Thomas Nelson Page: Strong Southern Sympathies
In 1893, lawyer, author, socialite, and polo expert Thomas Nelson Page gave up a successful law practice in Virginia and moved to Washington. That year he had also married Florence Lathrop Field, a Washington, D.C. native and widow of Henry Field, the grandson of Marshall Field and heir to the Chicago mercantilist’s fortune. This was also Page’s second marriage, his first wife having died in 1888.
Page's marriage to Florence Field certainly provided the necessary means for him to build a mansion in Dupont Circle and establish himself in local society. Three years after moving to Washington, architect Stanford White of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White designed a Georgian/Federalist–style mansion for the Pages on a prominent corner on New Hampshire Avenue and R Street at 1759 R Street Northwest. After settling into his new house and now longer needing to earn a living, Page devoted himself almost e…
