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Anson Stager (April 20, 1825 - March 26, 1885) was the co-founder of
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...
, the first president of Western Electric Manufacturing Company and a Union Army officer, where he was head of the Military Telegraph Department during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.


Biography

He was born in
Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state. Ontario County is pa ...
. At age sixteen, Stager began working as an apprentice on the ''Rochester Daily Advertiser'' for a printer and
telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
builder named Henry O'Reilly of Rochester, New York. After the latter had a telegraph line constructed from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
to
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
he placed Stager in operator positions in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and then at age 21 he was put in charge of the first Lancaster,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, office in 1846. In the spring of 1848, he was made chief operator of the "National lines" at
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, where he made several improvements in battery and wire arrangement. In 1852 Stager was promoted to superintendent, and also served as the first general superintendent of Western Union Company, newly consolidated in 1856. After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Stager was requested by Ohio governor William Dennison, Jr. to manage the telegraphs in southern Ohio and along the Virginia Line. Stager obliged and immediately prepared a
cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
by which he could securely communicate with those who had the key (notably the governors of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
and
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
). In October he was called to Washington and appointed head of the Military Telegraph Department, which oversaw government telegraphs in all departments. He remained in service until 1866, continuing to lead the department as civilian until September 1868; and was made a brevet brigadier general of volunteers for his war service. In 1869 Stager moved to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois, where he served as president of
Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...
. He was also president of the Chicago Telephone Company and president of the Western Edison Company, and secured a consolidation of the two. Anson Stager died in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, on March 26, 1885, and was survived by three daughters. His daughter
Ellen Stager Ellen Butler, Marchioness of Ormonde (née Ellen Sprague Stager; 26 May 1865 – 17 June 1951) was an American heiress and British peeress who was the daughter of General Anson Stager. In 1887 she married Lord Arthur Butler, younger brother of ...
would marry Arthur Butler, 4th Marquess of Ormonde in 1887 and had four children.


See also

* List of American Civil War brevet generals * Stager, Michigan


References


Further reading

*Robert Luther Thompson, Wiring A Continent, The History of the Telegraph Industry in the United States, Princeton University Press, 1947


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stager, Anson 1825 births 1885 deaths People from Ontario County, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union army colonels Telegraphists Western Union people