Reverend James Page was born in 1808 in Richmond, Virginia. Enslaved by John Parkhill, he was taken to Tallahassee, Florida, in the late 1820s. A minister, he founded the historic Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. He served as County Commissioner in 1869-1870 and as Justice of the Peace from March 3, 1872 until January 9, 1877. He died on March 14, 1883, and is buried in Old City Cemetery.