Frank Page

Allison Francis Page (August 30, 1824 – October 16, 1899) was an American builder and politician who was the founder and first mayor of Cary, North Carolina. He was a successful builder and sawmiller who erected buildings and railroads through the state, including at its capital Raleigh. He also founded the town of Aberdeen in Moore County.

Biography Early life and family Page was born on August 30, 1824, as one of ten children born to Anderson Page and Mary Hayes. His birthplace was the Oaky Mount tobacco plantation in Wake County, North Carolina, near Raleigh. His great-grandfather, Edward Page, had moved to North Carolina in association with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They were descendants of English settler John Page who migrated to Virginia.

Page was tall,

Page married Catherine "Kate" Raboteau Samuel on July 5, 1849. She was of Huguenot descent. They had eight children together, including Walter Hines Page, Robert N. Page, and Frank Page. The land had good wood resources and was near a new railroad junction. He built a dry goods store by the railroad tracks. In 1856, the year that the railroad began operating, he also opened a post office and served as its first postmaster. He also built water-powered and steam-powered sawmills. He was planning to start a tobacco company and built a three-story brick tobacco factory, but the Panic of 1873 prevented it from opening. He laid out the town's central district in 1869, had the town incorporated in 1871, and served as its first mayor. He founded the town of Aberdeen, building two railroads (including the Aberdeen and Asheboro Railroad) and several sawmills there. Fifteen months later, he married Lula Brookshire McLeod, who was 37 years old. Lula was known for being "plain" and a strict Presbyterian who opposed alcohol and card-playing. His children objected to the marriage and suggested in their personal letters that they believed she was marrying him for his money. In 1899, Lula bought the Merrimon-Wynne House from Margaret Merrimon, widow of Augustus Summerfield Merrimon.

Page died in Raleigh on October 16, 1899. The cause of his death was documented as stomach issues, although local historian Katherine Loftlin has suggested that his wife Lula may have murdered him. His will left instructions for him to be buried at the Historic Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh under the direction of Lula. However, his sons stole his body from her and buried him next to his first wife, Catherine in Old Bethesda Cemetery near Aberdeen. Lula held a mock funeral at Oakwood Cemetery with an empty casket. Three years later, Lula married James Stanhope Wynne, mayor of Raleigh. They deeded the Merrimon-Wynne House to Peace College in 1919, and it was known as the Lula B. Wynne Hall.