How Did a Hero of the American Revolution Come to Sycamore, Illinois?
Presented by Mr. Thomas Woodstrup
Monday, February 21, 2000, 6:00 p.m.
Country Inn Restaurant, Sycamore
The third program of the Friends of NIU Libraries 1999-2000 season was a buffet dinner and presentation at the Country Inn. There was a nice turnout for the first ever try at combining a program with a full dinner option. The program, delivered by Thomas Woodstrup, had the rather intriguing title, “How did a hero of the American Revolution come to Sycamore, Illinois?” The program seemed especially appropriate, considering that it was the observance of George Washington's birthday.
Bart Woodstrup, Visiting Assistant Professor of Design and Time Arts in the Department of Art, introduced his father, Thomas Woodstrup. Thomas Woodstrup is a 1949 graduate of NIU (then Northern Illinois State Teachers College). Later, he worked for a time in Alumni Relations. Now retired, he does research and writing on a variety of local history topics, one of which was the basis of the presentation.
For ten years, Thomas Woodstrup compiled research on Captain Benjamin Page (1753-1833). His research was gathered from a variety of locations, including the Sycamore Public Library, the Northern Illinois University Libraries, the National Archives, and a naval museum. Mr. Woodstrup admitted that when he began his research, he knew little about the American Revolution. Once he started studying, he knew his learning would never end. His interest developed after finding Benjamin Page’s name on a gravestone marker in Sycamore’s Elmwood Cemetery.
Benjamin Page served in the colonial navy for 11 years, and fought in the American Revolution. Page served on eight different sailing ships, rising through the ranks from third lieutenant to captain. The story begins in 1772 and is based on an incident that occurred between the colonial navy and the British navy at Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island in which the schooner, the Gaspee, was captured and burned. The incident became the first shedding of blood in the American Revolution (1775-1783), and occurred one year before the Boston Tea Party. For his actions and bravery during his 11 years of service, Page can be considered a hero of the American Revolution, though he is now mostly forgotten.
The second half of Woodstrup’s talk was delivered with the aid of slides he had taken as part of the research. Pictures were shown of the Gaspee and the cemetery memorial. The memorial gravesite has four graves—two of Page’s sons, Benjamin and Henry, the wife of one of the sons, and Elizabeth W. Starkweather (Page), Benjamin Page Sr.'s only daughter. Benjamin and Henry came to Sycamore to retire as "gentlemen" in 1853. Benjamin Page, Jr. established St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, at 206 Somonauk and erected the memorial that now stands in Elmwood Cemetery to his parents and family. The parents, Benjamin Page, Sr. and his wife, never came to Sycamore. They were buried in Canton, Ohio.
Time has weathered some of the wording on the memorial. To preserve this history, a placard monument briefly relating Page’s story has been erected next to the memorial. The research resulted in a self-published book, Captain Benjamin Page: a forgotten Rhode Island hero of the American Revolution rediscovered in Sycamore, Illinois, by Thomas E. Woodstrup, 1998. The title page of the book says, “The story of a Rhode Island family who moved west but who wished to remember their father, Captain Benjamin Page …” Woodstrup’s research, book, and efforts in establishing the monument have done a lot to keep this history alive. Woodstrup is correct in saying that this information brings the American Revolution to our backyard, and is a particularly effective way to introduce the American Revolution to middle and high school students. His book, 11 chapters for the 11 years covered, was written as a sort of primer for local secondary school students.
-- Byron Anderson
For more information, please call (815) 753-9838 or e-mail libraryfriend@niu.edu.
Last Updated: August 22, 2007