Joseph Jermain Slocum (June 1833 – October 2, 1924)
was an American colonel and businessman.
Early life
Slocum was born in June 1833 in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. He was a son of Joseph Slocum (1795–1863), one of the pioneer settlers of Syracuse (he was originally from
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the l ...
), and Margaret Pierson ( Germain Slocum (1804–1891). His sister,
Margaret Olivia Slocum, was the wife of
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 s ...
(from whom she inherited his entire $70 million fortune following his 1906 death). After the
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...
and the decline of canal traffic following construction of railroads across the state, her father's businesses and warehouses began to fail.
His maternal grandfather was Maj.
John Jermain, who served in the Westchester Militia 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 Revolut ...
.
Career
Slocum served "with honor" in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
,
and afterward resigned from the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
to go into business in Cincinnati. In 1878, he moved to New York to join Russell Sage, his brother-in-law, in business, serving as Receiver, Treasurer, and director of the
Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railway
The Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railway was the first railroad to run east from Poughkeepsie, New York, and was taken over by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and assigned to the Central New England Railway in 1907.
History Beginnings
T ...
.
He served as director of the
Metropolitan Trust Company
The Metropolitan Trust Company of the City of New York was a trust company located in New York City that was founded in 1881. The trust company merged with the Chatham and Phenix National Bank in 1925 under the name of the Chatham Phenix National ...
until his death.
He was a member of the
Union League Club
The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...
and
Metropolitan Club
The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...
, the
Military Order of Loyal Legion,
Society of Colonial Wars
The Society of Colonial Wars is a hereditary society composed of men who trace their descents from forebears who, in military, naval, or civil positions of high trust and responsibility, by acts or counsel, assisted in the establishment, defense, ...
and
Society of Mayflower Descendants
The General Society of ''Mayflower'' Descendants — commonly called the Mayflower Society — is a hereditary organization of individuals who have documented their descent from at least one of the 102 passengers who arrived on the ''Mayflower'' ...
.
Personal life
On June 8, 1854, Slocum was married to Sallie S. L'Hommedieu (1833–1895) in
Hamilton County, Ohio
Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...
. Sallie was a daughter of Alma ( Hammond) L'Hommedieu and
Stephen Satterly L'Hommedieu, the president of the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company. A member of a large and prominent family, Sallie's sister Mary was the wife of
Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr. and another sister, Alma, was the wife of
George D. Ruggles. Together, they were the parents of:
*
Herbert Jermain Slocum
Herbert Jermain Slocum (April 25, 1855 - March 29, 1928) was in charge of the 13th Cavalry Regiment during the Battle of Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 where Pancho Villa burned several buildings in Columbus, New Mexico, stole weapons and horses a ...
(1855–1928),
who married Florence Allington Brandreth (1856–1910), a daughter of
Benjamin Brandreth
Benjamin Brandreth (June 23, 1809 – February 18, 1880) was a pioneer in the early use of mass advertising to build consumer awareness of his product, a purgative that allegedly cured many ills by purging toxins out of the blood. He became a suc ...
, in 1883.
After her death in an automobile accident,
Mary Eliza ( Ricketson) Carr (1863–1952), a daughter of John Howland Ricketson.
*
Stephen L'Hommedieu Slocum
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen L'Hommedieu Slocum (August 11, 1859 − December 14, 1933) was an American military attaché who served in several countries. He was born in Cincinnati and was a nephew of the financier Russell Sage. His father, Joseph ...
(1859–1933), who married Luna Garrison (1864–1928),
a daughter of Daniel Garrison of the
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
.
* Margaret Oliva "Daisy" Slocum (1870–1946),
who married Sherman Flint (1869–1954), son of Dr. Austin Flint, in 1899.
Following his sister's death in 1918,
he received a bequest of $8,000,000.
Joseph and both of his sons were executors of Sage's estate along with the attornets, DeForest Brothers, who were
Robert W. DeForest
Robert Weeks DeForest (1848–1931) was an American lawyer, financier, and philanthropist.
Early life
Robert Weeks DeForest was born to Henry Grant and Julia Mary Weeks DeForest in New York City on April 25, 1848, of French Huguenot ancestr ...
and
Henry deForest
Henry Wheeler DeForest (October 29, 1855 – 1938) was an American railroad executive, capitalist and industrialist.
Early life
DeForest was born in New York City on October 29, 1855. He was a son of Henry Grant DeForest and Julia Mary (née Week ...
.
His wife Sallie died in September 1895 in New York City. Slocum died on October 2, 1924, at 791
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
, his home in Manhattan where he lived with his daughter and son-in-law.
In 1928, his children sold three houses, 35, 37 and 39
East 65th Street, to a builder who tore then down to build a "modern apartment house".
The three houses had been purchased in 1866 by Russell Sage, who left them to his wife, who then left them to her brother, who left them to the three children upon his death in 1924.
Descendants
Through his son Herbert,
he was a grandfather of Myles Standish Slocum (1887–1956)
and Herbert Jermain Slocum Jr. (1886–1948)
and the great-grandfather of John Jermain Slocum (1914–1997), a diplomat who "gathered what is considered the world's foremost
Joyce collection";
he married Eileen Sherman Gillespie, a granddaughter of
William Watts Sherman
William Watts Sherman (August 4, 1842 – January 22, 1912) was a New York City businessman and the treasurer of the Newport Casino. In 1875–1876 he had the William Watts Sherman House constructed in Newport, Rhode Island.
Early life
...
,
who had briefly been engaged to
John Jacob Astor VI
John Jacob Astor VI (August 14, 1912 – June 26, 1992) was an American socialite, shipping businessman, and member of the Astor family. He was dubbed the "''Titanic'' Baby" for his affiliation with the RMS ''Titanic''; Astor was born four month ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slocum, Joseph J.
1833 births
1924 deaths
People from Syracuse, New York