The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1906-07-28
AGED FINANCIER
DIES SUDDENLY.
RUSSELL SAGE COLLAPSES AT
LAWRENCE, L. l., IN COUN-
TRY HOME THERE. = WOULD
HAVE BEEN NINETY YEARS
OLDIN AUGUST.-HEART FAIL
URE IMMEDIATE CAUSE.

OLD IN AUGUST.-HEART FAIL
URE IMMEDIATE CAUSE.
Russell Sage died suddenly Sunday
at his country home, "Cedarcroft," at
Lawrence, L. |. The immediate cause
of death was heart failure, resulting
from a complication of diseases Incl
dent to old age. The veteran financier
would have celebrated his Doth birthday
on August 4th.
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 a sinking
spell and collapsed, falling into uncon-
sciousness about two hours before his
death, which occurred at 4:30 o'clock.
Russell Sage, multi millionaire and
Nestor of American financiers, was born
on August 4, 1916, in Verona, Oneida
County, N. Y, where his parents,
Elisha and Pendence Sage, members of
little company of pioneers from Con-
necticut, had halted while on their vest
ward march in quest of a homestead.
At the age OF II years Russell Sage be-
gan his career as an errand boy in the
grocery store of his brother, Henry, in
Troy. At the age of g he established
wholesale grocery of his own in that
place.
In 1857 the young merchant had ac-
quired fortune estimated at almost
half million dollars, vast amount for
those days, and determined to retire
from active business life. He had,
however, already become interested in
railroads, his first transaction of this
character being loan to the La Crosse
Railroad Company, which LED to further
transaction resulting in his acquiring
large interests in the roads now forming
the Chicago, Milwaukee 8; ST. Paul
system, of which he became vice presi-
dent.
ENTERS WALL STREET.
This determined Mr.. Sage to devote
his future energies to operations in
Wall street, and in 1863 he opened his
first office in New York. About this
time he formed an association with Jay
Gould, which continued for many years.
About 1872 Mr.. Sage originated the
system of trading in "puts, calls and
in which he continued to
deal thereafter on colossal scale.
While he purchased seat on the New
York Stock Exchange in 1874, it is be-
lieved that he never appeared on the
floor of the exchange.
Only once, tits said, did Mr.. Sage ex-
perience tremendous reverse, which
would have crushed most men, but from
which he emerged with courage and
confidence unshaken. This was on the
memorable day in 1884 when the great
failure of Grant & Ward was announced,
in the loss to Mr.. Sage of
about S6,00O,000 on a long line of
''puts".
His operations necessitated the pos
session of vast amount of ready cash
and Mr.. Sage always kept his resourc es
so we'll in hand that in any emergency
he was able to command almost un linn
tied amounts. At the time of his death
Mr.. Sage was an officer and director in
twenty-five great railway and teleg raph
corporations.
An incident which startled the whole
country occurred in Mr.. Sage's office in
the old Arcade Building, No. II Broad
way, on December 4, 1891. On that day
he was visited by Henry P. Norcross, OF
Boston, a man of unbalanced mind who
demanded an immediate gift of 81 200,
900. When the demand was refused
Norcross dropped dynamite bomb up
on the floor, the explosion of which de-
capitated Norcross, killed one of tne
clerks and wrecked the whole office
Mr.. Sage was only slightly injured by
the explosion.
For many years Mr.. Sage occupied
during the winter an old = fashioned
brown stone mansion at sos Fifth av E.
nue., from which he was reluctantly com
PEELED to move about four years ago
owing to the invasion of retail stores tc
No. 632 Fifth avenue. His summers
were spent at his country place at Law
renee, where he died.
Mr.. Sage was married twice, first il
lS41 to Miss Maya Whine, daughter o.
Moses I. Wynne, of Troy. His wife
died in New York in 1867, and two years
later he married Margaret Olivia, daugh-
ter of JOS. Slocum, of Syracuse, N. Y
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