James Gary
Photograph of Gary in a suit with white hair and white mutton chops beard
Gary (c. 1897/1898)
38th United States Postmaster General
In office
March 5, 1897 – April 21, 1898
PresidentWilliam McKinley
Preceded byWilliam Lyne Wilson
Succeeded byCharles Emory Smith
Personal details
Born
James Albert Gary

(1833-10-22)October 22, 1833
Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 1920(1920-10-31) (aged 87)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeLoudon Park Cemetery
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lavinia W. Corrie
​
(m. 1856)​
Children10
Signature

James Albert Gary (October 22, 1833 – October 31, 1920) was a U.S. political figure. He was the Republican candidate in the 1879 Maryland gubernatorial election. He served as Postmaster General from 1897 to 1898.

Early life

James Albert Gary was born on October 22, 1833, in Uncasville, Connecticut, to Pamelia (née Forrest) and James Sullivan Gary. His father was a well-known manufacturer [1]

Career

In 1861, Gary joined his father under the firm James S. Gary & Son. After the death of his father in 1870, Gary took over the ownership of his father's company.[1]

In 1858, Gary was nominated for the Maryland Senate under the Republican ticket, but lost. In 1861, he was a delegate to the Union convention held at the Maryland Institute. He was a delegate to the 1872 and the 1876 Republican National Conventions. He would attend the following national conventions until 1896.[1] In 1872, Gary ran for U.S. Congress, but was defeated.[2]

Gary ran as the Republican candidate for Maryland Governor in the 1879 election, losing to William Thomas Hamilton.[3] He served as the Postmaster General from March 5, 1897, to his resignation due to illness on April 21, 1898.[4]

He spent much of his working life in textile manufacture in the Baltimore, Maryland, region, and was involved with cotton mills along the Patapsco and Patuxent Rivers, including Ely, Guilford, and Laurel, Maryland.

Gary served as president of the Merchants and Manufacturers' Association. He was also president of the Citizens' National Bank. Gary was vice president of the Consolidated Gas Company. He was director of the Savings Bank of Baltimore, Baltimore Warehouse Company, American Fire Insurance Company, Merchants and Manufacturers' Insurance Company and the Baltimore Trust and Guaranty Company.[1]

Personal life

Gary’s wife, Lavinia Washington

Gary married Lavinia W. Corrie in 1856. They had ten children, including E. Stanley, Mrs. Robert C. Taylor, Mrs. Henry Pratt Janes, Mrs. Harold Randolph, Mrs. Eugene Levering Jr., Mrs. Francis E. Pegram, Mrs. Van Lear Black and Mrs. Andrew H. Whitridge. Only eight of his children survived to adulthood.[4][5]

Gary was a prominent member of Baltimore's prestigious Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church and led the movement to establish Babcock Memorial Church there in memory of Brown Memorial's minister, Maltbie Babcock.[6] He also contributed to the construction of a church in Daniels, MD, which was later named in his honor: Gary Memorial United Methodist Church.[7]

Gary had a home in the Mount Vernon section of Baltimore and a summer place in Catonsville.

Gary died on October 31, 1920, at his home at Linden Avenue and Dolphin Street in Baltimore.[5] He was buried at Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Meekins, Lynn R. (1910). Men of Mark in Maryland. pp. 134–137. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  2. ↑ "James A. Gary Dies At His Home in City". The Baltimore Sun. November 1, 1920. p. 9. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ↑ "Maryland-Colored voters shot down and driven away from the polls". The New York Times. Baltimore. November 5, 1879. p. 5. Retrieved January 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "James Albert Gary Biography". Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans 1904. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "James A. Gary Dies At Home; Ill Long Time". The Baltimore Sun. November 1, 1920. p. 18. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ↑ "In memory of Dr. Babcock" (PDF). The New York Times. May 24, 1901. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  7. ↑ Gary Memorial United Methodist Church; "Gmuc.org - History". Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ "James A. Gary Funeral Marked By Simplicity". The Baltimore Sun. November 3, 1920. p. 9. Retrieved April 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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