I've mentioned my fondness for happenstance before, but I must tell you again that I get pretty excited when I stumble upon an answer! Today, I was browsing through Alumni News from 1969 and there on the front page of the February issue was Mystery Image #10! The photo pictures the Henry Sage Estate or "Fernbrook" located in Menands, NY. The estate was bequeathed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by Cornelia Cogswell Sage, widow of Henry M. Sage. She retained use of the property until her death in 1972. The estate was costly to maintain so the Institute sold the property in 1973. The mansion house became the headquarters of Albany International Corp. Much of the estate property was developed into upscale residences in the late 1980s.
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The story of Sage is interesting. I learned this from a friend who was a professor at Russell Sage for a long time.
Russell Sage was a mysogynist and believed in no rights or benefits for women. When he died, he left his estate to his wife who founded Russell Sage College and gave significant amounts of money to other colleges and Universities in his name all the while promoting women's interests
In reply to by egglel
Howard, I don't think Henry M. Sage and Russell Sage were related. Henry M. Sage is the grandson of Henry W. Sage who was born in Middletown, CT in 1814. Russell Sage was born in Verona, NY in 1816.
There are various stories about Russell Sage's view of women and his relationship with his second wife, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage. I've yet to see a primary source that verifies these views. Russell Sage was a trustee of Rensselaer for many years. RPI was one of the institutions that benefited from his estate and his wife's philanthropy. <a href="http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Archives/gallery/sage_annivers…; rel="nofollow">In 1907, she gave one million dollars to the Institute.</a>
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