William H. Savage

Candidate Biography:

William Henry Savage
Born: March 15, 1840 in Limerick County, Ireland
Married: Mary A. White (m. 1865, d. 1907) Catherine Hartnett (m. 1908, d. 1925)
Children: Ellen G., Kathrine A., Margaret C., Martha F., Clara G., Mary J., and Robert H.
Military Service: USMC (Civil War), ARMY (Civil War, Indian Wars)
Died: May 25, 1930 in San Pedro, CA

1868-1869: Mail Carrier (Tucson, AZ to Mesilla, NM), U.S. Post Office Department
1875-1880: Justice of the Peace, Wilmington Township [Arizona]
1881: Member, Arizona Territorial Legislature [state legislature]
1883: Member, Arizona State Legislature
1884: City Attorney, City of Tombstone [Arizona]
1885-1889: District Attorney, Cochise County [Arizona]
1889: City Attorney, City of San Pedro
1889: Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles County
1890-1900: Member, San Pedro City Council

• Prisoner of War (POW) for three months beginning with the sinking of his ship (the USS Mississippi) on March 14, 1863.
• Although he was not a Pony Express rider (that service existed only between April 1860 and October 1861), Savage did carry mail on horseback in the 1860s.
• Author of the legislation requiring the display of an American flag in every classroom in California.
• Be Fruitful and Multiply: Savage had seven children.
• According to his obituary, Savage was the oldest U.S. Marine at the time of his death.
• His second wife, Catherine A. Hartnett, was 42 years younger than the Senator.

Source: California Blue Book (1903)
Source: California Blue Book (1907)
Source: California Blue Book (1909)
Source: "SENATOR SAVAGE WEDS WOMAN YEARS YOUNGER," San Francisco Call, Volume 104, Number 40, 10 July 1908
Source: "Oldest United States Marine Dies in San Pedro at Age of 93," San Bernardino County Sun (27 May 1930, p. 3)