A family story on the life of Cary Dawson Page published in The Heritage of Covington County, Alabama is the basis for today’s column. When the book was compiled in 2003, Cary Phillip Stanley of Opp, Ala., submitted the article he had written on his grandfather. Also, some family genealogy was found on Ancestry.com and it is integrated into the following narrative.

The earliest Page ancestor identified in Ancestry.com records was Thomas Page who died in 1797 in Kershaw, S.C. Thomas had a son named Isaiah Jesse Page, born in 1739, who married Dicie Miller who was born in 1764 in Scotland. She died in 1846 in Ideal, Macon County, Ga. They had a son named Jesse Page who was born in 1792 in North Carolina and died in 1829 in Marion, Ga. He was married to Asha Murphy, daughter of William Murphy and Jerusha Scott. She was born in 1792 in South Carolina and died in 1865 in Opp, Ala.

Jesse and Asha Page reared the following children who were all born in North Carolina with the exception of the youngest: Martha Ann, b. 1815, d. 1903; McKineth A., b. 1818, d. 1897; Peggy Ann, b. 1824, d. 1830; Dicy J., b. 1826, d. 1874; and Amanda Samantha, b. 1828, d. 1851. The family appears to have moved to Georgia circa 1827.

The oldest son, McKineth A. Page, was the father of Cary Dawson Page, the featured subject in this writing. McKineth was born in 1818 in North Carolina and died in 1897 in Opp, Ala. During the 1850s he moved his family from Macon County, Ga., to Coffee County, Ala. He was married first in 1843 to Kizziah Taunton (1826-1844) with whom he had one son, George W., b. 1844, d. 1863 in Atlanta. Following Kizziah’s death, he was married second in 1849 to Martha M. Bond (1830-1856). They had the following children: Kizziah, b. 1850, d. 1908; Harlan McKineth, b. 1852, d. 1894; Jeptha Amos, b. 1853, d. 1928; Elizabeth, b. 1854, d. 1864; and Martha Emma, b. 1856, d. 1924.

Two years after Martha’s death, McKineth Page was married the third time to Pernina Jane “Nina” Dorsey (1836-1919). She was born in Georgia and died in Coffee County, Ala. Nina helped McKineth rear his children, and they had the following additional ones: Cary Dawson, b. 1859, d. 1930, m. (1) Annie Lee Wilson (2) 1899 Eva Patrick (3) 1918 Edith Ann Hudson (1883-1965); Jefferson Davis, b. 1862, d. 1948; James Greenberry, b. 1863, d. 1949; Georgia Entis, b. 1866, d. 1894; Burton Wayne, b. 1868, d. 1933; Wilburn Budd, b. 1871, d. 1898; and Willie, b. 1875.

Cary Dawson was the oldest son of McKineth Page’s third wife, Pernina Jane Dorsey. He spent most of his early years in the Alberton community, which is located just west of Opp, Ala., next to Pea River. Once grown, he became Postmaster of the Alberton Post Office and owned a general mercantile store. In the late 1880s he was married to Anna “Annie” Lee Wilson (ca 1856-1898). They had the following six children before her death: Jessie Arp, b. 1888, d. 1976, m. 1913 Charles Washington Stanley; Nannie Etta, b. 1890, d. 1977, m. 1923 Millard Fillmore Osborn (1895-1978); Fannie Cleveland, b. 1892, d. 1911 during college from measles complications; Robert Oscar, b. 1895, d. 1969, m. 1916 Bertha Lucille Collins; Horace, d. as infant; and unnamed daughter, d. in infancy.

Cary Dawson Page was married second to Eva Patrick (1870-1917) of measles). Eva helped Cary rear his first set of children, and they had the following four: George Cary, b. 1901, d. 1963, m. 1927 Evelyn B. Carr (1900-1973); Susie Jeanette, b. 1904, d. 1969, m. Owen Cecil Leslie Sr. (1901-1954); Mary Lallee, b. 1908, d. 1952, m. 1934 Goode Stallworth Lee (1907-1973); Walter Douglas Sr., b. 1913, d. 1984, m. Wilda Lee. In 1918, the year following Eva’s death, Cary Dawson was married to Edith Ann Hudson (1883-1965), daughter of Noah R. Hudson (1859-1936) and Nancy Lilis Helms (1856-1924).

Soon after Eva’s death in 1917 Cary Page moved to the growing town of Opp. He purchased a house, which was located about where the current Methodist Church parking lot is today. He operated a general mercantile store in the downtown area, which seemed to be his main line of work. During the next year, he was married to Edith Ann Hudson who helped him with his children. Cary was a very successful business man in Alberton and later in Opp. He was able to provide a college education for all of his children with the exception of Robert Oscar who wished to farm and the youngest son, Walter Douglas, who was only 15 years old when his father died. At his death in 1930 Cary Dawson was buried in the Opp City Cemetery.

Cary was also engaged in the operation of a large mercantile store in Kinston with his brother, Jefferson Davis Page, during the early 1900s. His brother, Burton Wayne, became treasurer of the Elba Improvement Company circa 1897. Circa 1912 a D.B. Page was an early merchant or businessman in the Town of Florala. In 1914 Robert L. Page served as agent for the L&N Railroad at Poley, a lumber mill town a few miles west of Opp. Circa 1946 W.D. Page was appointed Opp City Clerk.

Cary D. Page’s oldest daughter, Jessie Arp Page, was married in 1913 to Charles Washington Stanley. They reared the following four children: Charles Wilson, b. 1915, d. 1968, m. Dorothy Houston (1915-1999); Jessie Lucille, b. 1919, d. 1982, m. Jenkins Romus Woodham (1908-1989); Annie Janice, b. 1922, d. 1986, m. 1942 Willie C. Nelson (1918-2010); and Cary Phillip, m. Jeanie Hickman (1932-2016).

Cary D. Page’s son, Robert Oscar Page, was married in 1916 to Bertha Lucille Collins (1892-1979), daughter of John Henderson Collins (1863-1944) and Jinnie Zachry (1868-1931). They reared two children: Robert Oscar Jr., b. 1920; and Annie Bess, b. 1923, d. 2009, m. Oates Bonneau Rowe (1916-2002).

The Page family left a favorable record in Covington County.

As stated in the beginning of this column, two sources were Ancestry.com and a family story written by Cary Phillip Stanley for The Heritage of Covington County, Alabama. A third one was Gus and Ruby Bryan’s Covington County History, 1821-1876.

Anyone who finds any error in the above writing is requested to contact this writer, Curtis Thomasson, at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia, AL 36420; 334-804-1442; or Email: cthomasson@centurytel.net.