Times|first1=Special To The New York|title=Deaths|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/26/archives/obituary-4-no-title.html|accessdate=29 November 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=26 December 1979}}</ref>

Gerry inherited family lands in the [[Catskill Mountains|Catskills]], and added to them to create the sprawling {{convert|2000|acre|km2|adj=on}} estate "Aknusti" (later renamed 'Broadlands'). It has acreage in the townships of [[andes, New York|Andes]], [[Delhi, New York|Delhi]], and [[Bovina, New York|Bovina]], New York. It is an almost contiguous estate with a polo field, multiple working farms, a {{convert|20000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}. mountain-ridge sited colonial manor house designed by [[Walker & Gillette]], numerous dependencies, and landscaping done by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]]. Gerry owned the property until his death. The property has since been sold multiple times, although it remains intact and owned by [[Amanresorts]].<ref>http://www.allianceforbovina.org/AmanFactSheet_Sept07-afb.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wos |first1=Andy |title=Gilded Age in Andes: History of the Gerry Estate |url=http://andesgazette.net/2014/01/30/gilded-age-in-andes-history-of-the-gerry-estate-january-2014/ |website=Andes Gazette |accessdate=16 September 2020}}</ref> he died in 1979

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist|30em}}

;Sources
*[http://www.longislandsurnames.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I5227&tree=VanRensselaer Genealogy – Gerry family]
*[http://info.hartwick.edu/library/archives/gerry/moreinfo.html Gerry family archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040119012338/http://info.hartwick.edu/library/archives/gerry/moreinfo.html |date=January 19, 2004 }} at Hartwick College
*[http://www.usopenpolo.com/06/history1930-1953.php U.S. Open Polo history]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310235901/http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefAuxArt.aspx?refid=461501486 1939 U.S. Open Polo Championship]
*[https://archive.today/20130204153437/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,766183,00.html Time Magazine documentation of 1941 loss in U.S. Open finals]
*[http://www.mi-harness.com/SBreds/Memor60.html  Standardbred Horsemans Memorial]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerry, Robert L., Jr.}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Goelet family]]
[[Category:Livingston family|Robert Livingston Gerry, Jr.]]
[[Category:American polo players]]
[[Category:American real tennis players]]
[[Category:Gerry family]]