Spencer F. Eddy

Spencer Fayette Eddy (June 18, 1873 – October 7, 1939)[1] was an American diplomat who served as U.S. Minister to Argentina and Romania.

Spencer F. Eddy
U.S. Minister to Romania
In office
July 9, 1909 – September 29, 1909
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byHorace G. Knowles
Succeeded byJohn R. Carter
U.S. Minister to Argentina
In office
August 27, 1908 – January 2, 1909
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byArthur M. Beaupre
Succeeded byCharles H. Sherrill
Personal details
Born
Spencer Fayette Eddy

(1873-06-18)June 18, 1873
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 7, 1939(1939-10-07) (aged 66)
Savoy-Plaza Hotel, New York City, U.S.
Resting placeGraceland Cemetery
Spouse(s)
Lurline Spreckels
​
​
(m. 1906; div. 1923)​

Viola Cross
​
​
(m. 1932)​
RelationsCatherine Eddy Beveridge (sister)
Thomas Mears Eddy (grandfather)
ChildrenSpencer F. Eddy Jr.
EducationSt. Paul's School
University of Berlin
University of Heidelberg
Alma materHarvard University

Early life

Eddy was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 18, 1874.[2] He was a son of Augustus Newlands Eddy (1846–1921) and Abby Louisa (née Spencer) Eddy. His sister was Catherine Eddy, the wife of U.S. Senator from Indiana Albert J. Beveridge.[3] His father made his fortune as a businessman and his mother was a member of a family who ran a successful hardware business.[1]

His paternal grandparents were the Rev. Thomas Mears Eddy and Anna (née White) Eddy. His maternal grandparents were Rachel (née Macomber) Spencer and Franklin Fayette Spencer, a founder of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.[1]

After preparing at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire,[1] Eddy graduated from Harvard University in 1896 followed by a year of study at the Universities of Berlin and Heidelberg.[2]

Career
Photograph of Eddy from the Harris & Ewing Collection at the Library of Congress

From 1897 to 1898, he served as the private secretary to U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom John Hay before Hay was appointed the U.S. Secretary of State by President William McKinley. He then served as a clerk in the Department of State from 1898 to 1899.[2]

Beginning in late 1899, he served as third secretary in the American Embassy in London followed by the second secretary in the American Embassy in Paris from 1899 to 1901. He was the first secretary and chargé d'affaires in the American Legation in Constantinople from 1901 to 1903, first secretary in the American Embassy in Saint Petersburg from 1903 to 1906, and one year there as chargé d'affaires. From 1906 to 1907, he was first secretary in the American Embassy in Berlin.[2]

U.S. Minister

On April 2, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Eddy U.S. Minister to Argentina.[4] At the time, "European diplomats consider Buenos Ayres the livest political centre in South America, particularly from the American point of view, and they regard Mr. Eddy's designation for the mission as a distinct and well-deserved compliment."[5] He presented his credentials on August 27, 1908, and served until January 2, 1909, when he left his post. In August 1908, Eddy informed the Department of State, "of the vote by the Chamber of Deputies of a credit of $55,000,000 for additional armaments in view of the alleged hostile intentions of Brazil." Nine days after he left his post in Argentina, he was appointed Minister to Romania and Serbia and Diplomatic Agent to Bulgaria on January 11, 1909. He presented his credentials in Romania on July 9, 1909, as a resident at Bucharest, but did not present credentials in Serbia or Bulgaria.[6]

After fifteen years in the diplomatic service,[7] he resigned due to his wife's ill health and left his post on September 29, 1909.[8]

Personal life

On April 26, 1906, Eddy was married to Lurline Elizabeth Spreckels (1886–1969) in Paris while he was an attaché at the American embassy in Saint Petersburg. She was a daughter of Claus August Spreckels and Susan Oroville (née Dore) Spreckels. Her grandfather was industrialist Claus Spreckels and among her extended family was uncles John D. Spreckels and Adolph B. Spreckels. Before their divorce in 1923,[9][10] they were the parents of:[2]

Eddy's grave at Graceland Cemetery

In 1932, he married Viola Cross, who reportedly did not get along with his sister.[15]

Eddy died on October 7, 1939, at his apartment in the Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[1]

References
  1. "SPENCER EDDY DIES; FORMER DIPLOMAT; Ex-United States Minister to Argentina, Who Served Also in Europe, Was 66 FIRST POST WAS IN PARIS Aide in London, St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Rumania, Serbia and Bulgaria" (PDF). The New York Times. October 8, 1939. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  2. Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly. 1909. p. 552. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. "Son for Senator and Mrs. Beveridge". The New York Times. August 22, 1908. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. Times, Special to The New York (August 30, 1908). "ARGENTINA FEARS BRAZIL.; Northern Nation Believed to be Preparing to Attack Her". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  5. TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (November 17, 1907). "AMERICANS IN BERLIN.; Mr. Eddy Congratulated on His Promotion -- Social Entertainments". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  6. "Spencer Fayette Eddy - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute United States Department of State. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  7. "FRIENDS WELCOME SPENCER F. EDDY". San Francisco Call. Vol. 107, no. 26. December 26, 1909. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  8. "SPENCER F. EDDY RESIGNS.; Personal Reasons Compel His Retirement from Diplomatic Service" (PDF). The New York Times. September 16, 1909. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  9. "Lurline Kuznik Dies". The San Francisco Examiner. March 26, 1969. p. 50. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (November 8, 1923). "MRS. SPENCER REDDY DIVORCED IN PARIS; Former Lurline Spreckels Charges Abandonment by Her Husband, a Noted Diplomat" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  11. Cablegram, Special (May 27, 1907). "SON TO SPENCER EDDY.; Wife of the American Secretary at Berlin Was Miss Spreckels" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  12. "Mary Livingston Ripley". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  13. "Miss Mary M. Livingston Married To Spencer Eddy Jr. in St. Thomas" (PDF). The New York Times. May 1, 1935. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  14. "MRS. EDDY IS MARRIED TO DR. S. D. RIPLEY 2D" (PDF). The New York Times. August 19, 1949. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  15. Beveridge, Albert J.; Radomsky, Susan; Beveridge, Catherine Eddy (2005). The Chronicle of Catherine Eddy Beveridge: An American Girl Travels Into the Twentieth Century. Hamilton Books. p. 185. ISBN 9780761833352. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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