Russell Sage

Russell Sage

Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1828-1918)

Russell Sage (born August 4, 1816 in Oneida County , New York , †  July 22, 1906 in Lawrence , Long Island , New York) was an American businessman and politician . Between 1853 and 1857 he represented the state of New York in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1818 Russell Sage came to Durhamville with his parents , where he attended public schools. Then he worked in Troy in trade. Politically, he joined the Whig Party . After its dissolution in the mid-1850s, he became a member of the short-lived Opposition Party . Between 1844 and 1851 he was a chamberlain in Rensselaer County . At the same time he sat on Troy City Council from 1845 to 1848. In June 1848 he took part as a delegate at the Whigs federal party conference in Philadelphia .

In the congressional election of 1852 Sage was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 13th  constituency of New York , where he succeeded John L. Schoolcraft on March 4, 1853 . After being re-elected as a candidate for the opposition party , he was able to complete two terms in Congress until March 3, 1857 . These were shaped by the events leading up to the civil war . In Congress, Sage was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means . He was the first MP to propose that the government acquire the Mount Vernon plantation owned by former President George Washington . In 1856 he renounced another congressional candidacy.

In 1863 Russell Sage moved to New York City, where he embarked on a successful career as a financial broker and in the railroad business. He bought shares in several railway companies and also became president and / or director of several of these companies; including the Wabash Railway , the Missouri Pacific Railroad , the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . In this area he later worked closely with Jay Gould . Sage also became active in other industries such as the telegraph business. In these activities he managed to acquire considerable wealth. In 1891 he was bombed by a dissatisfied customer, in which the assassin died and another person named William Laidlaw was seriously injured. The latter later sued Russell for damages for allegedly using him as a protective shield. He was initially awarded $ 43,000 in damages. The verdict was later revoked. In the end, Sage didn't pay a penny. This earned him bitter public criticism given his wealth.

Russell Sage died on July 22, 1906 in Lawrence, Long Island and was buried in Troy. His widow, suffragette Olivia Sage , used her husband's fortune to set up the Russell Sage Foundation in 1907 and Russell Sage College for Girls in 1916 . She also sponsored the Emma Willard School and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute .

Web links

Commons : Russell Sage  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Russell Sage in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Condolences from the Manhattan Railway Company
• Condolences from the Texas and Pacific Railway Company and the Wabash Railroad Company
• Condolences from the Iowa Central Railroad and the Western Union Telegraph Company
• Condolences from the Mew York Stock Exchange and Fifth Avenue Bank
• Condolences from the Importers and Traders National Bank of New York and the United States Guarantee Company
• Condolences from The Consolidated Coal Company of St. Louis and Emma Willard Alumnae Association
• Condolences from the Troy Female Seminary and Reusselaer Polytechnic Institute
• History of the Russell Sage Foundation established by Margaret Olivia Sage April 19, 1907
• Russell Sage College Hall for Women in Troy
• The Bolles Collection: The Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage Publisher: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (January 1, 1910)

literature

• Paul Sarnoff: Russell Sage: The Money King . Publisher: Ivan Obolensky; edition (1965)
• Henry Whittemore: History of the Sage and Slocum families of England and America, including the allied families of Montague, Wanton, Brown, Josselyn, Standish, Doty, Carver, Jermain or Germain, Pierson, Howell. Hon. Russell Sage and Margaret Olivia (Slocum) Sage. The Slocum families showing three lines of descent from the signers of the Mayflower compact. Published in New York 1908

predecessor	Office	successor
John L. Schoolcraft	United States House Representative for New York (13th constituency) March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1857	Abram B. Olin