Benjamin Page ---- one of the five young men that Bowen identified as being a raider in the boats attacking the Gaspee.

Benjamin Page was born 22 Mar.1753, and was just 19 years old at the time of the Gaspee attack. Page was with his young friends (Joseph Bucklin, Ephraim Bowen,  and Turpin Smith) at the Sabin's tavern house that historical night.  He then went with them on the event that some say started the inevitable course of the Revolutionary War. 

Benjamin's father, Ambrose Page, was born in Providence, 1723, and had married Alice Smith (b: 11/22/1733 in Rhode Island).  The Page family  were probably related to the Providence families of Hopkins, Jencks,  Angells, Sabins, Whipples, Bowens, Smiths, and Browns. [Woodstrup]. These were families that also were involved in the Gaspee attack.

The father of Ambrose Page was William Page, who married Mary Soule. William Page came to Providence in 1718. He originally was a blacksmith, but soon took an active part in buying property and building in the center of the town.  He owned several lots, and an ownership interest in several "coasters" (ships that sailed up and down the coast buying and selling merchandise). This land and ship ownership interest was the base upon which his son Ambrose built his career.

The death of William Page left Ambrose in possession of four or more warehouse lots with substantial wharves and several acres on the north side of Goal Lane on the hill back east to the Ferry road.....[In 1770, he had] a dwelling house on the street, a dwelling house, store and barn on the wharf." [Henry Chace Papers, "Ambrose Page:" notes]

Ambrose used his ship and skills as a sea captain during the Seven Years War, and was a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly. 

Thus, Benjamin Page had some of the same advantages in life that Joseph Bucklin V had: he was in a family with wealth and business connections with a merchant business and family owned or operated ships..   

At the first raising of a regiment for the defense of the colony in  1775, the state legislature appointed Benjamin (then 22 years old) to be the captain of the first row-galley, that shall be equipped" for the regiment's use.  [Records of the Colony]. This row gallery was later was rigged as a schooner to defend Rhode Island sea coast, and Page remained officer in charge. Page was the 18th of the first lieutenants commissioned in the Continental Navy & Marine Corps. 

Page served at least twice with Whipple on the ship Providence.  Page also sailed under Capt. Samuel Nicholson, Capt. John B. Hopkins, Jr., Capt. Dudley Saltonstall, Capt. Joseph Olney, Capt. John Manley and Capt. Hoystead Hacker. Page was several times a Third Lieutenant, a Second Lieutenant and finally became Captain of the Regulator in 1782 shortly before the war ended.  (Interesting note:  The "Regulator" was originally a Bermudian privateer, which was captured by the Continental frigate "Deane" of the US Navy, and Page was made Captain of the prize ship. 70 of her 75 man crew were black slaves.

After the Revolution, Benjamin Page was a ship captain for John Brown, sailing on trips to Canton in the tea trade. [Hawes, Off Soundings p221]  However, Page was also the captain of the first Rhode Island vessel clearly identified in the Canton trade as one not belonging to a Brown firm, when 1795 Page sailed to/from Canton in a ship owned partly by himself and others.

At age 46, on 19 Sep. 1799, in Rhode Island, Captain Page married Sarah Reed Warner (b: 3/25/1776 in Rhode Island).

Captain Benjamin Page died 13 Nov. 1833 in Ohio and later moved to a burial in the Westlawn Cemetery at Canton, Ohio. His son, Ambrose, is buried at the Old North Burial Ground at Providence. Benjamin's sons Benjamin, Jr., and Henry moved to Sycamore, Illinois, in 1853. They were later joined by their sister Elizabeth who had married Senator David Austin Starkweather of Ohio.