American historian (1890–1981)
William Sherman Savage (March 7, 1890 – May 23, 1981), generally known as W. Sherman Savage , was an American historian, professor of history at
Lincoln University in
Missouri , and author of Blacks in the
West , a foundational survey of the subject. A specialist in
African American history , he also taught at
Jarvis Christian College in
Texas and
California State College, Los Angeles . Savage was the first African American to graduate from the
University of Oregon or receive a doctorate from
Ohio State University .
Early life and education
Born into a family of farmers in
Wattsville on the
Eastern Shore of Virginia on March 7, 1890, Savage left school at age 11 to help his family on the farm. At age 17, he completed his elementary education at
Virginia Union College in
Richmond, Virginia , and earned his high school diploma from
Morgan College in
Baltimore ,
Maryland . He earned his AB degree from
Howard University in 1917, his MA degree in history from the
University of Oregon in 1926, and his PhD in history from
Ohio State University in 1934.
[1]
Savage was the first African American to graduate from the University of Oregon and the first to earn a doctorate from Ohio State. He initially attended the
University of Kansas for two summers, and the only reason he transferred was because Oregon charged only six dollars a quarter for tuition. As the only Black person attending the University of Oregon or living in the city of
Eugene , he faced racial discrimination and struggled to find a landlord who would rent to an African American. Savage wrote his master's thesis on the topic of "Abolitionist Literature in the Mails, 1830–1836"
[2] and rewrote his dissertation into a monograph entitled The Controversy over the Distribution of Abolition Literature, 1830–1860 , published in 1938.
[1]
[3]
Academic career
After teaching high school in
North Carolina ,
Mississippi , and
Oklahoma , Savage joined the faculty of
Lincoln University in
Missouri in 1921. He taught at Lincoln for thirty-nine years, taking leaves of absence as necessary to complete his postgraduate education. By the 1930s, he had become interested in the history of African Americans in the western United States, publishing a dozen scholarly articles on the
Buffalo Soldiers and Black pioneers and educators in the West, primarily in African American history journals such as
The Journal of Negro History , the
Negro History Bulletin , and the
Journal of Negro Education . In 1976,
Greenwood Press published his book Blacks in the West , a foundational survey of Black influence on the Old West.
[3]
[1] Reviewers praised the book as an important synthesis—a "lasting contribution to readers' understanding of racial and regional history," as one reviewer put it—though some voiced a desire for deeper analysis.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
After retiring from Lincoln University in 1960, Savage moved to
Hawkins ,
Texas , where he chaired the history and social sciences department at
Jarvis Christian College . From 1966 to 1970, he held an appointment as a visiting professor of history at
California State College, Los Angeles , and concluded his career as a researcher at the
Huntington Library
[3]
[1] alongside his friend and fellow historian of the American West
Ray Allen Billington .
[8]
Personal life and death
Savage wed
Roena Muckelroy Savage , a choir director and professor of voice, in 1927. They had daughters Eloise (born 1936) and Inez (born 1939).
[1]
He died in Los Angeles on May 23, 1981, at the age of 91.
[3]
[1] The Huntington Library holds his papers, spanning approximately 1950 to 1981.
[9]
Publications
Books
Articles
Savage, W. Sherman (1963).
"George Washington of Centralia Washington" . Negro History Bulletin . 27 (2): 44–47.
ISSN
0028-2529 .
JSTOR
44175463 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1962).
"The Negro in Politics Kansas and Iowa" .
Negro History Bulletin . 25 (5): 110–113.
ISSN
0028-2529 .
JSTOR
44215698 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1958).
"The Negro Pioneer in the State of Washington" . Negro History Bulletin . 21 (4): 93–95.
ISSN
0028-2529 .
JSTOR
44213178 .
Savage, W. S. (1953).
"The Influence of William Alexander Leidesdorff on the History of California" .
The Journal of Negro History . 38 (3): 322–332.
doi :
10.2307/2715738 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2715738 .
S2CID
150288502 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1951).
"The Role of Negro Soldiers in Protecting the Indian Territory From Intruders" . The Journal of Negro History . 36 (1): 25–34.
doi :
10.2307/2715775 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2715775 .
S2CID
150192435 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1946).
"Early Negro Education in the Pacific Coast States" .
The Journal of Negro Education . 15 (2): 134–139.
doi :
10.2307/2965951 .
ISSN
0022-2984 .
JSTOR
2965951 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1945).
"The Negro on the Mining Frontier" .
The Journal of Negro History . 30 (1): 30–46.
doi :
10.2307/2715267 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2715267 .
S2CID
150042748 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1943).
"The Contest Over Slavery Between Illinois and Missouri" . The Journal of Negro History . 28 (3): 311–325.
doi :
10.2307/2714911 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2714911 .
S2CID
149481588 .
Chavis, John; Lane, Lunsford; Savage, W. Sherman (1940).
"The Influence of John Chavis and Lunsford Lane on the History of North Carolina" . The Journal of Negro History . 25 (1): 14–24.
doi :
10.2307/2714398 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2714398 .
S2CID
149664573 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1940).
"The Negro in the Westward Movement" . The Journal of Negro History . 25 (4): 531–539.
doi :
10.2307/2715141 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2715141 .
S2CID
150149222 – via
JSTOR .
Savage, W. Sherman (1937).
"Legal Provisions for Negro Schools in Missouri from 1890 to 1935" . The Journal of Negro History . 22 (3): 335–344.
doi :
10.2307/2714512 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2714512 .
S2CID
149836489 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1928).
"Abolitionist Literature in the Mails, 1835–1836" . The Journal of Negro History . 13 (2): 150–184.
doi :
10.2307/2713960 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2713960 .
S2CID
149536150 .
Savage, W. Sherman (1928).
"The Negro in the History of the Pacific Northwest" . The Journal of Negro History . 13 (3): 255–264.
doi :
10.2307/2713979 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2713979 .
S2CID
149861615 .
References
^
a
b
c
d
e
f Greene, Lorenzo J. (April 1981).
"W. Sherman Savage" .
The Journal of Negro History . 66 (1): 80–84.
doi :
10.1086/JNHv66n1p80 .
ISSN
0022-2992 .
JSTOR
2716892 .
S2CID
149607641 .
^ Slater, Robert Bruce (1996).
"The First Black Graduates of the Nation's 50 Flagship State Universities" . The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (13): 83.
doi :
10.2307/2963173 .
ISSN
1077-3711 .
JSTOR
2963173 .
^
a
b
c
d Mohr, James (2007-03-07).
"W. Sherman Savage (1890-1981)" .
BlackPast.org .
Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28 .
^ Leckie, William H. (1978).
"Review of Blacks in the West" .
The Journal of American History . 65 (1): 182.
doi :
10.2307/1888209 .
ISSN
0021-8723 .
JSTOR
1888209 .
^ Barr, Alwyn (1978).
"Review of Blacks in the West" .
The Western Historical Quarterly . 9 (1): 59.
doi :
10.2307/966893 .
ISSN
0043-3810 .
JSTOR
966893 .
S2CID
162992611 .
^ Smith, Robert E. (1978).
"Review of Blacks in the West" .
The Historian . 41 (1): 168–169.
ISSN
0018-2370 .
JSTOR
24444499 .
^ Luckingham, Brad (1977).
"Review of BLACKS IN THE WEST" .
The Journal of Arizona History . 18 (2): 226–227.
ISSN
0021-9053 .
JSTOR
42678060 .
^ O’Neal, Jennifer; Bigalke, Zach (February 4, 2015).
"Untold Stories: Black History at the University of Oregon |" . University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives .
Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28 .
^
"W. Sherman Savage Collection: Finding Aid" .
Huntington Library . 1998.
Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28 .
External links