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“REMEMBERING EDWARD AUGUSTINE SAVOY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1763 on Dec. 2, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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