Correspondence (11 letters) of members of the John Page (1744-1808) family of "Rosewell," Gloucester County, Va. regarding local, national, and international politics, the American Revolution, family news (Lowther and Page families), the semaphore, and fashion. Correspondents include Mann Page, Jr., Margaret (Lowther) Page, John Page, St. George Tucker, Stevens Thomson Mason, David Meade Randolph, Henry Tazewell, Philip (Filippo) Mazzei and George Weedon. Subjects also include John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Burgoyne, Viscount Howe, George and Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Edmund Pendleton.
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Page Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
John Page (April 17, 1744 - October 11, 1808) was a figure in early United States history. He served in the U.S. Congress and as Governor of Virginia.
Page was born and lived at Rosewell Plantation in Gloucester County. His great grandfather was Colonel John Page (1628-1692), an English merchant from Middlesex who emigrated to Virginia with his wife Alice Lucken Page and settled in Middle Plantation. He was the brother of Mann Page III.
John Page was graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1763, where he was a friend and the closest college classmate of Thomas Jefferson, having exchanged a great deal of correspondence. He then served under George Washington in an expedition during the French and Indian War. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1776. He also served during the American Revolutionary War as an officer in the Virginia state militia, raising a regiment from Gloucester County and supplementing it with personal funds. During that war, he attained the rank of colonel.
Page was also involved in politics. He became the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and served 1776-1779. He was then a member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1781-1783 and 1785-1788. Page was elected to the First United States Congress and reelected to the Second and Third, and to the Fourth as a Republican. Overall, he was Congressman from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1797.
After his terms in Congress, he was again a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1797, 1798, 1800, and 1801. He became the Governor of Virginia in 1802 and served to 1805. After being governor, he was appointed United States commissioner of loans for Virginia and held office until his death in Richmond, Virginia on October 11, 1808.
He was interred in St. John's Churchyard in Richmond.
See also; Mss. Sm Coll Page: John Page Letter to James Madison; Msv Me4: John Page Memorandum book, 1762-1797, 39.2 V81go Virginia Governor's Papers, Mss. 1996.56 Kentucky-Virginia Boundary Settlement Collection and the John Page Poem "What Muse Can Dictate", all at Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Sotheby's Auction
Acquisition Method:
Purchase, Mss. Acc. 1993.40, 1 item.
Purchase, Mss. Acc. 1994.37 (Mss94 P14), 7 items.
Purchase, Mss. Acc. 1999.10, 1 item.
Purchase, Mss. Acc. 2000.21, 1 item
Purchase, Mss. Acc. 2001.06B, 1 item
Processing Information: Processed by Ellen Strong in 1995 and 2003.
Finding Aid Revision History: Anne Johnson in 2009 and updated in 2011.
Other Note: A PDF document of this inventory is available for Mss. 94 P14 and 1999.10.
Seven letters related to Page family members, which came down through the Page family. Includes letter by St. George Tucker, 18 Dec. 1794 (telegraph), two letters by Margaret Lowther Page, 16 Feb. 1793 & 22 Jan. 1795 and Mann Page 9 June 1777.
Letter, Mann Page, Jr, Philadelphia, to his brother John Page, Williamsburg, VA, June 9, 1777. Agrees with his (JP) remarks that removal from public office [Congress] is no disgrace provided no reflections were thrown on the character of the person removed. More detail on the other items can be found in the the PDF Inventory.
Four letter (additions to Mss94 P14) written by John Page.
(Addition, Mss. Acc. 1993.40): Concerns Republicanism versus Federalism; Alexander Hamilton's ambitions; and whether or not Page would run again for Congress.
(Addition, Mss. Acc. 1999.10) ALS of John Page to General George Weedon, Williamsburg, 7 Nov. 1777 regarding military matters of the Revolution including forts on the Delaware; Cornwallis assaulting Fort Mifflin; mention of Howe, Burgoyne; Pearce's letter was foolish; queries Rowland's rifle scheme; "fine figure" Burgoyne and his troops will "cut in England".
(Addition, Mss. Acc. 2000.21) Letter, 24 May 1804, of John Page, Richmond, Va. to "Dear Sir". Explains why he never repaid a debt of one hundred dollars plus interest to recipient's father who has since died; sends payment of one hundred and forty four dollars. 1 p. ALS.
(Addition, Mss. Acc. 2001.06B) Letter, 8 April 1789, of John Page, New York City, to Philip Mazzei, Paris, France. Expresses renewed friendship with Mazzei; laments the loss of his wife two years before; thanks God for his children who resemble their mother; remarks on Mazzei's "Recherches sur Etats Unis" even though he dissapproved of the new government; congratulates Mazzei on his new appointment and asks him to give his love to Mr. Jefferson. 1 p. ALS. Note: Endorsement on verso shows Jefferson forwarded Page's letter to Mazzei. See Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 18 June 1789, in Julian P. Boyd, ed. "The Papers of Thomas Jefferson" XV, 195.