Each month our resident Historian, Richard Donohue will feature one of the families that are buried here in Hillside Cemetery. This month's history lesson is about the Sage family.
The Edmund Sage Family Obelisk
Edmund Sage was the oldest son of Deacon Rufus and Jerusha Sage, born on July 3, 1804. On October 7, 1824, he married Elizabeth “Betsy” Williams of Middletown and they had a son, George Lewis who only lived for a few months. Unfortunately, Betsy did not live much longer, passing away in March of 1828. The following year, Edmund remarried to Rhoda Merwin. The memory of his first wife was not at all lost however, and the couple named their first child Elizabeth Williams Sage in her honor in 1830. Over the next decade, Edmund and Rhoda would have four more children: Frances Merwin in 1832, Martha Marrieta in 1834 – named for Edmund’s recently deceased sister, Charles Edmund in 1838, and Henry Lewis in 1841.
A strange affair occurred in the late 1850’s when eighteen year old Charles Edmund Sage was believed to have been murdered. An altercation took place between Charles and the nine year old daughter of Patrick Nugent, an Irish laborer working on the family’s farm. The incident allegedly involved an argument during which Charles threw the girl and eventually her mother to the ground. Upon arriving at the scene, Nugent threatened legal action and ultimately, Charles’ life. The next morning, Charles was nowhere to be found. In the coming days, a body was found in the Connecticut River and was assumed to be that of Charles Sage. His father offered a reward of $300 for information leading to the solution of the crime. A vagabond known as Benson the Sailor came forward and claimed to have witnessed Patrick Nugent commit the murder. Nugent was arrested and sent to a prison in Haddam. During the months that followed, Nugent’s trial took place while rumors grew that Charles had not been murdered but had simply run away. Nearly one year after Charles’ disappearance, his cousin in New York received a strange note from Pennsylvania signed by a William Russell. Suspicious of the letter’s origin, Charles ‘uncle travelled to Pennsivania and discovered that William Russell was none other than his nephew. Charles returned to Cromwell claiming that fearing for his life and prosecution, he ran away to Pennsylvania where he spent a year working on a farm under an assumed name. The charges against Nugent were dropped and Edmund paid him $200 for his troubles. Benson the Sailor was arrested, charged with perjury, and spent the rest of his life in a prison in Hartford.
Edmund’s youngest brother Rufus was born on Saint Patrick’s Day 1817. Early in his life, he developed an interest in writing and in his teenage years began writing for a local newspaper. When he was twenty years old, he ventured to Washington City, Ohio where he took a job as a teacher and writer for the Marietta Gazette. In 1838, he traveled to Louisiana where he witnessed the atrocities of American slavery. When he returned to Ohio, he took up the cause of abolition and began writing and speaking on the subject. In 1840, Rufus ventured into the unknown and formed an expedition to explore the Western territory. The expedition eventually joined up with a group of Indian fur traders with which Sage spent the next four years. In 1845, he returned to the Middletown Upper Houses to write the recollections of his Western adventure – later published as Scenes in the Rocky Mountains – and his then sick and elderly mother persuaded him to give up his wanderings and settle down.
On December 1, 1847, Rufus married Marietta M. Miller of Middletown and they would have five children: Winet, Theson, Stedworth, Emmeda, named for Marietta’s mother, and Lonnie who lived but three years. In 1850, Rufus built a home in what was then known as “the plains” – on today’s Gere Street - and established a farm that he would work for the rest of his life. When the movement began to separate the Upper Houses from Middletown, Rufus was among the first key players. He was a vocal admirer of Oliver Cromwell and is one of three possible originators of the name for the town. Rufus died on December 23, 1893 and was followed by Marietta seven years later.
Edmund Sage was the oldest son of Deacon Rufus and Jerusha Sage, born on July 3, 1804. On October 7, 1824, he married Elizabeth “Betsy” Williams of Middletown and they had a son, George Lewis who only lived for a few months. Unfortunately, Betsy did not live much longer, passing away in March of 1828. The following year, Edmund remarried to Rhoda Merwin. The memory of his first wife was not at all lost however, and the couple named their first child Elizabeth Williams Sage in her honor in 1830. Over the next decade, Edmund and Rhoda would have four more children: Frances Merwin in 1832, Martha Marrieta in 1834 – named for Edmund’s recently deceased sister, Charles Edmund in 1838, and Henry Lewis in 1841.
A strange affair occurred in the late 1850’s when eighteen year old Charles Edmund Sage was believed to have been murdered. An altercation took place between Charles and the nine year old daughter of Patrick Nugent, an Irish laborer working on the family’s farm. The incident allegedly involved an argument during which Charles threw the girl and eventually her mother to the ground. Upon arriving at the scene, Nugent threatened legal action and ultimately, Charles’ life. The next morning, Charles was nowhere to be found. In the coming days, a body was found in the Connecticut River and was assumed to be that of Charles Sage. His father offered a reward of $300 for information leading to the solution of the crime. A vagabond known as Benson the Sailor came forward and claimed to have witnessed Patrick Nugent commit the murder. Nugent was arrested and sent to a prison in Haddam. During the months that followed, Nugent’s trial took place while rumors grew that Charles had not been murdered but had simply run away. Nearly one year after Charles’ disappearance, his cousin in New York received a strange note from Pennsylvania signed by a William Russell. Suspicious of the letter’s origin, Charles ‘uncle travelled to Pennsivania and discovered that William Russell was none other than his nephew. Charles returned to Cromwell claiming that fearing for his life and prosecution, he ran away to Pennsylvania where he spent a year working on a farm under an assumed name. The charges against Nugent were dropped and Edmund paid him $200 for his troubles. Benson the Sailor was arrested, charged with perjury, and spent the rest of his life in a prison in Hartford.
Edmund’s youngest brother Rufus was born on Saint Patrick’s Day 1817. Early in his life, he developed an interest in writing and in his teenage years began writing for a local newspaper. When he was twenty years old, he ventured to Washington City, Ohio where he took a job as a teacher and writer for the Marietta Gazette. In 1838, he traveled to Louisiana where he witnessed the atrocities of American slavery. When he returned to Ohio, he took up the cause of abolition and began writing and speaking on the subject. In 1840, Rufus ventured into the unknown and formed an expedition to explore the Western territory. The expedition eventually joined up with a group of Indian fur traders with which Sage spent the next four years. In 1845, he returned to the Middletown Upper Houses to write the recollections of his Western adventure – later published as Scenes in the Rocky Mountains – and his then sick and elderly mother persuaded him to give up his wanderings and settle down.
On December 1, 1847, Rufus married Marietta M. Miller of Middletown and they would have five children: Winet, Theson, Stedworth, Emmeda, named for Marietta’s mother, and Lonnie who lived but three years. In 1850, Rufus built a home in what was then known as “the plains” – on today’s Gere Street - and established a farm that he would work for the rest of his life. When the movement began to separate the Upper Houses from Middletown, Rufus was among the first key players. He was a vocal admirer of Oliver Cromwell and is one of three possible originators of the name for the town. Rufus died on December 23, 1893 and was followed by Marietta seven years later.