Sherman Page

Sherman Page (May 9, 1779 – September 27, 1853) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1833 to 1837. Born in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticut, he was raised in the traditions of New England common schools, receiving a basic but solid education that prepared him for teaching and, ultimately, for the study of law.

As a young man, Page moved to central New York, part of the broader migration from New England into upstate New York in the late eighteenth century. In 1799 he taught school in Coventry, New York, an early indication of his engagement with public life and local communities. While in New York he began reading law, following the customary practice of legal apprenticeship of the period rather than attending a formal law school.

Page was admitted to the bar in 1805 and commenced the practice of law in Unadilla, New York, in Otsego County. Establishing himself as an attorney in this growing frontier region, he developed a legal practice that brought him into contact with a wide range of civil and commercial matters. His professional standing and familiarity with local affairs led to his appointment as a judge of the court of common pleas in Otsego County, where he served as a jurist and helped administer justice at the county level. His reputation for public service was further recognized when he was elected a member of the New York State Assembly, in which he served in 1827.

Building on his legal and legislative experience, Page entered national politics as a supporter of President Andrew Jackson. Identified with the Jackson Party and elected as a Jacksonian, he won a seat in the United States House of Representatives from New York to the Twenty-third Congress and was reelected to the Twenty-fourth Congress, serving from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1837. During these two terms in office, he participated in the legislative process at a time of significant political and economic change in the United States, including debates over federal power, banking, and internal improvements. Representing the interests of his New York constituents, he took part in the broader democratic currents of the Jacksonian era.

While in Congress, Page held a leadership role as chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures during the Twenty-fourth Congress. In this capacity he was involved in overseeing and reviewing federal spending, reflecting the Jacksonian emphasis on accountability and restraint in public finances. His committee work placed him at the center of efforts to scrutinize governmental outlays and contributed to the institutional development of congressional oversight of the executive branch.

After leaving Congress in 1837, Page returned to Unadilla, where he resumed his legal and civic activities. He remained a respected figure in the community, associated with both his earlier judicial service in Otsego County and his record as a national legislator. He continued to live in Unadilla for the remainder of his life, maintaining the ties to the town that had been the base of his professional and political career.

Sherman Page died in Unadilla, New York, on September 27, 1853. He was interred in St. Matthew’s Cemetery in Unadilla. His career as a lawyer, judge of the court of common pleas, state legislator, and two-term Jacksonian member of Congress reflects the trajectory of an early nineteenth-century public servant who rose from common-school education and local teaching to positions of responsibility in both state and national government.