Thomas Nelson Page was born in Hanover County, Virginia on April 23, 1853. His parents, John Page and Elizabeth Burwell Nelson Page, were each the descendants of powerful and important Virginia families. His mother traced her lineage back to Thomas Nelson, a Scottish merchant who settled in Yorktown in the early 1700s and whose son, William Nelson, would serve as royal governor of Virginia from 1770-1771. His father’s earliest American ancestor was Colonel John Page, who landed in Jamestown in 1650, but the Pages produced more than a few important figures in Virginia history, including Mann Page, who represented the state at the Constitutional Convention in 1777, and his brother John Page, who was governor from 1802-1805.

Although both prominent and wealthy by any objective measure

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Citation: Bundrick, Christopher. "Thomas Nelson Page". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 June 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3455, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3455 Thomas Nelson Page 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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