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Emeline (Barton) Paxton was born on Aug. 6, 1818 in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, PA, the daughter of John and Mary Catherine (Kreider) Barton.

On July 27, 1837, when she was age 18, she wed 23-year-old Bright Rupert Paxton (Feb. 3, 1814-1903), son of Col. Joseph Paxton of Catawissa, Columbia County. In announcing the marriage, the Columbia Democrat said she was the "second daughter of John Barton" of Espytown and that the nuptials had been performed by Rev. George C. Drake. 

There were 10 offspring of the couple, of whom nine are known -- Henry Bright "Harry" Paxton, Charles Paxton, John "Barton" Paxton, Joseph Paxton, Mary B. Paxton, Edward Paxton, Leonard Rupert Paxton, George S. Paxton and Katherine Rupert Paxton.

Old Friends meeting house in Catawissa, PA

Bright's father served as president of the Catawissa Railway, constructed in 1852, "famed throughout the state for passing over the highest bridges and through the most romantic scenery in it," said the Republican-Journal. "The road is now a part of the Philadelphia & Reading System." 

They lived in the early years in Catawissa near Bloomsburg, Columbia County (1838) and Lycoming County (1840), PA. Bright in 1840 is known to have been a member of the Democratic Whig Citizens of Columbia County. Federal census records for 1850 show the family in Catawissa Township, Columbia County, with Bright engaged as a tanner. 

Their residence as of 1860-1870 was in Lairdsville, Franklin Township, Lycoming County, with Bright continuing to ply his trade as a tanner and farmer. During the Civil War, at least three of their sons went away to join the Union Army.

The census of 1880 shows the Paxtons continuing to dwell in Franklin Township, with Bright now spending most of his time farming. 

The Paxtons pulled up stakes and relocated cross country to southern California, settling in Los Angeles by 1900. Their postal address in 1903 was 229 East 30th Street. 

Bright passed away there at the age of 89 on March 28, 1903. Word of his demise was telegraphed to Mrs. Dr. I.W. Willits, with an obituary appearing in the Los Angeles Times. 

Emeline outlived her spouse by six years and migrated to San Francisco. She died there at the age of 90 on St. Patrick's Day 1909. Funeral services and burial took place at the Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles, and a notice of her death was published in the Los Angeles Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

~ Son Henry Bright "Harry" Paxton ~

Son Henry Bright "Harry" Paxton (1838-1926) was born on Aug. 14, 1838 in Catawissa, Columbia County, PA. Other sources give his birthplace as Lycoming County, PA. He once wrote that "My father's name was Bright R. Paxton and my mother's family name was Barton. I use Barton for my middle name. My first name may be Henry but I've been called Harry for seventy odd years." 

A newspaper recounted that "As a boy he received an excellent education far in advance of the average youth of his day, and he continued throughout his lifetime to add to his store of knowledge until during his last years his mind was a vast treasure house of interesting facts, which made conversation with him a delight. During his early years he was engaged in civil engineering for the government..." He also farmed and did tannery work in young manhood. 

He stood 6 feet, 1½ inches tall with a light complexion, blue eyes and light hair. 

Above: the infamous "Mud March" that the 34th Pennsylvania endured after the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg. Below: Gaines Mills battle, sketched by William Waud.

During the Civil War, on June 1, 1861, at Lairdsville, PA, Henry joined the Union Army and was assigned to the 34th Pennsylvania Infantry, also known as the 5th Pennsylvania Reserve, Company H, commanded by Capt. John McCleery. Later, his brothers Charles and John "Barton" also joined the army as members of the 34th Pennsylvania. 

In the span of one week, he is confirmed to have seen action in three of the Seven Days' Battles during the Peninsula Campaign. The first was the Battle of Mechanicsville on June 26, 1862 in Hanover County, VA. The next day he took part in the Battle of Gaines' Mill, also known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, June 27, 1862. Several days later, he was engaged in the Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, on July 1, 1862. 

Henry eventually was promoted to captain of the regiment's Company H. He received his honorable discharge in Harrisburg on June 11, 1864 and was presented with a beautiful sword from his soldiers. 

On Dec. 16, 1867, he tied the marital cord with Frances Heilman "Fanny" Koons (Dec. 29, 1939-1928) of Pine Grove/Schuylkill Haven, PA. Performing the nuptials was Rev. James Walker  of the Episcopal Church, in the home of the bride and in the presence of invited guests. No record of the union was kept by the church parish or the local county. It was Harry himself, writing in his diary, who reported that "Father, Mother, Bart and Sue came in the noon train. Fanny and I married in parlor at 1:15 P.M., by Rev. Jas. Walker. After dinner we with Uncle Joe & party, Bart & Sue took down train. F. & I went to Harrisburg and staid at Jones House." 

Their marriage endured over the ebbs and flows of an extraordinary six decades together. 

Three sons of this coupling were Joseph Townsend Paxton, Bright Rupert Paxton and Philip Koons Paxton. Sadly, they lost son Joseph at age 10 months in about 1870. 

In the postwar years, Harry was employed by the Reading Railroad and resided in Schuylkill Haven (1866-1872) and Norristown, PA (1872-1875). Then from 1875 to 1897, they were in Wrightsville, PA, including his work for 15 years as a collector for the Susquehanna-Tidewater Canal Company. 

The couple in 1886 first visited Rockledge, Brevard County, FL. That same year, he applied for a soldier's pension, writing "As I am taxed to pay the Jonnies [Confederates] pensions, under state laws, it's fair U.S. should help -- as I have delayed application for nine years." 

Old Rockledge landmark, the Indian River Hotel

Upon retirement, the Paxtons relocated for good in 1897 to Rockledge in Florida, where he was engaged in the orange growing business. 

In 1909, Harry finally was awarded a military pension as compensation for his wartime ailments. [Invalid App. #1.385.834 - Cert. 1.157.720] Harry in his later years suffered from an abscess of the prostate with infections of the anus. 

Sadly, he passed away in Rockledge at the age of 88 just five days before Christmas 1926. His remains were shipped back to his native Columbia County to sleep for the ages in Greenwood Cemetery, Catawissa, an old Quaker burying ground not farm from the house where he was born. Rev. D.L. Dixon, a Methodist pastor, presided over the funeral service. An obituary was published in the Bloomsburg Morning Press. 

Frances then began receiving his Civil War pension until her death. [Widow App. #1.569.297 - Cert. A6.13.27] She made her home with her son Philip and died there on Sept. 17, 1928. Rev. C.E. Bovard, of the Rockledge Presbyterian Church, preached the funeral service. 

In a fascinating twist, a hurricane struck the Rockledge area at about the same time she passed, and in transporting the corpse back to Pennsylvania via rail, it became "'lost' somewhere in the storm area," reported the York Dispatch. "The body was placed on a train at Rockledge in time to enable it to arrive here, under normal conditions, some time last night. When one train after another from the South arrived in York and the body of the former Wrightsfulle woman was not on any of them, the funeral directors became uneasy and made efforts to trace its whereabouts. Railroad movements are so irregular and disrupted in the stormswept area that no information could be obtained as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Paxton's body. Telegraph and telephone wires are also down..." 

The train which was carrying the casket finally arrived after being routed through Washington, DC. Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Stein led the funeral rites, with interment in Prospect Hill Cemetery in York.

Son Joseph Townsend Paxton (1869- ? ) was born on Oct. 15, 1869. He is believed to have died at the age of only 10 months, 10 days. Burial was between his aunt Susan Leader and uncle Clinton Koons in Schuylkill Haven Union Cemetery. His grave marker still stands but is difficult to read.

Son Bright Rupert Paxton (1869-1945) was born on Oct. 20, 1869, apparently named for his grandfather. He studied law with mentors W.F. Bay Stewart, Henry C. Niles and George E. Neff. Said the York Gazette and Daily, "Both Stewart and Niles later became judges of the courts of York county." Bright wed Clara M. Frysinger (1869-1957), daughter of Charles and Adaline (Klinefelter) Frysinger. Together they produced two daughters -- Helen Frysinger Paxton and Frances A. Frysinger Paxton. Bright became an attorney and based his law practice in Catawissa, PA. Later his office was at 35 North George Street, York, PA. He was a member of the York County Bar Association for half-a-century. They held a membership in the Trinity First Reformed Church. The couple's final home together was at 34 West Market Street, York. Sadly, at the age of 75, he passed away suddenly at their residence on Oct. 11, 1945. Burial was in the local Prospect Hill Cemetery. His pastor Rev. Dr. Allan S. Meck led the funeral rites. When his death formally was announced in York County Court, attorney Robert C. Fluhrer presented a "minute" (permanent record) followed by seconding addresses from lawyers William H. Kurtz, W.W. Van Baman, Horace E. Smith, Robert S. Spangler and E. Philip Stair and by Judges Anderson, Gross and Sherwood. Said the York Gazette and Daily, "Attorney Paxton was eulogized by the judges and the lawyers as a congenial and agreeable lawyer of the highest integrity, sincerely loyal to his clients and the causes he represented, honest and upright in his dealings with members of the bar and court." Clara survived her husband by nearly a dozen years. The angel of death cleaved her away at the age of 88 on July 14, 1947.

• Granddaughter Helen Frysinger Paxton (1905-2000) was born on April 21, 1905 in York. She never married. Helen was a graduate of York Collegiate Institute. She and her single sister dwelled with their parents in 1945. She was an inaugural member of the Junior League of York and belonged to Trinity United Church of Christ. Her final place of residence was in Spring Garden Township. With her health in decline, she was admitted to the Rest Haven-York Nursing and Rehabilitative Center. She died there at the age of 95 on Sept. 30, 2000. Her obituary was published in the York Daily Record.

• Granddaughter Frances A. Frysinger Paxton (1911-2004) was born on April 8, 1911 in York, PA. She was single her entire life. Frances was an alumna of the York Collegiate Institute and the National Park Seminary in Washington, DC. She held a membership in the Junior League of York. Circa 1945, she made a home with her parents. Death enveloped her at the age of 93, at home, on Nov. 29, 2004. The York Daily Record carried an obituary, in which the family requested that any memorial contributions be made to the Charles and Adaline Frysinger Fund in care of the York Foundation. Her cremains were placed into eternal repose in Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, with Rev. Carol Burkey Snell, pastor of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, presiding over the rites.

Son Philip Koons Paxton (1872-1967) was born on June 15, 1872 in Norristown, PA. He relocated with his parents to the beach peninsula of Rockledge, FL and was there in 1926-1945, working as a citrus grower. He was considered a pioneer of the area. He may not have married and did not reproduce. His address in the 1960s was 1439 Rockledge Drive. Philip died at the age of 95, in Wuesthoff Memorial Hospital, on Aug. 6, 1967. An obituary was published in the Cocoa (FL) Evening Tribune. Rev. Dr. James A. Sawyer, of the First Baptist Church in Cocoa, presided at the funeral. The remains were cremated.

~ Son Charles Paxton ~

Son Charles Paxton (1840-1914) was born on May 5, 1840 in Lycoming County, PA. A notation of his birth was written into the family Bible. 

He stood 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighed 148 lbs., with a light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. In young manhood he trained as a machinist and was employed in the shops of the Baldwin Locomotive Company of Philadelphia. 

34th PA Monument at Gettysburg Library of Congress

Charles enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, in Harrisburg on June 1, 1861. He was placed in the 34th Pennsylvania Infantry, also known as the 5th Pennsylvania Reserve, Company H, commanded by Capt. John McCleery and later by his own brother Henry Bright Paxton. He held the rank of sergeant. 

He was reported missing in a battle and then was taken prisoner and marched in Richmond, writing to his mother in July 1862 that "We have been treated very well so far, the most of them being very kind." He eventually was returned to his regiment. 

Charles was present at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 34th was positioned on the crest of Big Round Top. During the battle, troops on Big Round Top comprised the far left flank of the Union defense, but no combat took place.

Today, Charles' name today adorns a plaque of soldier-names on the Pennsylvania State Memorial, and a prominent monument stands where the unit stood on Big Round Top. His brother Barton was not present at this fight as he was in a Philadelphia hospital recovering from a gunshot wound received at Fredericksburg some months earlier.

In action at the Battle of Lacy House/Ellwood Manor in the Wilderness on May 6, 1864, Charles was hit by a gunshot in the left forearm. He was treated at Carver General Hospital in the District of Columbia and remained until just before he was eligible for a discharge. President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton passed by Carver every weekday on rides into the country.

He was mustered out of the army in the state capitol of Harrisburg on June 11, 1864, having completed a term of three years' service.

He returned to his parents' home in Lairdsville, Lycoming County. Recalled his brother Leonard, Charles "stayed home about a year, then went up into the oil regions of northwestern Pa and was there probably a year or two." 

On May 30, 1866, he wed Josephine (Connor) Wood (May 10, 1847- ? ), an immigrant from Ireland who grew up in Vermont, and was the daughter of Irish immigrants William and Joanna "Julia" Connor. The nuptials were conducted in Frankford, Philadelphia County, PA by the hand of M.W. Garrison. But the bride also claimed that they had exchanged marital vows on the Fourth of July 1869 in Harrisville, MO, also officiated by Garrison. 

Above: Lacy House where Charles was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. Below: Carver Hospital where he was treated. Library of Congress

Josephine's background was exceptionally murky. She claimed to have been married before circa July 4, 1858 to Jean "Charles" Wood ( ? - ? ) and set up housekeeping in Germantown near Philadelphia. This first spouse was said to be a cotton field owner and slaveholder who was freighting goods on the Delaware River and reputedly was killed accidentally as a civilian at the First or Second Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, with burial taking place on the field. 

Josephine made the claim that after Wood's death, she "started out to see if I could not find my husband. I went from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. to see the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, and he took me to see President Lincoln, and I got permission from him to go wherever I wanted to to look for my husband... and I went over the battlefield of Manassas and then went to Richmond, Va., and to Petersburg and then to Portsmouth, and when I got there the blockade was on and I could not get north again until the war was over, so I remained at Portsmouth, Va., and worked, sold pies, cake and fruit to the soldiers, and when the war was over I then returned to Philadelphia... While I was looking for his body or trying to get some trace of him, I was wounded by a bullet from the rifle of a Confederate soldier while riding through Petersburg, and I carry the wound today, which was in my left breast." Lincoln allegedly gave her a letter to be presented to George G. Blake, commanding officer at Fortress Monroe. 

Charles' pension certificate National Archives

In marrying our Charles, Josephine brought an adopted stepdaughter Frances "Fannie" (Wood) Albert into the union. Josephine later claimed that "My mother put me in the home of this Mrs. Fannie Wood when I was real young, as our people were poor, and I never worked for any other people but this Mrs. Wood before my marriage to her son."

Charles suffered from his wartime wound for the rest of his life. A surgeon wrote in 1869 that the enemy bullet struck "about middle of left forearm, fracturing both bones, ball still remaining in the arm causing inflammation and occasional suppusation. Entire loss of rotatory motion caused by a union of the two bones at the place of fracture."

In 1869, he was awarded a military pension as compensation for wartime injuries [Invalid App. #139.870 - Cert. #986.690]. Brother Leonard, who had settled in Los Angeles County, CA, did not see his brother again for about a decade, but recalled this about Charles' comings and goings:

From [northwestern Pennsylvania] he went to St. Louis, Mo., I do not think he was there any great length of time, maybe a few months or a year. From there he went to Lawrence, Kans., and some time afterwards he bought a little farm at Stranger, Kans. He lived there until, I think, about 1880 or 1881 when he went to Albuquerque, New Mex. where he was a year or two when he bought a business at Coolidge, New Mex. I think he must have been there 10 or 12 years and may have been longer. As far as I know he went from there to Albuquerque and stayed a short time, then Bland, New Mex. and was there until he came to me in Nov. 1912. About May he went back  to Bland and was there a few months when he returned here and lived in this County until he died. After he left Penn. I never saw him until 1876 when he and his wife visited our parents. I went to him in 1881 at Albuquerque, New Mex. I batched with him a little while and then I went out on the Railroad. His wife was in Kansas when I went to New Mex. and I think immediately afteer he bought the business in Coolidge she came to him. I saw him every few months, some times oftener, until 1885 when I came to Cal. He was here on a visit, I think in th summer of 1899. Our parents were living here then.

Charles' stepdaughter Frances "Fannie" Albert later spelled out their movements during these years, writing in 1916 that: 

Mother and Mr. Paxton were living in Lawrence, Kansas when I first met Mr. Paxton. They went from there to Stranger, Kansas, now known as Linwood. They lived there on a farm for several years. Mr. Paxton ran the farm with hands but worked as a machinist for the railroads putting up windmills. Then they moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where Mr. Paxton ran a laundry, known as the Philadelphia Laundry. I think I was about eighteen or nineteen when we went to Council Bluffs. We were there about a couple of years. Then they moved back to the old place in Linwood, Kansas. From there soldier went to Colorado, prospecting, I think, but my mother and I remained in Linwood. Soldier went to Colorado with a man named Richards, brother of O.G. Richards, a lawyer who still lives in Eudora, Kansas. 

During the Linwood years, Charles worked in the railroad shops in Armstrong, KS, spending the week there and returning home on Saturday nights. He also may have been postmaster at Linwood, with his wife running the operation during his absence. While in Coolidge, Charles operated a store and is said to have traded with Indians and cowboys. Then after leaving to go prospecting, leaving his wife behind, she tore down the store building and moved to Grant, NM, where she opened a rooming-house. Charles returned in about 1903 and went to find her in Grant but their discussion was unsatisfactory, she threatened divorce and they separated for good.

He spent several months in 1907 with his stepdaughter in Chicago, with him earning a living as a watchman. During that period Josephine lived at Fort Riley, toiling as a maid or housekeeper for Lt. James A. Shannon, and in 1914 at Fort Leavenworth, employed by Capt. William S. Browning.

Charles suffered a small stroke and moved in November 1912 to Rivera, CA, where his brother Leonard was living. Charles returned to Bland in May 1913 and came back to Los Angeles four months later in September 1913. He apparently was in the brother's household but fell and dislocated his shoulder followed by a stroke. With the brother and family unable to care for him at an elevated level, they arranged for him to be admitted to the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

At his admission to the Home, he was reluctant and said he did not know where his wife was. When his stepdaughter's letters would arrive from Chicago, they were read aloud to him "but he did not seem interested," recalled niece Laura E. Paxton.

He died in the Home on June 14, 1914, with interment in the local Evergreen Cemetery, and a brief notice published in the Los Angeles Times.

His widow moved to Wisconsin and began receiving his pension payments as of Nov. 16, 1914 [Widow App. #1.037.014 - Cert. #816.633]. She wrote to her husband's brother Leonard, demanding that they return all of the possessions he had left behind in their residence.

When petitioning for the pension, she had to prove a number of the murky allegations of her past, and Ellen Connor of Amery, WI gave written testimony about the existence of the two husbands. Other friends O.G. Richards, S.D. Richards and Euretta L. Kraus also provided supporting affidavits. A government investigator, T.E. Keith, interviewed her and then reported: "She is a very ignorant woman, being of a family who were forced to work for a living, and for that reason had no opportunity of getting much of an education, but it seems rather strange that, notwithstanding this handicap of being uneducated, she was unable to give me names of her young friends in Pa. who knew her prior to her marriage to this Wood, and who knew him."

Then in 1916-1917, Josephine's dwelling-place was in Eudora, KS. She fades away into the mists of the past after that.

Stepdaughter Frances "Fannie" Wood Paxton (1860- ? ) was born on Sept. 9, 1860, reputedly of an Italian family of New Orleans. She was brought into the home of her adoptive parents Jean "Charles" and Josephine (Connor) Wood and later raised by her adoptive stepfather Charles Paxton. (She also could have been a daughter of Charles Boyle and a native of Camden, NJ.) She later disclosed to a government investigator who reported that "she does not believe [Josephine] is her mother and would like to know who her father was. She says [Josephine] told her she was born in New Orleans... She says her earliest recollection is at a table where mother struck her." Fannie herself recalled the incident, saying "I did something at the table that displeased my mother and she struck me. I had my mouth filled with mashed potatoes and the old mammy picked me up and my mouth was full of blood and she got the blood and potatoes out of my mouth. I can remember that the house where this happened was magnificently furnished." Fannie also remembered that her mother "never showed me the affection of a mother, she was very cruel to me. I have heard my mother say, when I was a little child, " 'Well if Fannie had her rights she would never have to comb her own head'." The girl eventually was placed in a convent in St. Louis, believing it was the Holy Cross Convent, and stayed until her mother's marriage. At the time her her mother wed Charles Paxton, Fannie took on the "Paxton" surname. Over her growing-up years she resided with her mother and stepfather in Lawrence and Stranger/Linwood, KS, Council Bluffs, IA and then back to Linwood. She left home at age 21. Circa 1885, in Oscaloosa, KS, Fannie married Ed Albert ( ? - ? ). They were the parents of Charles Albert. In 1916, she made her residence in Chicago at the address of 4339 Drake Avenue and at 2738 South Hamlin Avenue. 

~ Son John "Barton" Paxton ~

Barton's grave, West Laurel Hill Courtesy "JennO"

Son John "Barton" Paxton (1842-1913) was born on March 16, 1842 in Catawissa, Columbia County, PA. 

He stood 5 feet, 9 inches tall and sported a light complexion, blue eyes and sandy-colored hair. In young manhood he earned a living as a machinist.

During the Civil War, on or about Sept. 10, 1862, Barton traveled to Harrisburg to join the Union Army. He was placed in the 34th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, also known as the 5th Pennsylvania Reserves, for a period of three years duration. His brothers Charles and Henry also were members of the same regiment, having enlisted earlier. Evidence suggests that Barton received a baptism by fire at Antietam just four days later, on Sept. 14, 1862.

Barton and his regiment took part in the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA in mid-December 1862. In one of the Union Army's most on-sided, lopsided defeats, more than 12,000 northern soldiers went down, including 1,284 killed. The 34th Pennsylvania was on the left wing of Gen. Ambrose Burnside's attacking troops. Barton received a gunshot wound in the right thigh, midway between the hip and knee, and came to rest in his buttock. He was taken prisoner on the field and was sent to Richmond to be housed in the Confederacy's notoriously filthy Libby Prison.

He was exchanged at City Point, VA on Jan. 9, 1863, and was sent to the Naval Academy hospital at Annapolis, MD, where he was treated for a month. On Feb. 10, 1863, he was transferred to a series of Philadelphia hospitals at Master Street, Chestnut Hill and South Street. His last move was to the large Convalescent Camp in Alexandria. VA in September or October 1863.

Convalescent Camp, Alexandria, where the flattened enemy bullet was extracted from Barton's buttock/thigh 11 months after his wound

Barton's disability discharge National Archives

He stated later that "the ball was not extracted until Nov. 1863, when a splinter of bone caused the wound to reopen & Dr. [Sanford] Hunt, Surg. in charge, Convalescent Camp, Va., operated upon it." Hunt later wrote that the wound "had severely injured the thigh bone." Barton's brother Harry, who was on detached duty at Convalescent Camp at the time, wrote that he was with Barton there, that "he was then a mere skeleton in appearance and his wound discharging offensive matter and afterwards one piece of bone." Brother Harry witnessed the surgery that removed the enemy bullet. He kept the flattened lead ball as a souvenir.

Of no further use to the army in his disabled condition, Barton received an honorable disability discharge at Convalescent Camp three days before Christmas 1863 and returned home.

For the first few years after his return from military duty, Barton lived in Lock Haven, Muncy and Reading, PA as well as Nashville, TN and Brooklyn, NY, all in the three-year span prior to 1868. What led to so many relocations during such a compressed time period is not yet known.

He was twice-wed. On Sept. 5, 1867, he tied the marital cord with his first spouse, Susan Jones "Sue" Price (May 12, 1843-1868), daughter of Dr. James B. and Ann Price of Baltimore, MD. Rev. William Newton presided. News of the wedding was announced in the West Chester (PA) American Republican.

The newlyweds made their home at 1014 Parrish Street in the city. Tragically, their married life was short. After just nine-and-a-half months together, the 25-year-old Sue passed away on June 20, 1868. Philadelphia death records show that the cause was an infection of peritonitis three days after childbirth. Adding to the horror, their unnamed baby son was stillborn on June 17, having asphyxiated. A brief death notice in the Philadelphia Inquirer said that Sue's funeral services were to be held in the Paxton residence at 1014 Parrish Street, followed by interment in Woodlands Cemetery.

Barton remained a widower for nearly a decade. On Nov. 15, 1877, he married his second bride, Anne Jones Price (May 10, 1856-1921), daughter of Lucius D. and Hannah Maria "Anna" (Haines) Price. They exchanged their marital vows in a Society of Friends ceremony in West Chester, PA. Her brother Joseph T. Price and his brother Leonard were in attendance and witnessed the happy event.

A fivesome of offspring of this family were Sue Edmunds, Joseph Townsend Paxton, Emmeline Barton "Emma" Paxton, John Barton Paxton, Adaline Price Linvill and Charles Rupert Paxton. 

Graves of Barton's wives Sue and Anne - courtesy Jenn O.

Barton and his second family made a home in 1870 in Lairdsville, Franklin Township. He made news in July 1870 for shooting "a crane which measured five feet eleven inches from tip to tip of its wings, and four feet nine inches from the end of its bill to the end of its claws," reported the Sunbury Gazette. 

Later, by 1878, they dwelled in Philadelphia at the address of 418 North 38th Street. There, he was engaged in manufacturing a new type of technology involving circular knitting machinery. As such, he applied for a patent in 1898 as reported in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus in England. He spent three years in partnership in this work with his brother-in-law Joseph T. Price. The firm eventually became known as Paxton and O'Neill, producing knitting machinery for making stockings.

Barton's name again was in the newspapers in November 1878 when fishing in the Brandywine River and catching a 2.5-lb. bass. Said the West Chester Daily Local News, "Mr. Paxton feeling that he had had glory enough for one day, shouldered his rod and line at once and marched back to town with the result of his fishing exploit of the day."  He also held a membership in the local Post 191 of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

On Nov. 20, 1879, Barton was awarded a military pension as compensation for his wartime service. [Invalid App. #322.898 - Cert. #191.759] He received support for his claims in writing from friends John M. Rhoads of Milton, PA and his army surgeon Dr. Sanford B. Hunt of Clinton Township, NJ and his own brother Henry.

Their address in the 1910s was 331 Saunders Avenue, below 39th and Lancaster Avenue. Perhaps feeling his own impending mortality, Barton in October 1910 has his first wife's remains relocated from Woodlands Cemetery to the family plot at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd. 

Suffering from bladder cancer, he died on March 13, 1913, at the age of 74. Interment was at West Laurel Hill. An obituary appeared in the West Chester Daily Local News.

Anne lived for another eight years and began receiving her husband's monthly pension payments. [Widow App. #1.004.460 - Cert. 758.576] Her final residence was at 645 North 63rd Street, Philadelphia. Suffering from chronic kidney disease, Anne was cleaved away by the angel of death at age 64 on Feb. 13, 1921. Daughter Adaline Price Linvill signed the official Pennsylvania certificate of death. The Inquirer published a death notice.

Franklin Edmunds Courtesy RHale1100

Daughter Sue Paxton (1878-1972) was born on Sept. 28, 1878. She was an alumna of Central Normal School. She went on to each school in Warren, PA, resigning only upon her marriage. In 1909, she tied the marital cord with architect Franklin Davenport Edmunds (1874-1948), son of Henry Reeves and Anna Hunter (Welsh) Edmunds. The couple's two children were Henry Reeves Edmunds II and Adeline W. Edmunds. An account in the Philadelphia Inquirer said she "was on the board of trustees of the Friends Home for Children, Secane, and was a member of the Friends Education Committee, the League of Women Voters, the Republican Women of Pennsylvania, the New Century Club, the Geographical Society of Philadelphia, and was on the widow's roll of the Union League." In his own right, Franklin was an 1893 graduate of Central High School and the Elementary Friends' School and in 1897 received a degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He spent the next summer in Europe and in 1898 returned to Penn to take post-graduate courses. About that same time, he was hired as a draftsman by D.K. Boyd, where he stayed until 1901. He also studied life drawing and costume at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. He spent the rest of his career serving the Borough of Millbourne as chief of the Bureau of Building Inspectors (1915-1917), borough council (1918-1921), Millbourne Fire Association (1911-1930), justice of the peace (1925-1931) and burgess (1930-1948). His civic and professional activities were many -- as recording secretary of the board of directors of the Friends' Home for Children -- publisher of a four-part series entitled The Public School Buildings of Philadelphia -- and memberships in the American Institute of Architects, Philadelphia Engineers' Society, Academy of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Houston Club, Union League, Central Manual Training School and University of Pennsylvania alumni associations, National Geographic Society, Pennsylvania Historical Society, Genealogical Society of Philadelphia and Society of Municipal Engineers. They made their home at 6423 West Chester Road in Millbourne, Delaware County, and he kept an an office in the Real Estate Trust Building in Center City. Grief struck the family at Franklin's untimely death in 1948. Sue survived as a widow for another 24 years and remained in their home at 6423 West Chester. Sadly, at the age of 93, Sue died on May 7, 1972. An obituary was printed in the Inquirer, which said she had been "active in civic, church and charitable affairs." Her funeral service was held in the Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Society of Friends at 15th and Race Streets. Burial was in WEst Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.

• Grandson Henry Reeves Edmunds II (1918-2012) was born on Sept. 18, 1918 in Philadelphia. He wed Edith Thomas ( ? - ? ). They stayed together over the extraordinary span of 63 years. Together they bore three children -- Deborah Weaver, Nancy Edmunds and Thomas Edmunds. They spent most of their lives in Haddon Heights, NJ. Henry devoted his career to teaching mathematics. His last assignment was at Heritage in Cherry Hill, NJ. Said The Press of Atlantic City, he "also worked part time as a realtor at Carey's in Ocean City as well as teaching summer school there for many years. Henry was a member of the Welcome and Mayflower Societies, and the Henry R. Edmunds School in [northeast] Phila. is named after his grandfather. He was an avid collector and a singer, having been a tenor in various barbershop singing choruses for many years." He was a lifetime member of the Society of Friends. At the age of 93, Henry died on July 15, 2012. Burial was in the Friends cemetery in Wayne.

• Granddaughter Adeline W. Edmunds (1915-1979) was born on March 18, 1915. She does not appear to have married or reproduced. Adeline lived for many years in Philadelphia. Later in life she dwelled in Haddon Heights, NJ. At the age of 64, she passed away on Oct. 19, 1979. Her funeral rites were conducted in the Race Street Meeting House, with an obituary printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Interment of the remains was in her parents' plot at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

West Laurel Hill Cemetery  Courtesy Jenn O

Son Joseph Townsend Paxton (1880-1910) was born on Aug. 23, 1880. He was a machinist and employed as a technical representative of his father's firm, the hosiery mill supplies company of Paxton & O'Neil of Philadelphia. He never married. Joseph went on a business trip in January 1910 to Durham, NC on a project installing machinery at Hosiery Mill No. 1. His plans were to go from there to Winston-Salem, NC. But the cruel hand of death intervened. Joseph became ill from a severe cold and decided not to go to see his customer and went to bed in his room in Durham's Corcoran Hotel. He declined assistance of a physician and at midnight called for ice water. He died overnight, at age 29, discovered the next morning by a chambermaid, Jan. 22, 1910. His body was found lying on top of the bedcover, "which had not been turned down," said the Greensboro (NC) News and Record. "There is no element of suicide discovered and nothing to indicate it in previous conduct." Added another an obituary, "From the condition of the body and features, it is supposed he died from a congestive chill." Another obituary, appearing in the New Orleans (LA) Times-Democrat, said that "All the symptoms support the theory that pneumonia was the cause of death" and that he was "a Philadelphia of prominence." The county coroner ruled the cause as asphyxia. The remains were transported back home to sleep under the sod of West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd. The year of his death is incorrectly inscribed as "1918" on the grave marker.

Daughter Adaline Townsend "Ada" Paxton (1883-1983) was born on June 26, 1883 in Philadelphia. Circa 1910, she entered into marriage with Walker Eachus Linvill (1884-1949), son of Aquila J. and Sarah Trego (Eachus) Linvill. They went on to become the parents of two sons, Aquilla James Linville II and John Barton Linvill. The young family was plunged into grief at the death of son James at age 16 months just three days after Christmas 1917.  The toddler's tender remains were placed into the sleep of the ages in the Friends Southwestern Burial Ground, Upper Darby. Walker was a certified public accountant and in 1912 was admitted into the partnership of the firm Herbert G. Stockwell & Company, with offices in the Land Title Building of Philadelphia. The firm name was changed in May 1917 to Stockwell, Wilson & Linvill, reflecting the addition of William J. Wilson to the practice. Walker was a graduate of the Friends Central School, and he was active in subsequent years with the Philadelphia Meeting of the Society of Friends of Philadelphia, serving as clerk and later as treasurer. As of 1921, their homeplace was at 645 North 63rd Street in the city, and in 1928-1949 at 405 Wynmore Road in the tony suburb of Wynnewood. Walker is believed to have been affiliated with the Western First-day School Union, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Accountants, Union League, Kiwanis Club, American Institute of Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. On New Year's Eve 1929, at a meeting of the local Kiwanis Club, just two months after the great Wall Street Crash, Walker gave a presentation on economics. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he said that "1929 is closed. With its failures, its hectic moments and its headaches, it has become history. We should frankly recognize our present conditions and turn to the new year with the resolution by profit by past mistakes. Many a business shows a gross profit, but not  satisfactory net, and if we want satisfactory results for 1930, we must see that the various elements of sales quota, gross profit, costs, overhead and net profit are kept in their proper perspective week by week." Walker continued to provide his public accounting services during the Great Depression. He and his partner John C. Parry Jr. announced in the spring of 1940 that they had changed the name of their firm to Linvill & Parry. They remained together in business for the next nine years until Walker's passing. He died on Aug. 7, 1949. As a widow, Adaline continued to live in Philadelphia and gave of her time with the Germantown Academy Alumni Mothers. She passed away at the age of 100, in Wayne, PA, on Nov. 14, 1983. Burial was under the sod of the Washington Memorial Chapel Churchyard in Valley Forge.

• Grandson John "Barton" Linvill Sr. (1915-2015) was born on March 21, 1915. He attended the Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia and was a 1937 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he played lacrosse. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserves during World War II and was deployed to the South Pacific. On June 13, 1942, he was united in matrimony with Sally Sumner Poole ( ? - ? ), daughter of William Frederick Poole of Canton, MA. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Thomas A. Sinclair in the First Congregational Unitarian Church of Canton. The York (PA) Dispatch announced the happy news, saying the bride "wore an ivory satin gown with sweetheart neckline edged with rosepoint lace, and a long veil of Brussels net caught in halo effect. She carried a bouquet of stephanotis and gardenias." Their union endured the highs and lows of an extraordinary 71 years together. Two known offspring of the couple were Sally Sumner Bund and John Barton Linvill Jr. She was an alumna of the Brimmer School and studied for two years at Smith College in Northampton, MA. While Barton was away at war, she earned a living at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radar Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. Upon his return stateside, the couple dwelled in Wayne until a 1956 move to Radnor. She went on to serve as recording secretary of the Smith Club of alumni in Philadelphia (1952). She also was active with the Women of St. Martin's Church in Radnor and circa 1959 was on a committee to transform a donated residence known as "Bolingbroke" into a new parish house and center for social activities. She also held a seat for years on the executive committee of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. She was board chair of the Junior Service Board which supported the Visiting Nurses Association of the Neighborhood League of Wayne and its dentistry clinic and nursing scholarships. In local politics, she was a judge of elections in Radnor Township and helped raise funds for a new Radnor Memorial Library building in the 1960s. Said the Philadelphia Inquirer, "As a board member of the Committee of 1926, which supports the preservation and programs of Historic Strawberry Mansion in Fairmount Park, Mrs. Linvill curated the new Millennium Doll Exhibition in 2000. Working with Emilie Bregy, she wrote to the governors of any states that had not donated dolls to the Sesquicentennial Doll Collection housed at Strawberry Mansion since 1950. She completed the display that helped interpret the history of all 50 states. As a result, the space for the doll exhibit was named the 'Sally Linvill Room'." Barton was employed in 1961 as assistant manager of the accounting division of Curtis Publishing Company and volunteered as corresponding secretary of the Tax Executives Institute. In 1989, he was treasurer of the Citizens' Committee to Preserve the Charter, a Republican-led group opposed to what the Inquirer called "piecemeal dismantling of the Home Rule Charter." Suffering from dementia, Sally was admitted in about 2001 to the Beaumont at Bryn Mawr and spent her final 13 years there. She died at the age of 94 on April 27, 2014. Barton marked his 100th birthday in 2015. His final residence at the Beaumont Retirement Community. He died on Christmas Day 2015. The Inquirer printed an obituary in which the family asked that any memorial gifts be made to The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square. Burial was at Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge.

  Great-granddaughter Sally Sumner Linvill ( ? - ? ) was an alumna of the Baldwin School and Smith College. On May 24, 1949, she was joined in wedlock with Ian Richard Nathan Bund ( ? - ? ), son of Herbert J. Bund of Sydney, Australia. The nuptials were held in the family house of worship, St. Martin's Church of Radnor, by the hand of Rev. William H. Jeffery. In announcing the happy affair, the Philadelphia Inquirer said that the bride "wore an Empire gown of ivory silk organza and an heirloom mantilla of Brussels lace." The groom was a graduate of the University of Sydney and then earned his master's degree in business administration from Harvard college. The newlyweds' first home was in Key Biscayne, FL. As of 2016, they were in Ann Arbor, MI.

  Great-grandson John Barton Linvill Jr. ( ? - ? ) tied the knot with Susie. The couple made a home in Wayne, PA in 2016.

Emmeline's grave, West Laurel Hill Courtesy Jenn O

Daughter Emmeline Barton "Emma" Paxton (1888-1943) was born on Nov. 1, 1888. In girlhood, circa 1900, she is known to have attended Morton McMichael School in West Philadelphia. She never married and was burdened with schizophrenia for many years. She lived with her married sister Sue Edmunds at 6423 West Chester Road in Upper Darby. In about 1932, with her mental state declining beyond the ability of her family to assist, she was admitted to Dufur Hospital in Horsham, PA, a private psychiatric and mental health facility. There, she stayed for the remaining 11 years, 11 months and 19 days of her life. She also contracted chronic congestive heart failure and rheumatic heart disease. She passed into the arms of the heavenly host at age 54 on March 6, 1943. Burial was in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd. Her sister Sue was the informant for the official certificate of death.

Son John Barton Paxton Jr. (1889-1966) was born on April 5, 1889 in Philadelphia. He joined hands in marriage circa 1916 with Henrietta Katzmar (1881-1967). The pair did not reproduce. They moved in about 1926 to Prescot, Yavapai County, AZ, where he operated the Paxton Mine. Said an obituary, "He was chief engineer for the DeSoto Mine near Wagoner during World War I, was a former superintendent of the Iron King Mine hear Humboldt, and was active in many mining operations in the Superior area in the 1920s." In all, his mining career in Arizona spanned more than half-a-century. Sadly, stricken with bladder cancer, severe muscle loss and peritonitis at the age of 77, he died in Yavapai Community Hospital on May 15, 1966. Interment of the remains was in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, NY. Henrietta only outlived him by eight months. Death spirited her away in Auburn on Jan. 26, 1967.

Son James P. Paxton (1891- ? ) was born on Dec. 1, 1891. He may not have survived childhood, but this needs to be confirmed.

West Laurel Hill Cemetery Courtesy Jenn O

Son Charles Rupert Paxton (1896-1979) was born on Sept. 20, 1896 in Philadelphia. He worked for the Philadelphia branch of the YMCA in 1918. Then circa 1920, sharing a home with his widowed mother in Philadelphia, he generated income selling vacuum cleaners. Charles entered into marriage in 1923 with Elizabeth Shaw Blair (Dec. 17, 1894-1946). One known son of theirs' was Charles Rupert Paxton Jr. The federal census enumeration of 1940 shows the family in Philadelphia, with him working as a copyist for a music project. During the World War II years, they made a home at 5606 Catharine Street, Philadelphia, with Charles earning a living at the Philadelphia Signal Corps Depot. Sadness blanketed the family when Elizabeth died on June 21, 1946. A brief death notice was printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The widowed Charles endured for another 33 years and made his residence in Camden, NJ. He passed into eternity in Camden on Aug. 14, 1979. They sleep for all time in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.  

• Grandson Charles Rupert Paxton Jr. (1927-2022) was born on June 4, 1927 in Philadelphia. He is known to have served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Charles tied the marital knot with Ruth (Andrews) McCullough ( ? - ? ). She brought three stepchildren into the union, Kimberly Gross, John R. McCullough and Douglas H. McCullough. Charles also was the father of Charles R. Paxton. An obituary said that he "enjoyed working with his tools and computers." Sadly, at the age of 95, he surrendered to the angel of death on June 21, 2022. His remains were laid to rest in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

~ Son Joseph Paxton ~

Son Joseph Paxton (1846-1919) was born in 1846. 

Joseph at age 25 relocated in 1871 from Pennsylvania to the Indian River area of Rockledge, FL. 

Then in 1878, he tied the knot with Annie Leland Hatch (1862-1940), daughter of A.L. Hatch. 

They were the parents of Leonard "Rupert" Paxton, Mary Virginia Rembert and Joseph Leland Paxton. 

The Paxtons spent the balance of their lives together in Rockledge. He is known to have spent over a month with friends in the summer of 1900 in the orange growing belt of Southern California before returning home. 

Sadly, after an evening of visiting with his son Rupert, who had returned from World War I Army service in France, Joseph went to bed and passed away at age 72 on Jan. 14, 1919. Rev. H.M. Boyd, of the Presbyterian Church, officiated the funeral rites. He sleeps for all time in Cocoa City Cemetery. 

A Cocoa Evening Tribune obituary referred to him as one of the Indian River country's "pioneer residents" and "one of her most highly respected and substantial citizens; a man whose business ability has commanded the respect of all and whose intense loyalty to his country in the great war has been a most admirable example, giving his two sons to the service and placing a large sum of his month at the disposal of the government through the purchase of bonds and through gifts to the various war funds."

Son Leonard "Rupert" Paxton (1880-1946) was born on Dec. 30, 1880. He attended the South Florida Military Academy in Bartow circa 1900. He became a county surveyor and then during World War I served in France with the 117th Engineer Corps, part of the famed Rainbow Division. He attained the rank of second lieutenant. His homeplace in 1945 was in Titusville, FL. At the age of 65, he died in Pinellas County, FL on Sept. 12, 1946. The body is at rest in the Paxton lot of graves in Cocoa City Cemetery.

Daughter Mary Virginia Paxton (1887-1971) was born on Oct. 20, 1887 in City Point, Brevard County, FL. She wed Ruan Milton "R.M." Rembert (1888-1959). The couple raised an adopted son, John Boley. Ruan built a career as a citrus grower. During the World War II years, in May 1943, they received a great shock when an Army airplane crashed in their citrus grove, killing the 19-year-old pilot Lt. George J.R. Ewing of the Orlando Air Force Base. Sadly, following a lengthy illness, he died at home on Feb. 20, 1959. Rev. Charles C. Sellers of the Rockledge Presbyterian Church officiated the rites. The Orlando Sentinel published an obituary. As a widow, Mary dwelled in a two-story riverfront house at 1437 Rockledge Drive and for the last two years of her life was an invalid, confined to her bed or wheelchair. Tragically, at age 83 on March 5, 1971, she and her son were killed in an early morning fire at their residence. After the fire broke out, the son called the local fire department, said the Orlando Evening Star, "but the phone went dead before he could report the location... The house was leveled to its foundation with only the chimney left standing... She was an avid horticulturalist and refused to have the grounds cleared from their native state, leaving the house only barely visible from the road." An inscription on her grave marker at Cocoa City Cemetery states that she was a "nature lover."

• Adopted grandson John Harrison Boley ( ? -1971) was born in Birmingham, AL, the son of Florence Wear. In young manhood he made a home in Norman, OK and moved to Rockledge, FL circa 1945. He was business manager for his parents' citrus growing operations. He held memberships in the Cocoa Rotary Club and local lodges of the Masons and Shrine. He was the father of Anita Jones and Harrison Alexander Boley. He perished in the Rembert housefire with his adoptive mother in March 1971. Rev. Lenard Vanderwater officiated the obsequies, followed by burial in Florida Memorial Gardens. An obituary was printed in the Cocoa Florida Today.

Son Joseph Leland Paxton (1894-1945) was born on Nov. 21, 1894 in Rockledge, Brevard County, FL. He joined the U.S. Army during World War I and was deployed to France. Joseph was a lifelong bachelor. For many years, he was a co-owner of the Cocoa Fish Market. Said the Cocoa Evening Tribune, he "lived in this community all his life. In his earlier life, he was one of the well known baseball players for Cocoa, and in the past few years had been interested in the fishing business, including wholesale and retail fish, and the crab meat business, in partnership with Mr. P.C. Moore. He was... a member of the community's pioneer families." He died in a Daytona Beach hospital in Volusia County, FL on May 30, 1945. The Evening Tribune said that "News of Mr. Paxton's death was received here this morning with shock and grief by hundreds of friends and acquaintances, many of whom did not know anything of his illness. His death was due to a heart condition." Interment was made in Cocoa City (FL) Cemetery. His obituary was printed in the Jacksonville (FL) Times-Union.

~ Daughter Mary Barton Paxton ~

Daughter Mary Barton Paxton (1848-1899) is said to have been born on July 17, 1848 in Catawissa, Columbia County, PA. 

She grew up on her parents' home in Franklin Township, Lycoming County, PA. 

Mary relocated to Southern California, and in 1897 purchased a 10-acre plot of ground at the corner of West and 17th Streets in Santa Ana. Her address as of 1899 was 229 East 30th Street, Los Angeles.

Sadly, she succumbed to the spectre of death in Los Angeles on March 25, 1899. A brief notice of her death appeared in the Philadelphia Times. Her final burial was relocated circa March 1946 to Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, PA, where her remains were placed next to her sister Katherine's. 

~ Son Edward Paxton ~

Son Edward Paxton (1851-1928) was born in 1851. 

In young manhood he lived under his parents' roof in Franklin Township, Lycoming County and worked as a farmer. 

Edward migrated to California. He roomed in Los Angeles in 1910, performing odd jobs. 

Later he lived in San Francisco in 1916 and in Kennett, CA in 1928. He was employed in Shasta/Kennett as a gardener. 

Five days before Christmas 1928, at age 77, he was found dead in his home. Rev. E.E. Malone led the funeral rituals followed by burial in Redding Cemetery. His younger brother Leonard came from Los Angeles to attend. A brief obituary was printed in the Redding Searchlight.

~ Son Leonard Rupert Paxton ~

Son Leonard Rupert Paxton (1855-1935) was born on Aug. 3, 1855 in Lairdsville, Lycoming County. 

He is known to have attended the wedding of his brother John "Barton" Paxton to Anne J. Price in West Chester, PA in mid-November 1877. 

On Nov. 17, 1885, at the age of about 30, he married Stella R. ( ? -1936). 

They immediately moved to California and bore a trio of children, Laura E. Paxton, Clara B. Paxton and Bright R. Paxton II. 

In 1889, he joined the staff of the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds. In short order he was named deputy county clerk and held that position for 37 years. 

The Paxtons lived on a farm near Rivera in Downey Township, Los Angeles County in 1900-1913. Circa 1916, he was employed as clerk with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and continued to make his home in Rivera. 

He is known to have earned a living as a rancher in 1928 and to have traveled to Redding, CA that year to attend his brother Edward's funeral. He also amassed stock in the Bell-View Oil Company at Santa Fe Springs. 

Their last address was 648 East Telegraph Road in Rivera. 

Death cleaved him away in his residence at the age of 79 on April 19, 1935 from the effects of heart disease. An obituary in the Los Angeles Times said he had served for 38 years as a county employee. His remains were lowered into the sacred soil of Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, CA. 

Stella only outlived him by a year and four months. She passed on Aug. 16, 1936.

Daughter Laura E. Paxton (1886- ? ) was born in about 1886. She was unmarried and lived with her parents in Rivera, CA in the early 1910s. When her uncle Charles Paxton came into their household in 1913, then fell and injured himself followed by a stroke, she and her parents had him admitted to the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. She later recalled that "for a month or six weeks I went to see him every week and after that I did not go so often. After he was hurt I wrote to [his stepdaughter] about it and wrote her quite often afterwards. After his death I wrote her all about his funeral, told her that we buried him in Los Angeles which was in accordance with his wishes. I hated the idea of having his personal effects sold at public auction and wrote and told her that if she did not want his things to let me know as I wanted them if she did not. I asked for what money he had to defray the funeral expenses as his relatives here had to defray those expenses. A reply, which I considered insulting, came to my father refusing it." As of 1936, she made heer dwelling-place at 648 Anaheim-Telegraph Road.

Daughter Clara B. Paxton (1888-1974) was born on March 14, 1888 in San Fernando, CA. She was joined in wedlock with Frank Curt Miller (Jan. 1, 1888-1941), son of Curt W. Miller and originally from Phoenix, AZ. Two known offspring they bore together were Marjorie Frey (1919- ? ) and Curt P. Miller (1923- ? ). Frank attended the California Institute of Technology. At one time followed in his father's footsteps as a newspaperman. Then circa 1924-1925, he served as city engineer for Elsinore, CA. Clara sued for divorce in 1924, citing cruelty. She claimed he chided her for not keeping up his pace and claimed he said "I am making money and I want a live bird to help me spend it." But the couple reconciled and in 1930 lived together in Elsinore, with him now generating income in manufacturing icea. She held memberships in the Order of Eastern Star and American Legion Auxiliary. Frank went on to own a distribution agency and amassed a large collection of rare stones. At the time of his death, he was en route to Los Angeles to acquire a machine used for polishing the gems. They were plunged into grief on June 26, 1936 when their only son died at the age of 13. Just five years later, Frank tragically was killed in a vehicular accident on March 27, 1941 when a Santa Fe Railroad train struck his truck at the Valley View Road crossing. Said a newspaper, "He was driving near Norwalk, CA going "about 25 miles per hour as he approached the tracks. The engineer, George Litch, sounded his whistle. Miller apparently did not see or hear the train. The engine, traveling at 60 miles an hour, struck the light delivery truck broadside, scattering wreckage for 100 yards. Known to be a careful driver well acquainted with the road over which he had traveled many times, the news of his death came as a shock to townspeople." His funeral was held at St. Andrew's By the Lake Episcopal Church. Clara lived for another 33 years and appears to have wed again to M.B. Hockenberry ( ? - ? ) and (?) Hill. She passed away in Camarillo, CA at the age of 86 on June 7, 1974. Her obituary was carried in the Lake Elsinore Valley Sun-Tribune. Rev. Millard White, of the local United Methodist Church, preached the funeral. Interment was in the Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

Son Bright R. Paxton II ( ? - ? ) settled in Riverside, CA. On 14, 1923, he wed Jane Barker ( ? - ? ), with the exchange of vows taking place in his parents'  home in Rivera. The news was announced in the Long Beach Telegram. His address in the mid-1930s was 11302 Miranda Street, North Hollywood. Bright was in Riverside in the mid-1970s.

Daughter Edith Paxton ( ? - ? ) was united in matrimony with (?) Rich. She was in Fullerton, CA in 1974. 

~ Son George S. Paxton ~

Son George S. Paxton (1859- ? ) was born in 1859. 

He worked as a printer in 1880 in Franklin Township, Lycoming County. 

Nothing more about him is known for now.

~ Daughter Katherine Rupert Paxton ~

Daughter Katherine Rupert Paxton (1861-1945) was born on Aug. 14, 1861. 

She too relocated to northern California, settling in San Francisco. There, in the 1894 timeframe, she taught cooking in a normal school and then in 1904 was a teacher in the Buena Vista Primary School extension. 

She was injured on Jan. 23, 1908 when a United Railroads streetcar struck her at the corner of 18th and Dolores Streets in Oakland, causing two broken ribs and a deep, inch-long scar on her right cheek. She sued United for $10,000, settling for $2,500, claiming her "personal appearance was seriously marred," reported the Oakland Tribune. 

As of 1909, she graduated from a French course at the San Francisco Commercial Evening School. Perhaps armed with funds and interest in French, the San Francisco School Board granted her a three-year leave of absence in December 1909 for "advanced study abroad." 

Katherine's name was in the news in 1910 when the Santa Ana (CA) School Board brought a lawsuit to condemn her real estate at the corner of Ross and 17th Streets so that a new schoolhouse could be constructed on the site. Part of the tract contained a walnut orchard. Reported the Anaheim Gazette, "The school board began negotiations for this site early in the fall. An offer of $5600 was made Mrs. Paxton, who arrived here a few days ago to meet the school men. At that time the property was acreage property. While negotiations were under way Mrs. Paxton had the tract platted and filed her map showing it as lot property." She finally agreed on a sale price of $6,000. 

Upon her return in 1913, she was transferred from the Buena Vista School to the Oriental School. Her address in 1916 -- the year she retired after a quarter-century of service -- was 138 Eureka Street, San Francisco. 

Katherine appears to have returned to Pennsylvania in her later years, making a new home at 226 Upland Road in Merion, Montgomery County. 

Burdened with hardening of the arteries, she suffered a heart attack and died at home at the age of 83 on June 24, 1945. Burial was in Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, PA, with the remains of her sister relocated there a year later so the two could rest side by side. Sue P. Edmunds, of 6423 West Chester Road in Upper Darby, signed the official Pennsylvania certificate of death.