John A. Page

John A. Page (June 17, 1814 – August 23, 1891) was a Vermont banker and political figure who served as Vermont State Treasurer.

John A. Page
13th Vermont State Treasurer
In office
October, 1866 – October, 1882
GovernorPaul Dillingham
John B. Page
Peter T. Washburn
George W. Hendee
John W. Stewart
Julius Converse
Asahel Peck
Horace Fairbanks
Redfield Proctor
Roswell Farnham
Preceded byJohn B. Page
Succeeded byWilliam H. Dubois
10th Vermont State Treasurer
In office
October, 1853 – October 1854
GovernorJohn S. Robinson
Preceded byGeorge Howes
Succeeded byHenry M. Bates
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Danville
In office
1848–1849
Preceded byAsa Morrill
Succeeded byHarvey T. Moore
Personal details
Born(1814-06-17)June 17, 1814
Haverhill, New Hampshire
DiedAugust 23, 1891(1891-08-23) (aged 77)
Montpelier, Vermont
Resting placeGreen Mount Cemetery, Montpelier, Vermont
Political partyDemocratic (to 1855)
Republican (after 1855)
SpouseMartha Ward
RelationsJohn Page (father)
Children1
Alma materHaverhill Academy
ProfessionBusinessman
Banker

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
  1. National Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company: A History of Its Foundation and Development 1850-1925, 1925, page 36
  2. John Quincy Bittinger, History of Haverhill, N. H., 1888, page 339
  3. Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1876, pages 98-99
  4. Abby Maria Hemenway, The History of the Town of Montpelier, Including that of the Town of East Montpelier, page 548
  5. Vermont Legislative Directory, 1876
  6. Hemenway, History of Montpelier
  7. William Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, 1889, page 389
  8. Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County
  9. Vermont Legislative Directory, 1878
  10. Vermont Secretary of State, Legislative Directory, 1981, page 105
  11. Vermont State Archives, General Election results, 1852, 2006, page 1
  12. Vermont General Assembly, Journal of the House and Senate of Vermont, 1854, page 484
  13. Vermont State Archives, general Election Results, Vermont State Treasurer, 1813-2012 Archived August 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, 2012, page 8
  14. Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County
  15. Vermont State Archives, General Election Results, Vermont State Treasurer, 1813-2012 Archived August 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, 2012, page 9-12
  16. American Publishing and Engraving Company, Industries and Wealth of the Principal Points in Vermont, 1891, page 142
  17. Vermont Vital Records, 1720–1908, death record for John A. Page, retrieved February 13, 2014
  18. "Funeral of Ex-State Treasurer Page". The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. August 27, 1891. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Andrew Henshaw Ward, Ward family; Descendants of William Ward, Who Settled in Sudbury, Mass., 1851, page 200
  20. "Montpelier Mere Mention: John W. Page". Argus and Patriot. Montpelier, VT. December 5, 1894. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
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