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.
Spouse(s)
Lurline Spreckels
​
​
(m. 1906; div. 1923)​

Viola Cross
​
​
(m. 1932; his death 1939)​
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]

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. 8 October 1939. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. Men and Women of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries. L.R. Hamersly. 1909. p. 552. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. "Son for Senator and Mrs. Beveridge". The New York Times. 22 August 1908. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  4. Times, Special to The New York (30 August 1908). "ARGENTINA FEARS BRAZIL.; Northern Nation Believed to be Preparing to Attack Her". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  5. TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (17 November 1907). "AMERICANS IN BERLIN.; Mr. Eddy Congratulated on His Promotion -- Social Entertainments". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 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 5 March 2020.
  7. "FRIENDS WELCOME SPENCER F. EDDY". San Francisco Call. 107 (26). 26 December 1909. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  8. "SPENCER F. EDDY RESIGNS.; Personal Reasons Compel His Retirement from Diplomatic Service" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 September 1909. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  9. "Lurline Kuznik Dies". The San Francisco Examiner. 26 March 1969. p. 50. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  10. TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (8 November 1923). "MRS. SPENCER REDDY DIVORCED IN PARIS; Former Lurline Spreckels Charges Abandonment by Her Husband, a Noted Diplomat" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  11. Cablegram, Special (27 May 1907). "SON TO SPENCER EDDY.; Wife of the American Secretary at Berlin Was Miss Spreckels" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  12. "Mary Livingston Ripley". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  13. "Miss Mary M. Livingston Married To Spencer Eddy Jr. in St. Thomas" (PDF). The New York Times. May 1, 1935. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  14. "MRS. EDDY IS MARRIED TO DR. S. D. RIPLEY 2D" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 August 1949. Retrieved 5 March 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 5 March 2020.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Arthur M. Beaupre		 United States Ambassador to Argentina
1908–1909		 Succeeded by
Charles H. Sherrill
Preceded by
Horace G. Knowles		 United States Ambassador to Romania
1909–1909		 Succeeded by
John Ridgely Carter
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