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Russell and Margaret Olivia Sage Letters

An inventory of his letters at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: KM
Date: Feb 1989



Biographical History

Russell Sage (1816-1906) was an American politician and financier who served as a U.S. Congressman from 1853-1857.

1816 Born in Verona, N.Y. on August 4th
1840 Married Marie-Henrie Winne on January 23rd
1844-1851 Treasurer of Rensselaer County
1845-1848 Alderman of Troy
1848 Delegate to the Whig National Convention
1853-1857 U.S. Congressman
1857 Vice President of the La Crosse Railroad
1863 Moved to New York City
1869 Married Margaret Olivia Slocum on November 24th
1872 Originated stock market "puts and calls"
1881 Gained control of the New York City elevated lines along with Jay Gould
1884 Lost $7 million in the Panic of 1884
1906 Died in Lawrence, N.Y. on July 22nd

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Russell and Margaret Olivia Sage Letters consists of four incoming items, two of which are addressed to Mrs. Sage. There are two business letters from Platt Smith, one with a reply from Sage at the bottom. The other two items are personal letters to Sage's wife, one from Kenyon West (Mrs. Henry S. Howland), author of Laureates of England from Ben Jonson to Alfred Tennyson, in which she discusses her book. Benjamin F. Wheeler's letter (03 Mar 1897) thanks Mrs. Sage for her hospitality during his recent visit to her home, and documents his travel agenda for his return trip and the days following:

After the banquet at the Fort Grange Club I sat up in company with Major Burbank and Lieut. Gov. Woodruff until it was time to go for my 2 a.m. - had time enough for breakfast and a call on my friend Mr. Tom Osborne, and was back home for afternoon work. After a crowded week I started off again Friday for New York, now more dead than alive am back at work again.


Arrangement of the Collection

The collection contains one series, Correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically by sender.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Subject Headings

Persons

Sage, Margaret Olivia Slocum, 1828-1918.
Sage, Russell, 1816-1906.
Smith, Platt.
West, Kenyon.
Wheeler, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1854-1909.

Subjects

Capitalists and financiers.

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Russell and Margaret Olivia Sage Letters
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries


Table of Contents

Correspondence


Inventory