[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 169 (Monday, December 2, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING EDWARD AUGUSTINE SAVOY

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 2, 2013

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in remembering Edward Augustine Savoy, a 
freeman of color who held one of the highest government positions 
possible for an African American at the time, Chief Messenger to the 
Secretary of State, on the 70th anniversary of his death.
  Edward Augustine Savoy was a third-generation Washingtonian born to a 
father who was a former slave and a mother who was a teacher in 
Northwest Washington, D.C. in 1855. Edward Savoy's illustrious career 
spanned 64 years, during which he worked for 21 Secretaries of State. 
Through 14 presidencies he played a significant role in many of the 
historic events in our nation. Even though Edward Savoy never ascended 
higher than Chief Messenger to the State Department because of the 
color of his skin, Edward Savoy still managed to become a great public 
servant, and was well known and respected by politicians, dignitaries, 
and international emissaries alike.
  Edward Savoy began his career at the young age of 14 as page for the 
State Department in 1869, serving Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. In 
a time that was especially difficult for African Americans, Edward 
Savoy had a remarkable career as a public servant. Edward Savoy's 
intelligence, tactfulness, and remarkable memory allowed him to become 
a trusted employee inside the State Department, privy to confidential 
information, such as coming wars, yet never violated the trust placed 
in him.
  In 1914, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan recommended Mr. 
Savoy for promotion and President Woodrow Wilson authorized this 
promotion in an executive order. President Herbert Hoover's Vice 
President, Charles Curtis, and two Secretaries of State, Frank Billings 
Kellogg and Henry Lewis Stimson, intervened to extend his federal 
service past mandatory retirement age. Secretary Stimson called the 
native Washingtonian ``indispensable.'' In 1931, a bill was introduced 
by Congressman Hamilton Fish III of New York asking Congress to extend 
the employment of Edward Augustine Savoy ``indefinitely despite his 
years.'' This would have been the third extension of his retirement. 
Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson retained Mr. Savoy as a personal 
assistant, paying his wages from his own paycheck. In 1933, at the age 
of 77, Edward Augustine Savoy retired under Secretary of State Cordell 
Hull, after 64 years of uninterrupted federal service in the State 
Department, unheard of even in today's time.

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