Daniel Cicero Page
By Franklin and Mamie Page, March 1977
Edited by Nelson Page:

Daniel was small of stature, 5 ft 7 in, 135 lb, with blue eyes and brown hair which grayed with age. At age 70 Daniel had a perfect set of teeth. "He had a few years of schooling, attending a one teacher school a few months in mid winter. Being very fond of arithmetic, one year that was his only subject." [MFP] All his life Daniel preferred the Primitive Baptist Church, and in 1924 joined Mountain Creek Primitive Baptist Church, later transferring to Bear Creek where he remained a member until his death.

On 8 Dec 1908 Daniel married Elizabeth Dunn from a neighboring area. For over 30 years they lived as tenant farmers. Tenant farmers could move only in the fall of the year between harvests. In off season Daniel worked as a carpenter and painter, sharpened saws, and made ax handles to generate additional income. For several short periods he clerked in a grocery store.

Daniel was good at making things and creative in designing implements for the home and farm. He was his own blacksmith and made his own forge and bellows for metal work.

The first year of their marriage was lived with Elizabeth's father at the "Cal Plott Place" about 8 miles south of Mt Pleasant. Also in the home were Elizabeth's brother, Grover, and her nephew, Richard Bass.

In 1909-1910 Daniel and Elizabeth set out on their own at the Dan Sides Place. Franklin was born here.

The next three years, 1910-1913, found them at the Whitt Page Place. Bertha was born and died here, and Isabel was born and lived here.

Then came 11 years, 1913-1924, at the Old Ridge, 3 miles northwest of Millingport and owned by George Troutman. The last 4 children were born here, delivered by the mid-wife for the area, Mrs. Rogers. Until 1922 water was carried from a spring about 600 ft from the house. The well drilled in the summer of 1922 was about 5 inches in diameter, and water was drawn in a long bucket which was emptied through a valve in the bottom. For the first years the house was without screens. Daniel made a "fly brush" which he propelled by foot from his place at the table. He also made a crib that could be covered with mosquito net.

Around 1920 Daniel bought a surrey. One Sunday a family outing was planned with Grover's family which also had a surrey. As they approached Finger on the Albemarle-Mt Pleasant highway Daniel's team of Bill and Joe became excited by the presence of some mules in a roadside pasture and bolted away out of control. They passed Grover's surrey and could not be stopped until the surrey ran into a ditch and overturned. Elizabeth and the children were thrown clear unhurt, but the top frame of the surrey fell across Daniel's leg and the resulting injury kept him out of work for several months.

Daniel was bothered by stomach trouble much of his life. He tried various remedies one of which was eating small amounts of sand. Another was a drink Elizabeth made of Red Shank root, Polkberry root, and Rat's Vein leaves which he drank in huge quantities. Misenheimer Springs was an isolated but popular health resort hotel with a sulfur spring. Some of the children were sent to carry sulfur water from there since it was reputed to be good for stomach ailments. This chore usually fell to Esther and Jesse.

The Old Ridge was covered with flint stones which made it especially difficult to work. Here Daniel first became a "two-horse" farmer when he added Old Dobbin, a horse, to his mule Bill. The tenant got the full crop for two years from new ground as payment for clearing it. Four times at the Old Ridge Daniel cleared new ground. He also used his team and worked at Badin during construction of the Alcoa plant. His job was moving earth. Daniel boarded at Badin during the week but usually came home on weekends.

The only sources of heat in the house were fires in open fireplaces or the kitchen stove. Rarely was there more than one warm room.

A reaper was added to the farm equipment in 1922, a joint purchase with friend and neighbor Henry Furr. That year also brought Daniel's first automobile, a 1918 model 490 Chevrolet bought from Cal Sides for $200. Cars had no titles, and a license was bought for $1 from a neighbor who had a license but no car. It was license #91000, good until the next June 30. Daniel had the valves ground twice, and then sold the car to his brother Adam for $150 late in the summer of 1923. He soon bought a new 1924 Model T Ford Touring Car for $359. Initially cranked by hand, a self-starter was installed a year or two later.

Daniel was struck by lightening while working on Henry Ridenhour's porch at an adjoining farm. With one foot on the porch and the other on the ground, Daniel was nailing a post when the electricity passed down his arm, across his body, and down the opposite leg leaving a blister along the complete circuit.

Thanksgiving Day 1924 the family moved to Old Hall across the road from Millingport School where they lived until Aug 1926. The name came from being the former site of Hall School, and the school building, with an addition, served as a barn.

From Aug 1926 until 1932 home was the Lefler Place which adjoined Old Hall. Here Daniel became a three mule farmer when he added Kate to Joe and Bill.

Another accident laid Daniel up for about three months in the fall of 1928. He had taken a cow to a neighbor's farm for breeding. The bull went for Daniel, and by the time he escaped under the fence he had a fractured hip. John Green, a nearby Methodist minister, helped rush Daniel to the doctor.

Their last tenant farm, 1932-1940, was the Andy Lipe Place about 2 miles north of Millingport. On a tenant farm one-fourth of the crop went to the landlord who paid for one-fourth of the fertilizer. The tenant furnished all equipment and livestock, but had the privilege of gardening, haying, and keeping all the "tops", the top section of the corn stalks which were cut just above the ears while still slightly green. These were tied in bundles and shocked to dry and cure for livestock feed.

In 1935, after 26 years of tenant farming, Daniel bought a 71 acre farm, the "Junie Hatley Place", for $850. The farm had a barn and out-buildings, but the house used at an earlier time was no longer livable. The soil was so poor that it would not produce a crop of grain or corn. For five years all row-crops were planted at the Lipe Place where the family continued to live. Lespedeza was planted at the farm to build up the soil, and the seed was a cash crop. During this time Daniel did much carpenter work while Jesse, George, and Hoyle helped him work both farms. An encounter involving Daniel, a fence, and his horse, Jim, left Daniel with a broken arm, again handicapping him while he carried it in a sling. In 1940 Daniel built a house and the family moved in on Thanksgiving Day. By this time the soil would support grains and corn. Now at age 57 Daniel was an independent farmer. In 1943 he bought his first tractor. By the 1950's he had added a combine and a pickup truck. With the children gone, Elizabeth sometimes rode the combine and tied shut the sacks of grain when full.

When Daniel's grandson, Nelson, was a small boy he delighted in going with Grandpa to feed the pigs, always referred to as "slopping the hogs". A large bucket of garbage, table scraps, and probably dirty dish water was taken to pig pen and poured into the feeding trough. The trough was at the fence, so no entry into the pen was necessary. The pigs would be frantically trying to get a good position, often with head and front legs in the trough. Grandpa had a long stick with which he hit them in the nose to move them out of the way for pouring.

The longest trip Daniel ever made was to Lakeland, Florida, in 1955 with Franklin, Mamie, Lavon, and Danny. This was one of the few times he was ever out of NC. When they crossed the Florida state line he was ready to go home, and he was restless and unhappy for the rest of the trip, complaining of the long, long roads. He declared that if he ever got back to NC he would never leave again, a promise he kept.

Daniel was a good shot and enjoyed rabbit hunting, but he also hunted turtles, birds, and squirrels, all of which were eaten.

On 8 Dec 1962 Daniel had his first stroke and was never again able to function normally. He needed constant attention and was moved to Stanly County Hospital on 22 Dec. With his condition deteriorating, he was moved on 31 Dec to NC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. There his condition was determined to be beyond medical help, so about 7 Jan 1963 he was transferred to John Umstead Hospital at Butner. Daniel experienced gradual decline and was bedfast until his death on 12 Feb 1965. On 14 Feb, a cold day of intermittent snow and sleet, Daniel was buried at Bear Creek Primitive Baptist Church.

[The first grave at Bear Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery has date of death 16 Oct 1882.]