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Jay Pierrepont Moffat

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For his son, see Jay Pierrepont Moffat Jr.

Jay Pierrepont Moffat
7th United States Ambassador to Canada
In office
June 13, 1940 – January 25, 1943
PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt
Preceded byJames H. R. Cromwell
Succeeded byRay Atherton
Personal details
BornJanuary 7, 1896
Rye, New York, United States
DiedJanuary 25, 1943 (1943-01-26) (aged 47)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Spouse
Lilla Cabot Grew
​
​
(m. 1927)​
RelationsAbbot Low Moffat (brother)
John Campbell White (brother-in-law)
Parent(s)Reuben Burnham Moffat
Ellen Low Pierrepont
EducationGroton School
Harvard University
ProfessionDiplomat

Jay Pierrepont Moffat (January 7, 1896 – January 25, 1943) was an American diplomat, historian and statesman who, between 1917 and 1943, served the State Department in a variety of posts, including that of United States Ambassador to Canada during the first year of U.S. participation in World War II.[1]

Background

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Moffat was born on January 7, 1896, in Rye, New York. He was the son of Reuben Burnham Moffat and Ellen Low (née Pierrepont) Moffat.

His younger brother was Abbot Low Moffat (1901–1996), a member of New York State Assembly from New York County from 1929 to 1943. His sister, Elizabeth Barclay Moffat (1898–1993), was married to John Campbell White (1884–1967), the United States Ambassador to Haiti and Peru. His niece, Margaret Rutherfurd White,[2] was married to William Tapley Bennett Jr. (1917–1994),[3] the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Portugal, and NATO,[4][5] in 1945.[6][7]

Moffat was educated at the Groton School and attended Harvard University for two years, beginning in 1915.[1]

Career

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Pierrepont Moffat (left) with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King

Moffat, a professional diplomat, served as the private secretary to the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1917 until 1919. Following his service in the Netherlands, he was the secretary of the American legation in Warsaw from 1919 until 1921, and in Tokyo from 1921 to 1923.[1]

Between 1925 and 1927, he served President Calvin Coolidge as Ceremony Officer at the White House and in 1927, at the end of his assignment, he was married to Lilla Cabot Grew, the daughter of fellow diplomat Joseph C. Grew. Moffat continued his diplomatic career in the post of secretary to the American legation in Bern, Switzerland, from 1927 to 1931, and as the U.S. Consul General to Australia from 1935 to 1937.[8]

From 1937 to 1940, he again served in Washington, D.C., this time in the significant post of Chief of the State Department's Western European Division. Finally, in June 1940, after U.S. Ambassador to Canada James H. R. Cromwell resigned after 142 days to run for the U.S. Senate,[9] President Franklin Roosevelt nominated Moffat to his first and, as it turned out, final post in an ambassadorial role as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Canada. He was immediately confirmed and served until his death, two years and seven months later, in the midst of World War II.[8]

Following his death, he was succeeded by Ray Atherton.[10] In his obituary, The New York Times remarked that "even in war, when death is knocking at such a multitude of doors, the loss of a trusted public man in the flower of his age and his powers is lamentable". In addition to his work as a diplomat, he wrote a work on Turkish history and, in 1956, his papers were donated to the Harvard University Library by his father-in-law Ambassador Joseph Grew.[11]

Personal life

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In 1927,[12] at the end of his assignment at the White House, he was married to Lilla Cabot Grew Moffat Levitt (1907–1994) in Hancock, New Hampshire.[13] She was the daughter of Joseph Clark Grew, who was then the Under Secretary of State, and later, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, and Alice Perry Grew (b. 1884). Her maternal grandparents were Lilla Cabot Perry, the impressionist painter of the New England Cabots, and Thomas Sergeant Perry, the noted American scholar. Through her grandfather, she was a descendant of famed American naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry.[14]

Together, Jay and Lilla were the parents of:[1]

Moffat died on January 25, 1943, in Ottawa, two and a half weeks after his 47th birthday, with complications from surgery for phlebitis.[1][19] A service was held for Moffat at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, which was attended by Prime Minister Mackenzie King and Sir Suldham Redfern, who represented the Earl of Athlone, Governor General of Canada.[20]

Moffat was a lineal descendant of John Jay, negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and first U.S. Chief Justice.

Official posts

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "JAY P. MOFFAT, 46, ENVOY TO CANADA; U.S. Minister at Ottawa Dies While Apparently Recovering: From an Operation A | DIPLOMAT FOR 25 YEARS | Head of State Department's European Division When He Was Named to Last Post". The New York Times. January 25, 1943. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  2. ^ Fenzi, Jewell. "The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Program Foreign Service Spouse Series MARGARET WHITE BENNETT" (PDF). adst.org. Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (December 1, 1994). "William Tapley Bennett Jr., 77, Envoy to Dominican Republic". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. ^ Smith, J. Y. (December 1, 1994). "W.T. BENNETT, AMBASSADOR FOR LBJ, DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers". russelldoc.galib.uga.edu. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "Margaret R. White Prospective Bride; Their Engagements Are Announced". The New York Times. March 12, 1945. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "MARGARET R. WHITE MARRIED IN JERSEY; Daughter of Ex-Ambassador to Peru Becomes Bride of Lieut. William T. Bennett Jr. WEARS IVORY SATIN GOWN Rev. Robert Bosher Performs Ceremony in Bernardsville Church--Reception Held". The New York Times. June 24, 1945. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Jay Pierrepont Moffat - People - Department History". history.state.gov. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "MOFFAT WELCOMED ON REACHING OTTAWA; New U.S. Minister Is Wary of Comment on the War". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  10. ^ "ATHERTON NAMED ENVOY TO CANADA; President Nominates Acting Head of European Division in Department of State BURDETT TO NEW ZEALAND Iraq Post Raised to Ministry and Given to Loy Henderson -- All Three Career Men". The New York Times. June 25, 1943. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Moffat, Jay Pierrepont, 1896-1943. Jay Pierrepont Moffat diplomatic papers, 1917-1943: Guide". oasis.lib.harvard.edu. Houghton Library, Harvard Library, Harvard University. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  12. ^ "LILLA C. GREW TO WED; Ambassador's Daughter Engaged to J. P. Moffat, Diplomat". The New York Times. June 7, 1927. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Fenzi, Jewell (December 1987). "Women of the Foreign Service". State. The Department: 13–16. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Dietrich, Kris (2015). Taboo Genocide: Holodomor 1933 & the Extermination of Ukraine. Xlibris Corporation. p. 957. ISBN 9781499056082. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Daughter to Mrs. Jay P. Moffat". The New York Times. October 15, 1929. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  16. ^ "MISS EDITH MOFFAT PROSPECTIVE BRIDE; Ex-Student at Scripps College Fiancee of Donn B. Spenser, a Senior at Pomona". The New York Times. September 4, 1949. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  17. ^ "Jay P. (Peter) Moffat, Jr". The Foreign Service Journal: 72. May 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "J. P. MOFFAT MARRIES; Son of Late Envoy Takes as Bride Pamela M. Dawson". The New York Times. December 30, 1953. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  19. ^ "Jay Pierrepont Moffat". The New York Times. January 26, 1943. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "SERVICE AT OTTAWA FOR JAY P. MOFFAT; High Officials Attend Rites for American Minister". The New York Times. January 27, 1943. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
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