Gage family.

Anne Sargent Gage (1794-1876), nee Nancy Brown, was born out of wedlock and her birth "...was a Boston Society scandal of the last decade of the 18th century." Her parents, both from prominent Boston families, were Daniel Sargent (1764-1842), a wealthy merchant and insurance executive, and Hepzibah Atkins Brown ( -1800). Hepzibah was the daughter of Henry Atkings, also a distinguished Boston merchant, and the widow of James Brown ( - ), whom she married in 1788, but who died shortly thereafter. She married, in 1796, James Durfee ( - ), with whom she had a daughter, Mary.

For the first two years of her life, "Nancy" was raised by her mother. In 1796, her father placed her in the care of the family of a Mr. John Hall of Dorchester, Mass. There she remained until 1808 when it was decided that she disappear from Boston society. She was sent to live with Rev. Lincoln Ripley (1761-1858) and Phebe Emerson Riply (1772- ), sister of Rev. William Emerson (1769-1811) and aunt of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), in Waterford, Me. Also at that time her name was changed to Anne Brewer. She had no further contact with her father, though he provided for her financially. Around the time of her marriage she wrote her father telling him she wanted to be married with the name Anne Sargent. He never responded, either agreeing or disagreeing with the request, and Anne went ahead and did so.

In adult life, Anne Sargent Gage was in contact with some of her blood relations, including Thomas Oliver Walker (1816-1894). Walker was the son of Mary Durfee Walker (1797-1835), Ann's half-sister. His son Henry Oliver Walker (1843-1929) was an artist.

Anne Sargent Gage lived most of her life in Waterford, except for the sixteen years towards the end of her life, when she lived in Worcester, Mass., with her son Thomas. She died on 21 July 1876 and was buried in Waterford next to her husband, Dr. Leander Gage.

Dr. Leander Gage (1792-1842), the son of Amos and Lois Hovey Gage (1759-1842) of Bethel, Me., was a physician and active community leader in Waterford, Me. He married, on 7 October 1820, Anne Brewer Sargent. They had eight children: Phebe Hovey (1821-1890); Frances (1823-1904), who married Humphrey Cousens (1817- ); Irene Bliss (1823-1873); Thomas Hovey; Ann Louisa (1828-1878), who married Calvin Foster ( -1898); Mary Sargent (1830-1909); Lois Maria (1832-1888); and George Manlius (1834-1910), who married Elizabeth S. (Webber) Gage.

Amos Gage (1758-1833), the father of Dr. Leander Gage, had several brothers and sisters, including Abel Gage (1755-1846), who lived in Pelham, N.H. In addition to Leander, Amos and Lois Hovey Gage had three other children: Thomas Hovey (1789-1823), who married Frances Angier Stockbridge ( -1882) and live in Bath, Me.; William (1795-1820); and Amos (1797-1869). Thomas Hovey Gage's daughter, Lois (1817-1876), married Joel Holkins (1812-1853).

Rowena Coffin (1813- ) taught the Gage children in Waterford in the early 1830s. She then taught at the Concord (N.H.) Literary Institution and Teacher's Seminary. Between 1835 and 1837, several of the Gage daughters attended the Concord school. In 1838 Rowena Coffin married Charles Whitman (1792-1850), a lawyer from Portland, Me., who had practiced in Waterford, and thereafter the Whitmans lived in Washington, D.C.