By William "Bennett" White, Spring 2023

Description:

Paige was likely born into slavery in 1838. His parents were Thomas Frederick Paige, Sr. (who was mixed race) and Frances S. Paige. He married Sarah Elizabeth Paige (nee Tucker) on Sept 9, 1873, and had at least one child, Jyancy Leslie Bryant. He served in the US Navy between 1861-63. He was a landsman aboard the USS Minnesota and participated in the Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862. The Monitor distracted the Merrimack long enough for the damaged Minnesota to be towed to safety. He also served aboard the Princeton, the ironclad USS St. Louis, and the USS Macedonian. His brother, Richard G. L. Paige (also born into slavery), was Norfolk's (and possibly Virginia's) first black lawyer and Republican member of Congress from 1871-75 and 1879-82. Richard escaped slavery in 1857, living in Philadelphia and Boston, MA until returning to Norfolk after the war in 1865. Thomas, along with his brother, was an active voice for and prominent member of Norfolk's African American community. Thomas joined other black civil and religious leaders to publish Equal Suffrage: Address from the Colored Citizens on Norfolk, Va, to the People of the United States in 1865. Equal Suffrage provided an account of the black suffrage movement in Norfolk, and listed resolutions calling for black political participation in local and national elections. By 1870, Thomas Paige was a prosperous "mulatto" confectionary merchant living in Norfolk's 2nd Ward. His estate was valued at $300, and his real estate was valued at $2500. Then, by 1880, Thomas Paige is listed in Norfolk's city directory as the proprietor of Paige's Hotel, a boarding house that also sold the "best wine, liquors, and cigars." His brother, Richard, was also listed as a lawyer working in the US Custom House in Berkley. Thomas purportedly died of gout complications on Jan. 18, 1892, and buried at West Point Cemetery shortly thereafter.

Sources:

Full Name: Thomas Frederick Paige, Jr.

Also Known as: T. F. Paige, Thomas F. Henderson

Birth Date: 1838

Birthplace: Nansemond County, VA (Suffolk)

Parents: Thomas Frederick Paige, Sr., Frances S. Paige

Ethnicity:

Race: African American

Spouse: Sarah Elizabeth Paige (née Tucker)

Children: Jyancy Leslie Bryant, possibly Amelia Parnell

Marriage Date: September 9, 1873

Marriage Place: Norfolk, VA

Death Date: January 18, 1892

Death Place: Norfolk, VA

Burial Date:

Burial Place: West Point Cemetery, Norfolk, VA

Major Keywords/Search Terms:

Thomas Frederick Paige, Jr. | T. F. Paige | Richard G. L. Page | Norfolk, VA | Black Suffrage | Equal Suffrage |

Sources:

1. Primary Sources:

1. 1. Books and Pamphlets:

E. Anthony & Sons, New Bedford, MA, Equal Suffrage, 1865. Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk, Public Library, Norfolk, VA.

 City Directories: (Selective)

1. 2. Documents/Collections:

Library of Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912

The National Archives At Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Title: U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Number: T288; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Title: U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; Series Number: T288; Roll: 211

Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Norfolk Ward 2, Norfolk, Virginia; Roll: M593_1666; Page: 116B

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 - AncestryLibrary.com

1. 3. Maps/Plats/Surveys:

1. 4. Newspaper/Magazines/Journals:

• "The Republican Mass Meeting," Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 27 July 1880, page 1, column 3.  https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNL18800727.1.1 

• "Republican Readjusters Mass Meeting," Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 3 September 1881, page 1, column 5. https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNL18810903.1.1 

• "The Police Court," Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 10 November 1882, page 1, columns 5-6.  https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNL18821110.1.1 

• "A Summary of Local Affairs," Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 18 November 1887, page 1, column 3.  https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNL18871118.1.1  [Paige's Hotel]

• "Death of Well Known Colored Man," Norfolk Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 19 January 1892, page 1, column 4.  https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNL18920119.1.1 

• "Deaths," Norfolk Weekly Landmark (Norfolk, Va.), 20 January 1892, page 4, column 4. https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TNWL18920120.1.4 

1. 5. Photographs/Images:

1. 6. Projects:

1. 7. Sound and Video Recordings:

1. 8. Websites:

Encyclopedia Virginia, “R. G. L. Paige (1846-1904),” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed March 17, 2023, R. G. L. Paige (1846–1904) - Encyclopedia Virginia

 2) Secondary Sources:

2. 1. Books and Pamphlets:

2. 2. Documents/Collections:

2. 3. Maps/Plats/Surveys:

2. 4. Newspaper/Magazines/Journals:

2. 5. Photographs/Images:

2. 6. Projects:

2. 7. Sound and Video Recordings:

2. 8. Websites: