James Savage (1784–1873) was an American banker and author. He was one of the founding fathers of Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston established in 1816 as the first chartered savings bank in the United States. James was also well known for his research as an antiquary and as author of A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. He was instrumental in helping his son-in-law, William Barton Rogers, establish MIT and helping his cousin, Frederic Tudor, establish the ice trade in the West Indies, among many other ventures. Early years James Savage was born on Winter Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 13, 1784, as the ninth child of father Habijah "Thomas" Savage Jr. (April 27, 1741 - November 22, 1806), a merchant, and mother Elizabeth Tudor (March 31, 1745- February 2, 1787). He was a fifth generation of the descendant of one of the first Pilgrims, Major Thomas Savage, who came to Massachusetts from England in 1635. Savage was just three years old when his mother died giving birth to the family's 12th child, Arthur. Savage and his siblings, Elizabeth and Arthur, were sent to be raised by William Savage, a blacksmith in Taunton, Massachusetts. Savage obtained the Franklin medal in 1795, and attended the Washington Academy in Machias, Maine, and the Derby Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts, before going to Harvard University, just as his grandfather did in 1695. After graduating Harvard in 1803, he went on to studied law at the office of Isaac Parker in Portland, Maine. From November 5, 1805 to June 1806, when Savage and cousin Frederic Tudor were both just 21, they travelled to the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars for a venture of establishing an ice trading business. In 1806, Tudor bought his first brig Favorite to carry Fresh Pond ice 1,500 miles south, from Boston to Martinique. Favorite left Boston on February 10, 1806, as the following was reported in the Boston Gazette: No joke. A vessel has cleared at the Custom House for Martinique with a cargo of ice. We hope this will not prove a slippery speculation. Tudor's business plan included sending his brother William and his cousin, James Savage, ahead to obtain a monopoly from the various governments of the islands. We wish you to procure from the gov' of Cuba a grant exclusive in which we offer you either to take