Emma Gilham Page - Marriage, Children

Marriage, Children

On February 9, 1882, Emma married civil engineer and coal property manager William Nelson Page, son of Edwin Randolph and Olivia (née Alexander) Page of Locust Grove in Campbell County, Virginia. According to author H. Reid in his book The Virginian Railway (Kalmbach, 1961), they made their home in Ansted, West Virginia. As head of Gauley Mountain Coal Company, in 1889, William Page had company carpenters build a palatial white Victorian mansion on a knoll in the middle of town. Architect William Minter designed the house in a Gothic style. Completed in 1890, it had 15 regular rooms, plus a butler's pantry and a dressing room. There were 11 fireplaces with hand-carved wooden mantels, most in different styles. Even the doors had ornately decorated hinges. The exterior featured 52 8-foot-tall windows. The mansion was a symbol of wealth and power in the community. A staff of eight served the family's needs.

In the family den, William Page first developed the plans for Building the Virginian Railway working with silent partner Henry Huttleston Rogers. The 440-mile Virginian Railway (VGN) extended from the bituminous coal-rich counties of Fayette, Raleigh County, Wyoming County, and Mingo County, West Virginia to coal piers at Sewell's Point on Hampton Roads near Norfolk, Virginia. Considered an engineering marvel, the profitable and efficient VGN was completed in 1909. (It was merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1959, and remains an important artery for Norfolk Southern Corporation in the 21st century).

William Nelson and Emma Gilham Page had six children, four of whom survived childhood:

• Delia Hayden Page, 1882–1976
• Edwin Randolph Page, 1884–1949
• Mary Josephine Page, 1893–1962
• Randolph Gilham Page, 1893–1930

They also had two other children who died in infancy:

• Evan Powell Page, born 1887
• William Gilham Page, born 1890

In the late 1870s, Emma, and her mother-in-law, Olivia Page, who had come to live with the family, were influential in establishing the Church of the Redeemer, the Episcopal Church in Ansted. In addition to pursuing business interests, William Page also found time to serve as the mayor of Ansted for 10 years and rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard. He was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital in neighboring Kanawha County.

After William Page retired in 1917, Emma and William moved to Washington, DC, where they spent the remainder of their lives. There, he served as a consultant to federal regulators on metallurgical and mining matters.

Their youngest son, Randolph Gilliam "Dizzy" Page, was an early pioneer of the U.S. air mail industry. He was killed in plane crash in 1930.

Emma Gilham Page died on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1933. She was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, along with her husband William, who had died the year before.