Herbert L. Satterlee

Herbert Livingston Satterlee
Herbert Livingston Satterlee
	Satterlee circa 1915
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
	In office; December 3, 1908 – March 5, 1909
Appointed by	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Truman Handy Newberry
Succeeded by	Beekman Winthrop
Personal details
Born	October 31, 1863; New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	July 14, 1947 (aged 83); New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse	Louisa Pierpont Morgan; (m. 1900; died 1946)
Children	2
Parent(s)	George Bowen Satterlee ; Sarah Wilcox
Education	Columbia University; Columbia Law School

Herbert Livingston Satterlee (October 31, 1863 – July 14, 1947) was an American lawyer, writer, and businessman who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1908 to 1909.^[1]

Early life

Herbert Livingston Satterlee was born in New York City in 1863.^[2] He was the son of George Bowen Satterlee (1833–1903) and Sarah Brady Wilcox (b. 1836).^[3] His siblings included Marion Satterlee and Richard T. Satterlee.^[3]

Through his paternal grandmother, Mary LeRoy (née Livingston) Satterlee (1811–1886), he is a member of the Livingston family and a direct descendant of Robert Livingston, the 1st Lord of Livingston Manor.^[4] His second cousin was Henry Yates Satterlee (1843–1908), the Episcopal Bishop of New York.^[3]

Satterlee graduated with a B.S. from Columbia College in 1883, received his M.A. in 1884, as well was Columbia Law School with a Ph.D. and LL.B. law degree in 1885.^[1]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Career

Satterlee was admitted to the bar in New York in 1885, entering the office of Evarts, Choate and Beeman.^[5] During the Spanish–American War, he volunteered for duty in the Navy, serving as a lieutenant in the Navy Department in Washington, D.C.

Before and after the war, Satterlee pursued a successful law practice, focused primarily on corporate law and commercial law. Together with George F. Canfield and Harlan Fiske Stone, he was a founding law partner of Satterlee, Canfield & Stone, a predecessor of the present-day firm Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP.^[2]

In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Satterlee as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Satterlee held this office from December 3, 1908, to March 5, 1909.^[8] He served as President of The Union League Club from 1938 - 1939.^[1]

Satterlee authored several books, including a 1939 biography of his father-in-law entitled J. Pierpont Morgan: An Intimate Portrait.^[1]^[9]

Personal life

On November 15, 1900,^[10] he married Louisa Pierpont Morgan (1866–1946), the oldest daughter of J. Pierpont Morgan. In 1910, Satterlee and his wife purchased the Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood, Maryland.^[11] Together, they were the parents of two daughters:

Mabel Morgan Satterlee (1901–1993), who married Francis Abbott Ingalls II (b. 1895), brother of Laura Ingalls, in 1925.^[12]
Eleanor Morgan Satterlee (1905–1951), who married Milo Sargent Gibbs, the son of Milo Delavan Gibbs, in 1929.^[13] They divorced shortly after.^[14]

In failing health, Satterlee committed suicide with a pistol shot through his right temple at his apartment at 1 Beekman Place in Manhattan, New York City on July 14, 1947, at the age of 83.^[1]