Representative Henry Page

Henry Page (June 28, 1841 – January 7, 1913) was an American politician and jurist who served one term in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from Maryland and later became a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. His congressional service occurred during a significant period in American history, during which he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents.

Page was born on June 28, 1841, in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland. He was the son of Thomas W. Crisfield. He received his early education at the school of Anthony Bolivar in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he undertook preparatory studies. Demonstrating an early interest in the law, he went on to attend the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, studying law in its distinguished program.

After completing his legal studies, Page was admitted to the bar in 1864 and commenced the practice of law in his hometown of Princess Anne. He quickly became active in public affairs in Maryland during the Reconstruction era. In 1867, he served as a member of the Maryland constitutional convention, participating in the reshaping of the state’s fundamental law in the years following the Civil War.

Page’s early political and legal career advanced further when he was elected State’s attorney for Somerset County, Maryland, a position he held from 1870 to 1884. In this capacity, he was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases on behalf of the state, gaining a reputation as a capable lawyer and public servant over fourteen years of continuous service.

As a member of the Democratic Party representing Maryland, Page contributed to the legislative process during one term in office in the United States Congress. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress and served from March 4, 1891, until September 3, 1892. During this period, he participated in the national legislative process and represented the interests of his Maryland constituents at a time of significant economic and political change in the United States. He resigned from Congress on September 3, 1892, to accept a judicial appointment.

Upon leaving Congress, Page embarked on a distinguished judicial career. In August 1892 he was appointed chief judge of the first judicial district of Maryland, thereby also becoming a judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. He was subsequently elected to this position in November 1893 for a term of fifteen years, reflecting the confidence of the electorate in his legal acumen and judicial temperament. His service on the bench placed him at the center of important questions of Maryland law in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Henry Page spent his later years in Princess Anne, continuing his long association with the community where he had been born, practiced law, and launched his public career. He died in Princess Anne on January 7, 1913. He was interred in Manokin Presbyterian Church Cemetery, leaving a legacy of service as a lawyer, prosecutor, legislator, and judge in the state of Maryland.