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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2000 items) |
| Abstract | Represented in the collection are William Rutherford Savage, Episcopal priest of Virginia and North Carolina; his parents Thomas Staughton Savage (1804-1880), scientist and Episcopal missionary to Liberia, and Elizabeth Rutherford Savage (1817-1899), also a missionary; his brothers Thomas Rutherford Savage (1851-1918), physician of Kalamazoo, Mich., and New York, N.Y., and Alexander Duncan Savage (1848-1935), curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; and his sister Jessie Duncan Savage, an artist, who in 1884 married Thomas L. Cole, an Episcopal priest. The papers relate primarily to the personal life and professional work of William Rutherford Savage, beginning in the 1860s and continuing through his years at Episcopal High School, the University of Virginia, and the Theological Seminary of Virginia, and while serving his first parish at Virginia Beach, Va. In the early 1900s, Savage went to the Blowing Rock area of North Carolina and worked at missions there, in Valle Cruces, and in Boone. He remained in the area until his death in 1934. Among the early papers are scientific letters, 1840-1860, to Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Savage in Liberia concerning African species, including a species of gorilla he discovered. After his return from Africa, Dr. Savage was an Episcopal priest in Pass Christian, Miss., and Rhinecliff, N.Y. Also documented are the activities of Thomas Rutherford Savage and his brother, Alexander Duncan Savage, both graduates of the University of Virginia in the early 1870s. Thomas then studied medicine in Baltimore, Md., and New York, N.Y., and was employed for 18 years at the Michigan State Insane Asylum in Kalamazoo. He returned to New York City and set up practice in 1892. Duncan continued his studies in Europe in the fields of Comparative Philology and Sanskrit and taught at Johns Hopkins University for a time. Knowledgeable in art and archealogy, he eventually became assistant director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Letters of Jesse Duncan Savage relate to her life in New York City and Baltimore prior to her marriage in 1884 to Thomas L. Cole. There is scattered correspondence from the Cole children, especially Thomas Casilear Cole (1888-1976), portrait painter. Among other correspondents are Bishops Alfred Magill Randolph, Junius Moore Horner, Thomas Campbell Darst, Joseph Blount Cheshire, and Beverley Dandridge Tucker. |
| Creator | Savage, William Rutherford, 1854-1934. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Suzanne Ruffing, July 1996
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Revised by: Dawne Howard Lucas, July 2021
This collection was processed with support from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Related Collections
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Biographical Information
Thomas Staughton Savage (1804-1880) + Elizabeth Rutherford (1817-1899)
Bessie (1847-1860)
Alexander Duncan (1848-1935)
Thomas Rutherford (1851-1918) + Grace ?
Pauline
William Rutherford (1854-1934)
Jessie Duncan (1859-1940) + Thomas L. Cole
Bessie (1887- ) + Fritz G. Cornell
Bobbie
Betty
Thomas Casilear (1888-1976)
Sophie (1889- )
Dorothea + ? Macomber
Leonard
Dr. Thomas Staughton Savage was an Episcopalian minister stationed at Camp Palmas, Liberia, during the 1830s and 1840s. He returned to the United States in 1848 residing in Natchez, Miss., and Sumterville, Ala., before becoming rector of an Episcopal Church in Pass Christian, Miss., in 1849. He moved to Rhinecliff, N.Y., in 1867-1880, with his family.
William Rutherford Savage was an Episcopal priest and missionary like his parents, Thomas Staughton and Elizabeth Rutherford Savage. He attended Episcopal High School and the Theological Seminary of Virginia in the 1860s and 1870s. Savage's first parish was on the Virginia coast where he built, with Bishop Alfred M. Randolph, the "Chapel by the Sea" at Virginia Beach. During this time, Savage began his association with the Life Saving Stations of Cape Henry, Va., and Nags Head, N.C. He also did missionary work in Tazewell County, Va., traveling from parish to parish.
In the early 1900s, Savage went to the Blowing Rock area of North Carolina under the direction of Junius Horner, Bishop of Western North Carolina. He worked at missions there, in Valle Cruces, and in Boone. Savage remained in this area until his death in 1934, except for a period from 1916 to 1918 when he was in Bloxom, Va., and Nags Head, N.C. After his retirement in 1922, he continued his missionary work in Glendale Springs, N.C.
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Scope and Content
The papers relate primarily to the personal life and clerical work of William Rutherford Savage. Correspondence is mainly with family members, lifelong friends, and clergy of the Episcopal Church. Other papers include newspaper clippings, financial and genealogical papers, and exhibition information on Thomas Casilear Cole. Among the early papers are scientific letters, 1840-1860, of William Rutherford Savage's father, Thomas Staughton Savage, concerning African species, including the troglodytes gorilla, which he discovered. There are letters between William Rutherford Savage and his parents, brothers, and sister, Jessie Duncan Savage Cole, as well as with her children, especially Thomas C. Cole. There are letters from other family members and lifelong friends, including clergy of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, North Carolina, New York, South Dakota, and elsewhere.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence and Related Papers, 1826-1953.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence of members of the Savage family and related clippings and other items. Correspondence from the 1830s and 1840s consists of letters to Thomas Staughton Savage while stationed as an Episcopal missionary at Cape Palmas, Liberia, from scientists seeking information on, and specimens of, the flora, fauna, shells, and insects of the west coast of Africa. Letters from Alexander Duncan Savage and Thomas Rutherford Savage, 1869-1870, to their parents and siblings discuss student life at the University of Virginia. There are letters, 1871-1873, to Thomas Rutherford Savage at medical school in Baltimore from his brother, Alexander Duncan Savage, in Bonn, Prussia; other family members in Rhinecliff, N.Y.; and some of Tom's friends. There is also business correspondence during this period concerning the publication of a manuscript of Thomas Staughton Savage. More business correspondence appears between 1881 and 1900, when Thomas Rutherford Savage took over the management of the family's Pass Christian, Miss., property. There are letters to other family members from Thomas Rutherford Savage concerning this property in March and April of 1885.
Correspondence, 1879-1880, relates to an inheritance dispute concerning Thomas Staugton Savage's brother, Silas. During this period, letters show that Thomas Rutherford Savage was working at the Michigan State Insane Asylum in Kalamazoo; Alexander Duncan Savage was teaching at Johns Hopkins University; Jessie Duncan Savage was in art school in New York City; and their parents were in Rhinecliff, N.Y.
In 1880, Alexander Duncan Savage was employed under General di Cesnola in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and became involved in the trial of di Cesnola, who was accused of having forgeries among his collection of Greek statues and pottery. Also in that year, Jessie Duncan Savage was employed by John LaFarge, artist and operator of a stained glass studio in New York City. When Thomas Staughton Savage died in 1880, Elizabeth Rutherford Savage moved in with Jessie and remained with her after Jessie's marriage to Thomas L. Cole, a clergyman, in 1883. The family moved to Portland, Ore., in 1889. Elizabeth later moved in with William Rutherford Savage in Virginia, then moved back to Portland in 1895 before moving in with Thomas Rutherford Savage, who was practicing medicine in New York City.
Correspondence, chiefly between William Rutherford Savage and his mother, Elizabeth Rutherford Savage, and brother Alexander Duncan Savage, about William's education at Episcopal High School, various jobs, and attendance at the Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., appears in the 1860s and 1870s. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing though the 1920s, correspondence of William Rutherford Savage concerns his missionary work. Included are many letters from clergymen, such as Bishops Alfred Magill Randolph, Junius M. Horner, Thomas Campbell Darst, Joseph Blount Cheshire, and Beverley Dandridge Tucker. Correspondence about William's work with the U.S. Life-Saving Service on the North Carolina and Virginia coasts begins in the 1880s and continues through the 1910s. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, corresponded with Savage in 1918 about Navy chaplains. From 1924 until his death, William Rutherford Savage maintained a close connection to Mission House in Glendale Springs, N.C., an interdenominational educational community with a library, machine shop, and spinning and weaving facilities.
In the 1900s, William began a close correspondence with his nephew, Thomas Casilear Cole, who attended Riverview Military Academy in Massachusetts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Thomas Casilear Cole began to make a name for himself as a portrait painter in the 1910s and designed camouflage patterns for the Navy in 1918. Their correspondence continued until William's death in 1934. Included in the papers are several program pamphlets from Cole's painting exhibitions. Some of these pamphlets are filed along with genealogical material, poems, financial papers, and clippings at the end of this series.
| Folder 1 |
1826-1841 |
| Folder 2 |
1842 |
| Folder 3 |
1843 |
| Folder 4 |
1844 |
| Folder 5 |
1845-1846 |
| Folder 6 |
1847 |
| Folder 7 |
1848 January-April |
| Folder 8 |
1848 May-December |
| Folder 9 |
1849 and undated 1840s |
| Folder 10 |
1850-1859 |
| Folder 11 |
1860-1867 |
| Folder 12 |
1869 |
| Folder 13 |
1870 January-April |
| Folder 14 |
1870 May-December |
| Folder 15 |
1871 January-September |
| Folder 16 |
1871 October-December |
| Folder 17 |
1872 |
| Folder 18 |
1873 |
| Folder 19 |
1874 |
| Folder 20 |
1875 January-June |
| Folder 21 |
1875 July-December |
| Folder 22 |
1876 January-June |
| Folder 23 |
1876 July-December |
| Folder 24 |
1877 |
| Folder 25 |
1878 |
| Folder 26 |
1879 January-February |
| Folder 27 |
1879 March-October |
| Folder 28 |
1879 November-December |
| Folder 29 |
Undated 1870s |
| Folder 30 |
1880 January-February |
| Folder 31 |
1880 March-May |
| Folder 32 |
1880 June-October |
| Folder 33 |
1880 November-December |
| Folder 34 |
1881 |
| Folder 35 |
1882 |
| Folder 36 |
1883 January-June |
| Folder 37 |
1883 July-December |
| Folder 38 |
1884 January-April |
| Folder 39 |
1884 May-December |
| Folder 40 |
1885 January-April |
| Folder 41 |
1885 May-December |
| Folder 42 |
1886 |
| Folder 43 |
1887 |
| Folder 44 |
1888 January-April |
| Folder 45 |
1888 May-December |
| Folder 46 |
1889 January-July |
| Folder 47 |
1889 August-December |
| Folder 48 |
Undated 1880s |
| Folder 49 |
1890 January-June |
| Folder 50 |
1890 July-December |
| Folder 51 |
1891 January-May |
| Folder 52 |
1891 June-December |
| Folder 53 |
1892 |
| Folder 54 |
1893 |
| Folder 55 |
1894 |
| Folder 56 |
1895 |
| Folder 57 |
1896 |
| Folder 58 |
1897 |
| Folder 59 |
1898 |
| Folder 60 |
1899 January-July |
| Folder 61 |
1899 September-December |
| Folder 62 |
1900 |
| Folder 63 |
1901 |
| Folder 64 |
1902 |
| Folder 65 |
1903 |
| Folder 66 |
1904 |
| Folder 67 |
1905 |
| Folder 68 |
1906-1907 |
| Folder 69 |
1908 |
| Folder 70 |
1909 |
| Folder 71 |
Undated 1890-1909 |
| Folder 72 |
1910 |
| Folder 73 |
1911 January-July |
| Folder 74 |
1911 August-December |
| Folder 75 |
1912 |
| Separated Folder SEP-3999/1 |
Letter from Woodrow Wilson, 21 May 1912, and a letter from John S. Mosby, 10 June 1912Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
| Folder 76 |
1913 January-March |
| Folder 77 |
1913 April-December |
| Folder 78 |
1914 |
| Folder 79 |
1915 |
| Folder 80 |
1916 |
| Folder 81 |
1917 |
| Folder 82 |
1918 January-May |
| Folder 83 |
1918 June-December |
| Folder 84 |
1919 January-April |
| Folder 85 |
1919 May-December |
| Folder 86 |
1920 |
| Folder 87 |
1921 |
| Folder 88 |
1922 January-May |
| Folder 89 |
1922 June-December |
| Folder 90 |
1923 |
| Folder 91 |
1924 |
| Folder 92 |
1925 |
| Folder 93 |
1926 |
| Folder 94 |
1927 |
| Folder 95 |
1928 |
| Folder 96 |
1929 January-April |
| Folder 97 |
1929 May-December |
| Folder 98 |
1930 January-May |
| Folder 99 |
1930 June-December |
| Folder 100 |
1931 |
| Folder 101 |
1932 |
| Folder 102 |
1933 January-July |
| Folder 103 |
1933 August-December |
| Folder 104 |
1934 January-July |
| Folder 105 |
1934 August |
| Folder 106 |
1934 September-December |
| Folder 107 |
1935-1953 |
| Folder 108 |
Undated |
| Folder 109 |
Fragments |
Folder 110-112
Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112 |
Miscellaneous |
| Folder 113 |
Clippings |
Oversize Paper OP-3999/1-2
OP-3999/1OP-3999/2 |
Oversize papers |
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Series 2. Pictures, 1825-1960s.
Photographs of members of the Savage family; snapshots of William Rutherford Savage and friends around Blowing Rock, N.C.; and postcards of Nags Head, Manteo, and Roanoke Island, N.C.
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Items Separated