William Tyler Page

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William Tyler Page
28th Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
In office May 18, 1919 – December 7, 1931
Preceded by	South Trimble
Succeeded by	South Trimble
Personal details
Born	1868 (1868) Frederick, Maryland, U.S.
Died	October 19, 1942(1942-10-19) (aged 73–74) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery
Spouse	Mary Anna Weigangt ​ ​ (m. 1895; died 1929)​
Children	5
Relatives	Carter Braxton (great-great-grandfather)

William Tyler Page (1868 – October 19, 1942) was an American public servant. He worked on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., for 61 years, first as a page boy and later as a clerk of the United States House of Representatives. He was the author of American Creed and Story of Nation’s Capital.

Early life

Page was born in 1868 in

Page began working "twelve hours a day in a printing shop and a paper-bag factory" at the age of 10.[2]

Career

Page began working as a page boy for the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on December 19, 1881, and he became a clerk in 1919.^[3] Page worked for the Capitol for 61 years in total.^[3]

In 1917, at 49, Page wrote "The American's Creed," as a submission to a nationwide patriotic contest suggested by Henry Sterling Chapin, of

In 1919, the year after the war ended, Page was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives from the 66th United States Congress to the 71st Congress ended in 1931. The majority in power in the 1920s was the Republican Party.^[5] Later, he was Emeritus Minority Clerk, for the remainder of his life. He was highly respected by members of both major parties throughout his service, as a principled gentleman whose patriotism was inspirational and whose love of America was unquestioned.^{[according to whom?]}

Page died 11 years later, during the first year of America's involvement in the

For many years, Page had also served as the President General of the United States Flag Association.^{[citation needed]} The night before his death, he gave an address to the women's lineage society, the Daughters of the American Revolution on the Golden (50th) Anniversary of the writing of the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag (1892).^{[citation needed]}

American's Creed

The

I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.^[6][4]

Page once said:^{[citation needed]}

The American's Creed is a summing up, in one hundred words, of the basic principles of American political faith. It is not an expression of individual opinion upon the obligations and duties of American citizenship or with respect to its rights and privileges. It is a summary of the fundamental principles of American political faith as set forth in its greatest documents, its worthiest traditions and by its greatest leaders.

Personal life, death and legacy

Page resided in

Page died of heart disease on October 19, 1942, in Washington, D.C., at age 74.[1]^[3] He was buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery.^[8] In 1955, the Daughters of the American Revolution added a bronze plaque on his grave at Oak Hill Cemetery.^[2]

William Tyler Page Elementary School is located at 13400 Tamarack Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, and it is part of Montgomery County Public Schools.

See also

• American Flag
• Flag Day (United States)
• Sons of the American Revolution

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Tyler Page.

• United by The American’s Creed (National Society Daughters of the American Revolution)
• History of the American's Creed (rootsweb.com)
• The American's Creed (USFlag.org)

Government offices
Preceded by South Trimble	Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 1919–1931	Succeeded by South Trimble