He was the grandson of Thomas Russell Gerry, the great-grandson of Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the 5th Vice President of the United States of America, and the great-great-great grandson of Francis Lewis, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Gerry served as a director of The Farmers Loan and Trust Company,[4] a predecessor firm of Citigroup and kept his office at 258 Broadway in Manhattan.

It has been published that he was the underbidder for Man o' War,[5] at the auction won by Samuel D. Riddle at the Saratoga yearling sale in 1918.

Some of his racing successes include: He privately printed in 1931 at his own cost a detailed book on thoroughbred racehorses titled The Matriarchy of the American Turf for which he wrote the foreword.

[15] On March 3, 1908, he married Cornelia Averell Harriman (1884–1966) at Grace Church at 802 Broadway in New York City.