Webster Bray Todd (August 27, 1899 – February 8, 1989) was an American businessman, a Republican Party leader in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and the father of

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...

Early life

Todd was born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, the son of Alice Peck (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Bray) and John Reynard Todd (–1945), a lawyer who served as president of the Todd, Robertson, Todd Construction and Engineering firm and was a New Jersey delegate to the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, and

1940 Republican National Convention The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for President of the United States, president and Senator Charles L. McNary, Charles McNary ...

s. His paternal grandparents were the Rev. James Doeg Todd, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, and Susan Webster Todd. He later moved with his parents to

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

. He attended

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present na ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

(Class of 1922), and

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

Career

In 1923, he became a partner in the Todd, Robertson, Todd Engineering Corporation, along with his father and his brother, James Todd. The firm was responsible for two projects initiated by the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

: the reconstruction of

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

and the

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

. In 1928 he formed his own architectural-engineering firm, Todd & Brown Inc, with Joseph O. Brown. He also served as director of the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, w ...

Republican politics

In 1950, Todd retired from business and devoted much of the remainder of his life to Republican politics in New Jersey. He was the state chairman for

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's presidential campaign in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. Upon Eisenhower's election he was appointed director of the Office of Economic Affairs of the United States mission to the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...

in Paris. He served as chairman of the New Jersey Republican Finance Committee from 1948 to 1953 and from 1973 to 1974. He was chairman of the

New Jersey Republican State Committee The New Jersey Republican Party (NJGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Jersey. It was founded in 1880 and is currently led by Bob Hugin. Current leadership * Bob Hugin, Chairman * Darlene Shotmeyer, Vice Chai ...

from 1961 to 1969 and again from 1974 to 1976. His wife was also active in New Jersey Republican politics. She was president of the New Jersey Federation of Republican Women from 1946 to 1952. She was elected vice chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1956 and served as a Republican National Committeewoman from 1956 to 1966. In 1983, Gov.

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kean served two terms as the 48th governor of New Jersey f ...

appointed her to the New Jersey Board of Higher Education, where she served until 1988.

Personal life

On October 12, 1933, Todd married Eleanor Prentice Schley (1911–1990), daughter of Reeve Schley, in

Basking Ridge, New Jersey Basking Ridge is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset ...

. They settled in

Oldwick, New Jersey Oldwick is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Tewksbury Township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08858. As of the 200 ...

and raised four children, all of whom would serve in various elected and appointed offices at the local, state, and federal government levels. Their children were: * Kate Todd (1934–2015), who served as acting

Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...

and was married to Samuel F. Beach Jr. * John Todd * Webster Bray Todd Jr. (1938–2021), who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

(1968–1970) and Inspector General of Foreign Assistance. * Christine Todd (b. 1946), who served as

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

and who married John Whitman, a grandson of New York Governor

Charles Seymour Whitman Charles Seymour Whitman (September 29, 1868March 29, 1947) was an American lawyer who served as the 41st governor of New York from January 1, 1915, to December 31, 1918. An attorney and politician, he also served as a delegate from New York to th ...

. New Jersey Department of Commerce. In 1989, at the age of 89, Todd died of a heart attack at his home in

References

External links

*
Biographical information for Webster B. Todd
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

Finding aid for the Webster B. Todd Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Webster 1899 births 1989 deaths Chairmen of the New Jersey Republican State Committee Fordham University School of Law alumni New Jersey Republicans Politicians from Somerset County, New Jersey Politicians from Summit, New Jersey People from Tewksbury Township, New Jersey Princeton University alumni