Like their predecessors and maternal ancestors the Dyers, the Sakers are a 'parvenu' family that came from humble origins but skyrocketed in social standing during and after the American Revolution. The family's first notable patriarch, George Saker (1741-1821) came from slightly higher origins than his contemporaries the Dyer twins, having been a fairly successful merchant who inherited his shipping business from his father (also a successful merchant) before becoming the Continental Congress's Commissioner to Vermont during the Revolutionary War and, after moving to Massachusetts & ingratiating himself with then-Governor Charles Dyer, long-time Senator from the Bay State. His two sons Matthew (1777-1841) and Robert (1782-1812) would go on to play prominent roles in the War of 1812, roles which they would have loved to avoid if they had the chance - the elder brother, Matthew was best known for being the decidedly unhappy second-in-command to Brigadier-General Sydney S. Wilson, the Georgian-born commander of the ill-fated Army of Maine, and ended up limping home with the battered remains of that formation after either treacherously abandoning his boss to British arms or wisely withdrawing from a dreadful situation before it got any worse, depending on who you ask; and the younger son, Robert went into the then-paltry US Navy starting in 1800 and ended up in command of a gunboat, the USS Columbia, which capsized and went down with all hands (Robert included) when it was rammed by the HMS Shannon during the War of 1812. Needless to say, the death of one son and the dishonorable discharge of the other after they committed to fighting the War of 1812 out of patriotism - despite it being a war pushed for by the West and South - only drove Old Man George to despise these other regions of the country and to oppose the war all the more fiercely, and his efforts eventually succeeded when the Federalist who replaced Jack Eggers reached a peace treaty with the British in 1813.
As Robert died without any surviving children (his only son, George Saker II, had died of pneumonia just shy of his third birthday the year before) it fell to Matthew to perpetuate the Saker line and their political power - something he succeeded at quite spectacularly. On the first point, he had five children, all of whom married and had children of their own; suffice to say that the Saker line appears quite secure as of 1845. On the other, after years of exhaustive lobbying he finally got himself redeemed in the eyes of the US military and was restored to his former rank of Colonel in 1821, only to resign a year later to run for Governor of Massachusetts; he would hold that office for the rest of his life. Of his children, his first three children followed him into politics: Simon Saker began to work closely with the Federalist Party from the age of 16 & married into the powerful Dana family (one of the Boston Brahmins) before climbing to Mayor of Boston in 1836, Thomas Saker won his first term in the US Senate in 1842 after a successful legal career that included getting Massachusetts' anti-miscegenation laws struck down in 1837, and Magdalene Saker married a scion of the Lowell family (another Boston Brahmin dynasty) to secure their alliance with her father. Matthew's younger children had less expected of them, and promptly took advantage of their freedom - his third son Marcus became a man of science, his fourth son Jude went into the military, and his fifth son Lucas became a Universalist preacher.
Since Matthew Saker's death in 1841, Simon quickly stepped up to fill in his father's empty seat and handily won that year's special gubernatorial election. At present, the Sakers still have a iron grip on state politics in Massachusetts, built through alliances with other powerful families within the state and a solid base in the blacks, immigrant workers and liberals of the Bay State whose votes they can be assured of. There's little reason to suspect that they, one of the most Federalist families in the most Federalist of states, have reason to fall from grace anytime soon.
The Sakers have traditionally been one of America's more powerful progressive voices - as befits the most powerful dynasty from Massachusetts, an epicenter of American progressivism - but in a much more aggressive manner than the Dyers who came before them. They are at the forefront of the abolitionist movement, cutting generous checks for the American Anti-Slavery Society and various abolitionist presses all over the country, and Matthew Saker was also a prominent defender of Irish immigrants starting with his harsh reaction to the Ursuline Convent Riots of 1834. That said, though the Sakers' aims might be noble, their methods are often...less so. Besides all the corruption one would expect from a powerful political family (operating extensive political machines, buying votes & supporters, digging up dirt on their enemies) the duality of the Saker family can best be seen in their approach to running their commercial empire, a merger of George Saker's built-up business and that of the Dyers, where they have been steadily trying to reduce their dependence on Southern (slave-picked) cotton by gradually buying more and more Indian, Egyptian and Algerian cotton - and sabotaging the mills and supply stocks of any rival that doesn't do the same within the Bay State's borders, so that said rivals cannot hope to undercut them with cheaper Southern cotton. At the least though, nobody can claim that they don't put their money where their mouth is, rather literally in this case (other businesses outside of Massachusetts have fewer concerns about buying up Southern cotton, even if their owners profess to be abolitionists). Needless to say, their enemies believe they're waging an economic and ideological war against the South, and the Sakers themselves will never confirm or deny this allegation when it is thrust in their face.
| Family tree |  |
| Governor Simon Saker, MA | 
Name: Simon Saker
Date of Birth: February 18th, 1805 (age 40)
Ethnicity: Yankee
Religion: Universalist (Liberal Christian)
Occupation: Business Tycoon
Position: Governor
Home State: Massachusetts
Allegiance: USA
Faction: Federalist Party
Personality: Aloof and stoic, Simon Saker is a man of few words (outside of campaign season or wherever he needs to start grandstanding, anyway) - but when he speaks, everyone listens. Maybe it's because he cuts an intimidating figure, standing at 6'4" with sharp features and sharper steel-grey eyes that rarely leave their perpetual mild scowl, and has the booming voice one would expect to go with it. Or maybe it's because whenever he speaks, whatever he has to say is immediately relevant to the matter at hand, whether it's someone asking him what he would like for lunch or the future of slavery. He only gets really wordy either during election season or when lambasting slavery, which he (like his father and grandfather) is 110% convinced is a moral blight eating away at the soul of America; as far as he is concerned, the use of any weapon is justifiable when it comes to dealing with slavers, and most notoriously he failed to condemn Gabriel Boxley after the man's slave rebellion ended in bloody failure back in 1831. Notably, he is also not content with merely ending slavery, but like a fast-increasing number of his fellow Bay Staters is also out to secure civil rights for the black man once he is freed. In a few words, he can be considered a true zealot - cool-mannered, disciplined, taciturn and utterly committed to not only doing what he believes is right, but destroying anything he considers wrong. Suffice to say that none can accuse this particular Universalist of being a wishy-washy advocate of everyone holding hands and singing kumbaya, to put it mildly.
Issues:
Central Government: Sweeping federal powers, commitment to fight slavery
Religious relations: Harmonious religious mosaic
Tariffs: High tariffs
Slavery: Total, uncompensated abolition
Immigration: Open immigration
Military: Strong standing military
Social welfare: Limited welfare networks are acceptable
National Bank: The Bank must survive
Foreign relations: Realpolitik |
| Other Sakers | Simon's family:
- Augusta Saker (née Dana), b. July 7 1806 (age 39). Simon Saker's wife and every bit as cunning a politician as him, agreed to marry him precisely because she was aware of how much power his family wielded. A handsome woman with dark hair, dark-blue eyes, high cheekbones and a certain grace to her thin frame. Known to be quite courteous - even if she's lobbing veiled insults at her rivals - and not at all above using her looks to manipulate other men into situations her family can take advantage of (though that is getting harder as she ages).
- Leonidas Saker, b. May 14 1828 (age 17). An intimidating giant of a man, taller than his father and considerably brawnier, known to be capable of astonishing violence when the situation demands it but surprisingly quiet and gentle towards his family and friends. Presently a Lieutenant in the US Army.
- Themistocles Saker, b. January 15 1831 (age 14). Almost as tall as his father and brother, but slender in build like the former was in his youth and growing to be quite handsome. Has a reputation for telling tall tales of his nonexistent grand adventures (or those of his ancestors for that matter), and otherwise lying to get out of hot water.
- Parthenope Saker, b. August 29 1835 (age 10). A pretty and outgoing young girl, quite unlike her stoic father and eldest brother. Has a knack for singing.
Thomas Saker: B. June 16 1808 (age 37). A successful lawyer who graduated from Harvard at age 19 and passed the bar two years later, known for representing chiefly Negroes and Irish immigrants at court, and whose greatest triumph to date is striking down Massachusetts' anti-miscegenation laws back in 1837 (possibly at the private urging of his second-youngest brother Jude). Has become a Senator from Massachusetts in 1842, where like the rest of his kin he's always been quite outspoken on the matter of slavery and civil rights. Tall and lean in build like his brother, but more outgoing and certainly considerably friendlier to those on his side, though he can be bitingly sarcastic (if not outright mean-spirited) to his enemies.
- Abigail Saker (née Abbott), b. November 1 1811 (age 34). Thomas Saker's wife, whom he married for love rather than power as his elder brother did and who is out of her depth in politics due to her upbringing. A lean, plain-faced woman with dark hair and brown eyes who hails from upper-bourgeois origins, being the daughter of one of the many managers at one of the Sakers' factories.
- Joseph Saker, b. July 30 1830 (age 15). A lean young man known for being one of Massachusetts' fastest sprinters. Presently hoping to attend the Legionville USMA.
- Ephraim Saker, b. April 2 1834 (age 11). Short and skinny, but a crack shot with very good eyes for a boy his age.
Magdalene Saker: B. September 17 1810 (age 35). A beautiful woman with light brown hair, bright blue eyes and a winning smile who looks a few years younger than she truly is, even after giving birth. In truth, a savvy political operator who is good friends with many of Boston's elite ladies and does everything she can to help propel her family to greater heights, having even married Joseph Lowell to seal an informal alliance between his family and hers.
Marcus Saker: B. 12 January 1813 (age 32). A prominent scientist who is 'good at everything' in his own words (though his Harvard PhD is in biology) and has connections to many other scientists around the world. He is tall, reedy-looking, eccentric (for one, he has to walk through an open door several times before he can comfortably stand in the room) and wears glasses, but behind this unintimidating appearance lies the mind of an arrogant & somewhat unhinged genius. Known to have a bitter rivalry with William P. Simons of North Carolina, a fellow brilliant-but-mad scientist and younger brother to that state's Governor.
- Renée Saker (née Foucault), b. 15 June 1814 (age 31). Marcus Saker's French-Canadian wife and sister to his friend, Montreal-based physicist Roland Foucault. A short and pretty woman with naturally curly blonde hair, pouty lips and a shapely figure, leading Marcus's own kin to wonder how their puny-looking brother could have ended up with her. Known to be hot-tempered but not incapable of kindness, especially towards children and the lowly.
- Mabelle Saker, b. December 9 1837 (age 8). A serious and hard-working little girl who has inherited her mother's looks and temperament, and her father's love for science - as well as his poor eyesight.
Jude Saker: B. 19 March 1815 (age 30). A lean and tough-faced career soldier (currently a Colonel) whose patriotism is doubted by few, being willing to fight for the glory and expansion of the United States even under Southern Presidents he will make no secret of despising. Gregarious, energetic and honest towards both fellow officers and the enlisted, who will describe him as 'lion-hearted' - odd personality choice for a skilled sniper such as himself. Like the rest of his family, he is an outspoken abolitionist, who has notably lobbied hard for the end of anti-miscegenation laws - no doubt because he's one half of a mixed marriage himself.
- Chloe Saker (née Priss), b. 20 November 1819 (age 26). A black woman and former maid to the Saker family who first met her husband eleven years ago. Was his lover for several years before the end of Massachusetts' anti-miscegenation laws allowed them to marry. Even now she is looked down upon by many of the Bay State's supposedly liberal ladies, but those who are willing to give her a chance find her friendly enough, even if her manners can be a bit rough.
- Roberta Saker, b. 15 July 1839 (age 6). A mixed-race girl who gets along well with her cousins despite her heritage, though less so with many other children.
- Arthur Saker, b. 24 May 1841 (age 4). Too young to be notable in any regard beyond his mixed-race heritage.
- Emily Saker, b. 14 December 1844 (age 1). Too young to be notable in any regard beyond her mixed-race heritage.
Lucas Saker: B. 20 December 1817 (age 28). A Universalist preacher who wanders the land, preaching a liberal interpretation of the Good Book and abolitionism wherever he goes. Charitable towards those in need and much more easily controlled by his passions than most of his siblings allow themselves to be, yet also self-righteous and zealous in his convictions, something few thought possible of a Universalist. More than happy to fight that which he sees as wrong, but also to offer the hand of redemption to those who truly seek it.
- Jane Saker (née Gardner), b. 14 July 1819 (age 26). Pale, slender and blessed with long auburn hair and deep blue eyes, it's small wonder this lady still manages to capture the attention of other men even after giving birth twice. Former mistress to a wealthy businessman in New York and mother to one of his children, abandoned a year before she met Lucas Saker. He took her in out of pity but grew to love her, and the two married much to his family's consternation in 1844. Like her black sister-in-law she is looked down on by polite society, though those who know her say she can be quite kind, if timid.
- John Saker, b. 15 January 1845 (age 0). Too young to be notable in any regard.
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Re: WEF 3.0 19th-Century Iteration Planning Thread
I'll leave you & Agg to work the finer details out between yourselves - but the one thing I have to take issue with is Jake Thompson's support of Agg and the Unionists. As the Mirabeau Lamar of WEF Texas he's the default leader of the Texan Nationalists, who have to at least want to keep Texas an independent state; the Indian hate is somewhat optional (even if Thompson is personally in favor of good relations with the Indians, unlike the real Lamar, members of his faction won't be and he'll have to control them somehow), but not wanting to join the Union - being the entire point to the Nationalist name - is not.
Originally Posted by chesser2538
