Genealogical Notes on the Tyrrell and Terrell Family of Virginia and its English and Norman Progenitors
(
This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Edwin Holland Terrell was an American lawyer and diplomat.
Background
He was born in Brookville, Ind. His parents were Rev. Williamson Terrell, a Methodist minister, and Martha Terrell, the daughter of James Jarrell of Kentucky. His grandfather, Capt. John Terrell, moved to Kentucky from Virginia in 1787 and won distinction in the early Indian campaigns under Josiah Harmar, Arthur St. Clair, and Anthony Wayne. His first American ancestor was William Terrell (or Tyrrell), who came from England to Virginia as a crown-lands agent, according to family tradition, about the middle of the seventeenth century.
Education
Terrell was valedictorian of his class at Asbury (later De Pauw) University, where he received the degree of A. B. in 1871. Two years later he received the degree of LL. B. from Harvard, and spent the following year in Europe, studying international law and modern languages.
Career
In 1877 he moved permanently to San Antonio, Texas, established a law office, and quickly became closely identified with the political, professional, and business life of the city. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of 1880, 1888, and 1904, and was a member of the Republican state executive committee of Texas from 1894 to 1900.
On April 1, 1889, President Harrison appointed Terrell envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Belgium, where he served with distinction throughout the Harrison administration. With Henry Shelton Sanford he represented the United States at the Brussels International Slave Trade Conference, 1889-90, and signed the General Act for the repression of the African slave trade. He was also United States delegate to the Brussels customs tariff conference of 1890, and signed the convention concerning the formation of an international union for the publication of customs tariffs, July 5, 1890. The same year he was made a member of the Commission Technique to revise the tariff provisions of the Berlin Treaty of 1885 under the General Act of Brussels, and on January 24, 1891, he concluded with Leopold II a treaty of commerce, amity, and navigation between the United States and the Congo Free State. In 1891 he also succeeded in persuading the Belgian government to modify greatly the quarantine restrictions which barred American live stock from the Belgian market.
Early in 1892, at the request of Secretary of State James G. Blaine, he returned to Washington and aided in persuading the Senate to consent to the ratification of the slave trade treaty. Returning to Brussels, he served as United States commissioner at the International Monetary Conference of 1892, of which he was elected vice-president, and delivered the response to the address of welcome made by the Belgian prime minister. In 1893 he retired from the diplomatic service. In October of that year he was made a grand officer of the Order of Leopold. Returning to San Antonio, he again took an active part in political, business, and civic affairs.
Terrell died in San Antonio after an illness of two years. He was survived by five children of his first marriage and one child of his second.
Achievements
He is remembered as a United States Minister to Belgium (1889-1893).
(
This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
Membership
He became a member of the firm of Barbour, Jacobs, and Terrell in Indianapolis in 1874.
Connections
On August 17, 1874, he married Mary Maverick, daughter of Samuel A. Maverick, one of the founders of the Republic of Texas. She died in Brussels in 1891, leaving six children. On February 7, 1895, he married Lois Lasater of Corpus Christi, Texas, daughter of Albert Lasater. They had three children.
