Lawyer Sylvester Terry (1824-1912)

From the Proceedings of the Chautauqua Co. Board of Supervisors, 1910-13.

   Featured on this site's Facebook page on October 27th, its Chautauqua County, New York native Lawyer Sylvester Terry. It's always exciting to discover a new odd name political figure from my home county, and Terry fits the bill perfectly. "Vet" Terry, as he was familiarly known, has a misnomer for a first name; he wasn't a lawyer and never practiced law! Terry served three terms as township supervisor of Clymer, NY, and also for French Creek for one term. Township supervisor being an office similar to village president or mayor, Terry later served as one of three county superintendents of the poor, and in the twilight of his life resided in Washington, D.C. 

  One of nine children born to Silas and Polly (Powers) Terry, Lawyer Sylvester Terry was born in French Creek, New York on November 9, 1824. An early county resident, Silas Terry (1800-1883) was a native of Vermont and was distinguished in his own right, representing Chautauqua County in the state assembly in 1849. One should also note that political service continued in the family with Walter Loomis Sessions, the husband of Terry's younger sister Mary Ravilla (1826-1899). Sessions served terms in the New York state assembly and senate, and for three terms represented Chautauqua County in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

  Little is known of "Vet" Terry's formative years, and in 1849 he married Laura Moses (1829-1864). Following her death, he remarried to Nellie Forsythe Durand (1837-1917), with who he had two children, Loy S. and Grace. A farmer in Clymer, Terry was a founding organizer of the Clymer Baptist Church and first entered local politics in 1860 with his election as Clymer town supervisor. He served during the 1861 session of the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors, and in 1863 was elected as supervisor for the neighboring town of French Creek, where he sat from 1864-65.

  In the election of 1878, Terry was reelected as Clymer town supervisor, serving consecutive terms from 1879-1882. The 1881-82 board session saw Terry named to the committees on Erroneous Assessments, the Grand Jury List, Printer's Accounts, and the Poor House and Farm, and in November 1889 was elected as Chautauqua County Superintendent of the Poor. One of three superintendents, Terry served a term of three years and in 1891 resettled in Westfield. Following his resettlement he was elected as town commissioner of excise, serving until his resignation in April 1894.

  In 1903 Lawyer Terry left Chautauqua County, removing to Washington, D.C. to reside with his son Loy and daughter Grace, then "holding responsible positions" in the Interior department's pensions bureau. Terry resided in the District of Columbia until his death on May 17, 1912, at age 87. He was returned to Clymer for burial at the Clymer Cemetery, where his widow Nancy was also interred following her death in 1917. In October I was able to visit Terry's gravesite at that cemetery, and here are some photos from the trip!