Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1906-07-26
RUSSELL SAGE DEAD
VETERAN FINANclER PASSES
AWAY AT HIS COUNTRY HOME.

Succumbs to Heart Failure Brought on
by Complication Of Diseases-Fu.
neral Services to Be Held Wednes.
day, With lnterment at Troy, N. Y.
New York, July 23.-Russell Sage
died suddenly at his country home.
"Cedarcroft," at Lawrence, L. l. The
immediate cause of death was heart
failure, resulting from complication
of diseases incident to old age. The
veteran financier would have celebrat.
ed his ninetieth birthday on Aug. 4.
Mr.. Sage had been in exceptionally
good health since his arrival at his
summer home, about six months ago.
At noon he was seized with sinking
spell and collapsed, falling into I'm.
consciousness about two hours before
his death. There were present at the
end Mrs. Sage, her brother, Colonel
j. j. Slocum; the Rev. DR.. Robert
Leetch, DR.. Theodore S. Janeway Of
New York, DR.. j. Carl Schmuck, a
local physician, and DR.. John P. Mum,
for many years Mr.. Sage's family
physician, who was summoned from
New York when the first alarming
symptoms were manifest. The flu.
neral services will be held on We'd
nesday at the West Presbyterian
church, in West Forty-second street, OF
which Mr.. Sage had been member
for many years. The interment will
take place in Troy on Thursday.
Mrs. Sage and her brother, Colonel
Slocum, are named as the executors
of Mr.. Sage's will.
1t is generally believed that Mr..
Sage's vast interests will not be Sc.
riously affected by his death.
Sketch of His Career.
Russell Sage, multi-millionaire and
nestor of American financiers, was
born on Aug. 4, 1876, in Verona
Oneida county, N. Y, where his pa.
rents, Elisha and Pendence Sage,
members Of little company of pic.
neers from Connecticut, had halted
while on their westward march in
quest of a homestead. At the age Of
twelve years, Russell began his ca.
reer as an errand boy in the grocery
store of his brother, Henry, in Troy.
At the age of twenty-five he establish.
ed wholesale grocery of his own in
that place. In 1857 the young mer.
chant had acquired a fortune esti.
mated at half million dollars vast
amount for those days, and deter.
mined to retire from active business
life. He had, however, already be.
come interested in railroads, his first
transaction of this character being a
loan to the Lacrosse Railroad com.
pany, which led to further transac.
tions, resulting in his acquiring large
interests in the roads now forming the
Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul sys.
TEN, of which he became vice presl.
| dent. This determined Mr.. Sage to
devote his future energies to opera
lions in Wall street, and in 1863 he
opened his first Office in New York.
About this time he formed an asso.
citation with Jay Gould, which contin.
ued for many years. About 1872 Mr..
Sage originated the system of trading
in puts "calls" and "straddles." in
which he continued to deal thereafter
on colossal scale. While he pur.
chased seat on the New York Stock
exchange in 1874, it is believed that
he never appeared on the floor of the
exchange.
Only once, it is said, did Mr.. Sage
which would have crushed most men,
but from which he emerged with
courage and confidence mistaken.
This was on the memorable day in
1884, when the great failure of Grant
& Ward was announced, resulting in
the loss to Mr.. Sage of about s6,000,-
600 on long line of quits"
At the time of his death, Mr.. Sage
was an officer and director in twenty
five great railway and telegraph cor
porations.
An incident which startled the
whole country occurred in Mr.. Sage's
Office, in the old Arcade building, II
| Broadway, on Dec. 4, 1891. On that
day he was visited by Henry P. Nor
| cross of Boston, man of unbalanced
mind, who demanded an immediate
gift of $1,2O0,0O0. When the demand
was refused Norcross dropped a dyna-
mite bomb upon the floor, the explo.
sion of which decapitated Norcross.
killed one of the clerks and wrecked
the whole Office. Mr.. Sage was only
| slightly hurt by the explosion.
Mr.. Sage was married twice, first in
| 1841 to Miss Maya Whine, daughter
of Moses l. Whine of Troy. His wife
died in New York city in 1867, and
two years later he married Margaret
Olivia. daughter of Joseph Slocum OF
| Cvcoo,,co