Joseph J. Slocum Explained

Joseph Jermain Slocum (June 1833 – October 2, 1924) was an American colonel and businessman.^[1]

Early life

Slocum was born in June 1833 in Syracuse, New York. He was a son of Joseph Slocum (1795–1863), one of the pioneer settlers of Syracuse (he was originally from Rensselaer County, New York), and Margaret Pierson (Germain Slocum (1804–1891).^[2] His sister, Margaret Olivia Slocum, was the wife of Russell Sage (from whom she inherited his entire $70 million fortune following his 1906 death). After the Panic of 1837 and the decline of canal traffic following construction of railroads across the state, her father's businesses and warehouses began to fail.^[3]

His maternal grandfather was Maj. John Jermain, who served in the Westchester Militia during the American Revolution.^[4]

Career

Slocum served "with honor" in the Civil War,^[5] and afterward resigned from the Union Army 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.^[6] He served as director of the Metropolitan Trust Company until his death.^{[7] [8]}

He was a member of the Union League Club and Metropolitan Club, the Military Order of Loyal Legion, Society of Colonial Wars and Society of Mayflower Descendants.

Personal life

On June 8, 1854, Slocum was married to Sallie S. L'Hommedieu (1833–1895) in Hamilton County, Ohio. 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 (1855–1928), who married Florence Allington Brandreth (1856–1910), a daughter of Benjamin Brandreth, in 1883.^[9] After her death in an automobile accident,^{[10] [11]} Mary Eliza (Ricketson) Carr (1863–1952),^[12] a daughter of John Howland Ricketson.^{[13] [14]}
• Stephen L'Hommedieu Slocum (1859–1933), who married Luna Garrison (1864–1928),^[15] a daughter of Daniel Garrison of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.^{[16] [17]}
• Margaret Oliva "Daisy" Slocum (1870–1946),^[18] who married Sherman Flint (1869–1954),^[19] son of Dr. Austin Flint, in 1899.^[20]

Following his sister's death in 1918,^[21] he received a bequest of $8,000,000.^[22] Joseph and both of his sons were executors of Sage's estate along with the attornets, DeForest Brothers, who were Robert W. DeForest and Henry deForest.^[23]

His wife Sallie died in September 1895 in New York City. Slocum died on October 2, 1924, at 791 Madison Avenue, his home in Manhattan where he lived with his daughter and son-in-law.^[24] 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.^[25]

Descendants

Through his son Herbert,^[26] he was a grandfather of Myles Standish Slocum (1887–1956)^[27] and Herbert Jermain Slocum Jr. (1886–1948)^[28] and the great-grandfather of John Jermain Slocum (1914–1997), a diplomat who "gathered what is considered the world's foremost Joyce collection";^[29] he married Eileen Sherman Gillespie, a granddaughter of William Watts Sherman,^[30] who had briefly been engaged to John Jacob Astor VI.^[31]

Notes and References

1. Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, N.Y. Friday 3 Oct 1924
2. Book: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register . 1924 . New England Historic Genealogical Society . 210 . 27 October 2021 . en.
3. Book: Crocker . Ruth . Mrs. Russell Sage: Women's Activism and Philanthropy in Gilded Age and Progressive Era America . 1 November 2006 . . 978-0-253-11205-7 . 27 October 2021 . en.
4. Book: American Ancestry: Embracing lineages from the whole of the United States. 1888[-1898. Ed. by Frank Munsell |date=1892 |publisher=J. Munsell's Sons |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pr0UAAAAYAAJ |access-date=27 October 2021 |language=en].
5. Book: Holder . Charles Frederick . The Quakers in Great Britain and America: The Religious and Political History of the Society of Friends from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century . 1913 . Neuner Company . 338 . 27 October 2021 . en.
6. Book: Commissioners . New York (State) Board of Railroad . Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York for the Fiscal Year Ending ... . 1907 . Weed, Parsons and Company . 464 . 27 October 2021 . en.
7. News: Metropolitan Trust Company of the City of New York . 27 October 2021 . . 25 May 1910 . 14.
8. News: In The Equitable Building . 27 October 2021 . . 9 Dec 1921 . 10 . en.
9. News: MARRIAGES YESTERDAY.; DESCRIPTION OF THE BRIDGES' DRESSES AND NAMES OF THE GUESTS. . 27 October 2021 . . 13 April 1883.
10. News: Times . Special to The New York . GEN. BELL INJURED; MAJOR'S WIFE DEAD; Car Hits Auto, Killing Mrs. Slocum and Breaking Rib of Chief of Staff. HIS 'HURTS NOT DANGEROUS. Major Slocum Is a Nephew of Mrs. Russell Sage, Who Will Hurry East from Pasadena,. . 27 October 2021 . . 24 March 1910.
11. News: Times . Special to The New York . MRS. SAGE STARTS EAST.; Will Be Kept Ignorant of Mrs. Slocum's Death Until Journey Ends. . 27 October 2021 . . 26 March 1910.
12. News: SLOCUM . 27 October 2021 . . 16 June 1952 . 21.
13. News: Colonel H.J. Slocum, Pursuer Of Villa, Dies. Army Officer Who Directed First Hunt for Mexican Bandit in 1916. Was 72 . . March 30, 1928 . 2014-08-20 .
14. News: COLONEL SLOCUM EXONERATED. . 27 October 2021 . . 2 August 1916.
15. News: Mrs. Stephen L'H Slocum . 27 October 2021 . . 17 February 1928.
16. News: TIMES . Special to THE NEW YORK . LIEUT. COL, SLOCUM DIES AT AGE OF 74; U. S. Military Attache at the London Embassy in Days of World War. INDIAN FIGHTER IN WEST Commanded Troop Which Sur- rounded-Sitting Bull's Forces When Chief Was Slain. . 27 October 2021 . . 15 December 1933.
17. News: ENDS LIFE IN HOTEL WHILE FATHER SLEPT; Daniel E. Garrison, Jr., of St. Louis Found Dead in His Room at Waldorf by His Young Son. . 27 October 2021 . . 3 September 1911.
18. News: Deaths -- FLINT . 27 October 2021 . . 5 August 1946.
19. News: SHERMAN FLINT . 27 October 2021 . . 8 December 1954 . 55.
20. MARRIED . The United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces . February 18, 1899 . 593 . 27 October 2021 . Army and Navy Journal Incorporated . en.
21. News: MRS. RUSSELL SAGE DIES AT HER HOME; Nurse Found Her Sinking, and Death Followed Early This Morning. WAS 90 YEARS OF AGE Had Long Been in Feeble Health-- One of the World's Wealthiest Women. . 27 October 2021 . . 4 November 1918.
22. News: MRS. SAGE LEAVES MILLIONS TO CHARITY; About $40,000,000 of $50,000,000 Estate Goes to Philanthropy and Education. BROTHER GETS $8,000,000 Gifts During Life to be Deducted from Legacies--Requests Memorials to Husband. $8,000,000 to Brother. Modifying Clause in Will Memorial to Her Husband. . 27 October 2021 . . 14 November 1918.
23. News: SAGE ESTATE AUCTION.; Valuable Properties to Go to the Highest Bidder on Jan. 20. . 27 October 2021 . . 4 January 1920.
24. News: COL. J. J. SLOCUM DIES AT 91 YEARS; Brother of Late Mrs. Russell Sage, Who Left Him. S8,000,000, a Civil War Veteran. . 27 October 2021 . . 3 October 1924.
25. News: Former Russell Sage Houses On 65th St. Sold to Builder . 27 October 2021 . . 15 June 1928.
26. News: COL. SLOCUM WILLED $3,000,000 TO FAMILY; Widow and Two Sons of Retired Colonel to Receive About $1,000,000 Each. ANNUITIES FOR SIX FRIENDS Testator Was Nephew of Mrs. Russell Sage and Inherited a Fortune From His Father. . 27 October 2021 . . 8 April 1928.
27. News: Times . Special to The New York . MYLES S. SLOCUM, 68, COLLECTOR OF BOOKS . 27 October 2021 . . 9 June 1956.
28. News: HERBERT J. SLOCUM . 27 October 2021 . . 3 February 1948.
29. News: Saxon . Wolfgang . John J. Slocum, 83, Diplomat And Connoisseur of Literature . 27 October 2021 . . 1 September 1997.
30. News: Hill . Ira L. . Miss Eileen S. S. Gillespie is Betrothed To John J. Slocum, Graduate of Harvard . 27 October 2021 . . 14 November 1940.
31. News: EILEEN GILLESPIE NOT TO WED ASTOR; Canceling of Engagement !s Announced by Her Parents, the L. L. Gi!!espies. . 27 October 2021 . . 22 January 1934.