_____________________________

Karen Paige Womack and

her cousin, Margaret Crocker Mack,

Cousins Republish Ancestor's 1885 Book; Found On Shelves At Norfolk Library

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

   Karen Paige Womack and her cousin, Margaret Crocker Mack, were simply tracing their roots when they ran across a book written by one of their ancestors.
    Actually, their story is a bit more complicated. After working on two separate books about their ancestors for a decade, the two women finally connected the dots. The story they planned to write had already been written. It was a rare 1885 book titled, “Twenty Two Years of Freedom,” which their great-great uncle wrote.
   “The book is about the celebration of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in Norfolk,” said Womack, who has worked as a Norfolk educator for 28 years. ”We tore up the place looking for it,” Womack recalled, chuckling. “The book was under lock and key. The response to the book has been tremendous.”
    It was written by their great-great uncle T. F. Paige Jr., who lived at 324 Bute St. according to census records. The book was reprinted and unveiled May 8 at the Kirn Memorial Library in the Sargeant Memorial Room at a book signing ceremony. It tells how many people in Hampton Roads joined to celebrate 22 years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery.
    The book focuses on the political climate in the late 1800s in Norfolk. “The whole city, not just blacks, participated in the celebration,” Womack explained. “All of the prominent black businesses took out ads and over 75 all-black businesses participated in the celebration.
   “When I found the book and the author’s home listed as 324 Bute St., I parked my car and walked down the block,” Womack said. “Then I waited to feel the presence of his spirit that said to me, ‘these are the places I walked and led others to walk. You’re on the right path.’ I heard these words in the depths of my soul.”
    But that’s the easy part of the story. The hard part of the story occurred as the pair spent 10 years traveling to the local library to examine fraying, dust-covered records. Then there were trips to local cemeteries. The two women routinely pored over census data, slave records, as well as birth, marriage and death certificates. To Womack, she still thought the main story was about her great grandfather (Richard Gault Leslie Paige).
    The pair’s breakthrough came at a routine meeting of the Bell’s Mills Historical Society, which E. Curtis Alexander heads. Alexander is the curator of the BMHRR Society and also a descendent of the U. S. Colored Troops. He told the pair he had located the grave marker of T. F. Paige Jr. in
West Point Cemetery.
    It would be easy to say that everything suddenly made sense.  He (T.F. Paige Jr.) was the main story rather than her great grandfather (Richard Gault Leslie Paige), who she’d been researching for almost a decade: End of story.
    But that’s not exactly what happened. Womack kept digging, paying attention when her great grandfather cited a book called “Twenty Two Years of Freedom.”

Posted May 28, 2008

    The light bulb went off as she read it, plus old wills, connecting them to other public records, and the tombstone (Alexander had mentioned). The veteran who was buried at West Point Cemetery was actually her own relative. He was her great-great uncle, T. F. Paige Jr., a former Union Navy soldier who’d also owned Paige Hotel in Market Square.
   “Market Square is where blacks did business back then,” Womack explained. “He had a hotel there in the heart of the business district. He also owned a grocery store, baggage and transfer service, and oyster shucking business. His wife ran their confectionery store.
   “I walked to the grave of T. F. Paige Jr. and prayed that what I was going to embark on would give me truthful answers. Then, I heard: ‘Continue to dig and you’ll get the answers.’ And, I’ve been getting the answers ever since.”
    The answers have not always been easy to swallow, Womack acknowledged, as she pointed to disturbing facts she’s uncovered.
“We dug through will after will and I kept seeing my great grandfather’s name (Richard Gault Leslie Paige), seeing that they were leaving him all of this land and property. Then, the light bulb went off again,” she said.
Her great grandfather (Richard Gault Leslie Paige) had not been a slave, at all, but rather a free man, as well as a descendent of those who were bequeathing their plantations and vast holdings to him and other area blacks. In other words, intermarriage was once common between immigrants who were from Europe and Africa. They all came to America as free people. Then, slavery changed all the rules.
    Moreover, Jim Crow later changed the rules, causing many blacks to abandon gains they’d made after the Emancipation ended slavery. Records show that many African Americans moved from the central business district to home-based businesses. “Many white landlords were no longer renting their buildings to black businesses,” Womack explained.
    To learn more about T. F. Paige, who was born in 1839 and died of gout on January 18, 1892, you can order a copy of the 1885 book he wrote.
    He is buried in the West Point section of Elmswood Cemetery located on Princess Anne Road, Norfolk. “I feel at peace with what I’ve discovered,” Womack said. “I’ve been strengthened by my discoveries and strengthened to discover more. We’re ready to release 100 more copies in the next two weeks.”
    In plain terms, the book tells of the accomplishments of Negroes 22 years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1885.
    To order the book, please contact Margaret Crocker Mack, 1-757-523-0330, or Karen Paige Womack, 1-757 -232-7257. The book costs $30.

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