Colonel Ira Yale Sage (1848–1908) was an American civil engineer, railroad magnate and promoter in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, who became President of the

Atlanta and Florida Railway In July 1886, the Atlanta and Florida Railway was chartered as the Atlanta and Hawkinsville Railroad to connect Atlanta, Georgia, and Hawkinsville, Georgia Hawkinsville is a city in and the county seat of Pulaski County, Georgia, United States. ...

. He was an early investor in the Southern Pacific Railroad and built its first line from Charlotte to Birmingham.Bring Tall Family Tree to Films, The Waterbury Democrat, November 7, 1934, p. 7 Following the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, he was the railroad engineer responsible for the construction of the tracks running from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

.Kaufman, David R. (2007)
Peachtree Creek: A Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed
University of Georgia Press, Athens and London, p. 49 He also built the Sage Hill estate and became a member of the

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

. Notably, he was a member of the Yale family, benefactors of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, and a cousin of Congressman

Russell Sage Russell Risley Sage (August 4, 1816 – July 22, 1906) was an American financier, railroad executive and Whig politician from New York. As a frequent partner of Jay Gould in various transactions, he amassed a fortune. Olivia Slocum Sage, his se ...

, who helped organizing America's railroad and

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

systems, leaving a fortune of about 70 million dollars at his death in 1906.

Early life

Col. Yale Sage was born at Middletown, Connecticut, on April 4, 1848, to Barzillai Doud Sage, son of Barzillai Sage, and Elizabeth Betsey Yale, members of the Sage and Yale family.A. B. Caldwell (1912)
Men of Mark in Georgia
Edwards & Broughton Printing Company, Raleigh, N. C., Vol. 5, p. 194-198 He was the brother of Colonel Barzillai Yale Sage, also a railroad builder, and the uncle of Dr. Frances Sage Bradley of the American Red Cross. His family was of English, Welsh and

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

ancestry, and his ancestor, David Sage, was among the first settlers of Middletown in Connecticut. From his mother's side, he was a descendant of Capt. Thomas Yale, one of the founders of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, and uncle of

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British-American colonial administrator and philanthropist. Although born in Boston, Massachusetts, he only lived in America as a child, spending the rest of his life in England, Wales and India ...

, benefactor of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. He was a cousin Dr. Leroy Milton Yale Jr., and tin ware manufacturer Burrage Yale of Lamson, Goodnow & Yale, family of Linus Yale Sr., and was distantly related to abolotionist Barnabas Yale. Col. Yale Sage was also a cousin of Congressman

, husband of philanthropist

Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, known as Olivia Sage (September 8, 1828 – November 4, 1918), was an American philanthropist known for her contributions to education and progressive causes. In 1869 she became the second wife of robber baron Russel ...

of the Russell Sage Foundation. Congressman Sage was a railroad magnate, business partner of robber barron

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him ...

during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

, and among the richest men in the United States at the time, leaving a fortune of 70 million dollars in 1906, about the same as J.P. Morgan who died 7 years later.Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Russell Sage". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Jul. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Russell-Sage. Accessed 6 October 2023. Through the family of his grandfather Barzillai Sage, Col. Yale Sage's distant cousins included Princess

Kay Sage Katherine Linn Sage (June 25, 1898 – January 8, 1963), usually known as Kay Sage, was an American Surrealist artist and poet active between 1936 and 1963. A member of the Golden Age and Post-War periods of Surrealism, she is mostly recognized f ...

, Admiral

Francis M. Bunce Francis M. Bunce (25 December 1836 – 19 October 1901) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself as a junior officer during the American Civil War (1861–65). He was in command of the North Atlantic Squadron from 1 ...

, Cornell benefactor Henry W. Sage, and Senators

Henry M. Sage Henry Manning Sage (May 18, 1868 in Albany, New York – September 25, 1933 in Menands, Albany County, New York) was an American senator and politician from New York. He became Chairman of the State Hospital Development Commission. Early life ...

and Josiah B. Williams. Princess

, a member of American royalty, was related by marriage to the

Agnelli family The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known for other a ...

, founders of Fiat S.p.A. and owners of Ferrari, with family members including Donna

Virginia Bourbon del Monte ''Donna'' Virginia Bourbon del Monte dei principi di San Faustino (Rome, 24 May 1899 – Pisa, 30 November 1945) was the wife of Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist), Edoardo Agnelli and the mother of Gianni Agnelli. Biography She was the daughter of ...

, Princess Clara von Fürstenberg, Senator Giovanni Agnelli, minister

Susanna Agnelli Susanna Agnelli, Contessa Rattazzi, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (24 April 1922 – 15 May 2009) was an Italian politician, businesswoman and writer. She was the first woman to be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in Italy. Early life Born ...

, and Italy's richest man,

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

of Villa La Leopolda.Adams, Charles Collard (1908)
Middletown Upper Houses; A History of the North Society of Middletown, Connecticut, from 1650 to 1800
Grafton Press, Boston University, New York, p. 630-635 The Sages, early benefactors of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, also built

Sage Hall Sage Hall was built in 1875 at Cornell University's Ithaca, New York campus. Originally designed as a residential building, it currently houses the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Conception Although women had previously enrolled in Cor ...

, and Sage Library,

and

Sage Chapel Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State which serves as the burial ground for many contributors to Cornell's history, including the founders of the university: Ezra Cornell and A ...

at Cornell, where Henry W. Sage was buried along with

Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as President of the New York Agricul ...

and

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...

Biography

Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895

Col. Sage possessed an early aptitude for mathematics, which allowed him to complete algebra and geometry at age 13, and calculus at 14, and after graduating from college, went on working as a civil engineer. At a young age, he came under the personal tutelage and supervision of bridge builder

John A. Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

, who designed the

Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge stood from 1855 to 1897 across the Niagara River and was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned and stood downstream of Niagara Falls, where it connected Niagara Falls, Ontario to ...

and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. At 17, Sage became the chief engineer of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

, and was made assistant engineer of the

Georgia Air Line Railroad The Georgia Air Line Railroad was chartered as a railroad company designed to serve the Southeastern United States, beginning in the mid-19th century. The Georgia Air Line was chartered in 1856, with the goal of laying a line between Atlanta, Georg ...

from 1866 to 1867, acting city engineer of Middletown, Connecticut, and assistant engineer in 1868 of the New Haven, Middletown & Willimantic and Harford Railroad and of the Connecticut Valley Railroad. Following the industrial boom in the South after the end of the

, he went to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1868, and became at age 22, the chief engineer of the Richmond and Danville Air Line. He was the railroad engineer responsible for the construction of the tracks running from

. From 1869 to 1872, he was the locating engineer of the Atlanta & Richmond Air Line, and in 1873, of the Elberton Air Line, Atlanta & Roswell,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

& Raleigh Gainesville & Southern railroads. In 1873, Col. Yale Sage met with Colonel Alexander, T. S. Garner, and a few other directors of the

Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad The Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was chartered in 1872 and upon completion March 11, 1884, consisted of two lines from Gainesville to Jefferson and Social Circle, spl ...

. They decided to build a railroad together, issuing $125,000 worth of stock on a total of $350,000 and Yale Sage was elected its president and chief engineer. From 1874 to 1880, he was the chief engineer of construction and repairs of the Atlanta & Charlotte Air Line railroad, of Rabun Gap Short Line from Knoxville to Charleston, and was made division superintendent. He later became the general superintendent of this line, and before reaching 30 years of age, became the general manager of the

Georgia Pacific Railway The Georgia Pacific Railway was a railway company chartered on December 31, 1881, consolidating the Georgia Western Railroad and the Georgia Pacific Railroad Company of Alabama. The Georgia Western Railroad was chartered by the Georgia Legislatu ...

, which became part of the Southern Railway network.

Later life

In 1890, he started his own railroad construction enterprise, building the Belt Line around Atlanta for the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

, and the Florida Central and Peninsular Railway from Jacksonville to Savannah. He worked as a special consultant with various railroads throughout the southeast. Some of his work involved designing tunnels through mountains, making sure railroad grades were flat enough for locomotives to pull cars up or down them. He became President of the

from 1891 to 1893, which was later sold the Southern Railway in 1895.The Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America
Railway Age Publishing Co. Chicago, 1885, p. 325 In 1894, he built the 27 room "Sage Hill House" in Atlanta; the largest residence in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inclu ...

at the time.Sage Hill: More than a Shopping Center
The Druid Hill News, April 21–23, 2017, Vol. 32, No. 1, p. 12-13 They later sold Sage Hill to the Hochs and moved into the Kimball House Hotel. The home later burned, was demolished, and became Sage Hill shopping center. In 1895, Sage obtained the contract for the construction and operation of the

electric railway A railway electrification system supplies electric power to Rail transport, railway trains and trams without an on-board Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling pa ...

of the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, becoming as a result president of the Dixie Intramural Railway Company and built a

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

. Toward the end of his life, he became president of the Georgia Manufacturing and Realty Company, vice-president of the Southern States Life Insurance Company, and board director and member of the finance committee of the Central Bank and Trust, a bank founded by

Asa Griggs Candler Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon and politician who in 1888 purchased the Coca-Cola recipe for $238.98 from chemist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. Candler founded The Coca-C ...

, cofounder of

Coca Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups ...

. Sage was also an early investor in the Southern Pacific Railroad, which became a major railroad system, incorporating railroads such as the

Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was a partl ...

of shipping magnate Charles Morgan. His son Ira Yale Jr. would inherit his fortune, but later lost it during the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

, making his daughters chasing an acting career in Hollywood, in the hope of winning back the family fortune. Col. Yale Sage died on November 14, 1908, and was buried in the Sage family mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.The Atlanta Constitution, 15 Nov 1908, Sun, pp. 3-6 With his wife Margaret, he was a member of the

of Atlanta, and noted as a well-known railroad builder.

Children

Oliver Hardy with his nieces Mary and Margot Sage

Col. Yale Sage married January 3, 1871, to Margaret Alexander, of the Alexander and Byrd family of North Carolina and Virginia. His wife was a Colonial Dame and a

Daughter of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' struggle for independence. A non-pr ...

, being vice-president of the

National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. Her ancestors, the Byrds, were the founders of Richmond, Virginia, owning about 180,000 acres of land, and the Alexanders were among the leaders and signatories of the

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is a text published in 1819 with the now disputed claim that it was the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. It was supposedly signed on May 20 ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, including chairman Abraham Alexander. They had three children together : *Ira Yale Sage Jr. (1874-1950), attorney-at-law *Charlotte Sage (1878-1880), died young *Herbert Alexander Sage (1881-1955), attorney-at-law Col. Sage's granddaughters Mary and Margot Sage were actresses in Hollywood, being featured in the film

The Live Ghost ''The Live Ghost'' is a 1934 American comedy short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by Charles Rogers and produced by Hal Roach. A copy of this film is held by the Library of Congress. Plot A gruff sea captain ( Walter Long) enlists fi ...

.Newspaper Article Oliver Hardy and Nieces
AC 12, Jun 1986, p. 57Ball, Bonnie S. (1967). The March of the Sages, Common Wealth Press, Radford, Virginia The Sage sisters were also featured in

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La Gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is " I Dreamt I Dwe ...

and

Our Relations ''Our Relations'' is a 1936 feature film starring Laurel and Hardy, produced by Stan Laurel for Hal Roach Studios. This is the third of three films in which they play a dual role: the first was '' Brats'' and the second was ''Twice Two''. The sto ...

, along with their uncle Oliver Hardy. Hardy was a member of the Laurel and Hardy duo, a coworker of Charlie Chaplin, and a member of the Classical Hollywood cinema era.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sage, Ira Yale 1848 births 1908 deaths United States Army colonels American civil engineers American civil engineering contractors American railroad executives 19th-century American railroad executives 20th-century American railroad executives American railway entrepreneurs American railway civil engineers Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Engineers from Georgia (U.S. state) Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta)