Ebenezer Sage

Ebenezer Sage (August 16, 1755 – January 20, 1834) was a United States Representative from New York and a physician whose public career spanned the early decades of the American republic. He was born in that part of the town of Chatham in the Connecticut Colony that was later set off as the Town of Portland. He was a son of David Sage, who served as the first representative from Chatham to the Connecticut General Assembly from 1768 to 1775, and thus grew up in a household familiar with public affairs and legislative service.

Sage received his early education from a private tutor, reflecting the opportunities available to a family of some standing in colonial Connecticut. He went on to attend Yale College, from which he graduated in 1778 in a class that included such notable contemporaries as Joel Barlow and Noah Webster. After completing his collegiate studies, he pursued medical training, studying medicine in the years following the American Revolution. By 1784 he had commenced the practice of medicine in Easthampton, Suffolk County, New York, establishing himself as a physician on eastern Long Island.

For many years Sage maintained a medical practice in Easthampton, serving the needs of a dispersed coastal and agricultural community. Around 1801 he moved to Sag Harbor, also in Suffolk County, which was then emerging as an important whaling and maritime center. There he continued his medical career and became an established figure in local society. His professional standing and family background in public service helped prepare the way for his entry into electoral politics at the national level.

As a member of the Republican Party—then known as the Democratic-Republican Party—representing New York, Ebenezer Sage contributed to the legislative process during four terms in office. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 11th, 12th, and 13th United States Congresses, serving from March 4, 1809, to March 3, 1815. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the presidency of James Madison and the War of 1812. During these years he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents from eastern Long Island, taking part in debates and legislation that shaped the young nation during wartime and its immediate aftermath.

Sage’s congressional career also included a contested election in the postwar period. In the election for the 16th United States Congress, he initially appeared to have won the seat, in part because votes for his opponent, James Guyon, Jr., were split between ballots cast for “James Guyon, Jr.” and “James Guyon.” On this basis, credentials of election were issued to Sage by the Secretary of State of New York. However, Sage did not claim or take the seat. Guyon successfully contested the election, and on January 14, 1820, he was seated in Congress in Sage’s place, bringing the dispute to a close.

After leaving Congress, Sage resumed the practice of medicine at Sag Harbor, returning to the profession that had first established his reputation. He remained engaged in public life in New York State and was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821, which undertook significant revisions of the state’s fundamental law in the era of expanding suffrage and evolving state institutions. His participation in the convention reflected both his continued interest in public affairs and his standing among his contemporaries in New York politics.

In his personal life, Sage was married to Ruth Smith (1764–1831), the daughter of Dr. William “Bull” Smith and Ruth (née Howell) Smith of Southampton, Long Island. Through her father, Ruth Smith was a descendant of early settler Richard Smith, linking the family to some of the earliest English settlement on Long Island. Ebenezer and Ruth Sage were the parents of at least two children: Frances Mary “Fanny” Sage, who married a Dr. Lawton and settled in Mobile, Alabama, and John Smith Sage (1781–1882), who, following his father’s example, also became a physician and achieved remarkable longevity.

Ebenezer Sage died at Sag Harbor, Suffolk County, New York, on January 20, 1834, at the age of 78. He was later buried in the Old Burying Ground at Sag Harbor. His life encompassed the transition from colonial America through the Revolutionary era and into the formative decades of the United States, and his combined careers in medicine and public service reflected the civic-minded leadership characteristic of his generation.