The present generation of the Paige family, the seventh in America as represented by the Schenectady, New York, branch are representatives of three great nations, England, Holland and France. The paternal line traces direct to England, as do the intermarriages with the Winslow and Keyes families. The Bloodgood (Bloetgoat) marriage leads to Holland, and the Franchot to France. The emigrant ancestors of these families were men of mark in their communities, and bequeathed to posterity records of honorable lives spent in active effort. They have transmitted also generously of their brain and muscle, as is indicated by the great number of professional military and business men enrolled under the family names. The Winslow line beginning with Kenelm, 1629, is the most ancient family herein considered. The name Paige was often written "Page" even by members of the same family. Nathaniel Paige, the ancestor, is also written Nathaniel Page in records of his day, which is often confusing.
(I) Nathaniel Paige, founder of the family in America and direct ancestor of the Paige family of Albany and Schenectady, New York, was born in England about 1650. The date of his coming to New England cannot be ascertained, nor his English birthplace. He was of Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1686, and in that year was appointed marshal of Suffolk county by President Joseph Dudley. In 1688 he removed to Billerica, Massachusetts, where he was made freeman in 1690. He was one of the eight purchasers of what is now Hardwick, and one of the twelve purchasers of Leicester, Massachusetts. In 1687 he bought a farm in Billerica (now Bedford, Massachusetts), removing there as stated. He died April 12, 1692, at Boston. His will names wife Joanna, who was living in 1699. Children:
- Elizabeth, married, December, 1698, John Simpkins, of Boston.
- Sarah, married, 1698-99, Samuel Hill, of Billerica.
- Nathaniel, died aged seventy-five; married Sussanna Lane.
- James, baptized November 28, 1686; buried at Roxbury.
- Christopher, see forward.
(II) Deacon Christopher, son of Nathaniel and Joanna Paige, was born in Billerica, Massachusetts, February 10, 1691, died at Hardwick, Massachusetts, March 10, 1774. He removed to Hardwick where he was one of the pioneers of the town; selectman seven years; assessor five years, and first deacon of the church. His occupation was farming. He married (first) Joanna ————, who died October 27, 1719. He married (second) Elizabeth, daughter of Deacon George Reed, who died later than 1780. Child of first wife:
- Joanna, married Benjamin ————.
Children of second wife:
- Christopher, born 1721; married and left issue who settled in and around Keene, New York.
- William, married Mercy Aikens, of Hardwick, and left children: Rev. Christopher, of New Hampshire, and Lucy, married Daniel Ruggles.
- George, born 1725; married and left issue.
- Colonel Timothy, born 1727; representative to general court in 1781; colonel of the Fourth Regiment of militia of Worcester county, Massachusetts; married Mary Foster.
- Jonas, living in 1792.
- Elizabeth, died before 1743.
- Lucy, married Seth Lincoln.
- Nathaniel, married and had a son Jason.
- John, see forward.
- Elizabeth, married Solomon Green, and had a son Archelaus, who removed to western New York.
(III) John, son of Deacon Christopher and Elizabeth (Reed) Paige, was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, July 6, 1738, died at Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, New York, April 13, 1812, and was buried in the same grave with his wife who died four days previous to his own demise. He removed from Hardwick to Stephentown, New York, in 1790, and from thence to Schaghticoke in 1793, where he owned and operated a large farm on which he resided. Family tradition states that Paul Revere on his famous ride stopped at the house of John Paige and awakened him. In the rolls of Massachusetts soldiers of the revolution there are many of the name. They are found under the names Page, Paige, Pague and Peague. There is no record that particularly mentions a John Paige, of Hardwick, although there are men by the name of John Page and Paige from Hardwick. John Paige married, January, 1765, (banns published December 23, 1764) Hannah Winslow, born May 6, 1740, at Rochester, Massachusetts, died at Schaghticoke, New York, April 9, 1812, daughter of Captain Edward and Hannah (Winslow) Winslow, of Rochester. Captain Edward Winslow was a son of Major Edward and Sarah Winslow, grandson of Kenelm (2) and Mercy (Worden) Winslow, and great-grandson of Kenelm Winslow (3), third son and fourth child of Edward and Magdalene (Ollyver) Winslow, of Dwilwitch, England, and brother of Governor Edward Winslow, governor of Plymouth Colony, 1633-36-44, "Mayflower" passenger (as was his brother Gilbert), third signer of the "Compact," and a most valuable man to the Pilgrim colony. Kenelm Winslow came to America in 1629 with his brother Josiah; was deputy to the general court eight years, and a man of influence. He died at Salem, Massachusetts, September 13, 1672. He married, June, 1634, Mrs. Eleanor Adams, widow of John Adams, of Plymouth. She survived him and died at Marshfield, Massachusetts, where she was buried December 5, 1681, "being eighty-three years old." Kenelm, eldest son of Kenelm Winslow, removed to Cape Cod, settled in that part of Yarmouth which is now known as Brewster. He was an important man in the church and town, a large land owner and public officer. His son, Major Edward Winslow, was a farmer of Rochester, Massachusetts. In 1725, together with Ebenezer Lewis, of Barnstable, and Edmund Freeman, of Harwich, he erected an iron works to carry on the making and forging of iron near his dwelling house on the middle branch of the Mattepoisett river. He was selectman 1716; town treasurer 1723-27; justice of the peace; major of militia and generally known by that title. His son, Captain Edward Winslow, father of Hannah (Winslow) Paige, was a farmer and inherited the family homestead at Rochester, Massachusetts. His wife, Hannah Winslow, also his cousin, was also a descendant of Kenelm Winslow. After the death of his first wife, he married Rachel Winslow, another cousin, another descendant of Kenelm Winslow. He was published for a third marriage August 9, 1767, to Mrs. Hannah Winslow, of Dighton. He was the father of eighteen children by his marriages. John and Hannah (Winslow) Paige, were the parents of one child, Winslow, see forward.
(IV) Rev. Winslow Paige, A. M., only child of John and Hannah (Winslow) Paige was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, February 28, 1767, died March 15, 1838, at Gilboa, New York. He studied for the ministry and became a regularly ordained minister of the Gospel. He was settled as pastor over the churches at Stephentown, New York, 1790, Stillwater, 1793-1807, town of Florida, Montgomery county, 1808-14, Florida and Windham, 1814-22, Broome, Blenheim and Windham, 1822-27; also missionary at Beaver Dam, 1822, Windham and Broome, 1827-30; Broome, 1830-36; Gilboa, 1836-37. He received the degree of A. M. from Brown University in 1828. He married, in Windham, Connecticut, May, 1787, Clarissa Keyes, of Ashford, Connecticut, born May 1, 1768, died May 14, 1846, daughter of General John and Mary (Wales) Keyes, a descendant of Solomon Keyes, the earliest on record of his branch of the Keyes family in America. Robert Keyes is of record in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1633. It cannot be proven that Solomon was the son of Robert Keyes, although there is a similarity in the coat-of-arms of the two families that would suggest that the Robert and Solomon families are different branches of the same head. Solomon Keves was town clerk and tithingman in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and seems to have been a man of influence. The old Keyes homestead, a roomy two-story white house, now nearly two hundred and fifty years old, stands in the town of Westford, which was set off from Chelmsford in 1729. The earliest record of Solomon is his marriage to Frances Grant at Newbury, Massachusetts, October 2, 1653. Five of his children were born there. In 1664 he settled in Chelmsford, where his five younger children were born. In the old town book of Chelmsford it is recorded "Sargent Solomon Keyes died March 28, 1702." His wife Frances died 1708. Solomon Keyes, eldest son of Solomon and Frances (Grant) Keyes, married Mary ————. Their eldest son Elias married Mary ————. Their son Samson, born November 21, 1719, married and was the father of General John Keyes, who was a commissioned officer for the state of Connecticut; a companion in boyhood and in mature years of General Israel Putnam, and Colonel Thomas Knowlton (who married his sister Anna), under whose command he was when the latter fell, mortally wounded, at Harlem Heights in 1776. General John Keyes was a devoted patriot and contributed his energies and property freely to his country's cause. It is said that he kept eight negroes in his service during the revolutionary war. He frequently took his negro servant Caesar behind him on his horse in going to battle. Soon after the war he emigrated to Vermont, where he remained but a short time, obtaining a grant of a township under the act of congress according lands to revolutionary officers and soldiers; he removed to Canajoharie, New York, then a wilderness. A slaveholder, and living at a time when social distinctions were pronounced and acknowledged, he was a courtly and punctilious gentleman of the old school. He died in the town of Canajoharie, Montgomery county, New York, April 13, 1824, aged eighty years. He retained to the last his vigor of mind and body. The day previous to his death he rode three miles to transact some business; on his return he retired at his usual hour and in apparent health; early the next morning he was discovered lifeless. He married, September 28, 1767, Mary Wales, daughter of Captain Elisha Wales, of Ashford, Connecticut. Their eldest daughter Clarissa married Rev. Winslow Paige. Children:
- Colonel John Keyes, see forward.
- Hannah, born at Stephentown, New York; married Archibald Croswell.
- Maria C., born at Schaghticoke, New York; married David Cady, and died at Schenectady, August 11, 1874.
- Judge Alonzo C., born at Schaghticoke, died March 31, 1868, at Schenectady, where he left a family. He was judge of the New York court of appeals.
- Diana C., married Allen H. Jackson, and died May 19, 1863, at Schenectady.
- Antoinette, born at Schaghticoke; married Judge Platt Potter, of Schenectady, and had a daughter Mary.
(V) Colonel John Keyes, eldest son of Rev. Winslow and Clarissa (Keyes) Paige, was born at Hardwick, Massachusetts, August 2, 1788, died December 10, 1857, at Schenectady, New York. He was graduated at Williams College, 1807, and was a cadet at West Point. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Schenectady, continuing until the outbreak of the war of 1812 with Great Britain. He received a captain's commission in 1812; was soon promoted to colonel; was aide to General Covington and afterwards to General Wilkinson. He served throughout the war and earned for himself a distinguished reputation as a soldier. In 1818 he was elected district attorney; clerk of the supreme court, 1823-42; regent of New York State University, 1829; presidential elector, 1844, and April 8, 1845, was the successful candidate of the Democratic party for mayor of Albany, the forty-fourth elected incumbent of that office. The Whig candidate was Friend Humphrey, the then mayor, whom he was successful over by thirty-eight votes. After retiring from office he removed to Gilboa, New York, and in the fall of 1856 went to Schenectady. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, and a man who stood high in his profession and in the regard of his friends. He married (first) in Schenectady, New York, October 16, 1817, Helen Maria, daughter of Governor Joseph Christopher and Maria (Kane) Yates. She died January, 1829, at Albany, leaving a son, Joseph Christopher Yates Paige, born July 8, 1818, in Schenectady, New York, died May 30, 1876, a graduate of Williams College; lawyer, chamberlain of the city of Albany, 1858-72. He married Harriet, daughter of Judge Jonas Vanderpoel, of Albany; children Helen Maria, Joseph Yates and Leonard. Colonel John Keyes married (second) November 2, 1833, Anna Maria, born June 12, 1805, daughter of Hon. Francis Bloodgood, thirty-eighth mayor of Albany, and in office at date of his daughter's marriage. Francis Bloodgood was a direct descendant of Frans Jansen Bloetgoet, born in Holland, 1635, died at Flushing, Long Island, November 29, 1676; emigrated from Amsterdam, Holland, to New Amsterdam (New York), 1658; settled at Flushing, 1659, was secretary to the Colonies on the Delaware river, 1659; schepen of Flushing, 1673; chief military officer there 1674; deputy to New Orange, and died from wounds received in a skirmish with Indians. He married, 1657, Lysabeth Jans, of Gouda, Holland. Their son William, born in Flushing, New York, 1667, was vestryman of the Episcopal church; grand juryman. He married Mary Brinkerhoff. Their son Francis, born in Flushing, New York, 1712, died there 1744; was justice of the peace; married Mary Doughty. Their son, James B., born at Flushing, 1736, removed to Albany, 1759, where he was a merchant. He married Lydia, daughter of Jacobus Van Valkenburgh. Hon. Francis, of the fifth generation in America, was born in Albany, July 18, 1768, died there in 1842. He was a graduate of Yale College, 1787, and was admitted to the bar. He practiced law in New York City, and returned to Albany where he was clerk of the supreme court until 1823; secretary to the board of regents, 1798-1813; second president of the New York State Bank; president of Albany Insurance Company, and was elected thirty-eighth mayor of Albany, December 29, 1830, over his Whig opponent, John Townsend. He signalized his induction into the mayor's chair by paying all the debts of those confined in jail as debtors. He was re-elected December 27, 1832, being succeeded by Hon. Erastus Corning. Mr. Bloodgood was a Democrat, and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was noted for his integrity. He married (first) Eliza Cobham, of distinguished English and French ancestry (Cobham and Montmorency). He married (second) Anna (Morris) Shoemaker. Children of first marriage:
- Margaret, and
- Anna Maria, second wife of Colonel John Keyes Paige, who had issue:
- Anna Bloodgood, died unmarried 1886.
- Clara Antoinette, unmarried, of Schenectady.
- Frances Cobham, unmarried, of Schenectady.
- John Keyes, see forward.
- Alonzo Winslow, born September 12, 1845, now of New York City, unmarried.
(VI) John Keyes (2), son of Colonel John Keyes (1) and Anna Maria (Bloodgood) Paige, was born in Albany, December 14, 1843. He was graduated at Union College, A. B., class of 1865, and is a long time resident of Schenectady. He has been the organist of St. George's Episcopal Church for fifty years, beginning January 1, 1860. For thirty years he has been a vestryman. He is a Democrat politically; was alderman from his ward, and in 1885 was appointed by President Cleveland postmaster of Schenectady, holding that position until 1890. During his term of office the free delivery system was inaugurated in Schenectady. He is a distinguished Free Mason, and has had many honors conferred upon him. He is past master of St. George's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; is high priest of St. George's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; is emminent commander of St. George's Commandery, Knights Templar; district deputy grand master, and has the past officers' jewels belonging to these high positions. He is influential in the grand bodies of these Masonic orders, and well versed in Masonic law and usage. He married, in Schenectady, (in the house where he now resides) November 20, 1873, Jeannette Franchot, born in Morris, Otsego county, New York, daughter of General Richard and Annie (Van Vranken) Franchot. She is a granddaughter of Judge Pascal Franchot, born March 30, 1774, in the department of de la Haule Marne, Canton de Sainte Dezier, Commune de Chamouelly, France, whose father emigrated from France to the United States at the beginning of the French revolution with his sons, who when he saw them safely settled in Otsego county returned to France. Judge Franchot was an important factor in the development of that then wild region and was an influential man in many ways. He married (first) Catherine, (second) Deborah, both daughters of Derrick Hansen. He had ten children. Richard, son of Judge Franchot, was born in Morris, Otsego county, New York, in 1816. He was for several years president of the Albany and Susquehanna railroad. In 1860 he was elected to congress. In 1862 he was made colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-first regiment, New York Volunteers. He resigned his commission to Colonel Upton, and served out his term as congressman, after which he removed to Schenectady. He was instrumental in establishing the cotton and woolen mills at Morris, and did much to advance the general interests of that town. He died in Schenectady, November 23, 1875. He married Annie Van Vranken, and they were the parents of Jeannette (Franchot) Paige. Children of John Keyes (2) and Jeanette (Franchot) Paige:
- John Keyes (3), born February 11, 1876; educated in Schenectady public and high schools; assistant to the department superintendent of the General Electric Company.
- Richard Franchot, born January, 1878; educated in high school; assistant to the department manager of the General Electric Company.
- Douglas Warner, born April 23, 1880; graduate of Union University, class of 1900, degree of A. B.; graduate Albany Law School, LL.B., 1903; prominently connected with the legal department of the Title & Guarantee Company of New York City.
- Anna Bloodgood, born August 6, 1881.
- Alonzo Winslow, born August 23, 1886; educated at the high school; connected with the General Electric Company.