John A. Page (June 17, 1814 – August 23, 1891) was a Vermont banker and political figure who served as Vermont State Treasurer.
Early life
John Alfred Page was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire on June 17, 1814.[1] He was the son of John Page and Hannah Merrill. John Page served in the United States Senate and as Governor of New Hampshire.[2]
The younger Page was educated in Haverhill and graduated from Haverhill Academy.[3] He trained to be a merchant, clerking at dry goods stores in Portland, Maine and Haverhill. The Haverhill store in which he worked closed during the Panic of 1837, and Page began a career in banking as Cashier of the Grafton Bank.[4]
In 1848 Page moved to Danville, Vermont to accept the position of Cashier at the Caledonia Bank.[5] A Democrat in politics, he served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1848 to 1849.[6][7]
Page became associated with Erastus Fairbanks in 1849 as Financial Agent for the Passumpsic and Connecticut Rivers Railroad, and relocated to Newbury.[8]
Later career
Later in 1849 Page was appointed Cashier of the Vermont Bank and moved to Montpelier, where he lived for the rest of his life.[9] In 1852 he ran for Vermont State Treasurer, and was defeated by George Howes.
From 1853 to 1854 Page served as Vermont State Treasurer, succeeding George Howes.[10] He finished second in the balloting, and was chosen by the Vermont General Assembly after a multi-candidate election in which no candidate received the majority required by the Vermont Constitution.[11] In 1854 he was defeated for another term by Henry M. Bates.[12] He also lost an 1855 rematch to Bates.[13]
The First National Bank of Vermont was organized in 1865, and Page was elected a member of the board of directors and appointed as the bank’s President.[14]
By now a Republican, in 1866 Page was again elected State Treasurer, succeeding John B. Page. He served until 1882, and was succeeded by William H. Dubois.[15]
Death
Page retired from most of his business interests in 1882, but continued to serve as President of the First National Bank until January, 1891.[16] He died in Montpelier on August 23, 1891.[17] Page was buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.[18]
Family
John A. Page was married to Martha Ward of Haverhill. They had one son, John W. Page (1847-1930), who worked with his father in Montpelier and later moved to Nebraska to raise cattle[19] and Louisiana to operate a rice plantation.[20]
References
- ^ National Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company: A History of Its Foundation and Development 1850-1925, 1925, page 36
- ^ John Quincy Bittinger, History of Haverhill, N. H., 1888, page 339
- ^ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1876, pages 98-99
- ^ Abby Maria Hemenway, The History of the Town of Montpelier, Including that of the Town of East Montpelier, page 548
- ^ Vermont Legislative Directory, 1876
- ^ Hemenway, History of Montpelier
- ^ William Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, 1889, page 389
- ^ Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County
- ^ Vermont Legislative Directory, 1878
- ^ Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1981, page 105
- ^ Vermont State Archives, General Election results, 1852, 2006, page 1
- ^ Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the House and Senate of Vermont, 1854, page 484
- ^ Vermont State Archives, general Election Results, Vermont State Treasurer, 1813-2012 Archived August 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, 2012, page 8
- ^ Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County
- ^ Vermont State Archives, General Election Results, Vermont State Treasurer, 1813-2012 Archived August 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, 2012, page 9-12
- ^ American Publishing and Engraving Company, Industries and Wealth of the Principal Points in Vermont, 1891, page 142
- ^ Vermont Vital Records, 1720–1908, death record for John A. Page, retrieved February 13, 2014
- ^ "Funeral of Ex-State Treasurer Page". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. August 27, 1891. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Andrew Henshaw Ward, Ward family; Descendants of William Ward, Who Settled in Sudbury, Mass., 1851, page 200
- ^ "Montpelier Mere Mention: John W. Page". Argus and Patriot. Montpelier, VT. December 5, 1894. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.