Another family that was active in the political arena during the early 1900’s was the Page family. According to Mrs. C.A. Page’s obituary, the Richard Page family arrived in Granite on May 18, 1889. When Richard died in February 3, 1897 (headstone states 1899), Christy A. (Mrs. Richard) moved to South Philipsburg, where she lived until her death, on August 3, 1911, at the age of seventy two. At the time of Christy’s death she was survived by three sons: Vatis of Philipsburg, Edward of Drummond and John R., who was then living in Red Lodge; daughter: Mrs. Mary McKeown of Kalispell; and a brother (not named) of Kalispell. Obviously a child preceded them in death, as Philipsburg City Hall records have a grave file card for R. and C.A. Page (Baby), but no birth or death dates.
Mrs. Page was an active member of the King’s Daughters Society of the Presbyterian Church and Pearl Chapter No. 14, Order of the Eastern Star. The funeral was conducted by the O.E.S. and she was interred next to Richard in the Philipsburg cemetery.
Son, John was born September 12, 1880, at Harrisburg, Missouri and came to Granite, at the age of eight. He was married December 18, 1906 to Gertrude Wickersheim, of Corbin, Montana, in Boulder, Montana. They set up residence in Philipsburg and lived there most of the time, until his death. Although his obituary stated he served as a State Senator for 6 terms, this is not correct. As a Democrat, Mr. Page was elected as a State Representative in 1914 and 1916. In 1918, he was elected as a State Senator, re-elected in 1922 and lost the election to J.D. Kennedy in 1926, by fifty votes. John ran against Kennedy again in 1930 and won the senate seat back by 167 votes, then in 1934, was re-elected, over Kennedy, by almost 300 votes. He also served on the City of Philipsburg Finance Committee in 1920. After his last term as a senator, John was a mine boiler inspector until his retirement.
John was serving as the Judge for the City of Philipsburg when he died. He was a veteran of the Spanish American War, and belonged to the Silver Post VFW, the AF&AM Pearl Chapter, Order of Eastern Star and the Presbyterian Church.
John died at his home, while getting ready for bed, on December 22, 1956. Survivors were: wife, son Perry Page and wife of Salt Lake City, Utah, daughters and spouses: Mr. and Mrs. Glen Taylor Vancouver, Washington; Mr. and Mrs. Taylor (Mamie) Baker of Spokane, Washington; and Mr. and Mrs. Bert (Doris) Kingery of Greenough and brother Vatis Page and wife Eva of Philipsburg. Funeral services were performed by the Masonic Temple and Pallbearers at the Philipsburg Cemetery were: Earnest McLaughlin, Jack Courtney, Everett Doe, Dr. L.R. Nesbit, Joe Beretta, and C. M. Huffman. Graveside services were conducted by the VFW.
John’s wife, Gertrude Wickersheim Page, born October 29, 1889 died November 7, 1967, and has a headstone next to John, in the Philipsburg cemetery.
John’s eldest son, John Page Jr., died while his Dad was a Senator, of a throat ailment. He had been ill at the family home in Philipsburg for several days before being taken to the Hospital in Butte on July 29, where he died July 31, 1933. John Jr. graduated from Granite County High School in 1927, with athletic honors and had continued his education with two years at the University of Montana. Burial was in the Philipsburg cemetery after funeral services at the Methodist Church. Pallbearers were: George Metcalf, Milton Doe, Leslie Herring, Harold Kaiser, Leonard Rinderknecht and Emile Perry. Honorary pallbearers were: George Grover of Anaconda; Tom Moore of Missoula; Herb Crossman of Hall; Harold Bowen, Forrest John McKenzie and Roddie McRae of Philipsburg.
John’s daughter Doris, born August 26, 1911, married Ronald Pelkington, on May 28, 1928, and to that marriage was born a daughter, Lois (now Mrs. Gordon Owsley). Then on June 3, 1936, Doris, became the bride of Ernest A. Simell who died after a brief illness, at the home of his step-father and mother Mr. and Mrs. A. Anderson, on December 28, 1937. Ernest was born in Anaconda and as a child, also lived in Philipsburg. He served nine years in the U.S. Army and received his honorable discharge in 1934. He had lived in Philipsburg for the past two years.. He was interred in the Philipsburg cemetery.
In 1950, Doris married Bert Kingrey, in Virginia City, Montana. Doris died, February 12, 1990, with burial in the Philipsburg cemetery. Bert died at the age of eighty four, at the Granite County Medical Center of cancer, on February 19, 2007. His graveside inurnment service were held with military honors.
Senator John Page’s older brother Vatis was born on December 6, 1874, in Nova Scotia, Canada, so was probably fourteen when the family arrived in Granite. His obituary stated he attended school in Granite, but I do not believe they had a High School at that time. He married Birdie Nevada Keiley, from Granite, when he was twenty-five, on July 26, 1900. They made their home in Philipsburg.
In 1906, according to the Philipsburg Mail, Vatis and Al Schroller were taking out rich ore from the Lucky Boy mine east of Granite. His obituary stated he also worked at Walker Grocery.
Vatis’ wife, Birdie, born on September 23, 1869, in Marshall County, Iowa, died on February 8, 1919, after being ill eight days, from an abscess in the inner ear which affected the brain. She was only forty eight years, four months and fifteen days of age. Besides Vatis, she was survived by three daughters: Mrs. Ethel Lambson of Mackey, Idaho, Mrs. J.E. McClannahan of Everett, Washington and Althea Page of Philipsburg and four sons: Wallace D. Kelly in the Signal Corp in France, Vatis Jr., Leslie and Kenneth Page, all of Philipsburg and brother Ed Smith of Mackey, Idaho and sister Mrs. Henry Overly of Philipsburg plus her mother Mrs. Frank Harvey of Mackey, Idaho. She had lived in Philipsburg for the past eighteen years. The funeral was held on February 11, after the train arrived and Rev. W. H. Calvert officiated, with internment in the Philipsburg cemetery.
Birdie and Vatis’ daughter Althea married Melvin H. Johnson, on September 22, 1923, at the Methodist Parsonage, in Anaconda, with Rev. Edward H. Bartlett of Anaconda performing the ceremony. Mr. Johnson was employed by the Philipsburg Mining Company and Althea was a sophomore at Granite County High School.
After Birdie’s death, Vatis continued as a merchant evidenced by articles such as “Vatis Page, proprietor of the Philipsburg Cash Grocery, returned Wednesday from a business trip to Butte and Helena” His obituary stated he was in a Grocery store partnership for several years.
On September 14, 1920 Vatis married Mrs. Eva M. Ross, in Butte, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Loring. They honeymooned at the Montana State Fair in Helena and a reception was to be given when they returned to Philipsburg on September 20, at the Rev. and Mrs. Fred Austice home.
Eva was the daughter of Albert Tinklepaugh and the owner of the two story Ross building which caught on fire March 6, 1920. The fire was discovered by D.M. Durfee when he entered his office located in the building. Judge Durfee’s law office and fixtures were saved, as was Mr. and Mrs. F.C. Schillings household and personal effects. Sadly, Mrs. Ross was in Butte, with her young son Leslie, having his cast removed as he had broken his leg several weeks earlier in a coasting accident. Her son Claude was at home and had looked at the fires only a few minutes before the fire started and everything was alright. Both stoves, which he had started fires in, were removed by the firemen and neither were more than warm. So the firemen thought a defective flue was the cause of the fire. When Mrs. Ross returned from Butte she found she had only the clothes she was wearing left. She had bought the building, originally built by Joseph A. Hyde in the 1880’s “several years ago and has since used the lower floor for her residence and the upper floor as a lodging house”.
Eva’s son, C.E. (Claude) Herring married and lived in Missoula and her son Leslie Herring married Miss Lois Aileen Donnelly, in Butte on August 27, 1928. Lois was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Donnelly and had worked as a telephone operator in Philipsburg for the past year. Leslie was engaged in mining.
Vatis died after a lingering illness at The Granite County Hospital in 1959. Vatis was employed as custodian for the Granite County Courthouse for 11 years before his retirement in 1951. He had lived in Granite County for 70 years. Reverend Raymond Cheney officiated at the Community Church funeral and Mrs. Roy Greenheck and Mrs. Norman Schiveland sang “Beyond the Sunset” and Beautiful isle of Somewhere”. Pallbearers were: A.L. Ackershott, W.C. Bowen, K.E. Hannah, E.T. Irvine, Erick Johnson and R.J. Huffman with burial in the family plot in the Philipsburg Cemetery, next to Birdie, his first wife. Survivors were: Eva; sons: Vatis in N.D., J. Leslie in Chicago, Kenneth in Chicago and daughter: Althea Rook in Reno. Plus step children: Less, Claude, Erton Herring and Wallace Kelly.
Eva was 99 years old when she died March 19, 1973 in Butte and is buried in Philipsburg.
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