Voltaire said that history is a "Mississippi of lies," a lie being anything that is not completely true. Surely there is room for inaccuracy when one looks back over years of events only sparsely and sporadically recorded. Memories fade, and cloud, and mingle at vague points, to combine and lose their accuracy in recall, or disappear altogether. Unhappy is often forgotten, happy taken for granted, and injustices—as well as strong personalities—remembered. The bottom line is a hodgepodge of "tales" taken with a grain of salt, as told by old folks in their later years to distracted young folks just discovering life. In between dwell the middle-aged folks, often tired of hearing them.
Upon this so-called river of lies floats an alloy of truth, fabrication, confusion, embellishment, vignettes, glories, beliefs, standards and lessons, passed down as heritage. But the residual value of such diminishes and succumbs, in a highly technical, mass-media-drenched society, if special care is not taken. So many ideas and things are palmed-off on half-suspecting audiences that some of us become suspicious of all. Added to this handicap, the value of knowing one's heritage is questioned by those who live solely for the present.
Some people hope that forgetting, or never knowing the past, the future will not be affected by it. Contrary to this, however, history has shown time after time that the future is a product of the past, and the past is a precursor of what is to come. Thus, it would seem, the more accurate a history is, the more likely one could safeguard the future against undesirable recurrences, while promoting those which would be advantageous.
With the above, personal philosophy in mind, the following account is a path hewn through the long-neglected Page/Castner family history. This road travels throughout southern, Lower Michigan, to New York, to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, touching on old Virginia and war-ravaged Arkansas. On it you can follow the routes of the various families as they move West in search of new opportunities: the Thayers, who traveled to Webster and Macedon, New York, from Braintree, Massachusetts; the Keys family from Vermont and New York, who came to Michigan in the early and mid-1800s; the Castners and Welters of New Jersey and New York, who may have been influenced by the teachings of the Universal Friend; also the Pages from England, in New York and Michigan, who added a certain spice and mystery. You'll also get a brief glimpse of the Shooks from Pennsylvania, who settled in western New York.
There will be changes in the spelling of surnames; foster children; religious sects; coincidences; long life spans; a variety of occupations; and just beautiful people. Also seen will be families split apart by divorce, death, and the imminent desire to "move on." But countering the disruptions and uprootedness, you will discover families who stopped emigrating, established themselves in one locale, and remained for many years.
Before venturing into our rediscovered heritage, it might be interesting to read an account of the information that survived into the 1980s. Aside from an assortment of notes left by Grandma Maude Moore when she died in 1972, only sparse information was clearly remembered of circa 1900 family by her son, Howard Paige. He recalled that an ancestral minister had served as a chaplain in the Civil War, that Howard's father's middle name was "Orlando" after an ancestor, and that a grandmother's maiden name was "Keyes" (pronounced Kies), her nickname being "Bunch." He remembered an Aunt Rene Powers who lived at the Village of Scotts in Kalamazoo County, and recalled a small, wizened lady who sat in a rocking chair at Aunt Rene's and was called "Grandma Keys."
Howard also knew of his Uncle George, and Aunt Mary Page of Charlotte, and that George was the half-brother of Howard's father Charles Orlando Page. In a family Bible it showed Charles' parents as Sarah and R. P. Page. According to Howard, R. P.'s first name was "Riley." Riley himself was a family enigma. Tradition states he divorced Sarah and returned to New York whence he originally came. Nobody seemed to know where. It was said he was involved in an explosion. Sarah later married the strong personality Harvey Olmstead Cline, who left an indelible mark on the Page family.
Regarding Howard's mother's side of the family, he knew his grandparents Edward and Franky Castner were divorced, and that both had remarried—Edward marrying "Kate" in Detroit, where they worked at a restaurant on the corner of Trumbull and Grand streets; and Franky marrying barber Harry J. Witherell of Port Huron and Detroit. He also knew that Edward died at Redford, a suburb of Detroit, and believed he was buried in a pauper's cemetery.
Also from Maude's notes it was learned that Franc (Franky;Frankie) Castner Witherell was reared by foster parents with the last name of "Sutliff," that the Sutliffs moved to California, and that Franc stayed behind to marry Edward Castner—a man ten years her senior. Maude states, however, that Franc's actual parents were James J. Gargett, a Michigan millionaire, and Marie Laronge who died when Franky was born. On Franc's death certificate Maude wrote that Franc had been born in Richmond, Virginia. From my own memory, I recall Great-Grandma-Franc saying that her sister was shot while in her father's library by someone outside the window. Franc also recalled a trip by covered wagon.
Maude wrote only a few things concerning her ex-husband. Among them were: the date of their divorce, the date he died, and the fact that Charlie was one of Sarah Keyes' boys—that he had survived diphtheria during an epidemic that killed two of his brothers.
Not long ago I learned Maude had left some additional notes with the adopted daughter of her son Marshal Page. Gayle (Page) Miller had been interested in the Page family history long before the current effort. At that time Maude was still living and wrote more about the Castners. From Gayle it was learned that Ed Castner had a brother Isaiah and sister Dora. Dora married someone by the name of "Easterly" and had a son Willie, while Isaiah had a daughter Laura. The information I received from Gayle soon multiplied as it directly led to the location of the Castners in New York. The New York research led to discovery of further siblings, generations and history.
Like one of the many complex jigsaw puzzles Grandma Maude Moore loved to assemble, the Page/Keyes/Castner family scene, with its many scattered pieces, suddenly began fitting together. That there are still odd pieces is certain, but their number is diminishing. That some pieces may never be found is probable, although the possibility should not inhibit us from appreciating the picture so far defined.
The Page/Keyes/Castner genealogy is dedicated to the memory of Maude Annabelle Castner and Charles Orlando Page, who remained married from May 24, 1902 until December of 1923.
During their years together they lived in several places. Early they stayed with Charles' mother and stepfather, the Clines, in Lansing on Harwood Street and at 319 Bartlett, and in Mason, where "Unk" (Harvey Cline) was sheriff of Ingham County, Michigan. After Charles' mother died in 1911, the Page family moved to 315 W. Mason Street in Jackson, Michigan. They next moved to Blackstone Street and then to 925 S. Jackson Street, moving once again—this time to 936 S. Jackson. Here they were next-door neighbors of Maude's mother and stepfather, the Witherells.
To the Pages were born: Margaret Frances on August 1, 1905, while the family lived on Bartlett Street; Howard Oswald on December 3, 1909, while his folks lived in Mason; and Marshal Harvey on October 26, 1911, born shortly after the Pages moved to Mason Street in Jackson.
Maude's and Charlie's stories diverge after he left home in 1921. This account is an attempt to give an in-depth view into their lives, as well as into the lives of family members and other people who influenced them. The final and continuing portion is devoted to their descendants.
Charles W. Paige
Written in August 1980
Revised in July 2000
Last modified: Tuesday June 16, 2009
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