Charles Cary Rumsey, born in Buffalo, NY in 1879, was the second eldest of five children of Laurence Dana Rumsey and Jennie Cary Rumsey. The family, having inherited a small fortune built by Bronson Case Rumsey in tanning and railroads, was both wealthy and socially prominent. Charles Rumsey's interest in sculpture appeared and was encouraged at an early age. He was taken by his parents to Paris in 1893. Instead of returning with them to attend school, he stayed in Paris for two years to serve as an apprentice to sculptor Paul Weyland Bartlett (whose father had been one of the early American champions of Rodin).

After returning to the United States in 1895, Rumsey completed college prep studies at...