The
subject of this sketch, R. M. Page, of the
growing city of Fort Worth, Texas, whose portrait is herewith
presented, is a
native of old Virginia; and was born near Orange Court House, Orange
County,
Va., on the banks of the swift-running waters of the historic Rapidan,
January 1, 1842. Later on, his parents, R. F. and Sarah W. Page, with
others of quite a
large family, removed to Greene county, of which Stanardsville, Va., is the seat. It was
here he acquired an elementary English course of education, which
served to
qualify him in a manner for the stubborn conflicts of life, which in
warp and
woof partake of the real nature of knightly tourneys and battles hotly
waged
for the many prizes to be won. Viewed in the light of his hard-won
successes,
considering the narrowness of his early training, Mr. Page may, with
sincere
and unaffected pride, point to his career and record as substantial
evidence of
the fact of his being a man of affairs, alike shrewd and keenly
observant, and
withal one of ostensibly superior merit. To an ambition to forge ahead
and
achieve vantage-ground in commercial life, is due in no small degree
whatever
of fortune he enjoys. Habits of industry, economy and sobriety, have
been to
him as he claims, no mean aids and props in helping to achieve
important
triumphs, and in assisting to garner up and preserve their beneficent
fruits. A religious regard for and the observance in strictness, of
sound
principles of business, and the contraction of simple habits of life
has, as
may be imagined, held sway, as it were, over his mind, and guided his
energies in the
acquisition of his large fortune. As a result, he is now in the
enjoyment of a
princely income, which secures to him a life of luxurious ease and
cloyless
independence. Unaided by the accidents of tortune or adventitious
circumstances,
he may be fairly cited as exemplifying in his business methods and
habits,
what, truly is possible of attainment at the hands of the aspiring and
resolute
young men of the rising generation. In view of his broad acquirements
in divers
fields of useful knowledge, he is justly esteemed the architect of his
own
fortiine; and is rightly racked off and grouped with that remarkable
galaxy of
pushing, aggressive busy-bodies, most fittingly entitled the world over
"self-made men." Confessedly, to this class of stalwart organizers,
mankind is largely indebted for that foresight, and energy of mind
which
inaugurates wholesome innovations and blazes the way for each advance
step in
the direction of the development of the world's boundless material
resources.
The Pages of the
"Old'Dominion,"
whose numerical strength make them appear almost ubiquitous, and whose
pleasant
and hospitable homes are to be fonnd dotting and beautifying the most
favored
sections of the grand old State, can boast an ancestry of which they
may well
feel proud. It has been said by some of our best writers that Virginian
society
was but, in its early stages and mature development, a continuation of
the most
cultivated society of old England. The most
gifted of the ancestral progenitors of this family acted and bore a
leading and conspicuous part in the heroic struggle and protracted war
for
independence. In the crises of her fate, Virginia,
ever renowned as being the fairest of the fair, the proudest of the
proud, and
the bravest of the brave, gladly welcomed such around her council
fires.
Diligent inquiry discovers, that stations the most exalted, involving
the most
sacred trusts and the highest honors, were bestowed upon such by the
suffrages
of their countrymen, in recognition of meritorious services. At the
outbreak of
the civil war the subject of this sketch was sojourning in Saline
county, Mo. Hostilities being
begun his instincts naturally led him to enter the Confederate service,
'in which
he enlisted as a private. It was not ordained, however, that he should
remain
and serve as such very long.
His manly bearing as a
soldier did not pass unnoticed, as the sequel reveals. In recognition
of
valuable services rendered Maj.-Gen. Jno. S.
Marmaduke,
as a bold and daring scout and for other soldierly conduct, he was
singled out
by him as one pre-eminently worthy of promotion; and, was accordingly
commissioned to recruit and organize a company for the regular service.
The
dispatch with which this task was set about and accomplished, is much
to his
credit, and argued well his possession of the highest qualities of a
recruiting
officer. To his credit in the main was due the organization of Company
"A" 10th Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army, of which he was elected Captain.
The
conspicuous eminence of the army of Missouri, in all essential virtues
which
makes for the honor of American manhood, in the rare union of the
attributes of
fortitude, hardy endurance of privations, daring and courage, is known
of all
men, and is but simply the fruitage of duty well and heroically
performed. The
war being fought to an issue, Capt. R. M. Page repaired to Memphis, Tennessee,
at which place he engaged in the produce and commission business, which
he
prosecuted for several years with moderate success. In the summer of
1874, he
came to Texas and located at McKinney, at which place he
embarked in the
lumber business, very much to his profit, with a cash capital of
$6,000. As he
prospered, a new horizon and a larger field for venture opened before
him. He
saw the policy of vigorously undertaking new enterprises; and, under
the spur
of impulses generated, established lumber yards at various other
eligible points
within the State; seven in all being the number of his plant. Thus he
began to
feather his nest and to rapidly accumulate under a wise conduct of his
extensive enterprises, much additional capital, and to prepare the way
for real
estate ventures of most singular good luck and fortune. Thus too, was
builded
the scaffolding from which as from a Pisgah he could behold, not only
his
advantages, but likewise the virtues and emoluments of the prosperous
business
of banking. The causes which have most contributed to Capt. Page's
pre-eminence
in the highest walks of business life and existence, have been outlined
above.
Today he walks proudly erect, one of the most upright and respected
bankers and
men of affairs to be met with anywhere within the borders of our
imperial State. His investment in the three lines, viz.: lumber, real
estate
and banking, represent as the outcome of his sleepless vigilance and
toilsome
labors, the handsome sum of $750,000 capital. He is known to be a
confirmed and
incorrigible old bachelor, much devoted to his extensive library and an
admirer
of clean, clever little children, which he regrets, as he informs us,
are awful
scarce. In politics he is a simon-pure Democrat; and, while disowning
the
profession of the politician, he sometimes by way of diversion, employs
his
leisure moments in writing racy, crisp and breezy articles on current
political
topics, for the press. He accepts as embodying the soul of wisdom, the
advice
given the youth of Athens
by the author of the oration on the crown-Demosthenes—that it was best
to
eschew politics as a profession. He likewise bears nobly in mind the
characterization of public life by the barefooted philosopher of Athens—Socrates—"That
it was but a den of wild beasts." His life embodies a lesson and points
a
moral which may and should be well and profitably pondered and studied.
