58 YALE FOREST SCHOOL 

William D. Sterrett 
Business address, United States Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 
Residence, Pierce Mill Road, Washington, D. C. 
William Dent Sterrett was born March 2, 1881, in Bedford, Pa. the 
son of Rev. Dr. James Macbride Sterrett, M.A. Harvard ’7o, S.T.B. 
Cambridge Theological Seminary ’72, a clergyman in the Protestant Epis- 
copal church, and Adlumnia (Dent) Sterrett. His father was formerly 
professor of philosophy in George Washington University and is the author 
of several books on philosophy. His father’s antecedents were from 
Center County, Pennsylvania, and were Scotch-Irish, French-Huguenot 
and German. His mother’s ancestors were from Charles County, Mary- 
land, and were English and Scotch-Irish. He has four brothers: Lieuten- 
ant Robert Sterrett, B.S. Lafayette, Pa.; Rev. Henry Hatch Dent Sterrett, 
B.A. Columbian (now George Washington) ’98, B.A. Harvard ’99 and 
M.A. ’oo, and Cambridge Theological Seminary ’03; Douglas B. Sterrett, 
George Washington ’o2; and John A. Sterrett, E.E. Princeton. Two 
other children are deceased. 
He was prepared at Columbian Academy, Washington, and before 
entering Yale received the degree of B.A. from George Washington 
University in 1900 and the same in 1901 from Harvard, where he was a 
member of Theta Delta Chi. 
He was married November 19, 1908, in Frankford, Del., to Miss Ida 
Topping Gum of Frankford, Del., daughter of Dr. F. M. Gum and 
Mary C. Gum. They have two sons: William Dent Sterrett, Jr., born 
September 9, 1909, in Manila, P. I.; and J. Macbride Sterrett, 3d, born 
November 26, 1911, in Washington, D. C. 
Sterrett was appointed forest assistant in the Forest Service 
in June, 1903, which position he held until March, 1908. He 
then became consulting forester in private work, and in Decem- 
ber, 1908, received the appointment of forester to the Philippine 
Islands in the Bureau of Forestry. He held this position until 
January, 1910. Since April, 1910, he has been forest assistant 
in the United States Forest Service with headquarters at Wash- 
ington, D. C. He writes: “Studied forestry in Germany, 
Switzerland, Austria and France from April to December, 1904. 
Cruised a 500,000 acre timber tract in Chihuahua, Mexico, April 
to June, 1908, for the Development Company of America, of 
New York City. In connection with forest work in the Philip- 
pine Islands completed a tour around the world.” 
Sterrett is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. In 
politics he is a Progressive. He is a member of the University 
Club of Washington, D. C. 



