Charles Roscoe Savage

Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...Charles Roscoe Savage (August 16, 1832 – February 4, 1909) was a British-born landscape and portrait photographer who produced images of the American West. He is best known for his 1869 photographs of the linking of the first transcontinental railroad..."

"...Savage was born in Southampton, England, on August 16, 1832. At age 14, he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints..."

"...Many of Savage's photographs were reproduced in Harper's Weekly newspaper, which created a national reputation for the firm..."

"...Most of Savage's archived photographs, produced by several different early photographic methods, were lost in 1883 in a disastrous studio fire..."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'Charles Roscoe Savage', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 November 2010, 12:25 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Roscoe_Savage&old...> [accessed 22 January 2011]

Resources:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db...

http://www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/savage/

From Find a Grave:

Son of John Savage and Ann Rogers.

Married Annie Fenn Adkins, 24 Jun 1856, Brooklyn, Long Island, New York.

Children - Ida May Savage, George Lewis Savage, Enos Hoge Savage, Annie Amelia Savage, Ralph Graham Savage, Roscoe Eddington Savage, Luacine Annetta Savage, Charles Stenhouse Savage, Fannie Maude Savage, Lennie Louise Savage, Ray Timothy Savage.

Married Mary Emma Fowler, 12 Oct 1876.

Married Ellen Fenn, 19 Aug 1878, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.

Children - Emma Jane Savage, Arley Fenn Savage.

Married Annie Smith, 15 Oct 1895.

History - Charles Roscoe, a prominent Elder in the Church and the father of Old Folks' Excursions, was born in Southampton, England. The circumstances surrounding him in his earliest childhood were scenes of want and poverty. His father was a gardener and occupied much of his time in trying to produce a blue dahlia, for which a great reward had been offered. He was a man of an easy temperament and unsuccessful in financial affairs. In consequence of this the education of his children was sadly neglected, and not even their natural wants were always satisfied. Bro. Savage had no recollection of ever learning to read or write as a child, but what opportunities he had later he turned to good advantage.

In his boyhood days he had indeed a hard and difficult road to travel. As soon as his physical strength allowed it, he commenced to work at most anything he could find to do in such an over-populated country as England. He found the world cold and heartless and could not remember any patrons and friends who ever interested themselves in his welfare. Whatever he enjoyed in his boyhood days he earned by his own hard labor. By this he was able to sustain himself and after awhile also to assist in procuring a livelihood for his younger brothers and sisters.

His early experience, hard as it was, taught him an important lesson, namely, always to depend upon himself and never to expect success through kind services or interest of others. Amidst all his hardships he was constantly buoyed up by some sort of inspirational and hopeful feeling which seemed to point forward to a better future. He found, however, in early life that mere labor of the muscles could not procure a decent living, but that it needed the conjoint action of the head and brain.

When about fifteen years of age, he first heard the voice of a "Mormon" Elder (Thomas B. H. Stenhouse), whose teachings and instructions made a deep and lasting impression upon his mind. The doctrines he taught seemed to be the very things his nature needed. He had previously visited several of the sects of the day, but they all seemed deficient in their elements to fit his spiritual wants. The acceptance of the "new hope" and the faith of the Latter-day Saints changed his entire being and feelings. Life now seemed to have something in it to live for, and through his new acquaintances he soon got employment in the stationary store of Elder Wm. Eddington in Portsmouth. He was baptized May 21, 1848, by John Lewis. Afterwards he was ordained to the ministry and in the fall of 1852 sent on a mission to Switzerland, where he stayed until the summer of 1855. In that country he did a vast amount of traveling on foot and acquired a good knowledge of the French language, as well as a smattering of German. He was also imprisoned in the city of Zurich for three days, in company with Elder Wm. Budge. After his return to England in 1855, he traveled as a missionary in the Derbyshire conference, in company with Elder Israel Evans.

On the 11th of December, 1855, he was appointed interpreter for a company of Italian and Swiss saints and crossed the Atlantic in the ship "John J. Boyd," which sailed from Liverpool, England, Dec. 12, 1856, and arrived in New York Feb. 15, 1857. A number of passengers died during the voyage. After his arrival in New York Elder Savage was appointed to assist in the transfer of other emigrant companies at Castle Gardens. He worked at Samuel Booth's printing office in New York for nearly two years. In that city he married Annie Adkins (daughter of Robert Adkins of London and Annie Fenn of Leighton, Bedfordshire, England), who was born Feb. 6, 1836, in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England.

Charles Savage passed through the incidents of the panic of 1857 and took charge of the New York branch choir during the lively times in New York when the saints rented large halls and had crowded meetings. It was during his residence in New York that he concluded to adopt photography as a vocation, having got some incentive by watching the efforts of Thos. B. H. Stenhouse, who had a camera and took some views and who, it is said, brought from England the first stereoscope camera ever seen in America.

Elder Savage was sent on special business to Florence, Neb., in 1859, by George Q. Cannon, upon which occasion he left his wife and child in New York. In Florence, Neb., he made his first start in the photograph business, having for a background an old grey blanket, and for a dark room, a tea chest. In 1859 he managed to get a wagon and a yoke of cattle and, through a combination of successful moves, was enabled to leave Council Bluffs in June, 1860, and crossed the plains in Captain Brown's company, and arrived in Salt Lake City Aug. 27, 1860. Soon after his arrival he joined Marsena Cannon and opened a photograph business in the upper part of a house located on Main Street, in Salt Lake City, next to the old Salt Lake House. He was always foremost in the introduction of every new device pertaining to photography. In the interest of his business, which grew rapidly, he traveled extensively over the whole Rocky Mountain country, making views of nearly every object of interest for all the railroads in the West, being in many localities the pioneer in that line of work. He won the first prizes on his exhibits in photography at the World's Expositions in Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Portland and other places.

In 1866 he visited the States, going by way of California and returning in Capt. Thos. E. Hicks' company. In early Utah days Bro. Savage distinguished himself as a military man and served for a number of years as lieutenant and afterwards as captain in a company of the first battalion, third regiment of infantry of the Nauvoo Legion.

In 1870 (Nov. 21st), together with seven others, he was arrested and imprisoned at Camp Douglas for having turned out to a harmless muster of the Nauvoo Legion in violation of Governor Schaffer's proclamation forbidding the assembling of troops in Utah. He and his fellow-prisoners were released on bail two days later and subsequently discharged. This affair is known in history as the Wooden Gun Rebellion.

In 1870 Bro. Savage accompanied President Brigham Young and others on an exploring expedition through the upper Rio Virgin country, including what is now known as Little Zion Canyon.

At a meeting held at President Brigham Young's office in Salt Lake City May 9, 1873, Bro. Savage was ordained a High Priest and set apart to act as a member of the High Council of the Salt Lake Stake; he occupied that position until the summer of 1874.

In 1875, together with Elder Geo. Goddard and others, he originated the idea of treating the Old Folks to a summer excursion, an undertaking which has been repeated annually ever since and has become more popular and successful every year. For many years he labored as a home missionary in the Salt Lake Stake and also delivered a number of interesting lectures on Utah and its scenic beauties, illustrated by many photographic views, and contributed a number of valuable letters to the "Deseret News" upon the same subject. He also contributed many articles on various subjects to the local magazines.

In 1861 he became a member of the Tabernacle choir and continued his labors in that organization with great fidelity until his death. In 1883 (June 21st) by a disastrous fire, which destroyed his place of business on East Temple Street, Salt Lake City, he lost nearly his entire stock of negatives, which portrayed the growth of Salt Lake City and other places—a loss that never can be replaced.

Utah Death Certificate

Salt Lake City Cemetery Map

Family links:

Spouses:

 Annie Fenn Adkins Savage (1836 - 1893)

 Annie Smith Savage (1847 - 1920)*

 Mary Emma Fowler Savage (1851 - 1881)*

 Ellen Fenn Savage (1843 - 1925)*

Children:

 Charles Stenhouse Savage (1857 - 1857)*

 Roscoe Eddington Savage (1858 - 1945)*

 Ralph Graham Savage (1860 - 1928)*

 Annie Amelia Savage Richardson (1862 - 1955)*

 George Lewis Savage (1865 - 1936)*

 Fannie Maude Savage Brother (1867 - 1929)*

 Enos Hoge Savage (1870 - 1871)*

 Ida May Savage (1874 - 1918)*

 Lennie Louise Savage Riter (1876 - 1965)*

 Ray Thomas Savage (1878 - 1968)*

 Arley Fenn Savage (1879 - 1969)*

 Emma Savage Jensen (1882 - 1979)*

Burial: Salt Lake City Cemetery Salt Lake City Salt Lake County Utah, USA Plot: H-4-14

• Immigration: 1860
• Residence: Southampton, Hampshire, England
• Residence: 1900 - ED 40 Precinct 39 Salt Lake City Ward 4, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Oct 27 2017, 3:59:14 UTC