New England Families

A Timeline for Joseph Page

Before 1775: Lived for sometime in Rhode Island. (In 1800 the
census taker asked the residents along the Penobscot River where
they lived before moving to Maine. Joseph and his son Issac said
Rhode Island.[24])

1775: Living in the area of present day Bangor, then called
Kenduskeag Plantation. (At the Centennial Celebration of Orono, a
descendant of Joseph, probably his son Stephen's son Samuel, said
that Stephen had been born in Bangor in 1775 and came to Orono as
a small boy.[25])

The Pages probably arrived in the Bangor area between 1771 and
Stephen's birth. The first child born in Bangor was said to be
born in 1771 or 1772, and it wasn't a Page.[26] Capt. Joseph
Mansell mentions some families he found when arriving in Bangor
in 1771 and did not include the Pages, although he was aware that
Joseph Page was living there later.[27]

1776: Paid 1 pound, 1 shilling, 7 pence, as his assessment for
the Province Tax on June 1, 1776, while living on the Penobscot
River, most likely near Bangor.[28]

1777: Signed a petition dated March 13, 1777 to incorporate the
area "from the uppermost line of Frankfort Township to the Indian
Line" as Wheelersborough. The "Indian Line" was pretty far south
at this time, so Joseph was still in the Bangor area.[29]

1780: Burned out of his home at Penjejawock for refusing to take
the oath of allegiance to the British Crown, in the spring of
1780. Joseph Mansell says:

"I was on the river during the revolutionary war. After
the American fleet was destroyed, and the British took
possession of the peninsula of Biguyduce [Bagaduce, now
known as Castine], in the spring of 1780, the men on
the river generally took the oath of allegiance, in
this way. A British officer came to anchor below Orphan
island, and sent down to the men to come and take the
oath. Most of them went, but such as refused had their
houses burnt, and all were threatened. Old Joseph
Page's house at Penjajewock, and James Nichols's house
at the Bend in Orrington were burned."[30]

(The Penjejawock stream flows into the Penobscot River in Bangor,
a bit south of where Mt. Hope Cemetery is today.)

The Orono Centennial account says this about Joseph:

"During the Revolution he lived near Mt. Hope, in
Bangor, whence he was driven by the British for
refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the crown.
His house was burnt and his stock stolen and carried
away. His youngest son, Stephen, was born there in
1775, and when a small boy, was brought to this town
..."[31]

It sounds from this that Joseph moved to Orono after being burned
out.

1780 to 1783: Maybe in Rhode Island. Joseph Inman, first of RI then of Orono, is
said to have married a daughter of Joseph Page named either Annabel or Betsey
(or both?). This was about 1780 or shortly after, and they most likely met in
RI. On the other hand, the Orono Centennial information about Joseph Page only
mentions the daughters listed above. Was Annabel another name for Polly?

1783: On land in area of modern day Orono. The Park Holland
survey of the squatters' lands on the Penobscot, taken in 1797,
included comments on the settlers and the condition of the land.
Mr. Holland's assistant, Capt. John Chamberlain, had this to say
about Joseph Page:

"Thense down to Joseph Page's lot, 40 rods on river,
been improved fourteen years; eighteen acres cleared.
He appeared to be a good husbandman; house and barn,
and is all the land he has ever taken up and improved.
He fled from Bagaduce at the seige, to this land."[32]

1786-1790: Recorded as doing business with Major Robert Treat,
whose business (saw mill, grist mill, trading post?) was near the
Penjejawock. The list included Joseph's sons Joseph, Isaac, and
James as well, and the comments said that some of the men had
dealings back as far as 1774.[33]

1790: Recorded on the census of Kenduskeag Plantation, which took
in everything on the river from south of Bangor up to and
including Orono.[34] Joseph's household included himself, his son
Stephen, and five females, probably including his wife, whose
name is not known.

1797: Surveyed by Park Holland, as mentioned above.

1800: Recorded on the census of Coburn (or Coburnton). Joseph's
household included himself, his wife, and one female ten to
sixteen years old.[35]

1803: On August 1, received a certificate and deed to his land,
which he assigned to Robert Treat.[36] Many men followed this same
procedure. I don't know if they mortgaged the land or authorized
Major Treat to handle the proceedings or what. I do know that
Joseph's son Stephen took over the farm from Joseph later on.[37]
Each settler, including Joseph, who had been on the land before
January 1, 1784, received 100 acres for $8.75, as a compromise
brokered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts between the
settlers and the Waldo proprietors, who claimed rights to the
land.[38]

1804: Signed petition dated June 12, 1804, to incorporate
Stillwater Plantation as Orono.[39]

1810: On census of "Bangor" which included many areas not
actually in Bangor then or now.[40] Joseph's household included
only himself and his wife.

1817: Joseph's death at age 90, recorded as Feb 17, 1817. in the
Town Records of Orono.[41]

 

Did he come in contact with any Native Americans?

Very likely, Joseph Page knew or came in contact with members of
the Penobscot tribe. In 1775 Massachusetts recognized the native
Penobscots' claims to "territories or possessions, beginning at
the Head of the Tide, on the Penobscot river, extending [upriver]
six miles on each side of said river."[42] This land would have
started just north of where Joseph was settled on the Penjejawock
stream. A truck house, or trading post was located near the
stream (this may have been Major Treat's business mentioned
above.) In September 1775, a Conference with Chiefs of the
Penobscot and St. John Tribes was
held in that house, and a Treaty entered into.[43] A military band
of twenty white men and ten Indians was organized in 1776.
Headquarters were established at a rough barrack built near the
present Mount Hope cemetery.[44] (This could refer to the same
building as well, or at least one nearby.) All of this activity
was in the neighborhood of the Pages.

When Joseph moved upriver after being burned out, he became a
squatter on Indian lands. Efforts were made to resolve the
situation but it wasn't until 1796 that the Penobscot gave up
rights to this land (the first 30 miles of the river.)[45] The
land was then surveyed by Park Holland, as mentioned above.

Finally, the city of Orono was named after the chief of the
tribe, Orono, who lived in the area and died in 1801.[46]

Notes on Joseph Page's wife

I do not know anything about Joseph Page's wife or when they were
married. I would guess she was born about 1735 and that they were
married by about 1765 at the latest, based on the fact that their
son Joseph was on his own by 1785. Their last known son, Stephen,
was born in 1775. She seems to be with Joseph on the 1790 to 1810
censuses but neither their son James nor Stephen have a female in
their household old enough to be her in 1820.

Where did he live in Rhode Island?

On the 1800 Census, as mentioned above, the enumerator asked the
heads of the families in this area where they had lived before
coming to Maine. Joseph Page and his son Isaac said "Rhode
Island."

I have not found any trace of Joseph Page in any Rhode Island
records. There are two Joseph Pages, father and son, in the area
of Smithfield and Glocester RI, in the 1700's, but neither are
the Joseph who moved to Maine. Interestingly, two other men in
Maine also said that they were from Rhode Island, namely Rufus
Inman and Abraham Tourtelotte. There were Inmans and Tourtelottes
in that same area of Rhode Island in the 1700's. There are Pages,
Inmans and Tourtelottes living in northwestern Rhode Island
today. Perhaps "our" Joseph Page is a relative of the men by that
name in Glocester.

-------------------------
Sources:
24. 1800, Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Coburn
Series M32, Roll 7, Page 81.
25. Centennial Celebration and Dedication of the Town Hall, Orono,
Maine, March 3, 1874, (Portland, Maine: Bailey and Noyes, 1874), pp
58, 59. (HeritageQuestOnline or Google books.)
26. Edward Mitchell Blanding, The City of Bangor, (Bangor: E.M.
Blanding, 1899), page 32. from images at HeritageQuestOnline.com; and
Bangor Public Library website, bpl.lib.me.us.
27. A statement of Capt. Joseph Mansell, 5 March, 1838, in "Annals of
the City of Bangor, Maine," in Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol IX,
Nos. 1-3, Jan to Mar 1894, page 9 (Reprinted by Picton Press in
1993, page 2039).
28. Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 6, p. 126, 7 (Reprint
page 850 and 851.
29. Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. II, July 1886 to June 1887, p.
26 (Reprint page 256.)
30. Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. IV, Nos. 1 and 2, July-August,
1888, pp. 10, 11 (Reprint pages 734, 5.)
31. Pages 58, 59.
32. Capt. John Chamberlain's field notes, October, 1797, as found in
Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 12, pp. 208-210 (Reprint
pages 214-216.)
33. Names from Major Robert Treat's Day Book, Bangor, 1786-90, in
Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. V, No. 1 and 2, July and Aug 1889,
p. 93ff (Reprint page 1065ff.)
34. 1790 Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Conduskeeg Planta
Series M637, Roll 2, Page 73.
35. 1800, Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Coburn
Series M32, Roll 7, Page 81.
36. "The First Settlers in Bangor, and their Lots," in Bangor
Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 8, pp. 119ff (Reprint pages
125ff.)
37. Orono Centennial, pp. 58, 59.
38. "The First Settlers in Bangor, and their Lots," in Bangor
Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No. 8, pp. 119ff (Reprint pages
125ff.)
39. "Petition to General Court from Stillwater, now Orono, 1804" in
Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 6, p. 157 (Reprint page
881.)
40. 1810 Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Bangor
Series M252, Roll 11, page 555.
41. Town Records of Orono, Section 1, 1806-1838, p.234, microfilm
copy at New England Historic and Genealogical Society.
42. John E. Godfrey, "The Ancient Penobscot, or Panawanskek," in The
Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries concerning The
Antiquities, History, and Biography of America. [Third Series, Vol.
I, No. II; Whole Number, Vol. XXI, No. II] February, 1872.
[ Morrisina, N.Y., Henry B. Dawson] pp. 85-92. (Online at cprr.org,
the Central Pacific Railroad, I think.)
43. John Godfrey's "The Ancient Penobscot."
44. Edward Mitchell Blanding, The City of Bangor, (Bangor: E.M.
Blanding, 1899), page 11. From images at HeritageQuestOnline.com.
45. John Godfrey's "The Ancient Penobscot."
46. "Regarding Soldiers of the American Revolution: Maine Indians In
the Revolution," in Sprague's Journal of Maine History, Vol. VI, Nov.
Dec. 1918, Jan. 1919, No. 3, Page 105-112. at:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/ usgenweb/me/war/arw/indians/sj6p105.txt.

 

 

--------------------------
1790 Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Conduskeeg Planta
Series M637, Roll 2, Page 73

Joseph(1) Page, head [father, b. 1727, from RI]
1 male over 16
1 male under 16 [Stephen, youngest son]
5 females

==========
1800, Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Coburn
Series M32, Roll 7, Page 81

Joseph(1) Page, head, [from:] "Rhode Island"
1 female 10 - 16
1 male over 45 1 female over 45

==========
1810 Census, Maine, Hancock Co., Bangor
Series M252, Roll 11, page 555

Joseph(1) Page, head
1 male over 45 1 female over 45