PAXSON FAMILY:
Fourth Generation
from the Revolution through the Federalist Period
compiled and copyright by MJP Grundy, 2002, with revisions up through the present
PAXSON FAMILY:
Many in this generation were teenagers at the time of the Revolution. This is the generation that saw the establishment of the new United States, first under the old elite leadership, then with the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 almost a second revolution as nearly all free white men began to participate not only in elections but in vociferous debates about the shape of public policy. The restrictions were removed against westward migration into the lands that had been reserved by the British for the Native Americans who had already been pushed from their ancestral homelands along the Atlantic coast. The relentless seizure of real estate accelerated.
Beginning with this generation a number of Paxsons, like so many others, moved farther west. Friends, however, were counseled to be careful not to settle on any land that had not been “fairly” and officially purchased from the Indians. As Friends moved across the Appalachian Mountains their religion played an essential role in the creation of community and cultural identity as new meetings were established. But the relative isolation of the frontier also presented strong challenges to the cohesiveness and theological integrity of Friends. For those remaining back east that cohesiveness shattered with the 1827 separation within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The following year it rippled out, eventually dividing most of the yearly meetings in North America (Baltimore, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Western, and Canada, but not North Carolina or New England).
There are a number of good books that explore the situation in which our ancestors in this generation found themselves. If you are interested in more than mere names and dates of skeletal genealogy, take a look at some of these, which are just the stem of the cherry of what is available.
Appleby, Joyce, Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ingle, H. Larry, Quakers in Conflict: The Hicksite Reformation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986.
Jensen, Joan M. Loosening the Bonds: Mid-Atlantic Farm Women, 1750-1850. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
Mathews, Donald G. Slavery and Methodism: A Chapter in American Morality, 1780-1845. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Nash, Gary B. and Jean R. Soderlund, Freedom by Degrees: Emancipation in Pennsylvania and Its Aftermath. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Specht, Neva Jean, "Mixed Blessing: Trans-Appalachian Settlement and the Society of Friends, 1780-1813" (PhD dissertation, University of Delaware, 1998).
You can refer to earlier generations: the
Third, or
Second, or
First (the Immigrant Generation), or
English Ancestors from 1640 to 1682. Or, you can look at subsequent generations: Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh, or Eighth, although the more recent we get, the less complete is my data. For more information about this web site, go to its home page. You can also check out the list of all men and women born into a Paxson family (i.e. not their non-Paxson spouses) who are included here. If you have additions or corrections, please contact me at 
There is a Chart of the third generation children and fourth generation grandchildren of #9 William2 and Mary (Watson) Paxson, if it helps you to visualize part of the family in this format (readable with Adobe). The numbers in red correspond to the numbers used in this web site.
This page is still under construction. In particular not all of the citations and notes are linked or properly organized as yet. Most of the footnotes that are blue and underlined can be clicked on to read the citation and/or note (but some of them have gotten botched). Or, you can look at the notes and sources separately. My apologies that some of the notes in brackets can be somewhat cryptic. Let this be a warning to complete notes and citations before moving on, as memory, alas, eventually fails.
48. William4 Paxson, eldest son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born 26 Fourth Month [June] 1743. He married 18 Sixth Month [June] 1772 Mary SUBERS, two months after she had been accepted into membership in Middletown Monthly Meeting.[1] See note on Old Style and Quaker dating system.
Mary was the daughter of Jacob and Anna (LAREW) Subers. Her father lived in Northampton Township, and styled himself a yeoman in his will signed in 1777. It was proved in 1780, and he left something to Mary.[2] As a widow Anna (Larew) Subers removed to Middletown. Her will was signed 12 Eighth Month 1799, with a codicil on 4 January 1802. It was proved 19 October 1804, and she, too, left something to Mary.[3] Mary requested membership in Middletown Meeting 6 Second Month 1772, and was accepted on 2 Fourth Month that year.[4] Friends at that time did not approve of “mixed marriages”, believing that both spouses needed to be grounded in the faith of Friends in order to support each other in Friends’ practices. They also felt it was important for both parents to be Friends to bring up their children within the Religious Society. Therefore it was not uncommon for someone hoping to marry a Friend, like Mary, to seek membership first.
William was a trustee of the meeting property like his father and grandfather, and was given a small committee assignment (to forward a certificate of removal to its intended recipient).[5] This would have been the early steps toward finding his place within the meeting’s structure.
Then the war broke out against Great Britain. On 4 Third Month 1779 it was reported to Middletown Meeting that William gave in to the pressure to take the affirmation of allegiance and abjuration “under this present unsettled government.” From the beginning of Quakerism Friends had refused to take oaths. They pointed to the clear Biblical statements in Matthew 5:33-37 and James 5:12. They understood God was calling Friends to be a people who always spoke the truth, not just when they were under oath. In the previous century during the tumultuous years of the English Civil War, when each change of government brought pressure to swear an oath of allegiance to it, Friends alone stood firm that allegiance could not be commanded by words, and they could not give allegiance to one party one day, and another party the next week. Many Friends suffered considerably for refusing to swear. During the American Revolution a similar situation prevailed, with the British and the Patriots at different times demanding oaths of allegiance. Again, Friends stood firm in their witness against this. Those who, like William, were unable or unwilling to maintain Friends’ testimony were seen as not in unity with Friends’ witness, and so could not be “owned” as Friends; they were “disowned”. They could continue to attend meeting for worship, but they could not participate in the meeting for business. A small committee was named to speak with William, but they reported not much progress was made at first. Then several months later there appeared to be some satisfaction, and in September more time was requested. Friends continued to labor with William until it became clear that he was not going to condemn what he had done. He was disowned by Middletown Meeting 6 April 1780.[6] As someone who was disowned no longer appeared in Friends’ minutes or records it is harder for the historian to keep track of such individuals. However, Mary and their four children were not disowned for William’s inability to uphold Friends’ testimonies, and it appears likely that William continued to attend meetings for worship and to participate in the Quaker subculture. He would not, however, have been permitted to participate in meetings for discipline (as meetings for determining the business of the faith community were called then).
William upheld Friends’ peace testimony even after he was disowned. He was fined several times between 1780 and 1783 for refusing to participate on muster days. The Pennsylvania Archives list him with fines of £9.15.0, twice for £72 during the period of high inflation, and for £11.5.0.[7] Since William was no longer a member of the Friends meeting, there is no way now to know if he paid the fines or refused on principal and had goods distrained.
It is possible to trace some of William’s economic life through the tax records created during the Revolutionary War. In 1779 he owned 181 acres in Northampton, with seven horses. No doubt there was other livestock, as well. In 1781 he had sold some of his land, owning only 97 acres, but also having a tan mill. He had three horses and four cows. The next year, with the same acreage he had one less horse and one less cow. This may have been the result of having them seized in lieu of payment of military fines, simply confiscated by one of the armies, or sold. They would no doubt have been worth much more than the face value of the fine. He also owned a saw mill. In 1783, the last year of the war, William was assessed £4.13.7. As these were non-military taxes, he would have paid them. But things don’t seem to have been going well for William, because the next year he owned no real estate at all. In 1786 his tax was only £1.10.2, and the following year £1.17.5.[8]
In 1789 William decided to cut his losses and move to Bradford Meeting in Chester County. Mary requested and received a certificate of removal for herself and their four children that was signed by the men’s meeting on 5 Second Month 1789. Things may not have worked out as well as William had hoped, because the family returned in late 1792.[9]
Mary was disowned 10 Eleventh Month 1796 for consenting to her daughter Anna’s marriage to a non-Friend. Mary said she was not sorry, and it may be that the family was drifting away from Friends by this time. Anna, having been “precautioned” against it, was disowned, as was her older brother, William, for attending the wedding.[10]
I have not discovered the dates of death from either William or Mary. But there is an 1813 tax record in Middletown for a Mary Paxson that might refer to her as a probable widow. She had four acres valued at $88 per acre for a total value of $352 on which a county tax of $.70 was owed.
Children of William and Mary (Subers) Paxson:
119 i. William5, b. 27 Mar. 1773; m. Mary __?? After he attended the wedding of his sister, which was held out of unity with Friends, a minute of disownment was signed on 4/1m/1798.[11] William was named co-executor of his grandmother Suber’s will, along with Friend William BUCKMAN.120 ii. Anna, b. 3/8m/1776; reported on 9/6m/1796 married out of unity with Friends to __ TOMLINSON. Her disownment was signed 7/7m/1796.[12] Anna was remembered in her grandmother Suber’s will.
121 iii. Samuel, b. 13 Oct. 1781; probably unmarried. He was disowned in 1809 for militia activity.[13] Samuel was remembered in his grandmother Suber’s will.
122 iv. Amos, b. 31 Jan. 1786. There is no further mention of Amos in Friends’ records after he accompanied his parents to Bradford in 1789 and back in 1792. He was remembered in his grandmother Suber’s will, signed 12 Eighth Month 1799. In the 1809 Bucks County tax Amos was listed as a blacksmith, a single man charged $.75. The Middletown Tax Record for 1813 listed Amos with no dogs, a lot rather than acreage, one horse and one cow, and his (unspecified) occupation taxed respectively at .85, .15, and .30 for a total amount of $1.30 and a county tax of $.25.[13a]
49. Joseph4 Paxson, second son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown on 25 February 1744/5 and died 11 July 1793. On 25 October 1770 he married Sarah RODMAN, the daughter of John and his second wife Mary (HARRISON) Rodman. Among those signing the wedding certificate were Sarah’s parents, her step-sister and husband Margaret and Joseph BALDWIN, another step-sister Charity LOVETT, Joseph’s mother, his father’s aunt Mary (Paxson) RICHARDSON, and his brothers William, Phinehas (the spelling varied), Mahlon, Samuel, and Thomas Paxson. Sarah was born 7 August 1753 and died 7 January 1828. They lived at "Brookfield", the Rodman family farm in Bensalem, lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[14]
Between 1780 and 1783 Joseph was fined five times for refusing to participate in military activities. The escalating size of the fines would give an even more vivid impression of inflation during the Revolution if it was specified whether the fine was denominated in sterling, Pennsylvania currency, or "continental" currency: £72, £72, £11.5.0; £18.0.0, and £549. One can get a sense of Joseph’s property from the tax assessments during the war years. Although he did not own the farm, over the years from 1779 to 1785 he was liable for taxes on two to four horses, three or four cattle, and eleven sheep.[15]
Joseph and Sarah were both quite active in Middletown Meeting. Joseph served in a wide variety of capacities. One small example was on a committee to labor with Hastings STACKHOUSE who joined the (British) army. Joseph was named a representative to Bucks Quarterly Meeting five times, and twice to attend and help maintain order among the young Friends. He served on the committee considering building the new meeting house, that was erected in 1793 (and is still standing). Joseph served on the school committee and a committee overseeing the welfare of freed Negroes. Sarah may have served as an Overseer 10 July 1794 to 10 November 1808, but there were several women in Middletown Meeting with the same name, so it is hard to be sure.[16]
Joseph died intestate on 11 July 1793 at the height of Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic.[17] Because he left no will, we can infer that he died fairly suddenly, and it is likely, but not proved, that he died of the disease. His estate was inventoried by Henry SIMMONS, Samuel ALLEN, and Ezra TOWNSEND. They valued it at £845.09.3, of which £504.0.4 was in bonds and their interest. He owned a few "luxury" items: a coffee pot, silver porringer, a tea cup, and six silver teaspoons. His house contained Quaker books by Sewell, Griffith, Woolman, and Churchman, as well as law books, and an assortment of other volumes. His estate was also credited with a plough, half of another plough and harness, 23 acres of Indian corn in the ground, and 11 acres of buckwheat in the ground.[18]
Sarah’s father, John Rodman, died in 1795 at the age of eighty one, and left the farmhouse and 240 acres and 100 perches to his daughter. She was enumerated there as the head of her household in the 1800 federal census. The 1800 census only named the head of the household and then counted people in age and race categories. In addition to presumably the five youngest children, there was also a male under the age of ten and two women over the age of 45, and two black people.
Sarah married for the second time on 16 Second Month 1809 Joseph TATNALL, and removed to Wilmington Monthly Meeting in order to live with him in Brandywine, a village that has long since been swallowed by the city of Wilmington, in Newcastle County, Delaware. She left her oldest surviving son, John, in charge of "Brookfield" and he eventually bought out his siblings’ shares. Sarah had no children by her second husband.[19]
Children of Joseph and Sarah (Rodman) Paxson. They are the first generation of their branch of the family to have middle names.[20]
123 i. Samuel5, b. 27 Oct. 1772; d. 12 July 1773.124 ii. Anna, b. 6 Jan. 1775; d. 26 Sept. 1863; m. 12 Oct. 1796 her second cousin William RICHARDSON, Jr. in Middletown Meeting.[20a] At various times she served as assistant clerk, clerk, and elder in Middletown Meeting. They had 2 children who both d. unmarried. Anna’s picture is on the right.
125 iii. John, b. 17 Apr. 1777; d. 16 Nov. 1850; m. 12 May 1802 Sarah PICKERING; 11 children.
126 iv. William, b. 26 Aug. 1779; d. 3 Sept. 1858; m. 1803 Ann CANBY; 4 children.
127 v. Mary Rodman, b. 26 Dec.1781; d. 2 Apr. 1838; m. in Middletown Mtg., 11 Apr. 1804 Asa WALMSLEY[20b], b. 10 Ninth Mo. 1774 in Byberry, d. ca. 1854, the son of Thomas and Agnes (MASON) Walmsley. Thomas was the son of William Walmsley and grandson of Thomas Walmsley who had married Mary Paxson, the sister of Mary Rodman Paxson’s great grandfather, William Paxson. Asa and Mary R. (Paxson) Walmsley removed Aug. 1808 to Byberry. Her obituary in The Friend (1838):272 indicates her Orthodox/Wilburite sympathies in the 1827 Friends separation. Asa’s obit is in the Friends Review, 8:200 (1854) indicating more Gurneyite sympathies. They had 9 children, including Morton A. Walmsley, b. 6/5m/1817, d. 12/9m/1898, m(1) 21/9m/1854 at Fallsington Mtg Eliza H. MOON, daughter of James and Jane (HAINES) Moon; m(2) Abby L. CHACE; had 2 daughters.[20c]
128 vi. Margaret, b. 10 June 1784; d. after a protracted illness on 10 Mar. 1846; m. 11 Fifth Month 1813 John RICHARDSON (no relation to William Richardson, husband of Margaret’s sister Anna) and resided in Rockwell, Wilmington, Del. One biographer of the Quaker painter Edward HICKS claims that Margaret was Hick’s childhood sweetheart. The placement of her obituary in the Friends Intelligencer 2:405, indicates her Hicksite affiliation after the 1827 Friends’ separation. John d. 30 Ninth Mo. 1859. They had 7 children, all born in Rockwood, New Castle Co., Del.[21]
a) Sarah Tatnall Richardson, b. 15 Feb. 1815; d. 18 June 1861; m. Edward Tatnall BELLACH;
b) Anna Richardson, b. 11 Aug. 1816; d. 28 May 1889 in Wilmington, Del.; m. 6 Oct. 1842 in Wilmington, Joseph BRINGHURST;
c) William Paxson Richardson, b. 22 July 1818; d. 15 Aug. 1895; m. 16 Feb. 1865 Mary Warner FORST;
d) Elizabeth Richardson, b. 4 May 1820; m. 9 Nov. 1853 Joseph C. TURNPENNY;
e) Mary Rodman Richardson, b. 31 Dec. 1821; d. 28 Nov. 1899; m. 22 June 1843 Charles WARNER;
f) John Richardson, b. 2 Feb. 1824; m. 12 June 1856 Martha ANDREWS;
g) Joseph P. Richardson, b. 16 Dec. 1825; d. 19 Mar. 1898; m. 13 Nov. 1856 Sarah ANDREWS;129 vii. Joseph Rodman, b. 4 June 1786; d. 15 Feb. 1828; unmarried. When his mother remarried in 1809, Joseph removed to Philadelphia. On 25 Fourth Month 1816 Joseph was granted a certificate to Western District Monthly Meeting, and in Eleventh Month 1822 he returned to Philadelphia Mo. Mtg.[22] Joseph died of "pulmonary consumption" at his sister Anna’s home in Middletown. He bore his sufferings "with great fortitude for several years with increasing resignation, to the will and pleasure of that almighty Being who 'Had dispensed so many unmerited blessings and mercies to him'". He was described as a "noble, generous, and very interesting man".[23] He was a member of the Orthodox branch of Friends.
130 viii. Richard S., b. 14 Dec. 1788; d. 24 Sept. 1857; m. 1 Apr. 1813 Elizabeth SHOEMAKER. She was b. 18 Feb. 1792 and d. 14 Dec. 1855, the daughter of Joseph and Anna (__) of Burlington, N.J. Richard and Elizabeth had 8 children.
131 ix. Margery, b. 28 Apr. 1791; d. Apr. 1837; m. 12 Oct. 1809 Edward TATNALL under the care of Wilmington Monthly Meeting.[23a] Removed with her mother to Brandywine in 1809. Edward d. 13 Jan. 1856, an Elder in Wilmington Meeting; his obituary is in The Friend 29:168, indicating Orthodox affiliation. They had 12 children, including William Tatnall, b. 11/3m/1822 in Brandywine village, d. 28/10m/1885 in Wilmington, m(1) at Falls MM 17/10m/1844 Rachel B. Tatnall, b. 18/7m/1823 at Woodbourne, d. 4/1m/1882 in Wilmington. He m(2) Esther WARNER, daughter of William and Esther (Tatnall) Warner; William and Rachel had children (Margery’s grandchildren): [23b]
a) Elizabeth Haines Tatnall, m. Edward BETTLE, son of Samuel and Mary Ann (JONES) Bettle;
b) Charles Moon Tatnall, m(1) Rebecca L. GIBBONS, daughter of Abraham and Martha P. (LUKENS) Gibbons; m(2) Annie Margaret JONES, daughter of Levi Bull and Elizabeth Grace (DILLER) Jones;
c)William Canby Tatnall, d.y.
d) James Edward Tatnall, m. Edith Anna COMFORT, daughter of Edward and Susan (EDGE) Comfort;
e) Henry Tatnall, m. Lola de Haven ROBINSON, daughter of R. Emmett and Maria J. (KATES) Robinson;
f) Jane Moon Tatnall, d.y.
g) Anna Canby Tatnall, unmar. in 1905
50. Phineas4 Paxson, third son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown 18 Twelfth Month (February) 1746/7, and died ca. August 1819. He was married on 24 January 1768 in the Dutch Reformed (Presbyterian) Church in Churchville, to Susanna SHAW, daughter of Joseph and Mary (CLOUGH) Shaw.[24] Susanna and Phineas acknowledged 2 June 1768 that they had gone out from Friends’ good order in their marriage. But their papers acknowledging and condemning their behavior needed to be rewritten until Friends were at length satisfied, and accepted them 2 February 1769.[25]
Phineas was disciplined by Middletown Meeting in 1768. The minutes rather cryptically record that "some part of his conduct since his marriage has been somewhat aggravated, yet he has not been so circumspect as he ought to have been and proposes to be more careful in the future." It was reported to monthly meeting on 2 Third Month 1769 that his paper was read out loud in public after worship.[26]
Phineas witnessed the will of Jonathan ABBETT of Northampton in 1772. He and Daniel LONGSTRETH were executors of the estate of Phineas’s mother-in-law (dated 1771, proved 1772).
Susannah was a minor when her father, Joseph SHAW, died and made provision that when she became 21 years old she would inherit a 164 acre parcel of land in Northampton Township. His will had been signed 15 Twelfth Month 1759, and was proved 22 September 1761. The land was part of a tract which James CLAYPOOLE and Robert TURNER, commisioners for the proprietor, had conveyed to William BUCKMAN on 19 Eighth Month 1686. William, in turn, conveyed it to John Shaw, Susannah’s grandfather, on 7 Seventh Month 1697. On 5 April 1773 Susannah and Phineas sold it to James VANSANT for £1,000 Pennsylvania currency.[27]
On 2 February 1773 Phineas and Susannah purchased twelve acres and a tavern house in Southampton from Patrick COLVIN. Colvin took back a mortgage on the property.[28]
A tavern license was issued in response to this petition from Phineas:
Quarter Sessions of Bucks County the Petition of Phineas Paxson of Southampton respectfully showeth that your Petitioner hath rented and now occupies the tavern in Southampton Township called and known by the name of “Buck Tavern” lately kept by Captain Samuel Smith where he wishes to continue the business and prays the Court of their recommendation that he may obtain a license to keep a tavern there agreeable to law.Drawing of the Buck Hotel by Arthur Meltzer, in Bucks the Artists’ County Cooks, © 1950, the Women’s Auxiliary of Trinity Chapel, Solebury, Pa., 69. The Buck Hotel still stands but has been so enlarged and modernized that it is difficult to find the original building.
Signed: Phineas Paxson (undated) [29]
When the Revolution began, all men between the ages of 15 and 50 were enrolled in militia groups. Phineas went out to practice marching with his group when he was called. Middletown Meeting disowned him 4 April 1776 for exercising with the (Pennsylvania) militia.[30] Nevertheless, by 1778 his attitude had changed, and he refused to attend muster days in Southampton. He was fined seven times between 1778 and 1781 under several different technicalities for refusing to bear arms.[31]
As mentioned above, Phineas owned and operated the Buck Hotel in what is now Feasterville, Lower Southampton Township, but then was part of a single Southampton Township. In Sixth Month 1780 he was tried, found guilty, and fined because
he joined the enemy in this city [Philadelphia], and has, in his general conduct and character manifested a disaffection to the American cause, & there is reason to suspect him to be privy to the escape of British prisoners; Whereupon, Resolved, That he be no longer permitted to keep a Publick house; that he give security to his good behavior before some Justice of the Supreme Court, himself in £20,000, and his securities in £10,000 each, for his good behavior during the War, and stand committed to the Prison of this City ‘till he comply with this resolve.The next day, Phineas and two friends “appeared before the Board and entered into recognizance”, paid the fees, and he was discharged.[32] Was his aid to the British prisoners a simple humanitarian gesture? It is difficult to determine Samuel’s motives or even his actions, from the bare court documents.
Many travellers did not know Phineas"s license had been suspended, and they continued to come to his door, expecting to be fed and lodged. Therefore Phineas petitioned the Court for a new license:
To the Worshipful Justices holding a Court of Quarter Sessions at Newtown for the County of Bucks, December 11, 1781, the Petition of Phineas Paxson of the Township of Southampton, humbly herewith in that Your Petitioner who lived at the place formerly known by the sign of the Buck which has for a long time past been an old accustomed inn and much distressed by travelers calling at his house at all times of the day and night, he therefore, humbly prays your worships to be pleased to grant him to your recommendation to keep a public house of entertainment at the said place. And your Petitioner as is duty bound will pray
Signed: Phineas Paxson[33]
During the war there were several census-like tax assessments that give a glimpse of Phineas’s economic standing. In 1779 he owned 100 acres in Southampton along with five horses and a cow. In 1781 he still had the 100 acres and cow, but only two horses, and owned the tavern. The next year he was listed with only four acres, one horse, but two cattle. After the war, in 1785 he was again listed with 100 acres, three horses and three cattle.
Phineas Paxson and his wife Susannah sold the Buck Tavern on 1 April 1786. Phineas was 40 years old. He sold it to James GREGG of Middletown for the sum of £800. “£520 to be left in the premises hereinafter conveyed to be paid by the said James Gregg to Patrick Colvin”, apparently to satisfy his mortgage,
in past discharge of a mortgage free from the said Phineas Paxson and £280 Pennsylvania currency to them in hand paid by the said James Gregg at and before the sealing and delivery hereof. They are transferring all that messuage and tavern house (known by the name of “Sign of the Buck”) and about twelve acres of land thereunto adjoining, all situate in Southampton aforesaid, butted, bounded and described as follows: beginning in the middle of the great road leading from Philadelphia to Newtown in the line of Knights’ land about one perch distance from a stone set at the southwest corner thereof thence along the said line north 51 degrees west 36 perches to a stone set for a corner in the line of Martha WILLETTs’ land thence by the same south 39 perches west 78 perches to a stake . . . .[34]
On December 17, 1790 the property of Buck Tavern was sold by Marjory GREGG, Widow, at auction for £362, apparently to foreclose on the mortgage of Patrick COLVIN. It was stated in these legal sale papers that receipts and profits were not sufficient to pay the debt.[35]
After a few years following the end of the War his neighbors apparently held no grudge against Phineas for his lack of patriotism. He was elected constable in Southampton in September 1784 and again in September 1785.[36]
In the first federal census, in 1790, Phineas was enumerated as the head of a household that consisted of two boys under the age of 16, one man, and two females. In the 1800 census the household contained a man and woman, one boy under the age of ten, one between the ages of ten and sixteen, and one between the ages of 16 and 26. There were also two girls aged 16 to 26.
At the time of Phineas’s death in 1819, at the age of 72, he resided on a tract of land in Southampton Township which he had purchased in February 1773, at the same time he had purchased the Buck Hotel property. This property is shown on the 1891 map of Southampton as the farm of William S. HOGELAND, a tract of 106 acres which Phineas purchased from Patrick COLVIN and Margaret Colvin, his wife. It was in the vicinity of the intersection of Street Road and the Philadelphia Road, which appears to be the road which runs from the Buck Hotel to Philadelphia (which would now be Bustleton Pike). It runs also from a stone set by the side of the road leading from the Buck Tavern to Attleborough.[37]
Phineas also held land in partnership with Obadiah WILLETT in Southampton. After Phineas died the land reverted to Obadiah.[38] That sounds a bit like a tontine arrangement, although unless one could examine the records, this is only speculation.
Phineas died 15 July 1819. He had signed his will on 1 Second Month [February] that year and it was probated 12 August 1819. He left $2,000 to the two oldest sons of his son Joseph, to be distributed to them after the death of their father. He left $150 to the younger three children of Joseph. It was unusual for a father to skip over his son in this way, which implies that Phineas felt he had some reason to do so. To his son, Charles, he gave the 88 acre plantation on which Phineas lived, plus the residue of the estate. The executors were his son Charles, and Phineas’s friend Ezra TOWNSEND. The estate was inventoried with a value of $840.18½. It included, among other things, a clock, a purse with $8.68½ cash, whiskey, milk house, churn, wool, two horses, eight cattle, and four swine.[39]
Children of Phineas and Susanna (Shaw) Paxson (order uncertain, and may be incomplete):[40]
132 i. Martha, d.y.
133 ii. Joseph Shaw; m. Caroline WILLETT, daughter of Walter Willett; and had 5 children named in Phineas"s will. Joseph Shaw was disowned in 1787 for military activity and marrying out of unity with Friends" practice.
134 iii. Walter, d.y.
135 iv. Charles5, b. 20 Dec. 1782; d. 11 Jan. 1852 in Salem, NJ; m. 6 June 1811 Susanna MICHENER.
51. Thomas4 Paxson, fourth son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown 31 Eleventh Month [January] 1748/9. He died 20 June 1835. Thomas married on 12 September 1775 Elizabeth RANDALL, the daughter of John and Elizabeth (SHAW) Randall of Southampton Township.[41]
As a teenager Thomas was apprenticed by his father with Benjamin Paxson of Buckingham. My guess is that it was to learn farming. When he completed the terms of the contract, Thomas requested a certificate to return to Middletown Meeting. Friends in Buckingham Meeting wrote on 5 Eighth Month 1771 that Thomas had settled his affairs, was clear of possible marriage entanglements, and "sometimes" attended religious meetings.[41a]
On 5 Tenth Month the overseers reported to Middletown Meeting that although "by birth and education" Thomas had a "right of membership and was deemed a member" he had "so far deviated from Truth" as to marry a non-Friend. The issue was held over from month to month, until finally 1 Second Month 1776 Thomas sent word that he couldn’t come because of an accident. On 7 Third Month his paper acknowledging and condemning the action was read in the meeting, but something was still not right. When a full-term child was born only seven months after the wedding, a minute of disunion for marriage out of unity with Friends and unchaste action before marriage was signed 2 Fifth Month 1776. It was delivered to Thomas, who said he would not appeal to the quarterly meeting, as was his right. The paper was read on First Day, completing the process of "reading him out of meeting".[42]
This was not the end of Thomas’s relationship with Friends, however. A quarter century later he rejoined. It is possible to hypothesize that he continued to be part of the Quaker sub-culture and worshipped from time to time with Friends. Disownment did not mean he was ostracized. Thomas upheld Friends’ testimonies during the revolutionary war. In 1778 he was fined £1.12.6 for non-attendance at a militia muster day. Between 1780 and the end of the war in 1783 he was fined £9.15.0 twice, £1.4.0, and £1.8.0. The differing amounts have more to do with inflation and whether the fine was denominated in Pennsylvania currency, continental paper, or sterling than radical changes in the base amount of the fines.[43]
Thomas and Elizabeth resided in Southampton Township, Bucks County. In 1779 they owned no land, in 1784, four acres. But eventually Thomas acquired a 218 acre farm on the road from Philadelphia to Attleborough, adjoining the Neshaminy Creek and Mill Creek, mostly in Southampton, but partly in Northampton Township.[44] The family was there in the 1790 federal census, with four males under the age of sixteen, two over that age, and four females. By the 1800 census the household had grown to include one boy under ten (presumably William), two between the ages of 16 and 26 (perhaps Phineas and John), and one (presumably Thomas) over the age of 45. There were five females, one under the age of ten (perhaps Sarah), one age 10 to 16 and another age 16 to 26, and two over 45.
By 1800 Thomas and Elizabeth had decided that they would like to be members of the Religious Society of Friends, not just attenders. Elizabeth requested membership, and she was accepted with the concurrence of the men’s meeting, on 7 Eighth Month 1800. On 6 Eleventh Month 1800 Thomas gave in a paper acknowledging and condemning his marriage out of unity with Friends and his fornication, and he was received back in to membership at the following monthly meeting, 4 Twelfth Month.[45]
Elizabeth died 30 June 1801. Her mother, Elizabeth RANDLE, outlived her. After the death of her first husband, George RANDALL, Elizabeth married __ BANES. She wrote her will in 1803 leaving £25 to each of Elizabeth’s five children. The will was proved in 1810.[46]
Once he had become a member again Thomas was named to serve in some of the tasks required for the functioning of Middletown Meeting. These included ascertaining if a man was clear to marry or leave the area, to help collect vital statistics for recording, and to oversee funerals. In 1816 in the aftermath of the war of 1812, he brought a paper to the meeting regretting that he had paid a military fine. Friends accepted it 7 Eleventh Month 1816.[47]
It took a while for the economy to recover from the effects of the Napoleonic wars, during which American agricultural products had fetched a good return in European markets. Thomas, like many others, ran into financial difficulties. It was reported to Middletown Meeting on 5 Twelfth Month 1823 that it appeared Thomas "has made an assignment of his property contrary to discipline." This was spelled out in more detail:
it appears by endorsing and other misfortunes in the transaction of business he has become unable at present to satisfy and discharge all his debts—and that he has made an assignment of his property both real and personal to assignees for the benefit of all his Creditors, provided always that no creditor shall be entitled to the benefit of this assignment who shall not within ninety days execute a release to Thomas Paxson of all claims and demands against him—And further, the assignment was made without giving his creditors the privilege of appointing assignees.[48]
Friends were disappointed to learn that Thomas "utterly refused to withdraw the assignment." The difficulty, for Friends, was not that he made an assignment of his property for all his creditors (it was important that all be treated equally), but that he chose the assignees himself and included stringent stipulations that might enable him to wiggle out of full repayment of all his debts. Because Friends held a high standard of honesty and truth for themselves, they required more than the law did. Three more Friends were appointed to have a "sollid [sic] opportunity with him", but Thomas "did not show any disposition to condemn his conduct but rather to vindicate it." A minute of disownment was signed 7 Fifth Month 1824.[49]
Before the meeting had gotten involved, Thomas’s farm had been put up for sale in November 1822. The notice described it located as mentioned above, 18 miles from Philadelphia, 2 from Attleborough, and 5 from Newtown, containing
218 Acres of first-rate Land: 50 acres of Timber, 40 of bottom and watered Meadow, the remainder Plowland, adjoining a Lime-stone Quarry and Kiln, and is supposed to contain an inexhaustible quantity of the same stone.
The improvements are two large 2-story stone Dwelling-houses nearly new, a stone Barn, Hay-house, Waggon-house, Milk-house and Ice-house with other Out-buildings. The above property will be sold altogether or separate as may suit purchasers. For terms apply to the owner at Attleborough or to Phineas or Israel Paxson on the premises.[50]
The farm was still for sale in January 1824 when it was again advertised in the Correspondent and Farmers’ Advertiser. It was listed to be sold by John Paxson and John McNair "for the benefit of creditors". Thomas was living on the premises.[51]
Children of Thomas and Elizabeth (Randall) Paxson:
136 i. Phineas5, b. 30 Mar. 1776; m. 17 Apr. 1817 Rachel WOOLSTON, who d. 5 Nov. 1860; inherited £25 from his grandmother, Elizabeth (Shaw) Randall BANES (dated 1803, pr. 1810); res. Middletown; 4 children.137 ii. Sarah; inherited £25 from her grandmother, Elizabeth (Shaw) RANDALL Banes (dated 1803, pr. 1810); she may be the Sarah Paxson, sister of Phineas, who died in Sandy Springs, Maryland, on 9 March 1850, ca. 64 years old. [Bucks County Intelligencer.]
138 iii. Israel, inherited £25 from his grandmother, Elizabeth (SHAW) Randall Banes (dated 1803, pr. 1810);
139 iv. John, b. 26 Dec. 1780; m. Susan ___ who was b. ca. 1794 (?); or was his wife's name Sarah ___?; inherited £25 from his grandmother, Elizabeth (Shaw) Randall Banes (dated 1803, pr. 1810); 2 children.
140 v. William, d. 29 7th Mo. 1883 in his 94th year—therefore he would be b. ca. 1790. Inherited £25 from his grandmother, Elizabeth (Shaw) Randall Banes (dated 1803, pr. 1810). Member of Middletown Mo. Mtg.
52. Mahlon4 Paxson, fifth son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown, 17 April 1752. He died on 29 September 1832. In 1777 he married Sarah WALKER, daughter of Emmanuel and Ann (CAREY) Walker.[52]
They settled in the Oxford Valley (near Middletown), although Mahlon was taxed in Bristol Township in 1782 on three horses and four head of cattle. As the year before he had been taxed in Middletown Township for two horses and two cattle, on 200 acres, perhaps he owned livestock in Bristol the next year?[53]
Although Mahlon was disciplined for being concerned with military exercises in 1775, he finally offered a paper condemning his action that was accepted by Middletown Meeting 4 Fourth Month 1776.[54]
Mahlon was disowned 9 Tenth Month 1777 for marrying with the assistance of a hireling minister, outside the good order of Friends. Sarah was disowned for the same offense.[55]. In spite of flirting with the military in 1775, and being disowned, he upheld Friends’ peace testimony and incurred fines seven times between 1780 and 1783. The amounts were £9.15.0, £9.15.0, £72, £72, £18, £1.4.0, and £11.1.1.[56]
In the first federal census, of 1790, Mahlon was listed as head of his household of seven women—presumably his wife and six daughters.
Mahlon died 29 September 1832. The envelope holding his will and estate inventory and other documents in the Bucks County Court House was empty when I looked for it in the 1980s.[57] Now these documents are no longer so easily accessible by the general public. We can get some understanding of Mahlon’s assets, however, from the notice in the Bucks County Intelligencer of the sale of his estate on 5 January 1833. It consisted of 18 and a half acres in Lower Makefield Township on the Oxford-Yardleyville road. There was a two-story stone house with two rooms downstairs and three rooms upstairs. It had an excellent well, nearly new barn, other out buildings, two good orchards, two springs and a stream. Abraham SWAIN, a son-in-law, administered the sale.[58]
Since they had been disowned, their children’s births were not recorded in Friends’ records. However, in her will (signed 12 Twelfth Month 1823 and proved 28 April 1832) Sarah specified that her estate was to be divided among her eleven (surviving) children. Samuel PALMER, her son-in-law, and Joseph W. Paxson, her son, were named executors. Joseph renounced administration. The estate was inventoried at $760.50, the assets being notes and bonds.[59]
Children of Mahlon and Sarah (Walker) Paxson (order uncertain):
141 i. Anna5, b. 1778; d. 25 Aug. 1855; m. 20 or 28 Jan. 1796 Samuel PALMER, son of Jesse and Rachel (BRELSFORD) Palmer. Samuel d. 15 Feb. 1943. They had no children.[60]
142 ii. Hephzebah, m. 22 June 1800 Joshua LOVETT, the son of Owen and Mary (STACKHOUSE) Lovett. Mary was the daughter of Joshua and Margery (CUTLER) Stackhouse, and grand daughter of Joseph and Sarah (COPELAND) Stackhouse. Joseph was the son of Thomas and Grace (HEATON) Stackhouse, and the brother of Grace Stackhouse who married David WILLSON.[61]
143 iii. Beulah, m. 13 May 1802 Owen LOVETT, the son of Owen and Mary (STACKHOUSE) Lovett, and brother of Joshua who m. Beulah’s sister Hephzebah. Owen was a blacksmith in Falls. They had a son, also named Owen Lovett, who d. ca. 1845, and a daughter Mary who was left $20 by her grandmother Sarah (WALKER) Paxson.[62]
144 iv. Margaret, m. 14 May 1807 Abraham SWAIN, b. 5 Dec. 1784, son of Abraham and Sarah (WOOLSTON) Swain.
145 v. Sarah Ann, b. 2 Aug. 1788; d. 15 Dec. 1853; m. 6 or 26 Mar. 1812 Edward ELY, b. 31 Aug. 1785 in Holicong, son of William and Cynthia (FELL) Ely, and grandson of Hugh and Elizabeth (BLACKFAN) Ely. Hugh was the son of Hugh and Mary (HEWSON). They lived in Buckingham, where Edward d. 13 Aug. 1830. They had 4 children.[63]
146 vi. Susanna, m. 30 Oct. 1823 Charles BILES; her mother bequeathed her a "double coverlid" and "chainy bowl".[64]
147 vii. Eliza, unmarried, her mother bequeathed all the beds and household furniture to Eliza and Ann W. to divide.
148 viii. Ann W[alker?], unmarried; her mother bequeathed all the beds and household furniture to her and her sister Eliza to divide between them.
150 ix. Samuel W., b. ca. 1796; d. 1855 in Philadelphia; probably mar. Jane MERRICK in 1819;
149 x. Joseph W., b. 8 July 1798; d. 7 Sept. 1868; m. 30 June 1824 Phebe KIRK; at least 3 children; Joseph was named co-executor of his mother’s will, but he renounced the administration of it in 1832.
151 xi. child
152 xii. another child.
53. Samuel4 Paxson, sixth son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown 5 May 1754. He died 7 March 1813.
While Samuel was a teenager, at the end of 1771 his widowed mother requested a certificate from Middletown Monthly Meeting for Samuel to take to Wilmington Monthly Meeting.[65]
While living in Wilmington Samuel apparently signified his support of the insurgent government, namely the rebels against the crown. Friends were uneasy about this and sent some men to treat with Samuel. In Fifth Month 1780 Wilmington Monthly Meeting minuted the following.
Two of the Committee on the Case of Samuel Paxson Report they have had an opportunity with him, that he still Continues desirous to Sattisfy friends and he appearing offered a paper Condemning his Inadvertency which was Read and on solid Consideration is Received it being as follows—To Wilmington Mo Meeting 5mo, 10th 1780 Having given a promise of Obedience to the present Government tho: at the time I was Cautious not to give any assurance, the tenor which I thought would be Disapproved by friends yet being now Concineeds [?] such Measures dureing those unsettled times are not Consistant with our Religious Testimony which Inadvertancy has affected me with Cincere Concern. I Earnestly desire friends may pass it by and Continue mee in Membership.
Samuel Paxson[65a]
In Wilmington Samuel was called upon to witness various real estate deals. For example, a lot that was sold August 29, 1794 by Patrick MURDOCK was described as his "by virtue of an Indenture of Bargain and Sale duly executed under the Hand and Seal of Samuel Paxson". [65b] He witnessed a real estate deal 7 April 1803. [65c] I'm sure there were many others, these are just two I came upon randomly.
54. Isaac4 Paxson, seventh son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown 9 May 1756, and died on 26 August 1816. Isaac married first Elizabeth HALLOWELL; they had no issue. After her death he married for the second time, in 1804, Elizabeth SHOEMAKER. She soon transferred her membership from Northern District to Philadelphia to join Isaac. They had one son.[68]
Isaac removed to Philadelphia in 1771 to be apprenticed to his uncle to learn the hardware business. The next year the meeting was amicably divided along geographical lines, and Isaac found himself part of the Southern District Monthly Meeting. It worshipped first in a building on Fourth Street near Chestnut, then moved to a building nick-named the "Hill meeting" on the south side of Pine, below Second. In First Month 1789 Isaac and his first wife, Elizabeth, moved back into the verge of Philadelphia Meeting.[69] He became a hardware merchant in Philadelphia.
In the 1790 federal census Isaac was enumerated as an ironmonger on the east side of Third Street (Southern District) of Philadelphia. His household consisted of one free white male over the age of 16 (Isaac himself) and five free white females, one of which was Elizabeth. There was one other free person (presumably non-white).[69a]
In Fourth Month 1799 Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Women notified the Men that they believed "another Elder of their sex would be acceptable", and requested some men to join them on a committee to consider a suitable person. Isaac Paxson was one of five men appointed to the task. [Phila. MM men's minutes, 26/4m/1799.]
Isaac died on 26 August 1816. In his will, signed 22 June 1816, he described himself as engaged in "Iron Mongery". The will was proved 6 September 1816. Samuel left most of his estate to "my wife, Elizabeth Paxson, in full confidence that she will provide for our son Edward Shoemaker Paxson, during his minority." He named as Trustees and Guardians, "my friends George WILLIAMS and John C. EVANS." He made bequests to his brothers, William, Phineas, Thomas, Mahlon and Joshua Paxson, and to his sisters, Mary Landes, wife of David Landes, and Anna Gillam, wife of Simon Gillam, and to the children of his brothers, Joseph Paxson and Israel Paxson, deceased. Executors were his wife, Elizabeth, and friends, George Williams and John C. Evans. Samuel Bittle [sic] and John McCollin witnessed it.[70] Samuel Bettle was clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1826, and remained at the table during the 1827 sessions when there was no unity on his successor. He helped to provoke the schism by recognizing only Orthodox Friends with whom he was sympathetic.[71]
As a widow Elizabeth (Shoemaker) transferred from Philadelphia to Bristol Preparative Meeting (Orthodox). She died in her 83rd year at "Farley Farm" on 15 Tenth Month 1847 and her obituary is in The Friend. It said of her:
This dear friend was of a mild, affectionate disposition, humble in her deportment, and ever ready to prefer others to herself; her heart deeply sympathized with distress, and her hand was open to relieve it according to her ability. While the late separation was going on, she steadily adhered to the ancient doctrines of our Society, and manifested her attachment to its principles, by diligently attending its meetings the last three or four years of her life, with the small remnant of Bristol meeting, attached to our Society. She often expressed a desire that she be spared a lingering illness, and was mercifully called to render her final account without being confined to her bed one whole day.[72]
The placement of the obituary in The Friend underscores that she was of the Orthodox branch of Friends. Her death notice also appeared in the Bucks County Intelligencer, which gave the date as 11 October, and noted that "Farley" was the residence of her nephew Richard Paxson.
Child of Isaac and his second wife Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Paxson: [72a]
154 i. Edward Shoemaker5, b. 9 June 1808;
55. Joshua4 Paxson, eighth son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown on 14 July 1758. He died in Abington 8 May 1842. In the Middletown meeting house on 22 November 1787 he and Mary WILLETT, daughter of Jonathan and Deborah (LAURENS or LAWRENCE) Willett of Southampton, were married. Mary was born 31 July 1765 and died 3 April 1828. The Willetts had removed from Flushing, Long Island in 1759. Jonathan Willett was disowned in 1778 for owning slaves. He died in 1805, leaving a bequest to his daughter Mary.
Joshua upheld Friends peace testimony during the Revolution and was fined seven times from 1780 to 1783 for refusing to participate in the militia. The face amounts of the fines were £9.15.0, £9.15.0, £72, £58.10.0, £14.12.6, £1.4.0, and £1.4.0. But it is tricky to compare them because some were in paper, some in specie, and inflation was rampant. During those same years, as a single man Joshua was taxed the flat amount of 15 shillings.[74] Joshua's future brother-in-law, Walter Willett, fought with the British in the war.[75]
Joshua was moderately active in Middletown Monthly Meeting. Mary was less so, because she was caring for small children.[76]
In the 1790 census, the first one made by the new United States, Joshua and Mary's household included three boys under the age of 16 and one free black person. It is possible that one of the boys was a teenage farm hand. Ten years later the 1800 census reported that their household consisted of a man and a woman in the 26-to-45 age bracket (presumably Joshua and Mary), one boy and one girl in the 10-to-16 age group, and three boys and two girls under the age of 10.[77]
Joshua lived on a farm that had been bequeathed by Joseph Richardson to his daughter Mary Richardson. In Mary's will of 1803 (probated 1806) the land was identified as "now in tenure" of Joshua Paxson. Mary left a bequest for her cousin Joshua.[78]
In 1805 the tax duplicate for Middletown listed Joshua with a farm of 120 acres, 3 horses, and 5 cattle. It didn't matter who owned the land, but who was making use of it that counted for the tax list, since it seems the tax was calculated more on the number of horses and cattle, and other assets than on the land itself.[79]
In 1808 the family moved from Middletown to Cheltenham, and Abington Monthly Meeting.[80] Joshua purchased from Spencer THOMAS "Spring Farm" in Upper Dublin Township in 1826. It seems to have been given to his son Charles.[81]
Mary died in Abington 23 Fourth Month 1828, aged 62 years, 8 months, and 23 days. Her remains were interred in the Abington Meeting Burying Ground. Joshua died in Cheltenham 8 Fifth Month 1842, in his 84th year, also interred in Abington. [Abington MM (H) records.]
Children of Joshua and Mary (Willett) Paxson: [Abington MM (H) memb. records.]
155 i. Isaac5, b. 26 Oct. 1788; d. 24 Nov. 1872; m(1) Sarah STACKHOUSE 24 March 1825. She was b. 28 Oct. 1789, and d. 8 Jan. 1858; m(2) Mary HAMELL. Isaac removed 1808 to Falls MM.156 ii. Willett, b. 28 Mar. 1790; d. 7 Nov. 1870; m(1) 13 Nov. 1817 Sarah C. WILSON; 4 children, one of whom, John W. Paxson, m. Willett's sister Anna's step-daughter Anna Burton. Willett m(2) Sarah CAREY from Makefield Meeting; no children.
157 iii. Samuel, b. 18 Oct.1791; d. 23 July 1793 in Middletown, age 9 mo., 5 days, bur. in Middletown.
158 iv. Joseph, b. 7 Dec. 1793; m. Harriet LUKENS, the daughter of Joseph and Mary (FULMORE) Lukens; resided in Abington. Three children.
159 v. Deborah, b. 26 Jan. 1795; d. 25 Sept. 1873; buried in Fair Hill cemetery, Philadelphia.[82]; unmarried.
160 vi. Anna, b. 18 Oct. 1797; d. 8m/25/1888 in her 91st year; m. as his second wife, Anthony BURTON of Bucks County; her funeral was on 8/29/1888 at Ross Street, Germantown, the home of her nephew, Franklin C. Paxson, son of her youngest brother, William Laurens Paxson. Anna had no children, but her step-daughter Anna Burton m. John W. Paxson, the son of her older brother Willett.
161 vii. Ann Mitchell, b. 26 Dec. 1799; d. 1877; unmarried.
162 viii. Joshua, b. 15 Jan. 1802; d. 14 July 1802 in Middletown, age 6 months; bur. in Middletown.
163 ix. Charles, b. 19 Aug., 1803; d. 2 Mar. 1880; m. 4 Jan. 1844, Agnes TYSON; 6 children.
164 x. Joshua, b. 18 Oct. 1805; d. 5 May 1870; m. 8 June 1848 Anna W. ELY. She was b. 28 Jan. 1824, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Ann (Paxson) Ely. They resided in Philadelphia. Joshua was bur. in the Fairhill burying ground. [Abington MM (H) records.] They had one son.
165 xi. William Laurens, b. 28 Feb. 1808; d. 12 June 1878; m. 6 April 1839 Sarah W. COMLY. They had 4 children.
58. Israel4 Paxson, ninth son of William3 (William2, William1) and Anna (Marriott) Paxson, was born in Middletown 3 March 1765, and died 4 June 1809. On 20 December 1787 he married Ann PARKER, daughter of Joseph (deceased) and Catherine, at Pine Street Meeting in Philadelphia. Ann died as a widow on 3 June 1816, aged 45.[83]
Israel removed as a minor child to Southern District of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting on a certificate from Middletown signed 5 Tenth Month 1780.[84] Presumably this was for an apprenticeship to learn the trade of currier.
When he had become 21 years old Israel affirmed the oath of allegiance/affirmation on October 9, 1786. He was identified as a currier. The oath had been passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in the heat of revolution, June 13, 1777.[84a]
Ann Parker was a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, so on 28 Eleventh Month 1787 Israel brought a certificate from Southern District Monthly Meeting stating that he was "clear" to marry her. They were married the following month. Shortly afterwards Ann requested and received a transfer of her membership to Southern District. This was all routine Quaker process, but it affords one of the few glimpses of the couple that we can find in the records.[85]
In the 1790 federal census, Isreal [sic] was enumerated in the Southern District of Philadelphia, living in Carter's Alley. He was a tanner and currier. His shop was listed separately, on the East side of Third Street. There were two males over the age of sixteen and four free white females in the household.[85a]
In Eleventh Month 1790 Israel, Ann, and their two little girls, Ester and Catherine, moved to Smith's Court off Fifth Street near Vine. They transferred their membership to the now nearest meeting, from the Southern District to Philadelphia Monthly Meeting at the southwest corner of High Street (now Market) and Second Street.[86]
Children of Israel and Ann (Parker) Paxson:[87]
166 i. Ester5, died young, after 11m/1790.167 ii. Catharine, b. 19 Feb. 1790;
168 iii. William Parker, b. 27 July 1792; d. 26 Nov. 1822;
169 iv. Anna, b. 25 Feb. 1795;
170 v. Elizabeth, b. 24 Mar. 1797;
65. James4 Paxson, seventh child of Thomas3 (William2, William1) and Ann (Paxson) Paxson, was born 12 August 1749 and died 2 May 1779. James married on 18 December 1777 Rachel CROASDALE. She was born 7 Third Month 1756, the daughter of Robert and Margery (HAYHURST) Croasdale. James's and Rachel's child was born less than nine months after their marriage, and Friends disciplined them. Their paper of acknowledgment and condemnation was accepted 4 March 1779, and soon after was publicly read on a First Day [Sunday] after worship.[88]
James died the next month. As a widow Rachel married secondly on 16 Ninth Month 1784 in Middletown Meeting Robert EASTBURN.[89] He was a 45-year-old widower, born 23 Eighth Month 1739, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (GILLINGHAM) Eastburn. Robert had married Elizabeth DUER on 22 Eleventh Month 1763 in Upper Makefield. Elizabeth had died 14 Eleventh Month 1780. They had five children: Aaron (10/1m/1773-24/3m/1846), Sarah (12/1m/1766-12m/1828), Moses (1/4m/1768-28/9m/1846), Elizabeth (6/9m/1770-6/12m/1775), and Ann (27/12m/1774-19/9m/1867).[90]
As soon as she had married, Rachel requested and obtained a certificate of removal for herself and her minor daughter Mary to Buckingham Monthly Meeting.[91] There she helped create a blended family with six-year-old Mary Paxson and Robert and his four surviving Eastburn children. Robert and Rachel had two additional children.
Child of James and Rachel (Croasdale) Paxson:
171 i. Mary5 Paxson, b. ca. 1778;
Children of Robert and Rachel (Croasdale) Paxson Eastburn:[92]
i. Letitia Eastburn, b. 1793; d. 14 Dec. 1861
ii. Samuel Eastburn, b. 1800; d. 16 Oct. 1868.
67. Thomas4 Paxson, ninth child of Thomas3 (William2, William1) and Ann (Paxson) Paxson, was born 4 May 1753 and died 24 September 1809. Thomas was first engaged to Hannah BURGESS, but during the normal clearness process, she declared that she was not clear to proceed, and cleared Thomas of "any fault in that respect."[93] Later, on 22 May 1783, Thomas and Sarah BLAKEY were married in Middletown Meeting.[93a] She was the daughter of Joshua and Sarah (CAREY) Blakey, born 26 Third Month 1763.[94]
There were several women named Sarah Paxson who were very active in Middletown Monthly Meeting at this time, working to free any slaves still held in homes where only the wife was a Friend, and giving assistance to freed blacks. One was named an Overseer in Bristol Preparative Meeting (part of Middletown Monthly Meeting), and then an Elder.[95] But it is difficult to be certain which references are to this Sarah (Blakey) Paxson.
Thomas died in Ninth Month 1809. I couldn't find a will or administration of his estate. Sarah married secondly in Fifth Month 1812 George WALKER and removed to Falls Monthly Meeting.[96] In the 1790 census for Bucks County George Walker was head of a household consisting of two free white males over the age of 16.[96a]
Children of Thomas and Sarah (Blakey) Paxson:[97]
172 i. James5, b. 12 Sept. 1789;
173 ii. Thomas Jr., b. 25 Mar. 1792; m. 2 June 1813 Elizabeth WALKER.
174 iii. Joshua, b. 29 Sept. 1794; d. ca. 1836; m. 8 Sept. 1813 Elizabeth ___; 4 children.
175 iv. Mary, b. 24 Apr. 1797;
176 v. Sarah, b. 5 May 1799;
177 vi. John, b. 1 Aug. 1801; d. 12 Dec. 1856; m. 16 Dec. 1828 Susan KIRKBRIDE; no children.
71. William4 Paxson, thirteenth and youngest child of Thomas3 (William2, William1) and Ann (Paxson) Paxson, was born 10 July or 18 March 1762, and died 22 March 1799. He married in October 1784 Elizabeth WALTON of Horsham Meeting. She was born 21 Tenth Month, in Moreland Township, Philadelphia County, the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (KIRK) Walton. she presented a certificate of removal from that Monthly Meeting to Middletown on 6 January 1785.[98]
Although she was new to the meeting, and soon had three small children (one of whom died) Elizabeth began to take part in the Women's meeting. She was named to a committee to ascertain if a Friend was clear to remove from the area.[99] But then William died in Third Month 1799, and their eldest daughter, Anna, died in 1801 at the age of six. Four years later Elizabeth married Benjamin LLOYD on 13 Tenth Month 1803 in Middletown Meeting. She and her remaining daughter, Mary Paxson, removed to Horsham Meeting.[100]
Children of William and Elizabeth (Walton) Paxson:[101]
178 i. Anna5, b. 17 Aug. 1785; d. 23 Nov. 1801.
179 ii. Mary, b. 9 Sept. 1787; transferred with her mother to Horsham Mo. Mtg. on a certificate dated 5/1m/1804.[102]
180 iii. John, b. 19 Apr. 1789; d. 11 Aug. 1791.
78. Samuel4 Paxson, son of Henry3 (William2, William1) and Martha (SHINN) Paxson, was born 28 October 1751 in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. He died 20 February 1840. Samuel married Beulah ATKINSON. She was born 31 May 1769, the daughter of Samuel and Anne (COATES) Atkinson, and died 2 November 1827.[103] Her great grandfather, Samuel Atkinson, had emigrated from Newby, in Yorkshire, to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he died 31 October 1687.
Beulah's mother, Anne, signed her will 24 October 1809, in Northampton Township, Hunterdon County. She bequeathed all her wearing apparel and household goods to her four daughters: Elizabeth KEMPTON, Rebecca NEWBOLD, Sarah MULLEN, and Beulah PAXSON. Anne's house and lot in Mt. Holly were to be sold and the proceeds divided, with any and all other estate, to her two sons, William and Mahlon, and her four daughters. The will was proved 22 October 1814, and the inventory, taken 6 October, amounted to $1,027.64 1/2.[103a]
Samuel and Beulah resided in Trenton. There Samuel was often called upon to witness wills, as, for example, that of Isaac SMITH on 2 August 1804, of Jacob BENJAMIN on 28 August 1805, of Luke HEBDON on 28 December 1807, and of Antis LACEY on 2 November 1815. Samuel was also called upon to make estate inventories, such as of Joseph MILNOR on 14 March 1806, of John MERSHON on 29 December 1806, of Luke HEBDON on 30 March 1808, of Stacy POTTS, Sr., on 2 May 1816, and of Aaron Dickinson WOODRUFF on 10 July 1817.[104]
Samuel died 20 Second Month 1840. His obituary appeared in The Friend, noting that the family were members of the Orthodox branch of Friends. The obituary reads in part:
His disposition was mild and amiable. He highly prized the privileges of the society to which he belonged, and as long as his health permitted, was a zealous attender of meetings both for worship and discipline. He thought it his duty to make the attempt to attend the last yearly meeting; he was, however, only able to be at one sitting, and returned home more feeble than he went; the disease with which he had been afflicted several years, set in with renewed violence . . . his desire was to depart and be at rest with Christ, yet always with submission to his Master's will, feeling that He alone under whose chastening hand he was, knew the proper time of his release. That the everlasting arms were underneath and the alone means of his support, he was permitted sensibly to feel, . . . [105]
Children of Samuel and Beulah (Atkinson) Paxson:[106]
181 i. Anne5, b. 3 Nov. 1787; m. Benjamin WHITE. "Ann" entered Westtown School as female student #97 on 4m/1800. [A Brief History of Westtown Boarding School with a General Catalogue of Officers, Students, Etc. 2nd ed. (Phila.: Printed by Sherman & Co., 1873), 171.]
182 ii. Eliza, b. 9 Aug. 1791; d. 9 Sept. 1793.
183 iii. Henry, b. 21 Jan. 1794; m. Caroline CLARK; does any reader know if they had any children?
184 iv. Stacy Atkinson,b. 8 Nov. 1797; m. 24 Apr. 1828 Mary VAN CLEVE; 12 children.
185 v. Rebecca, b. 29 Dec. 1800;
186 vi. Thomas, b. 15 Sept. 1801; d. 18 Oct. 1803.
187 vii. Mary, b. 12 Nov. 1802; d. 9 July 1889; m. John F. WILLITTS. She entered Westtown School as female student #1638 in 3m/1818 [A Brief History of Westtown Boarding School with a General Catalogue of Officers, Students, Etc. 2nd ed. (Phila.: Printed by Sherman & Co., 1873), 203.] Mary was bequeathed 3 silver spoons by her aunt Martha (Paxson) Arney Ridgway in 1817.[106a]
188 viii. Beulah, b. 15 Jan. 1805
189 ix. Benjamin, b. 23 May 1812; d. 23 June 1831 in his 20th year. "Benjamin W. entered Westtown School as male student #1440 on 11m/1825 [A Brief History of Westtown Boarding School with a General Catalogue of Officeers, Students, Etc. 2nd ed. (Phila.: Printed by Sherman & Co., 1873), 104.]His obituary in The Friend said in part, he was "Just verging on manhood, with a bright prospect before him of usefulness and respectability, and about to repay the care and anxiety of his friends, by realising their brightest anticipations . . . . His extreme patience during a long illness; his resignation to the divine will; his fervent prayers for the forgiveness of his transgressions, and his frequent expressions of confidence in the love and mercy of his Saviour, . . . . During his illness he was very partial to the company of pious persons, frequently conversing with them on religious subjects."[107]
80. Joseph4 Paxson, son of James3 (William2, William1) and his wife Hannah (THORNTON) was born in Middletown 24 May 1758. Joseph's father died when the boy was ten years old. His mother then married John KNOWLES and had three more children.
Joseph was disowned from Middletown Meeting 2 Fourth Month 1778 for running off from his apprenticeship and joining the military (probably the British). Friends tried very hard to be scrupulously accurate, so in the minutes it was crossed out that he had taken up arms, but left in that he was guilty of "joining with a military body of men."
Joseph was still alive in 1790, however, when he was mentioned in his grandmother Margaret THORNTON's will. It was signed 5 January and proved 12 March. He and his sister Mary each received two shillings.[110]
84. Thomas4 Paxson, son of James3 (William Jr.2, James1) and his second wife Margaret (Hodges), was born 16 September 1731 and died 1 February 1812. In 1752 he married Mary HAMBLETON, who was born 20 December 1731, the daughter of James and Mary (BEAKES) Hambleton. Mary was the sister of Stephen who married Thomas's sister Hannah. Mary died in February 1812.[111]
Thomas, who lived in Solebury Township, signed his will 14 September 1811. It was witnessed by Elias Paxson, Henry Armitage, and John Armitage. The will was proved 17 February 1812. His son George, son-in-law William HOUGH, and friend John ARMITAGE were named executors. In his will Thomas mentioned his sons George, James, Stacy, and Thomas, daughters Amy HOUGH, Mary Paxson, and Jane BROADHURST, and grandchildren Thomas Paxson Broadhurst, Mary ELY, and Thomas and Ahaz Paxson, sons of his son James.[112]
Children of Thomas and Mary (Hambleton) Paxson (order uncertain):[113]
190 i. George5, m. Sarah BUSKIRK; one of the executors of his father's will;191 ii. James, b. 6 Apr. 1756; d. 22 Nov. 1846 in New York; m. Amy COATE; 9 children.
192 iii. Stacy, m. 30 Ninth Mo. 1812 Elizabeth (BUNTING) HARTLEY.
193 iv. Thomas, mentioned in his father's will, dated Sept. 1811, pr. Feb. 1812.
194 v. Amy, married William HOUGH; had a son, Richard Hough. [Suzanne P. Lamborn, The Paxson Family (Morgantown, Pa.: Masthof Press, 2008), 11.]
195 vi. Mary, unmarried at the time of her father's death in 1812.
196 vii. Jane, m. __BROADHURST; had a son named for Jane's father, Thomas Paxson Broadhurst.
86. Jonas4 Paxton, son of James3 (William Jr.2, James1) and his second wife Margaret (Hodges) Paxson, was born 25 June 1735 near New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was a member of Buckingham Monthly Meeting. He died 6 August 1796 in Catawissa, Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Jonas married first Mary KESTER, born 16 Ninth Month 1741, the daughter of Paul. One source says her mother was Ann or Anne. Another source says it was Ruth (KITCHEN).[114] Mary was not a Friend and Jonas was disowned 3 January 1763.[115] Jonas married for the second time on 31 March 1785 Mary BROADHURST, daughter of John and Rebecca Broadhurst. As he was not a member, she was disowned for marrying out of meeting. Mary (Broadhurst) was born 31 December 1754 and died 5 April 1838. Mary became mother to Jonas's five children, aged six to twenty one. She went on to have three of her own children with Jonas.
Jonas changed the spelling of his name to Paxton, and his descendants have followed his example. He reportedly felt that this was the more authentic spelling.[116] I can't help but wonder if there were additional factors at work that made him want to distance himself from other family members?
Jonas was only twelve when his father died and bequeathed him £30 to be paid to him when he came of age by his half-brother who inherited the family farm. By 1781 Jonas had managed to aquire a thirty-acre farm in Solebury on which he kept a horse and a cow. His 1783 tax was 14 shillings. By 1784 there were six white people living on his farm. Of all the Paxsons in the Pennsylvania tax lists during the Revolution, Jonas had the smallest acreage for one whose primary occupation was agriculture.[117]
During the Revolution, great pressure was put on citizens to "take the test", meaning to swear allegiance to the new revolutionary government. Provision was made for Friends to affirm rather than swear "that we renounce and refuse all Allegiance" to George III and "we will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as a free and Independent State. . . . we will discover and make known to some one Justice of the Peace for the said state, all treasons or traiterous conspiracies . . . against the United States of America." Friends opposed taking oaths, but also opposed this affirmation because it pledged support to what was still an illegally constituted government. But as Jonas was no longer a Friend, he felt free to make this affirmation in front of John CHAPMAN of Newtown on 10 October 1785.[118]
Even though he was no longer a Friend, Jonas upheld Quaker peace principles to the extent that he was fined £72.0.0 in continental currency for not attending the spring 1780 exercise days under the command of Captain KESTER. Capt. Paul Kester was the son of Hermanus and Anne Mary (LANGE) Kester, a first cousin of Jonas's wife, Mary Kester.[119] In 1782 Jonas was listed in Capt. LANNING's militia company, and no fine was recorded.[120] This does not necessarily mean that therefore Jonas appeared on the required days. The collection of fines and taxes was surprisingly erratic and incomplete.
Jonas appeared in the first U.S. census of 1790 as a resident of Bucks County with two boys under the age of sixteen and four "free white females" in his household.[121] Between then and 1796, Jonas removed to the upper Susquehanna River valley near where the Catawissa Creek joins it. The area was laid out in 1782 by William HUGHES, a Quaker from Berks County, and was established as the township of Hughsburgh in 1785. For some years it was controlled by Friends until settlers of German descent arrived.[122]
Jonas is typical of the pattern of Quaker immigration after the Revolution as land grew scarcer and more expensive in the three original counties of Pennsylvania. Choices for fathers were to subdivide their land among sons to the point that it was not economically viable, set up sons in other occupations, or encourage them to move to an area of cheaper land. On the whole, Quakers did not choose the first option. Having decided to immigrate, Friends tended to go to areas already settled by neighbors or family members. In the 1780s and 1790s Friends from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Sussex County, New Jersey, were moving to the upper Susquehanna valley, establishing meetings at Catawissa, Roaring Creek, Muncy, and elsewhere. This "chain migration" included men and women of Quaker background who, although they had been disowned, nonetheless were part of the Quaker subculture in which they had grown up and they continued to participate in the new Quaker communities.[123] This seems to have been the pattern for Jonas and Mary. Although there is no mention of them in the Catawissa Meeting minutes, they and their children are recorded in a 1947 compilation of members.[124] No Paxton children's marriages are recorded, however, and only one signature -- Mary Paxton's -- is found witnessing a Friends' wedding.[125] Kesters (siblings of Jonas's first wife) and Paxsons (cousins of Jonas's) also moved to the area and their names appear in the records of Friends meetings in Columbia County.
Catawissa Monthly Meeting was composed mostly of Friends from Exeter Meeting in Berks County, from northern New Jersey, and from Bucks County. On 2 November 1795 Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting approved Exeter's proposal for the establishment of a new Monthly Meeting at Catawissa. Isaac WIGGINS was appointed clerk, Ellis HUGHES and William ELLIS were named to see that marriage certificates were properly recorded, and eight other Friends were asked to have care of the burial ground and see to the recording of births and deaths. Indulged meetings were established at Muncy and Fishing Creek. In 1799 they became a Monthly Meeting. Catawissa Meeting continued until 1808 "when owing to the removal of many members to Canada . . . it was thought expedient to discontinue it, that is unite it with Roaring Creek into one Preparative Meeting which should become a branch of the new Muncy Monthly Meeting."[126]
Jonas did not survive long after his move to the upper Susquehanna, dying in what became known as the township of Catawissa. Jonas wrote his will 24 June 1796, and it was proved 23 August that year. His son Samuel received Jonas's silver watch and a house and lot in the town of Hughsburgh, the original name of Catawissa. The executors were James Paxton and Ellis HUGHES. This image used with the kind permission of Jeffrey L. Church, is of the framed registration of Jonas's will for probate in Sunbury, Northumberland County. It directs that an inventory of all his goods, chattels, etc. be inventoried and filed before August 23, 1797.[127] It is quite possible that the will and inventory are still in the courthouse in Northumberland County.
As a widow, Mary opened a school in her home near the Friends meeting house in 1804. She also taught sewing and knitting, thus becoming the first manual training teacher in the County. She was nineteen years younger than her husband and lived to be eighty-four. She died 5 April 1838.[128]
Children of Jonas Paxton and his first wife Mary (Kester) Paxton:
197 i. Ruth5, b. 28 Apr. 1763; d. before 1790; m. ca. 1783 James PRICE. He was b. 6 Apr. 1759, son of Nathan and Pleasant (SMITH) Price. James was on the list of single men in Solebury Township, Bucks Co., Penna. in 1781, 1782, and 1783. In 1784 he was listed as a white inhabitant with a household of three people. In 1786 he was listed with a tax of two shillings, in Solebury. [Penna. Archives, 3rd Ser., 13:138, 247, 369, 458, and 572 as cited by Scott Simon, "Ancestors of James Price", kindly sent to me by the author 10/2006.] James Price was enumerated in Bucks County in the first (1790) US census, with one male over age 16 (presumably James himself), one male under 16 (probably son Lemuel), and three females. On 21 April 1794 John HOUGH, late of Solebury, and Jane, his wife, sold to James Price, mason of Solebury, for £60 six acres, deed recorded 14 Oct. 1794. The family later moved to Wayne Co., Penna. where he bought 140 acres, 150 perches, for £132.2.8, deed recorded 8 Nov. 1805. [Bucks Co. Deeds, Book 27, p. 479; Wayne Co. Deeds, Book 2, p. 69, as cited by Scott Simon, "Ancestors of James Price", kindly sent to me by the author 10/2006.] After Ruth died, James m(2)13 Nov. 1788 Mary COATES in Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., NJ. She gave a paper to Kingwood Meeting acknowledging and condemning her marriage out of unity with Friends. On 12 Mar. 1789 her membership was transferred to Buckingham Meeting. Mary d. 12 Mar. 1789 coincidentally the same day her certificate of removal was dated. [Kingwood Monthly Meeting minutes, as cited by Scott Simon, "Ancestors of James Price", kindly sent to me by the author 10/2006.] James then m(3) 21 Mar. 1793 Nancy Ann PRICE, daughter of John and Sarah (WILKINSON) Price. To the right is a photograph of John and Letitia "Letucie" (Price) ALBRIGHT, a granddaughter of James and his first wife, Ruth PAXSON; daughter of son Lemuel PRICE. [My thanks to Scott Simon for the photo, used with his kind permission.]
198 ii. Margaret, b. 21 Oct. 1764;
199 iii. John, b. 4 Nov. 1766; m. Rachel FELL, daughter of John and Elizabeth (HARTLEY) Fell of Solebury. She was b. 10 Oct. 1770. They removed "west"; one daughter.[129]
200 iv. Samuel, b. 15 Jan. 1769;
201 v. Hannah, b. 24 Oct. 1775; m. 29 Dec. 1791 Jonathan SMITH, physician.
202 vi. Mary, b. 21 Third Month 1779;
Children of Jonas and his second wife Mary (Broadhurst) Paxton:
203 vii. Joseph5, b. 3 Feb. 1786; d. 24 Aug. 1861; m. 24 Apr. 1809 Catherine RUPERT.204 viii. Rebecca, b. 8 Sept. 1788; d. 7 Mar. 1807 at Catawissa; unmarried.
205 ix. Ruth, b. 25 June 1791; d. 22 Apr. 1818; m. Joseph SHULTZ; 1 son who died young.
87. James4 Paxson, son of James3 #30 (William, Jr.2 #16, James1 #2) and his second wife Margaret (HODGE) Paxson, was born 11 [or 23 per Suzanne Lamborn] April 1738. He died in Lisbon, Ohio, in 1804. James married 24 March 1762 in Buckingham Meeting Sarah LETCH, daughter of James (deceased) of Solebury. She died 13 July 1817 [or 1826]. [130]
James, (or perhaps another of this same name?) was disowned 1 April 1771 for being "in the practice of taking strong Drink to Excess" and "using profane language". A James requested membership in Wrightstown Meeting in 1775. However, it seems this may have been a different James Paxson, because "our" James removed to Fairfax, Va. earlier in 1775. There a James Paxson/Paxton was treasurer of the Friends Meeting in Fairfax, Loudoun County.[131]
James was asked by his older brother Jonas to co-administer Jonas's will along with Ellis HUGHES. They lived in Catawissa, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, while James lived in Loudon County, Virginia, so I am unclear how this may have worked when Jonas died in the summer of 1796.
In 1805 the family removed to Ohio, where Sarah was received on certificate from Fairfax Meeting, dated 22 Sixth Month, and received 12 Tenth Month at Middleton Meeting in Columbiana County.[74a] The fact that neither James nor any of their children were listed with her, suggests that James was not a member, nor was he at the time their children were born. More research is needed as there are several men with the same name.
Sarah became a well-known recorded minister. Her great grand daughter wrote that Sarah was
the first woman who ever preached in that part of the state. [Her grandson] often told in after years how his heart was stirred as his grandmother, in a great Quaker bonnet, and white kerchief crossed over her plain dress, rose and began her address in deep, mellow tones, pronouncing each word so slowly and tenderly that the opening sentence—always the same, no matter what the theme of her discourse--sounded like a benediction: "Obey the Spirit within, and be at peace with God."[132]
Children of James and Sarah (Letch) Paxson:
206 i. James5, apparently enlisted in the Revolutionary War, even though under age, and was disowned in 1779. [Lamborn, 29]
207 ii. William, received at Fairfax Mo. Mtg. in Virginia on a certificate dated 5 Mar. 1787 from Buckingham Mo. Mtg. in Penna. On 22 Mar. 1788 it was reported to Fairfax Mtg that he was taking strong drink "to excess" and had married out of unity with Friends. He was disowned 26 July 1788. [132a]
208 iii. Amos, b. in 1768; m. Cynthia BEALL; 13 children. Lamborn suggests he may be the Amos who was disowned by Fairfax Mtg. in 1795 for excessive drinking, gaming, frequenting places of diversion, and going off a long way.
209 iv. Joseph5, m. Mary LESTER of Maryland; had 7 children.
210 v. Sarah, b. 24 June 1779 in Loudon Co., Va.; m. 31 Mar. 1802 in Fairfax Meeting William SIDDALL; d. 24 Sept. 1861 in Monroe Twp., Holmes Co., Oh.; William was b. 14 Apr. 1777, the son of Isaac and Rebecca (SYSOM) Siddall, he d. in 1821 in Elk Run Twp., Columbiana Co. In 1805 Sarah and William removed to Lisbon, Oh., Sarah on a certificate granted 22 June 1805 from Fairfax MM to Middletown MM, Ohio; they had 6 children.[132b]
211 vi. Elizabeth
91. Joseph4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 #31 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (Canby), was born 21 November 1733[133] in Solebury, Bucks County. Joseph died 3 or 8 August 1808[134] in Sadsbury Township, Chester County. He married 28 Sixth Month 1758 Mary HESTON, Jr., in Wrightstown Meeting.[135] Mary was born in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, on 13 Eleventh Month [January] 1740/1 the daughter of Jacob and Mary (WARNER) Heston.[136] Mary (Heston) Paxson died 29 March 1829.[136a]
Around the end of the Revolutionary War Joseph, Mary, and thirteen of their fifteen children removed to a 700 acre farm in Sadsbury Township, Chester County. A hundred years ago a descendant was still living in the old family residence.[137]
Joseph signed his will on 19 May 1808, and it was probated 3 August 1808, which argues for a date of death shortly before August 3. He left all his real estate in Sadsbury to his wife Mary. She and their sons Benjamin and Jacob were named executors.[138]
Children of Joseph and Mary (Heston) Paxson:[139] 213 ii. Benjamin, b. 10 Nov. 1761; d. 28 June, 1828 in Columbiana Co., Ohio; m. Jane ELY on 9 June 1784. Jane Ely was the daughter of George and Sarah (MAGILL), b. 5 Jan. 1764, d. 13 Aug. 1837; had 13 children.[140] 214 iii. Jacob, b. 4 Mar. 1763; d. 1839; m. 9 Nov. 1797 Elizabeth PETTIT, daughter of William and Sarah Pettit; had 7 children. 215 iv. Mary, b. 14 Jan. 1765; d. 28 Aug. 1836; m. 2 June 1790 at Sadsbury Meeting, James COOPER. He was b. 30 June 1765 in Sadsbury Twp., the son of John and Rebecca (MOORE) Cooper; James d. 25 Oct. 1817. They lived in Sadsbury, Lancaster Co. and had 5 children: Joseph Cooper (b. 17 Sept. 1791); Barclay Cooper; Gulielma Cooper (b. 16 Apr. 1794); Aaron Cooper (b. 23 Nov. 1795); and Cyrus Cooper (b. 20 Sept. 1798).[141] 216 v. Rachel, b. 8 Dec. 1766; d. 1828; unmarried. Described as "a very faithful worker in her family."[142] 217 vi. Amelia, b. 22 Sept. 1768; m. 1 June 1796 at Sadsbury Mtg. John TRUMAN, who was b. 8 Feb. 1774; d. 1 Mar. 1853. They had at least one son, Joseph Truman, son of John and Rebecca (MOORE) Cooper; Joseph was b. 27 Feb. 1797; d. 28 Apr. 1863.[143] 218 vii. Sarah, b. 19 Apr. 1770; d. 14 Mar. 1861; m. 3 Nov. 1790 at Sadsbury Mtg. Calvin COOPER. He was b. 13 Dec. 1766, the son of John and Rebecca (MOORE) Cooper, and d. 19 Oct. 1820 in Columbia, Lancaster Co., Penna. He was a cabinet maker and lumber merchant residing in Sadsbury until 1809 when he and Sarah removed to Columbia. Sarah m(2) 12 Apr. 1827 as his second wife, Thomas PEART, b. 28 Sept 1756 in Byberry, Phila. Co., son of Bryan and Elizabeth (WALTON); Thomas had m(1) Mary ROBERTS. In 1780 young Thomas and some of his siblings and his mother with her second husband, Benjamin GILBERT, were taken captive by Native Americans.[144] Sarah and Calvin had at least these children: Mark Penn Cooper who m. Sidney CONRAD, Rachel Paxson Cooper who m. William CONRAD, (both Conrads were the children of Abraham and Catherne (EVANS) Conrad)[144a] and John Cooper, b. 18/7m/1796; d. 26/2m/1875; m(1) 17/8m/1825 Mary Ann PEART and had 3 children; m(2) Esther R. SMEDLEY, widow of Henry M. BRANDT, and had son Ellwood Cooper, b. 27/10m/1871.[144b] In the 1850 census Sarah was living with her son Mark Penn Cooper and his family; in the 1860 census she was 90 living with her daughter Rachel Paxson Cooper Conrad and family. 219 viii. Aaron, b. 8 May 1772; d. 26 Jan. 1773. 220 ix. Aaron, b. 6 Nov. 1773; d. 26 Sept. 1858; m. 23 Oct. 1805 Susanna HAMBLETON.[145] 221 x. Jonathan, b. 26 May 1775; d. 14 Sept. 1841; m. May 1804 Catherine BEHER/BEECHER.[146] 222 xi. Abigail, b. 23 July 1776; d. 12 Dec. 1818; ; m. at Sadsbury Meeting 26 Oct. 1803 John VICKERS, son of Thomas and Jemima (MENDENHALL) Vickers of East Caln Twp., Chester Co. John was b. 8 Aug. 1780; d. 24 Apr. 1860; he was a potter near Lionville, in Uwchlan Twp. First his father Thomas, then John, and later John's son Paxson, operated a high quality earthenware pottery first in Caln, then in 1813 moved to West Whiteland, and finally in 1823 to Uwchlan, all in Chester County. John Vickers, like his father Thomas Vickers who was one of the original members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society formed in Philadelphia in 1777, was very involved in the underground railroad and abolition activities. In 1818 two fugitive freedom-seekers were sent to his house from his father's. They hid there safely resting all day until suddenly came word that their pursuers were hot on their trail. John hurried them out the back door, explaining which way they should run. Then calmly telling the slave-catchers there were no fugitives in his house, they insisted on thoroughly searching the house. The longer and more thorough the search, the more time the men had to flee. They reached Canada safely. One enslaved African who had been kidnapped while being sent from Africa by missionaries to be educated, escaped and spent a winter at John Vickers, helping and studying. Money was raised to return him to Africa, as he requested.[148] They had at least 9 children, including Paxson Vickers (b. 13 July 1817; d. 22 Oct. 1865; m. Ann Thomas LEWIS).[147] When John became too old to continue the strenuous work of secreting fugitive slaves, Paxson and Ann took on the work. In 1856 Paxson was elected to one term in the Penna. Legislature. There's more on the Vickers family, especially Paxson's daughter Sara Louisa (Vickers) OBERHOLTZER. She was honored with a resolution by the Pennsylvania State legislature May 5, 2009. 223 xiii. Oliver, b. 20 Dec. 1777; d. in infancy.[149] 224 xii. Hester, b. 15 Aug. 1780; d. in infancy.[150] 225 xiv. Jane, b. 19 Nov. 1781; d. 19 Apr. 1846; m(1) Joseph McCARTY and had 6 children; m(2) Job WALTON and had two daughters.[151] 226 xv. Ann, b. 15 Nov. 1783; d. 20 Apr. 1867; she raised William H. HALL, then married him. They had no children.[152]
212 i. Joseph5, b. 30 Oct. 1759; d. 7 May 1827; m. 12 Mar. 1788 Phebe COOPER, daughter of George and Susanna (TRUMAN) Cooper; had 5 children. [138a]
92. Benjamin4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (Canby) Paxson, was born 1 October 1739 and died 29 March 1814 in his 74th year. He married first on 16 June 1763 Deborah TAYLOR, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (TOWNE) Taylor of Taylorsville. Deborah was born 28 August 1742, died 20 August 1792.[153] He married secondly in 1797 Rachel NEWBOLD, the daughter of Barzilai and Sarah (CORE) Newbold. Rachel was born 26 April 1751, and died 22 October 1798. He married for the third time on 9 June 1807 Mary (Williams) PICKERING[153a], the widowed mother of his son Charles's wife.
Benjamin, yeoman of Solebury Township,"in the decline of life", signed his will 4 February 1814. It was probated 2 April 1814, with his sons Thomas and Charles as executors. Benjamin bequeathed to Mary, his third wife, all that she had brought with her into their marriage (since married women owned nothing under the law at that time), including the gold watch and $400. Sons Timothy and Benjamin were each given $1,866. Daughters Hannah BETTS, Deborah BYE, and Rachel Paxson were mentioned. Sons Timothy and Benjamin were given 1,000 acres in Harrison County, Virginia. Son Thomas was given the "farm I live on and land bought of Samuel WILSON in Manor of Highlands." Son Charles received "100 acres in Buckingham whereon he lives purchased of John PARRY and subject to dower of Rachel Parry's executors to complete sale of land adjudged to me as my brother Isaiah Paxson's to John THOMPSON." (Got that?) The witnesses were Robert SMITH and Joseph WORTHINGTON.[154]
Children of Benjamin and his first wife Deborah (Taylor) Paxson:
227 i. Timothy5, b. 27 May 1764; d. 21 Fourth Mo. 1839; m. Ruth JOHNSON; 3 children; with his brother Benjamin, was bequeathed 1000 acres in Harrison Co., Va. by their father.228 ii. Hannah, b. 19 Feb. 1766; d. 24 Mar. 1852; m. 19 Sept. 1787 at Buckingham Meeting Jesse BETTS.[155] They had a son, Mahlon BETTS who m. Mary SEAL. This couple was living in Wilmington, Del. when their daughter, Lydia BETTS m. 6 Dec. 1848, Frederick Paxson, son of Charles #234.[155a]
229 iii. Thomas, b. 2 Sept. 1769; d. 7 June 1843; m. 26 Apr. 1814 Hannameel CANBY who was b. 13 Jan. 1787; 6 children.
230 iv. Benjamin, b. 22 Apr. 1776; d. 2 Sept. 1846; m. Sarah WHITE of Shrewsbury, NJ; with his brother Timothy, was bequeathed 1000 acres in Harrison Co., Va.
231 v. Sarah, b. 25 Twelfth Mo. 1778; d.y.
232 vi. Deborah, b. 3 Sept. 1780; d. 28 Mar. 1859; m. 23 Aug. 1806 Amos BYE, son of Enoch and Abigail (KINSEY) Bye. Amos was b. 7 Sept. 1781 in Chester County, Penna., and d. 4 Dec. 1861. Enoch is said to have built the Little Elk Meeting house.[156] They had 7 children:
a) Charles Paxson Bye, b. 1 Apr. 1807, m. Mary Anne WOOLENS;
b) Mary Anne Bye, b. 14 June 1809, m. Amos PUGH;
c) John Howard Bye, b. 28 Apr. 1812, m. Sarah Moore WOOLENS;
d) Deborah Bye, b. 23 Apr. 1815, m. William TAYLOR;
e) Enoch Mortimer Bye, b. 3 Jan. 1818 in Chester Co.; d. 6 Nov. 1894; m. 24 Mar. 1843 Phebe Pusey PASSMORE, daughter of Andrew Moore Passmore and Judith (Wilson); Enoch and Phebe's daughter was Rosalie Paxson Bye, b. 7 Oct. 1853 in Wilmington, Del.; d. 1949 at Concord Friends Boarding Home; Rosalie painted, cut silhouettes, and made popular appliqué pictures of Quaker men and women in old-style clothing. A pair of her pictures are shown to the right.
f) Benjamin Tilghman Bye, m. Mary Elizabeth COLEMAN;
g) William Thompson Bye, m. Susan GATCHELL.233 vii. Rachel, b. 28 July 1783; d. 24 Jan. 1860 in Buckingham.[156a]
234 viii. Charles, b. 16 Nov. 1787; d. 1851; m. Mercy PICKERING who was b. 1786 and d. 1852; 6 children. Mercy was the daughter of Jonathan and Mary, who m(2) Benjamin Paxson, who was Charles's father.
93. Oliver4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (CANBY), was born 9 September 1741 and died 29 October 1817. He was married first on 22 April 1766 in Middletown Meeting Ruth WATSON[156a], who died 17 September 1774. She was born 12 Eleventh Month 1740, the daughter of John and Ruth (BLAKEY) Watson of Middletown Meeting and township. His certificate from Buckingham to Ruth's meeting, dated 3 Third Month 1766, described Oliver as a young man "of sober, orderly conversation", and a "diligent frequenter of meetings".[156b] Oliver married second, in May 1782 Ruth (POTTS) JOHNSON, the widow of William Johnson. Ruth Johnson had four children who were teens or young adults when their mother remarried.
Oliver served for a while as both staff and on the school committee for Westtown, the Friends boarding school in West Chester.[157]
Oliver shows up in the 1790 census in a household of two males over the age of 16, two under 16, and four females. Of the latter one would have been his wife, the other his daughter Ruth. Presumably one male and two females were "help" or other relatives living with them.
As a respected member of the community, Oliver served on a grand jury in December 1790. He was called on again and again to witness wills, for example, in 1761 for Isaac HALL, in 1789 for David HAMTON, in 1793 for Jane SCARBOROUGH, in 1799 for his sister Rachel WATSON, and in 1799 for Elizabeth PAXSON. All of them were living in Solebury except for Rachel Watson who lived in Middletown. Oliver was also called upon to execute wills. He served in this capacity for Joseph Eastburn in 1781 (signed 1780), for "Friend" David WHITSON in 1781 (signed 1777), for "Friend" Rachel POWNALL in 1784 (signed 1773), and as trustee for "Friend" Samuel EASTBURN in 1785 (signed 1780).[157d]
Oliver was very active in Buckingham Meeting. First he was named an elder, then his gift in ministry was recorded. He took several very rigorous travels in the ministry, one is recorded in Jacob LINDLEY's Journal. They went through rain and snow, having to follow wild animal tracks in the snow. They crossed the Tioga River a dozen times in twenty miles, then faced the Alleghany Mountains. Another trip ca. 1809 is recalled in the "Memoirs and Journal of Hannah YARNALL", where they went up King's Creek to meet with four Friends families. One was William Paxson, a cousin of Oliver's, whose wife was a sister of Ann IVINS. In 1811 Oliver and William BLAKEY travelled 100 miles up the Delaware river. Oliver was then an elder, described in "John HUNT's Journal" of the trip as "a wise, steady, and exemplary elder and father in our Israel." These travels in the ministry knit together the Society of Friends, bringing spiritual refreshment and encouragement, connecting friends and relatives, carrying news about home folks and returning word of conditions on the frontier.[157a]
One of Oliver's special concerns was the unjust treatment of Native Americans. In a letter to John SIMPSON of ca. 1801 he pointed out that "The United States is a warlike nation—" and went on to describe the unfair taking of land from Indians, suggesting that Friends should pay the Indians extra. In an 1811 letter to John, who had moved from Falls Meeting to Ohio, Oliver observed that Ohio was "no less stained with [Indian] blood than all but a small part of Pennsylvania."[157b]
Another concern of Oliver's was the misuse of alcohol, especially distilled spirits. In an 1804 letter to George CHURCHMAN he wrote of the weddings with 100 or 200 guests and feasting for two days, of harvests with 20 or 30 men of dissolute character and much rum—a quart per man. He decried "the revelling,—and noise,—the obscene conversation,—the striving, and the waste of grain,—the gifts of heaven!".[157c]
Oliver's two sons died as young children, so in his later years he began to sell some of his land. Before 1808 he sold a piece to George ELY of Newtown. He sold the farm on which his daughter Ruth and son-in-law Hugh ELY were living to Hugh.[157e] He also had an interest in a shad fishery.
Oliver lived at "Maple Grove", a farm on Old York Road outside of New Hope. His Memorial described his health and attitude:
During several years of the latter part of his life he was much afflicted with an asthmatical complaint, which with some other infirmities so enfeebled him as to confine him much about home: yet he exerted himself to get to his own meetings, though often in great weakness; frequently observing, "I never feel better than when assembled with my friends for the purpose of solemn worship. There may yet be much for me to suffer, and I have need to lay hold of every means of renewing my strength."[158]
As a recorded minister there were a lot of meetings that Oliver would have wanted to attend. There would be regular meetings for worship twice a week, and monthly meeting for business. Then there would have been Select Meetings of Ministers and Elders at the local, quarterly, and yearly meeting levels. Oliver would have attended the regular worship and business sessions of the quarterly and yearly meeting, as well.
At one of the last Quarterly Meetings of Ministers and Elders which he attended, he was engaged feelingly to excite Friends to an increasing dedication of heart; and in an especial manner, that they labour to feel and maintain the unity of the one Spirit.[159]
He died as rancour was growing within the Religious Society, over issues of authority and theology. It would come to a boil ten years later, and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting would split in two. Oliver's message to Friends was:
"My love to the cause remains strong, and my intercessions are at times fervent, that the work of the gospel of peace may go on, to the hastening of that day, when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."[160]
Oliver was "much afflicted" with asthma.[160a] Towards the end of his life he suffered greatly, without the benefit of palliative medication.
To some friends who expressed a concern at seeing him suffer so much, he replied, "I have received good at the hand of the Lord, and shall I not receive evil [Job 2:10]: nevertheless, I value the sympathy of my friends, and desire that my afflictions be not lightened, or cut short, before the work is done; but that I may be strengthened to wait in resignation, till my change come."[161]
Oliver signed his will 9 May 1815, describing himself as a yeoman of Solebury Township. It was witnessed by Oliver HAMPTON, Hannah Hampton, and Merrick REEDER. The will was probated 12 November 1817, with his sons-in-law Benjamin PARRY and Hugh ELY serving as executors. Oliver mentioned his wife Ruth and daughters Jane Parry and Ruth Ely, as well as his niece [sic] Sarah Paxton[161a] and cousin Hannah KIRKBRIDE. He also mentioned two F/friends, Benjamin WHITE of Solebury, son of Joseph, dec'd, and Edward HICKS, son of Isaac of Newtown. Hicks was a young minister, always on the edge of poverty, who struggled with his gift for painting that seemed to him frivolous and distracting from the Divine Center. His many paintings of the peaceable kingdom remain stellar examples of primitive American art suffused with religious symbolism.[162]
A poem written on Oliver's death included this stanza:
'Twas thine, the bitter wounds of strife to heal,
With soothing art, to bid dissentions cease;—
Till, crown'd with social love, thy heart could feel,
The Christian's labours are repaid with peace.[162a]
Ruth, having been widowed twice, wrote her will 11 May 1818. But she lived for another four years. It was proved 18 February 1822. In it she mostly mentioned her own children. There was an annuity for her son-in-law Thomas MATTHEWS (who had married her daughter Sarah), which at his death was to go to his four children: William Matthews, Thomas J. Matthews, Charles Matthews, and Caleb B. Matthews. There were legacies for her sons Thomas Potts Johnson, Samuel Johnson, and to their children. Finally, the residue of the estate was for her daughter Ruth (Johnson) Paxson. She named her son Samuel Johnson and son-in-law Timothy Paxson executors. The will was witnessed by Benjamin Paxson and Elihu Pickering.[163]
Children of Oliver and his first wife Ruth (Watson) Paxson:[164]
235 i. Jane5, b. 24 Jan. 1767; d. 13 May 1826; m. 14 Nov. 1787 Benjamin PARRY, in Buckingham Meeting;[164a] Benjamin was b. 1 Mar. 1757 in Moreland; d. 22 Nov. 1839; bur. in Solebury; son of John and Margaret (TYSON) Parry. Jane d. while on a visit to Phila. and was bur. at 4th and Mulberry St. Friends Burial Ground.[164aa] 4 children.
236 ii. Ruth, b. 16 Feb. 1769; d. 18 Mar. 1851; m. 15 May 1793 in Buckingham Mo. Mtg. Hugh ELY of Philadelphia;[164b] Hugh was b. 6 Mar. 1760, son of Hugh and Elizabeth (BLACKFAN) Ely; d. at his son-in-law Richard Randolph's house in Phila.; Hugh had a "prosperous grain business" as agent between Bucks County farmers and the Phila. market. Unlike most of the rest of her family Ruth joined the Orthodox branch of Friends after the 1827 separation, and was instrumental in having a small frame Orthodox Meeting house built in Solebury.[164bb] 2 children, including Elias Ely (2/9m/1795-15/2m/1836) who renamed the family home place "Maple Grove". Elias's daughter, Ruth Anna ELY m. 1861 Oliver Paxson. Ruth's obituary read in part:
Her deportment and character bore the evidence of a constant endeavour to live and to act, in the performance of all her religious and social duties; and toward the close of her valued life, the sweetness and tranquility of her disposition, and the patience and resignation . . . bore of striking resemblance to her father in the strength of her mind, her clearness of judgment and discrimination, and in the judiciousness of her treatment of those over whom she was called to exercise a care in religious matters. While she wisely guarded against everything like flattery, she would on proper occasions, speak an encouraging word to them that were weary, and of counsel and help to her junior Friends, who, she saw, loved the Truth and were walking in it. . . . During the whole of the trying period of the Separation of 1827, and the difficulties which followed, our beloved Friend had a large share of the labour and the burthen of the day.[164c]
237 iii. William, b. 19 Aug. 1771; d. 17 Jan., 1774.
238 iv. Oliver, b. 16 Apr. 1773; d. 3 July 1773.
95. Jacob4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (Canby), was born 6 January 1745/6 in Solebury[165] He died 13 July 1832. Jacob married first on 29 June 1769 Lydia BLAKEY, in Middletown Meeting.[166] Lydia was born 15 June 1730, the daughter of William and Margaret (__) Blakey of Abington.[166z] They had two children, then Lydia died 3 August 1772. Jacob married secondly on 13 January 1777 Mary SHAW at Buckingham Meeting.[166a] Mary was born 8 or 28 May 1759, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (GOOD) Shaw, and died 17 October 1814.[167] Jacob and Mary had at least ten children.
As a single man Jacob removed to Buckingham Monthly Meeting in 1767, his certificate describing him as "sober and orderly", and a "diligent attender" of meetings.[168] After the wedding Jacob and Lydia moved to Buckingham.
About this time the couple purchased a farm and mill property on Tacony Creek in Montgomery County.[169]
Jacob was active in Buckingham Monthly Meeting, although not to the extent of his brothers Jonathan and Oliver. During the Revolution Jacob suffered distraint of goods thirteen times, between 1777 and 1781. In 1783, after the Revolution, Jacob sold their farm in Solebury and purchased a farm and mill on the Tacony Creek in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
In 1808 he wrote to his daughter who was teaching school in Philadelphia, living with the non-Quaker headmaster. Jacob wrote urging virtue and encouraging strength to oppose the ways of "the world". Her response, in the somewhat flowery language of the day, was that she was impressed by their love and wanted to do right. In a second letter Jacob wrote, "I believe I am no sectarian, but am solicitous that all who have the light, may walk in the light. Then they will have fellowship one with another, and experience preservation from all sin."[170]
Jacob was recorded as an elder by Abington Meeting. [This was noted along with the date of his death and burial in a handwritten record of Abington MM in the Friends Hist. Library. My thanks to Richard James for bringing this to my attention.]
Jacob was interested in education. He bore testimony against serving "ardent spirits" (i.e. distilled alcoholic beverages) to farm laborers as was the custom. In 1831 he was afflicted with paralysis, but partially recovered.[171]
Mary died and , and was buried in the Abington Friends Meeting burial ground. Jacob died 13 July 1832 at the home of his son-in-law, William H. JOHNSON, in Buckingham.[172] Jacob Paxson's will is on file at the Montgomery County archives.
Children of Jacob and his first wife Lydia (Blakey) Paxson:
239 i. Joshua5, b. 22 Apr. 1770; d. 1846; m. Mary COMFORT.[172a]Children of Jacob and his second wife, Mary (Shaw) Paxson
240 ii. Lydia, b. 29 Nov. 1771; d. 3 Aug. 1772.
241 iii. John5,
242 iv. Sarah, b. 30 Nov. 1782; d. 1854; m. 1810 John TYSON and had at least two children:a) Agnes Tyson, m. Charles Paxson.243 v. Isaiah, b. Feb. 1785; d. 29 Aug. 1827; m. 15 May 1811 Elizabeth LONGSTRETH.[173]
b) Jacob Paxson Tyson, b. 1814; d. 1876; m. __
244 vi. Jonathan, b. 1787; d. 28 Tenth Mo. 1856; m. Margaret PRICE, the daughter of Philip and Rachel Price;
245 vii. Jane Canby, b. 18 Oct. 1791 in Abington Twp.; d. 9 Fifth Mo., 1876 [or 5 9th mo.]; m. 12 June 1817 in Abington Mtg. Benjamin PRICE. Benjamin was the son of Philip and Rachel (KIRK) Price, b. 17/12m/1793; d. 15 First Mo., 1872, aged 78. It may have been to Jane that Jacob wrote a letter in 1808 while she was teaching school in Philadelphia and living with the non-Friend headmaster. They settled upon the farm lying west of that upon which his parents (Philip and Rachel Price) lived in East Bradford. Benjamin was a progressive farmer, among the first to practice underdraining extensively; also to plant the Virginia thorn for hedges, and to use the mowing-machine, which he did as early as 1820. Jane was a recorded minister among Friends; Benjamin was an elder. They identified with the so-called Hicksite branch after the 1827 schism. They were active in the peace and anti-slavery movements, in assisting fugitive slaves, and their house was for a long while an important post in the "Underground Railway."[173a] He was a "well beloved member and elder" of Birmingham Meeting near West Chester. There is a lengthy obituary for him in Friends Intelligencer, 28:49 (Feb. 3, 1872), p. 772. They had 7 children:[173b]a) Paxson Price, b. 6 Mar. 1818; m. 28 Apr. 1842 at East Bradford meeting house, Chester Co., Jane J. JACKSON, daughter of Halliday and Jane (HOUGH) Jackson; 4 children, including: Halliday Jackson Price (b. 29 Jan. 1843) and Sara J. Price (b. 1845, m. 3 Mar. 1875 William Truman Forsythe).246 viii. Thomas, b. 10 Oct. 1793 in Montgomery Co.; d. April 1881; m. 1817 Ann JOHNSON, daughter of Samuel and Martha (HUTCHINSON); three children. Members of Abington MM, then Buckingham MM.[174]
b) Mary S. Price, b. 12 Dec. 1819; m. 3 Dec. 1840 Josiah WILSON of Hockessin, Del., son of Stephen and Alice (JACKSON) Wilson; removed to Kirkwood, St. Louis Co., Mo.; 6 children.
c) Isaiah Price, b. 9 May 1822 at Hockessin, Del.; m. 25 Feb. 1846 Lydia HEALD, b. 26 June 1827, daughter of Jacob and Sarah Pusey (WILSON) Heald of Hockessin, Del.; res. in Philadelphia; practiced dentistry, having graduated from the Philadelphia college of dental Surgery; a Major in the 97th Penna. volunteers in the civil War; 3 daughters: Sarah H. Price (1847-1870), Lucy Price (b. 10 July 1852), Jennie L. Price (b. 6 Dec. 1853, m. Edward JACKSON).
d) Philip Price, b. 15 June 1824; m. 10 Nov. 1864 Ellen M. SATTERTHWAITE, daughter of Charles and Phebe (JACKSON) Satterthwait of Crosswicks, NJ; fought in the Civil War; removed to California for 8 years, then to El Moro, Colo. where he d.; 3 children: Phebe J. Price (b. 5 July 1866), Charles S. Price (b. 30 May 1868), and Mary S. Price (b. 21 Dec. 1874).
e) Jacob Price, b. 4 Aug. 1826; m. Rachel L., daughter of Philip D. THOMAS of Philadelphia; graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1850; practiced and resided in West Chester.
f) Edward Price
g) Jael Price
247 ix. Jacob, b. 31 Dec. 1798; m(1) Mary J. TOWNSEND; and had 3 children.
248 x. Oliver, b. 1799; d. 11 Dec. 1865 in his 66th year; m. Jane RANKIN; [my thanks to Richard James for this information.] 2 children?
249 xi. Ruth, Suzanne Lamborn gives her birth as 4 Sept. 1804. [p. 50]
250 xii. Shaw, b. 29 May 1802; d. 2 Feb. 1826 in Abington, aged 23 years, 9 months; bur Abington Mtg. Burying Ground. [Abington MM Rec., p. 63.].
96. Jonathan4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (Canby), was born 14 January 1748/9 and died 27 July 1797. He married at Buckingham Meeting 26 June 1771 Rachel BILES.[175] She died 31 July 1842.
In 4/1774 Jonathan, Rachel and their two small children removed from Buckingham to Middletown. In the tax records they are shown there in 1779, and in 1781 Jonathan was listed with a tanyard.[175a]
During the Revolutionary War Jonathan upheld the Friends peace testimony and suffered military fines and distraints seven times between 1780 and 1783. The official fines were (in rapidly inflating currency) £9.15.0; £9.15.0; £72; £85.10.0; £21.7.6; £1.4.0; £18.16.3. While in Middletown Jonathan lived on a 197 acre farm. In the period between 1779 and 1782 he had 3 or 4 horses. He started with 8 cattle, but some of them were probably seized to cover the fines, and in 1781 he had only 4. The next year, 1782 he was down to 3. Although Bucks Quarter was remiss in sending reports of Friends' sufferings to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, there is a record of Jonathan's that gives a better idea of what he suffered for the sake of his conscience.[176]
DATE
1777, 10m
1778, 3m
1778, 3m
1778, 6m
1778, 9m
1778, 12m
1779, 1m, 18
1780, 2m, 15
1780, 8m
1780, 11m
1781, 1m?
1781, 3m
DESCRIPTION
was taken by order of Green an officer in the Army for their use 2 horse Hind
By orders of John Lacey was taken a bull for the use of the army
was taken by order of John Thompson collector for tax or fine a cow, mare, saddle & bridle
was taken by Robert VanHorn for the army 7 barrels of flour
taken by John Thompson for tax or fine a wa[t]ch
taken by John Thompson for tax or fine 25 bushels Indian corn, load of hay, 2 fat hogs
taken by Athoney [sic] Rue 2 bushels wheat for a fine
was taken by John Gregg for tax a cord
was taken by Michael Gregg for muster fine and tax to hire men to go to war - young horse
was taken by John Gregg for tax - a bull
was taken by John Gregg for tax 500 of hay and 20 bushels Indian corn
for the same demand he took 600 of hay
VALUE
£36.00.0
5.00.0
31.00.0
12.00.0
6.00.0
11.03.6
0.12.0
5.00.0
20.00.0
3.00.0
3.00.0
4.13.0
£134.08.6
In 1785 as they prepared to move to Abington Monthly Meeting, he sold the farm and had only 14 acres and the tanyard on Middletown's tax duplicate.
Both Jonathan and Rachel were active in Middletown Monthly Meeting. Jonathan was named to the station of elder in 1778.[177]
In 1785 they removed to Abington Monthly Meeting, then the following year to Falls Monthly Meeting[178].
Jonathan's will was signed 23 July 1797, and probated 12 October that year. He named his wife, William LOWNES, and Joseph TAYLOR executors. He directed that 70 or 80 acres in the western part of his farm be sold to pay his debts, with a hired man to continue running the farm. To his wife Jonathan left one third of the household goods and income, the residue to be divided equally among all his children but Rebecca. Her "setting out", already given to her, was her share. His estate was inventoried and valued at $1644.89, not counting the real estate. He owned Quaker books Sewell's History, Sarah Grubb's Journal, J. Chalkley's Journal, Barclay's Apology, Collection of Memorials, Griffith, a Dictionary, William Penn's Reflections and Maxims, and three Testaments (Bibles). He also had an 8-day clock and a coffee pot. The estate was not completely settled until 19 March 1813.[179]
After her husband's death Rachel sold the best part of her land and the buildings, and paid off the debt. Friends' minister in Newtown, Edward HICKS wrote approvingly of her in his journal, that she was very admirable and humble. She worked hard, kept the family together, fed, clothed, and schooled. Her children ended up "respectable", five daughters happily married and her only son taking care of her.[180] She died 31 July 1842. Her will had been signed 1 July 1817, and was probated 13 October 1843. To her son Jonathan she left a lot of four acres, the clock (presumably the 8-day clock in her husband's inventory), the farming "utensils", and $267. Her three oldest daughters, Rebecca MAGILL, Jane Magill, and Sarah PAXSON were given $5 each. Her remaining daughters, Mary BUCKMAN, Rachel, Deborah, Elizabeth, Letitia, and Esther Paxson were to divide the residue equally with Jonathan. James and Jacob BRASS were to be given $20 each when they reached age 21 if they stayed with Jonathan. Executors were Jonathan and Esther Paxson.[181]
Children of Jonathan and Rachel (Biles) Paxson:
251 i. Rebeckah5, b. 11 July 1772; d. 16 June 1855; m. 13 May 1796 Jacob MAGILL in Falls MM.[182] Jacob was b. 2 Nov. 1766 in Solebury, son of John and Amy (WHITSON) Magill. They had at least these children:
a) Mary Magill, b. 18 May 1797; m. Jonathan J. WATSON;
Rebeckah's obituary is in the Friend, 28(1855):344, indicating she was a member of the Orthodox branch of Friends.
b) Jonathan P. Magill, b. 3 Oct. 1798; m. 10 Oct. 1821 Amy WATSON, daughter of David and Rachel (__) Watson;[182aa]
c) Susanna Magill, b. 5/12/1800;
d) Sarah Magill, b. 9/4/1809; m. __ BALDERSTON;
252 ii. Jane, b. 26 Feb. 1774; d. 15 Mar. 1852; m. in Falls MM 15 Dec. 1803 William MAGILL. He was b. 24 Mar. 1774 in Solebury, the son of John and Amy (WHITSON) Magill.[182a] Her obit is in the Friend, 25(1852):288. Orthodox.
253 iii. Sarah, b. 27 Dec. 1775; d. 23 May 1854; m. 1820 Moses PAXSON. In her old age she was a faithful Orthodox Friend, known as "Aunt Sally".[182b] They had no children.
254 iv. Rachel, b. 4 Oct. 1778; d. 8m/1843.
255 v. Deborah, b. 21 Oct. 1780; d. 30 Sept. 1849.
256 vi. Betsy, b. 13 Oct. 1782; d. Apr. 1876; removed from Phila. to Buckingham in 1805, and back to Phila. 9/1807. Hicksite.
257 vii. Mary, b. 17 Nov. 1784; d. 16 May 1860[182bb]; m. 21 Nov. 1816 James BUCKMAN.
258 viii. Laetitia, or Letitia, b. 17 Jan. 1787; d. 8 Aug. 1847; m. Stephen TWINING[182bbb]; Hicksite.
259 ix. (H)Ester, b. 15 Oct. 1789; d. 21 Nov. 1876; m. __ Paxson; Hicksite. Esther wrote her will in Upper Makefield Township on 12 Feb. 1876, describing herself as advanced in years. She left bequests to her brother Jonathan, grand nephew Yardley BUCKMAN (son of S. Yardley Buckman), nephew Dr. Edwin D. Buckman, nieces Mary M. (widow of Jonathan J. WATSON), Susan MAGILL, Sarah M. BALDERSTON. She mentioned her deceased nephews Jonathan P. and Charles Magill. She named John S. WILLIAMS and Ingham WATSON as executors. The will was witnessed by W. Godey ELLIS and Frederic GRISCOM.[183]
260 x. Jonathan, b. 21 Aug. 1791; d. 4 Feb. 1876. He had three years of schooling at Westtown (the Philadelphia
Yearly Meeting School in West Chester).
97 vii. Isaiah4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Jane (Canby), was born 20 November 1751, and died in March 1813. Isaiah married 27 April 1775 Mary KNOWLES;[184] no issue. A total of £47.3.3 was taken from him for nonpayment of military fines and taxes during the Revolution. [184a]
98. William4 Paxson, son of Reuben3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Alice (Simcock), was born 2 Fourth Month [June] 1732 in Philadelphia.[185] He died 3 June 1816. He married Rachel JOHNSON, the daughter of Jacob. [186] The marriage was not under the care of the meeting, and the Kingwood Monthly Meeting (New Jersey) minutes reported 9 Eleventh Month (November) 1758, "William Paxson produced a paper whereby he condemns his marrying contrary to the Rules of Discipline, and his misconduct with her that is his wife before marriage." The "misconduct" probably resulted in their first child being born less than nine months after the wedding.
Later Rachel requested membership. The Kingwood Women's Monthly Meeting held at Hardwick the 13th Day of the 12th mo. 1764, minuted: "One of the overseers Acquainted the meeting that Rachel Paxton requests to be Join'd in membership with Friends. Rodah & Mary Large are desired to enquire conserning her Live & conversation & report to next meeting." Rachel's name appears frequently in the Women's Minutes after that. William was quite active in the meeting, also, serving often as an overseer. As some examples of William's activities, he was present at and signed marriage certificates for Achsah GODLY and Joseph FIELD, Jr. 23/4/1778; Hannah COATE and Adran DAWES, Jr. on 21/5/1778; John ALLEN, Jr. and Mary LARGE, Jr., on 2/7th mo. 1778; Amy COATE and James PAXSON on 26/10/1780; Rachel KESTER and John HAMBLETON on 23/11/1780; Mary KESTER and William HAMBLETON on 24/11/1785; Robert BURGESS, Jr. and Abigail BOWMAN on 20/4/1786; Jane GREGG and Anthony BURTON, Jr. on 7 Fourth Month 1786; and a dozen more. In other words, just about all the marriages under the care of Kingwood Meeting at that time.[187]
Rachel died 6 March 1816. William died 3 June 1816.
Children of William and Rachel (Johnson) Paxson: [188]
261 i. Reuben5, b. 2 Apr. 1758; d. bef May 1800. m. Elizabeth (KESTER) HAMBLETON 8 Sept. 1791. She was b. in 1768.[Descendant chart by Kay Walton, sent to me by Leona Carlson in a letter dated 14 Apr. 1995. ] They had 4 children.
262 ii. Mary, b. 25 Sept. 1760;
263 iii. John, b. 30 Mar 1763. m.___ STOUT ca. 1785, and had three children.
264 iv. William, b. 25 Dec 1765; d. 1820; m. Ann PARLEE ca. 1785, and had four children. May have had an earlier wife and child, too.
265 v. Alice, b. ca. 1767?; m. 13/9m/1792 __ MILLS;
266 vi. Jacob, b. 9 June 1777; d. 1847 [date of death from Wayne Paxson]; m. Sarah STEELE; had 5 children.
100. Jacob4 Paxson, son of Reuben3 (William Jr.2, James1) and Alice (SIMCOCK), was born 2 Eighth Month [October] 1737, "at Old Raritan, near Kins Hall, Summerset Co.".[189] He died 7 February 1777. Jacob and Mary WEBSTER were married in 1763. The Kingwood Monthly Meeting of Friends in Hunterdon County, New Jersey recorded:
At the Meeting on 11 Aug. 1763, "Jacob Paxson and Mary Webster appeared at this Meeting and Declared their intentions of Marriage with each other the first time and Robert Large and James Willson are appointed to Enquire concerning his clearness in respect of Marriage Engagement and make report to next Monthly Meeting."
On 8 Sept. 1763, "Jacob Paxson and Mary Webster having Declared their intentions of Marriage with each other the Second time and nothing appearing upon Enquiry to obstruct, they are left at their Liberty to Consummate their Marriage according to the Rules of our Discipline and Robert Large and James Willson are appointed to Attend the Same, and report at next Monthly Meeting."
On 13 Oct 1763, "The Friends appointed to attend the Marriage of Jacob Paxson and Mary Webster report that the Same was orderly accomplished." [190]
Jacob Paxson's name is first mentioned in the minutes of the Kingwood Monthly Meeting of Friends in Hunterdon Co, New Jersey on 12 May 1763, when he was appointed by the meeting to attend the Quarterly Meeting at Chesterfield.[191]
Mary was received as a widow by Buckingham Monthly Meeting, 1 March 1779, on a certificate from Kingwood Meeting, New Jersey, dated 11 Second Month, 1779. With her were five of her children: William, John, Rachel, "Ruben", and Arthur.[192]
Mary married, secondly, William Betts, on 12 December 1781 in Buckingham Monthly Meeting. Their marriage certificate reads as follows:
Whereas William Betts of the Township of Solebury in the County of Bucks and Province of Pennsylvania, Son of Thomas Betts of the Township of Wrightstown County & Province afforsaid, Deceased, And Mary Paxson of Solebury afforsaid, Daughter of Benjamin Webster of the Township of Alexandra, County of Hunterdon & Province of West New Jersey Having Declared their intentions of Marriage with each other Before Several Monthly Meetings of the People Called Quakers at Buckingham in the County afforsaid according to the good order used amongst them, and Having the Consent of Parents and Relations concerned, their said Proposals of Marriage was allowed By the said Meeting. Now these are to Certify all whom it may concern that for the full accomplishment of their said intentions on the Twelth Day of the Twelth Month in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty one they the said William Betts and Mary Paxson appeared in a publick Meeting of the said People at Buckingham aforsaid and the said William Betts Taking the said Mary Paxson By the Hand Did in a Solemn Manner openly Declare that He took Her to Be His wife Promising with the Lord's assistance to Be Unto Her a Loving and Faithful Husband Until Death Should Separate them (or words to that purpose) and then & there in the same assembly the said Mary Paxson Did in like manner openly Declare that she took the said william Betts to Be Her Husband Promising (with the Lord's Assistance) To Be Unto Him a Loving and faithful Wife until Death should separate them (or words to that Effect). And Moreover They the said William Betts and Mary Paxson, she according to the Custom of marriage assuming the Name of her Husband as a further Confirmation thereof Did then & there to these Presents set their Hands and we whose Names are Here under also Subscribed Being Present at the Solemnization of the said Marriage Subscription Have as witnesses thereunto let our Hands the Day & year above written -
William Betts Mary Betts
Rebekah Ely
Samuel Wilson Jur
Thomas Carey
John Wilson
John Hill
Yeoman Gillingham
Joseph Preston
Oliver Wilson
Timothy Smith
Elizabeth Townsend
Sarah LintonAnthony Hartley
David Hamton
Samuel Preston
William Fradfield
Hugh Ely
Hannah Wilson
Oliver Paxson
Benja Eastborn
Robert Kirkbride
John Balderston
Robt Eastborn
Mary Philips
Aaron Philips[192a]Richard Betts
Zachariah Betts
Mary Betts
John Hambleton
Rachel Hambleton
Jane Pickering
Susanna Betts
William Paxson
John Paxson
William Betts and Mary (Webster) Paxson Betts moved to Virginia with her daughter Rachel Paxson, his sons or wards Hezekiah and William, and their own son Aaron Betts, just a baby. Before 6 month [June] 7, 1779, Hezekiah Betts and young William Betts were apparently in the household of William Betts, Sr. William, Sr. requested that the boys be taken under the care of Friends in Buckingham Mo. Mtg. They are thought to have been the children of William, Sr. and a first wife (if she was a Friend they would have already been a Friends; if she was not a Friend, William would have had to acknowledge his "outgoing" and been reinstated in order to marry Mary in good standing), or the boys could have been the children of another Betts family member who was unable to care for them. Mary's six Paxson sons did not go with them to Virginia, although William & John Paxson requested certificates to Fairfax in 1787. Benjamin Paxson went to Fairfax in 1784, from Chester Co, PA, where he was serving an apprenticeship with John Kester.[192b]
Children of Jacob and Mary:[193]
267 i. William5, b. 15 9th mo. [Sept.] 1764; d. 24 Dec. 1846; as a teenager moved with his widowed mother from Kingwood to Buckingham MM in 1779; in 1787 with his brother John, requested a certificate of removal to Fairfax MM in Loudoun Co., Va.; m. Jane GRIFFITH.
268 ii. Benjamin, b. 17 May 1766; m(1) Ruth PIGEON. Removed to Fairfax MM in 1784, from Chester Co, Pa., where he had served an apprenticeship with John KESTER. Later rem. to Ohio and m(2) Mary WALKER. Had 13 children.
269 iii. John, b. 16 July 1768; d. 1826. As a minor moved with his widowed mother from Kingwood to Buckingham MM in 1779. John and his sister Rachel moved to South River Mo. Mtg. near Lynchburg, Va., on a certificate from Fairfax Mo. Mtg, received 22 Mar. 1788. Later John moved to Ga. On 10 Aug. 1799 it was reported at South River MM that not only had he removed a considerable time past without a certificate, now he had lately accomplished his marriage out of unity with Friends. He was disowned. John m(2) Elizabeth GRIFFIN (b. 1776, d. 1861); had 11 children with his two wives.
270 iv. Rachel, b. 9 June 1770; as a minor moved with her widowed mother from Kingwood to Buckingham MM in 1779. Rachel and her brother John moved to South River Mo. Mtg. near Lynchburg, Va., on a certificate from Fairfax Mo. Mtg., received 22 Mar. 1788.[193a] There in Campbell Co, Va., she m. Robert WRIGHT. Apparently he was not a Friend; in any event Rachel was disowned 21 Jan. 1792 by South River MM.
271 v. Reuben, b. 24 Dec. 1772; as a minor moved with his widowed mother from Kingwood to Buckingham MM in 1779; Buckingham MM advised Fairfax MM that he had
272 vi. Arthur, b. 8 Aug. 1775; as a minor moved with his widowed mother from Kingwood to Buckingham MM in 1779; moved to Loudoun Co, VA and m. Pamelia MYERS; had at least one son, Elijah.
### vii. Jacob, b. 7 Second Mo. 1777; not named on his mother's certificate of removal in 1779, so he probably died young.
I have done very little primary research on John and his line, but post here the findings of distant cousins who have been kind enough to share it with me. It can provide a starting point for your own research. I would be very glad to make corrections, if any readers have documentation for improving this page.
John was difficult to identify. He was the "missing John" who could not be identified by J. Leslie Brown in 1950 when he was corresponding with Wayne Paxson in regard to the Paxson genealogy. Wayne Paxson finally was able to find the necessary link:
His wife and children were identified by his will which was located by Dean Paxson, a descendant who lives in Iowa. Dean provided copies of the will, . . . The first John had been difficult to find since early genealogists had no record of his existance. Reuben and Alice, his parents, had three children before the death of Abigail, Reuben's mother. Abigail had named the three children in her will so it was assumed that these three were the only children. However, two more children were born in New Jersey after Abigail's death, Abigail, namesake of the grandmother, and John, who married and migrated to Ohio. The maiden name of Mary, John's wife, has not been determined.
The family apparently moved to Stafford County in Virginia. John and Mary and their eldest daughter Achsah signed (perhaps with their marks) the marriage certificate of John GREEN and Ruth HOLLOWAY on 25 4th month 1781 in Stafford. Achsah was not yet ten, and it seems unusual in those days for a child to sign the certificate. John and Mary signed the certificate for Samuel CHEW and Abigail GREEN on the 21 of Fourth Month 1784 at the Stafford Meeting house. Again on 3 Tenth Month 1787 John and Mary attended a wedding at Stafford and signed the certificate of James M'CONNEL and Rachel ANTRAM. On 12 Eleventh Month 1788 John and his daughter Achsah attended the marriage of William STANTON and Katharine HOLLOWAY, and signed the certificate.[195a]
In 1791 they moved to North Carolina with their children. A certificate of removal to Westfield Monthly Meeting was signed at Crooked Run Monthly Meeting on 29 Ninth Month of that year, for John, his wife Mary, and their children Reuben, Alice, Jacob, Mary, John, and Ann. It was received in Westfield Monthly Meeting on 18 February 1792, including daughter Achsah.[195b]
There must have been additional moves, because apparently got a certificate of removal from Mount Pleasant Monthly Meeting, near Galax, Grayson County, Virginia, dated 24 September 1808 and turned it in nearly a year later to Miami Monthly Meeting near Waynesfield, Ohio, 8 July 1809. At the same time they turned in certificates for their younger children, John, Nancy, Susanna, and William.[195c]
John was a judge of the election of 8 October 1811 in Wayne Township, Champaign County. His three sons, Reuben, Jacob, and John were electors that day.[196]
John left a will there in 1820.[197]It reads as follows:
I, John Paxton, of Lake Township, Logan County and State of Ohio, being in health of body and sound of mind and memory and calling to mind that it is appointed that all men once shall die. I make this my last will and Testament hereby disannulling and making null and void all former wills and bequests by me. I will that my body be decently interred at the discretion of my Executors herein after mentioned and as - [illegible] - such worldy goods as it has pleased the Lord to bless me with. I will and bequeath in manner following: Item first, I will and bequeath unto my below son John Paxton my mansion house and the improved part of my land to include one half to him and his heirs to inherit forever; item 2, I will and bequeath unto my below son William Paxton one half of my land to be divided between him and my aforesaid son John vs: equal in quantity: item 3, I give and bequeath to my below daughter, Achsha Richards, my son Reuben Paxton, my daughter Abbie Garretson, my son Jacob Paxton, my daughter Nancy Richards, and my daughter Nancy Williams, each of them one dollar; item 4, I give and bequeath unto my below wife, Mary Paxton, all my moveable property during her natural life or widowhood and at her death or marriage I will that my daughter Susannah Paxton shall have one feather bed and bedding and that the residue or remainder of said moveable property shall be equally divided between my above said sons, John Paxton and William Paxton and I hereby constitute and appoint my below sons Reuben Paxton and Jacob Paxton Executors to my last will and testiment.
The will was signed by his mark, as was the probate paper signed by Mary, indicating neither was literate.[198]
Although this will answers some questions, it raises others. One fairly easy assumption is that the two oldest sons given only $1 each probably already had received their inheritances. The two youngest sons were to split the family farm and its assets after other bequests had been made. Research in Logan County real estate records might shed light on this. The fact that the sons receiving only one dollar were named executors indicated there were no hard feelings expected. The naming of Nancy Richards as a daughter is a more thorny question, as it is quite unusual to have two daughters with the same first name. Nancy was a nickname for Ann, so one named Ann might have been called Nancy, and the other might have been given the name of Nancy? Wayne notes that the first named, Nancy Richards, had been originally written as Mary and then scratched through and Nancy inserted. However, the daughter listed as Mary was married to William Pickrell, not (__) Richards, unless it was a second marriage. This could be explained by an error of whomever drafted the will. It would not have been caught by John or Mary since neither of them could read or write. However, it begs for further research.
Children of John and Mary (__) Paxson:[199]
273 i. Achsah5, b. ca. 1774? in Stafford, Va.; m. 31 Oct. 1798 Henry PICKRELL at Chestnut Creek, Grayson Co., Va.;[199a] they came to Ohio in 1805; had 4 children. The phonetic spelling of the person who wrote her father's will is an indication that her family may have pronounced her name "Achsha". Another descendant called her "Axie". They had 5 children:
a) William Pickrell, m. Mary __; 4 children
274 ii. Reuben, b. ca. 1777 or 1778; m. 22 Mar. 1800 Mary (RICHARDSON) in Grayson Co., Va.; 5 children. Reuben was named co-executor of his father's will.[200]
b) Jacob Pickrell, m. Rachel __, had 6 children;
c) Mahlon Pickrell, m. 3 times; had 4 children;
d) and e)
275 iii. Alice, "Abbie" in her father's will, b. 19 May 1779, the only Paxson child whose birth was entered in the Hopewell Meeting records [200a]; d. Nov. 1885 in Henry Co., Iowa; m. 5 Apr. 1804 Isaac GARRETSON; he was b. 17 Feb. 1765; he was a school teacher and civil engineer; a mathematician and inventor, receiving a patent from George Washington for a heading nail machine, and another patent from John Adams. The family were Friends, according to one source, while another holds they were married 29 Dec. 1804 and disowned for marrying out of unity.[201] Had 4 children; all were also Friends, and migrated to Salem, Iowa in the 1830s. Isaac died there while visiting them.[202]:
a) John Garretson, b. 7 Jan. 1805;
276 iv. Jacob, b. 29 Dec. 1781; m. 6 or 15 Oct. 1806 Sitnah RICHARDS; 11 children.[203] Jacob was named co-executor of his father's will with his brother Reuben.
b) Mary Garretson, b. 5 Feb. 1807;
c) Isaac Garretson, b. 20 Sept. 1813 in Clinton Co., Oh.;
d) Joel Garretson, b. 13 Dec. 1809 in Clinton Co.
277 v. Mary, b. 8 Nov. 1784; d. 27 June 1870; m. William PICKRELL 20 June 1805; said to have had 8 children.[204]
278 vi. John, b. 21 Feb. 1787; d. 1863; m. Anna BRIEN; 8 children. [her surname from Wayne Paxson, 9/26/2003] John inherited his father's house and half of his land and half the residue of his moveable goods after other bequests were made.
279 vii. Nancy A., b. 3 Oct. 1789 in Grayson, Va.; d. 13 Nov. 1836 in Logan Co., Oh.; m. 8 Sept. 1812 Henry WILLIAMS in Champaign Co., Oh. [Maris; Stewart Baldwin] Their 9 children are listed by Stewart Baldwin on his web page. He is careful to only post data for which he has documentary proof. Henry m(2) 1 May 1845 in Logan Co., Ohio, Rachel JACOBS (1798-1877).
280 viii. Susanna, b. 28 Dec. 1795; d. 5 Nov. 1883, bur. Walnut Cemetery, Penn Twp., Jefferson Co., Iowa; m. 30 Apr. 1818 Richard SHOCKLEY in Logan Co., Oh., son of Meredith and Sarah (WORRELL) Shockley, b. 1 Jan. 1798. Susanna inherited a "feather bed and bedding" from her father. In the 1830 and 1840 US censuses, they were living in Monroe Twp., Logan Co, Ohio. The 1860 census found them living in Jefferson Co., Iowa, where Richard was a farmer. In the 1870 census, they were living with their widowed daughter Almedia IRELAND and her 3 children in Jefferson Co. In the 1880 census Susanna was widowed, living with her daughter Katherine EMERY and Katherine's husband James in Jefferson Co. They had 7 children, all born in Monroe Twp., Logan Co., Ohio: [Additional information on Susanna's family is from "Descendants of Susanna Paxson", kindly sent to me by Jeanne A. Dunn, e mail 7/25/2007.]
a) Katherine Shockley, b. 14 Apr. 1819; d. 24 Oct. 1897 in Pleasant Plain, Jeff. Co., Iowa; m. 3 Mar. 1842 James Adcock EMRY, son of Travis and Elizabeth (FRAZIER) Emry; 9 children.
b) Jacob Shockley, b. 5 Nov. 1821; d. before 1880.
c) Reuban [sic] Shockley, b. 1 July 1824; d. in an accident Aug. 1850 in Jeff. Co., Iowa. He was a farmer.
d) Almedia Shockley, b. 20 Apr. 1827; d. 1883 in Iowa, bur. Eastview Cemetery beside her third husband; m(1) 4 Jan. 1843 John CONNER; he d. between 1866 and 1870; 6 children; m(2) 1861 or 1862 Alexander IRELAND near Pleasant Plain, Jefferson Co., Iowa (he had 4 children by a previous marriage) and was bur. in Walnut Creek Quaker Cemetery in Jefferson County, Iowa (in the same cemetery as Richard and Susanna Paxson Shockley and many other family members); (3) 27 Nov. 1873 Henry GOODWIN. [My thanks to Tammy Wimpee, referencing several published obits for additional information on Almedia; email 1/6/2021.]
e) Sarah Shockley, b. 10 Sept. 1829; m. 4 Feb. 1848 Isaac ELLIS; 4 children.
f) Nancy W. Shockley, b. 4 Nov. 1831; d. 2 July 1911; m. ca. 1849 Abel ROBERTS; both bur. Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery; 2 daughters.
g) Amos Shockley, b. 1 Aug. 1835; d. Oct. 1881 in Virginia; m. ca. 1864 Mary A. WILSON; he was a store clerk in 1880; 4 children.
281 ix. Ann, may be the Nancy Richards in her father's will. Perhaps she was born before Susanna, as there is a gap in the births there.
282 ix. William, b. 10 Aug. 1797 in Grayson, Va.; [Kay Walton's chart sez b. 1795; Wayne Paxson sez b. 1798]; d. 21 April 1879 in Cassopolis, Mich.; William m. Margaret Jenkins RICHARDSON on 27 Oct. 1824 in Champaign Co., Ohio; had 10 children. [Maris Genealogy Home Page.] William inherited the other half of his father's real estate and moveable property (after other bequests), to be divided equally with his brother John.
283 i. Alice5, b. 9 Aug. 1774; d. 20 May 1809; unm.
284 ii. Asher, b. 4 Mar. 1776; d. 23 Mar. 1869 aged 93 years; m. 10 June 1833 Martha HARDING; 6 children.
285 iii. Phineas, b. 27 July 1778; d. 7 Sept. 1802.
286 iv. Jane, b. 25 Mar. 1782;
105. Isaac4 Paxson, son of Henry Jr.3 #43 (Henry2 #18, James1 #3) and Elizabeth (Lupton) was born 29 November 1748 in Solebury Township and died in July 1812. He married Elizabeth P. ELY.[in IGI but no ancestral file; listed in 6 worldconnect files but with no additional information or issue.]
Isaac inherited the bulk of his father's farm, about 120 acres, subject to the typical sort of provisions for his mother remaining in the house, and payment to her of £12 a year while she remained a widow.
Isaac signed his will 5 (or 20) February 1812, calling himself a yeoman. It was witnessed by Aaron Paxson, Asher Paxson, and Mordecai Pearson. The will was proved 3 August 1812, with his brother John Paxson and Moses Eastburn as executors. Isaac left all his personal estate to "four of my sisters": Rachel, Mary, and Mercy Paxson, and Amy WORTHINGTON. He left to his brother John the plantation devised by the will of their father dated 12 January 1790, plus "land which Watson FELL, attorney for Thomas BLACKFAN, conveyed to me, and share I had in Fishery at Oliver Paxson's, paying my sisters £600 &c." [Bucks Co. Will Abstracts, 8:287. The will is transcribed in "The Paxson Family", typescript mms from Marvin Paxson, 7/2012.] This would make it appear that by the time of his death neither Isaac's wife or child were living. It appears that the will of Elizabeth Paxson, was witnessed by Oliver Paxson in 1799.
Child of Isaac and Elizabeth P. (Ely) Paxson: [Child listed by Alan Crosman in gencircles.com/users/acrosman/.]
287 i. Ely
106. Henry4 Paxson, son of Henry Jr.3 #43 (Henry2 #18, James1 #3) and Elizabeth (Lupton) was born 17 August or October 1750 in Solebury Township. He died before 11 January 1815 in Chester County. [Alan Crosman in gencircles.com/users/acrosman/.] Henry married in 1778 Matilda KEMBLE, the daughter of Anthony Kemble (1720-1796). Some sources give her maiden name as Kimble or even Remble). Anthony died 5 October 1796 in Buckingham, Bucks County; his wife's name is not yet known. [Diane Mortensen's ancestry.com files, to which she graciously gave me access, 6m/2019.]
Matilda was not a Friend, and they did not marry in a Friends meeting. Therefore on 16 Twelfth Month 1778 Buckingham Friends appointed "Joseph Eastbourn [sic] and Jonathan Balderston to prepare a testimony against him" because he had "accomplished his marriage with one not in membership with us, by the assistance of an Hireling Minister"; they were to "inform him thereof, and produce it to our next monthly meeting for approbation." [Buckingham Monthly Meeting Men's minutes, 16/12m/1778, p. 184.]
Later Henry was reconciled with Friends, and Matilda joined. In 1795 Henry and Matilda were issued a certificate of removal from Buckingham Monthly Meeting to New Garden Meeting in Chester County. Jan Hall kindly sent me a copy of the certificate of removal, which she found in a secondary source. Nether of us have had time yet to check the original. [Information from Jan Hall, e mail 4m/6/2005, and letter 4/27/2005. Alan Crosman reported that Matilda was not a Friend; but obviously in 1795 they were both members in good standing.]
Dear friends, our friend Henry Paxson and Matilda his wife who are about to remove within the compass of your meeting, have requested our certificate in order to join in membership with you. These may certify in their behalf that they have frequently attended our meetings, and the usual inquiry being made concerning them, no others [sic] appears but that their lives and conversation have been in good degree orderly, and settled their affairs to satisfaction. Therefore we recommend them as members of our society with their nine [sic] children: viz: Elizabeth, Joseph, Esther, John, Matilda, Mary, Sarah and Anthony, to [y]our Christian care and oversight, desiring their growth and [sic: in?] truth, and subscribe ourselves your friends, brethren and sisters signed by order of said meeting by Robert Smith and Margaret Gillingham, clerks.
Henry delivered the certificate in person to New Garden Monthly Meeting on Fifth Month 2, 1795. [ New Garden Mo. Mtg. Men's minutes 2/5m/1795.]
Henry was a farmer and shoemaker in New Garden Township.
Alan Crosman refers to Henry's will in Chester County and notes that he was christened 11 January 1815 in Chester. This is interesting and needs to be checked. Henry's will, signed 11 December 1814, was probated on 11 January 1816. In it he provided for his wife Matilda, and gave the 150 acre plantation "whereon I now dwell, purchased of Benjamin MASON" to his sons Anthony and Isaac. To his son Joseph he bequeathed his nearly 200 acre plantation, purchased from Reuben MILLER in Colerain and Little Britain Townships, Lancaster County, with the provision that he pay his sister Elizabeth DOAN the interest on £400 during her life; at her decease the "said $400" was to be given to her children. I have not seen the original, and do not know if the abstract is correct in switching from pounds to dollars. It would make a difference in the amount of money involved. His son John's bequest was "his obligation for $1,200 which I hold against him". Henry then bequeathed $400 each to his five remaining daughters: Esther WEBB, Matilda TOWNSEND, Rachel HARLAN, Mary BAILY, and Sarah WEBB. The remainder was to go to Anthony and Isaac. They, with their mother Matilda, were named executors. The will was witnessed by George GREGG and John TOWNSEND. [sites.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/chester/willabs/1816-7.txt, seen 10m/6/2007.]
A little over a week after the sudden death of her son Anthony, Matilda signed her will in Penn Township on 14 July 1825, and it was probated 17 September that year. She divided her estate into shares, directing one share to each of her surviving sons and daughters: Joseph, Isaac, Elizabeth DOAN, Esther WEBB, and Matilda TOWNSEND. The shares for each of her other daughters, Rachel PAXSON and Sarah WEBB were to be held in trust during their lives. That of Rachel, to be paid at her decease to her children by her first husband: Hannah, John, and Matilda HARLAN. Sarah's was to be paid to her children. She further directed that two shares be divided among the children of her deceased son John, namely Matilda K., Henry, Abigail, Sarah, Julian, Phebe, and John, when they became 21. The heirs of her deceased son Anthony were to receive a half share, as were the children of her deceased daughter Mary BAILY, viz., Matilda and Elizabeth. Finally, she specified that her 8-day clock go to her son Joseph, and at his decease, to his son Henry. She named her son Joseph executor. It was witnessed by Joseph TOWNSEND and Joseph WILSON. [sites.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/chester/willabs/wills1824-5.txt, seen 10m/6/2007 (when checked 2m/23/2008 this link no longer worked).]
Children of Henry and Matilda (Kemble) Paxson: [8 of first 9 children as listed in the certificate of removal (they seem to have inadvertently missed Rachel); data on tenth child, Isaac, is from Jan Hall. Rachel listed by Alan Crosman in gencircles.com/users/acrosman/. Additional data from Diane Mortensen. All the children are listed in the wills of both parents.]
288 i. Elizabeth5, m. Joseph? DOAN; still living in 1825;
289 ii. Joseph, b. 1779; m(1) Hannah HARLAN (1782-1806); m(2) Sarah WALTER (1783-1862), the widow of __ DUTTON; 2 children by the first marriage and 8 children by the second.
290 iii. Hester or Esther, b. 19 July 1781; d. 1868; m. Thomas WEBB (1781-1860); they had ten children. [My thanks to Joe Pyle, e mail 3/3/2012 for the data on these children and the photographs of Hester and Thomas. They were sent to him by a descendant of Matilda Webb Walter. The Webb lines are documented in Alpheus H. Harlan, comp. History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family, and Particularly of the Descendants of George and Michael Harlan, Who Settled in Chester County, Pa., in 1687 (Lord Baltimore Press, 1914).]
a) Matilda WEBB, b. 14 June 1803; d. 1837; m. Samuel WALTER (1797-1855)
291 iv. Rachel, m(1) 12 Mar. 1807 at New Garden Meeting Elwood HARLAN (b. 9 Nov. 1780; d. 11 Oct. 1810); m(2) __ PAXSON. Her inheritance was to be held in trust for her rather than paid to her outright. Since a married woman's property belonged to her husband, Rachel's mother took pains to see that the inheritance would go to her grandchildren by the first husband: [Information on Rachel Harlan and her family from Alpheus H. Harlan, comp. History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family, and Particularly of the Descendants of George and Michael Harlan, Who Settled in Chester County, Pa., in 1687 (Lord Baltimore Press, 1914), courtesy of Joe Pyle, e mail 3/3/2012.]
b) Ezekiel WEBB, b. 25 Nov. 1804; d. 1843; m. Mary ORR (1804-1880)
c) Henry WEBB, b. 15 July 1806; d. 1887; m. Dec. 1830 Eliza GRIFFITH (d. 1886); 9 children
d) Elizabeth WEBB, b. 29 Dec. 1807; m. Joshua PIERCE
e) Mary WEBB, b. 8 Nov. 1809; d. 1847; m. Caleb WOODWARD (b. 1797)
f) Jane S. WEBB, b. 5 Sept. 1811
g) Thomas J. WEBB, b. 15 Sept. 1813; d. 1890; m. Mary ADDLEMAN (b. 1815)
h) Esther WEBB, b. 3 July 1815; d. 1885; m. Reuel N. JEFFERIS (b. 1816)
i) Sarah WEBB, b. 26 Feb. 1817
j) William WEBB, b. 25 July 1820; d. 1891; m(1) Sarah Jane COATES (1820-1849); m(2) Phoebe POWNALL (1833-1901)
a) Hannah HARLAN, b. 22 July 1808; m. 1829 Levi SPRINGER, a non-Friend; Hannah disowned 9 Apr. 1829; they had no children.
292 v. John, b. 21 Jan. 1786; d. 29 Sept. 1820 in Chester Co.; m. Abigail MERCER; borrowed $1,200 from his father, the debt then being covered by his father's bequest to John. Had 7 children.
b) John Paxson HARLAN, b. 13 Mar. 1809; d. 12 Apr. 1860; m. 1836 Mary Ann HOOPES;
c) Matilda HARLAN, b. 24 Sept. 1810; m. 1829 with a magistrate non-Friend Lewis SPRINGER; Matilda was disowned 10 Dec. 1829;
293 vi. Matilda, m. __ TOWNSEND
294 vii. Mary, m. BAILY; d. before 14 July 1825; had children Matilda and Elizabeth.
295 viii. Sarah, b. 10 Aug. 1790; m. Ezekiel WEBB, brother of Thomas who married Sarah's sister Hester; still living in the summer of 1825; had children. It is somewhat curious that her mother directed that Sarah's share of her maternal inheritance should be held intrust for her, and after Sarah's death, to be paid directly to her children. The implication is that her mother did not want Sarah's husband to get control of the money.
296 ix. Anthony, may have died suddenly, without a will. The administration of his estate was given to John TOWNSEND on 23 July 1825. He lived in New Garden Township, presumably on the farm his father left to him and his brother. He may have been married, as his mother directed a half share of her estate should go to the "heirs" of her deceased son Anthony, who had died only a little over a week before his mother signed her will. [sites.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/chester/willabs/wills1824-5.txt, seen 10m/6/2007.]
297 x. Isaac, b. 12 June 1798 in Chester Co.; d. in Indiana.
108. Joseph4 Paxson, son of Henry Jr.3 #43 (Henry2 #18, James1 #3) and Elizabeth (Lupton) was born 1 January 1754 in Solebury. He died on 25 May 1834 in East Nottingham Township, Penna.[Place of death from Alan Crosman in gencircles.com/users/acrosman/.] On 27 April 1782 he married Mary KIMBLE, or KEMBLE, in the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.[PA2, 9:606.] Needs to be checked to see if she may have been the sister of Joseph's brother's wife. [in IGI but no ancestor file]
During the Revolutionary War Joseph was credited with fines worth £15, presumably for upholding Friends testimony against war and refusing to participate in militia musters.[State of the accounts of John Lacey, Junior, and George Wall, Esquires, late sub-lieutenants of the County of Bucks ... : from March 1777 to March 1780 ... (a 20 page pamphlet, 1783), 5. My thanks to Dianna Privette for sending me an electronic image of this page, 9/5m/2007.] Joseph probably did not pay the fine, but had goods of equal or greater valued seized.
It may be this Joseph Paxson who appears on the Falls Township Tax Duplicate for 1794. He had one cow and owed 9 pence tax.
Children of Joseph and Mary (Kemble) Paxson:
298 i. Isaac5, I have no data about him yet, but there was an Isaac Paxson whose application for a license for the "Pennsylvania Hotel" in East Caln Township, Chester County, was approved in 1842. [Chester Co. Tavern Petitions Index, 1700-1923]
299 ii. Tabitha
300 iii. Henry
301 iv. Anthony
114. John4 Paxson, son of Henry Jr.3 #43 (Henry2 #18, James1 #3) and Elizabeth (Lupton) was born 27 July 1766; m. in Buckingham 10 March 1790 Mary Ely. [FamilySearch has John AFN:X2C8-2N b. 27 Aug in Solebury; d. 22 Nov. 1827] She was the daughter of John and Sarah (Simcock) Ely, born 21 June 1766 in Solebury, and died 21 August 1842. [famsearch AFN: JDHS-68]
John inherited the family farm from his older brother Isaac who died in 1812. Isaac had inherited it from their father, Henry. [Transcription of Isaac's will in Gunn, "The Paxson Family", typescript mms, 6-7, from Marvin Paxson, 7/2012.]
John died intestate on 22 November 1827 leaving a widow and two children. Mary, Ely, and Sarah petitioned the Orphans Court (February term, 1828) to appoint Merrick REEDER, Samuel KINSEY, William MARIS, John KITCHIN, Joshua ELY, John W. BALDERSTON, and Thomas PAXSON to "partition" John's land if it could be done "without prejudice to or spoiling the whole", or if it couldn't be divided, then to "value and appraise" the land. It consisted of two parcels in Solebury, 120 acres with the "mansion house", the other 35 acres. The Court agreed, and in the April term the men returned to report that it couldn't be divided among the three heirs but that it could "accommodate two of them and no more". They concluded that the 128 acres and 102 perches was worth $33 an acre, for $4245. The widow's dower was $1415. The remaining eight acres and 45 perches was valued at $25 per acre for $666.40, of which $222.13. [Typed transcript of Inquisition #3685, Bucks County Orphans Court, February and April terms, 1828, in "The Paxson Family", from Marvin Paxson, 7/2012.]
Children of John and Mary (Ely) Paxson:[George W. Paxson mms book, ca. 1922, at the BCHS; and, "The Paxson Family" typed mms by Twila Jean Gunn (?), kindly sent to me 7/2012 by Marvin Paxson.]
302 i. Ely5, b. 9 May 1791; d. 6 Apr. 1879 in Hancock Co., Ohio; m(1) 12 Dec. 1816 Letitia MORTON; m(2) 21 Nov. 1821 Ann "Nancy" BENNETT of Buckingham Twp.
303 ii. Elizabeth, b. 1793; d.y.
304 iii. Henry, b. 21 April 1795; d. 27 Sept. 1806.
305 iv. Sarah, b. 1799 or 1801; m. 12 Feb. 1828 Thomas LIVEZEY, both of them from Solebury, byJosiah Y. SHAW, Esq. [Bucks County Intelligencer, 18 Feb. 1828.]; had a son named John Paxson Livezey who d. y.
115. Abraham4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 #45 (Henry2, James1) and his first wife Sarah (HARVEY) Paxson, was born 19 June 1749, and died 22 June 1839.[290] His father died when he was eighteen, leaving Abraham, as eldest son, owner of the 300 acre farm and responsible for the welfare of his mother and siblings. With this responsibility he did not marry until 23 November 1775 in Buckingham, nineteen-year-old Elizabeth BROWN, the daughter of Joseph and Anne (DAWSON) Brown.[290a] Alternative parents are given by Reibold as Moses and Sarah (OLDSWORTH) Brown of Plumstead, Elizabeth born 1 June 1754. [No source is cited. Dorothy Marty Reibold, The Life of Matthias Harvye and Family (Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, Inc. 1998), 388.] Elizabeth died the night of 6 June 1797 of "lingering consumption".[291] She was 44.
During the Revolution Abraham upheld the Friends' peace testimony and was repeatedly fined, for a total of £162 in highly inflated continental currency, plus £22.5.0 in less inflated Pennsylvania state currency, and an additional £3.4.0 in difficult to obtain and valuable specie. As he refused as a matter of conscience to pay these fines, he suffered distraint of goods valued at £82.19.6. Often goods were seized of far higher value than the fine that was owed.[292]
Abraham was active in Buckingham Monthly Meeting. [293]
Abraham conveyed a small plot of his land lying along State Road at the intersection of the Lumberville-Carversville Road, on which to build a school. His son-in-law Robert LIVEZEY and two others were named to raise the necessary funds for construction. In 1824 an octagon school was built there, which continued to be used until 1858. [294]
Abraham's will was written 18 July 1836, and proved 29 June 1839. He gave his daughter Sarah LIVEZEY a farm in Solebury, his daughter Elizabeth DOAN $500, his daughter Hannah CARVER $1,100 and specified furnishings, linens, and other things. His grandson Abraham received the 179 acres, 128 perches of his home plantation that were in Solebury, on the understanding that he maintain his mother Catherine as long as she remained a widow. His grandson also received the clock Abraham had inherited from his own father. Grandson Howard received the 141 and 3/4 acre plantation on which he currently resided, subject to an existing lease on 7 acres, 96 perches to grandson Cyrus Livezey. Cyrus also received a $12 annual water right payment from a neighbor. A great granddaughter, Catherine HARTLEY, was left $140 to be paid when she reached the age of twenty-one. If she died before then, it was to be divided among her three brothers. His son-in-law Robert Livezey and friend Merrick REEDER were named executors. His estate (not counting real estate) was valued at $2,758.97 1/2 This included money in "paper" (i.e. notes and other private obligations). Unlike the Quaker minister Elias HICKS who refused to use cotton products made with slave labor, Abraham owned cotton as well as woolen blankets and muslin as well as linen sheets.[295]
Children of Abraham and Elizabeth (Brown) Paxson: [296]
306 i. Elias5, b. 22 Sept. 1776; d. 12 Mar. 1815; m. 10 Oct. 1798 Catherine RICE.
307 ii. Sarah, b. 1 July 1779; d. 1865; m. 14 Nov. 1804 Robert LIVEZEY in Buckingham Meeting.[Penna. Archives, ser. 2, 9:266; Bucks County Intelligencer, 20 Nov. 1804.] He was b. 22 Feb. 1780 in Phila. Co., son of Daniel and Margery (CROASDALE) Livezey; d. 1864; 8 children: [Data on the children from Reibold, The Life of Matthias Harvye and Family, 401-2.]a) Cyrus Livezey, b. ca. 1805, m. 26 Apr. 1832 at Middletown Mtg. Rebecca W. SMALL;308 iii. Elizabeth, b. 10 Aug. 1783; d. 19 Feb. 1874 in Canada; m. 15 Apr. 1801 in Buckingham Meeting as his second wife, Ebenezer DOAN (he was b. 9 Sept. 1772 in Bucks Co., the son of Ebenezer, grandson of Joseph Doane, and d. 3 Feb. 1866 in Ontario). Ebenezer learned the carpenter's trade with his brother Jonathan, and moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he worked and m(1) Sabra FREY 7 Jan. 1795, the daughter of John Newton and Catherine Frey; she d in Savannah 7 Nov. 1796. Ebenezer then returned to Bucks Co. where he m. Elizabeth Paxson. They removed to Canada in May 1808 with her husband's father, brothers, and sister, "carrying their effects in a four-horse wagon. After a toilsome journey of six weeks they reached their destination, and settled on Lot 96, about twenty-two miles North of Toronto." In May 1818 they moved to Gwillingbury and settled on Lot 13 where they lived the rest of Ebenezer's life. [Alfred Adler Doane, The Doane Family (Boston, 1902), 230-31.] Ebenezer joined the Children of Peace ca. 1810, but left and rejoined Friends ca. 1837. [297a] Elizabeth and Ebenezer had 6 children:[Alfred Adler Doane, The Doane Family (Boston, 1902), 230-31; the information on Ira Doan is from John Wesley Haines, comp., Richard Haines and his Descendants: A Quaker Family of Burlington County, New Jersey since 1682 (1961) 2:262, citing Linton, Linton Family, 1:142.]
b) Elizabeth Livezey, b. ca. 1807; m. 14 May 1828 to Hiram JONES of Plumstead by Josiah Y. SHAW, Esq.
c) Ann Livezey, b. ca. 1809; m. 16 Apr. 1840 at Solebury Mtg. Samuel H. RICE (he was b. 1805, son of William and Sidney (HARTLEY) Rice, and d. June 1879; Samuel's first wife was Euphemia WATSON, daughter of John)
d) Albert Livezey, b. ca. 1811; m. 20 Oct. 1842 to the widow Hannah F. (BRIGHT) KIRK in Doylestown by John B. Pugh, Esq. She was the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (FULMER) Bright.
e) Samuel Livezey, b. ca. 1812; d. 1863; m. to Harriet BRIGHT of Philadelphia by Alderman McMichael on 16 Aug. 1838; had a daughter Martha Livezey who m. 23 Nov. 1869 Eugene Paxson, son of Howard and Mary (SMALL) Paxson
f) Allen Livezey, b. 11 Jan. 1814; m. 28 Nov. 1839 Mary Ann GORDON, daughter of John and Sarah (KENDERDINE) Gordon of Montgomery Co.; 4 children.
g) Elias Livezey, b. 3 June 1819; m. 9 Nov. 1843 (by Friends ceremony before Mayor John M. Scott) Elizabeth ELTON, daughter of Thomas and Rachel;
h) Abraham Livezey, MD, b. 15 Sept. 1821; m(1) 1 May 1850 to Marianna/Mary Anna "Annie" Dilworth at the US Hotel in Trenton by Mayor William NAPTON. She was b. 1832, the daughter of Joseph and Mary (PAXSON) Dilworth. Abraham m(2) 27 Nov. 1873 Lydia S. HAINES of Medford, NJ.a) Abraham Doane, b. in Bucks Co., 9 Nov. 1802;
b) Elias Doane, b. in Bucks Co., 6 May 1805;
c) Oliver Doane, b. in Bucks Co., 20 July 1807;
d) Ira Doan, b. 23 Jan. 1810 in Canada; d. 11 Mar. 1872; m. 1833 Elizabeth HAINES, daughter of Samuel and Susanna (CHAPMAN) Haines, b. 15 Oct. 1812 at Quaker Hill, Uxbridge, Ontario, and d. 8 Apr. 1898;
e) Hannah Doane, b. in Canada 18 Apr. 1812; m. 20 Dec. 1833 Jacob Lundy; they lived in Sharon, Canada; 5 children.
f) Sarah Doan, b. 10 Sept. 1815 in Canada; m. 12 Mar. 1836 Israel HAINES; res. Sharon; had 8 children.
g) David Doane, b. 30 Sept. 1820 in Canada;
309 iv. Hannah, b. 12 Feb. 1788; d. 11 Feb. 1857; m. 1814 in Solebury Meeting Henry CARVER; 3 children.
310 v. Abraham, b. 2 May 1790; d. 7 July 1791, aged 1 year, 2 months.
311 vi. Mary, b. 4 Oct. 1792; d. 17 Dec. 1792, aged 2 months.
312 vii. Martha, b. 7 Mar. 1794; d. 6 Aug. 1811 aged 17.
116. Aaron4 Paxson, son of Thomas3 (Henry2, James1 ) and his first wife Sarah (Harvey) Paxson, was born 4 August 1751, and died 15 October 1827. He married on 27 April 1775 at Falls Meeting, Letitia KNOWLES,[298] daughter of John and Mary (SOTCHER) Knowles of Upper Makefield and Falls Townships. According to her gravestone (see photo) she was born in 1752. Reibold supplies the date of 6 December 1752. [Dorothy Marty Reibold, The Life of Matthias Harvye and Family (Baltimore, Md.: Gateway Press, Inc. 1998), 395.] Letitia died 10 August 1835.
Aaron inherited lots number 9 and 10 of the Pike Tract in Solebury from his father. That is where the family made its home. [Reibold, The Life of Matthias Harvye and Family, 395.]
Aaron was active in Buckingham Monthly Meeting, and then in Solebury after it was set off as a monthly meeting of its own. He was an Elder in Solebury.[298a]
During the Revolution Aaron suffered the distraint of 2 mares, 17 bushels of Indian corn, 6 yards of linen, and 15 tons of hay, for a total value of £337.6.6. This was the price he paid for following the dictates of his conscience and the testimonies of his religious faith.[299] In the State of the accounts of John Lacey, Junior, and George Wall, Esquires, late sub-lieutenants of the County of Bucks ... : from March 1777 to March 1780 ..., Aaron is only credited with fines worth £15; indicating that for those three years, whatever excess was distrained, the fine was only supposed to be £15, and the rest was probably pocketed by the one who seized the goods.[299a]
Letitia, widow of Abraham, died in Solebury on 10 August 1835, ca. 81 years old.[300] She was buried in the Solebury Friends Meeting graveyard, and her headstone is pictured to the right. It is near those of her son Aaron and grandson Eugene.
Children of Aaron and Letitia (Knowles) Paxson:
[301]313 i. Phineas5, b. 26 Mar. 1776; d. 6 Aug. 1777.
314 ii. Letitia, b. 28 Sept. 1778; d. 2 Mar. 1815; m. 12 June 1805 Thomas BLAKEY (he d. 4/4/1865) under the care of Buckingham Mo. Mtg.;[302] Thomas was the son of William and Sarah Blakey of Middletown Meeting. 5 children: [303]a) Ann Blakey, b. 1806; d. 16 Jan. 1895; m. Yarnall WALTON of Philadelphia; 6 children.315 iii. Ezra, b. 1 July 1780; unmarried. On the 1827 tax duplicate for Solebury Twp. Ezra was charged $.09; he had no dog which would have been an additional 50¢ tax.
b) Sara Blakey; unmarried.
c) William Blakey, m. Elizabeth GILBERT; 7 children.
d) Thomas Blakey, b. 23 Apr. 1810; m. at Byberry 16 Apr. 1833 Lydia WALTON (she was b. 7 Apr. 1810); 10 children.
e) Paxson Blakey, b. 14 Feb. 1815; d. 1882; m. 1838 Letitia Penn SMITH, she was b. 14 Jan. 1816, daughter of Thomas and Anna (Worstall) Smith; 6 children. Paxson Blakey is pictured to the right, photo thanks to Paxson B. Glenn, Sr., 2/2009.
316 iv. Eliada, b. 2 Mar. 1782; m. 13 Nov. 1804 in Woodbury, NJ, Mary COOPER (first female teacher in Bucks Co.) who d. 29 Aug. 1835; at least one child.
317 v. Aaron, Jr., b. 13 May 1785; d. 20 Aug. 1843; m. 1807 Elizabeth PHILLIPS. She was b. 5 Dec. 1786; d. 17 Mar 1843; 7 children.
318 vi. John K., b. 12 Dec. 1794; m. 1828 Achsah DENNIS of NJ; 3 children.[not included in Buckingham MM rec]
117. Moses4 Paxson, son of #45 Thomas3 (Henry2 #18, James1) and his first wife Sarah (Harvey) Paxson, was born 23 (or 13?) August 1754. He died on the 26 February 1826. Moses married first in 1781 Mary POWNALL, daughter of Simeon; they had 7 children.[307]
Moses was disowned from Buckingham Monthly Meeting 12 December 1781 for marrying a non-Friend with the assistance of a hired minister, and for the payment of military fines. Mary died 19 April 1816 and Moses was later reconciled with Friends and became an Elder in Solebury Meeting.[308]
Moses apparently built the left, smaller, side of this house in 1785 on River Road on part of Henry Paxson's original purchase in Solebury. The house has a large, walk-in fireplace with wall oven. It was owned by only two families (several generations) until it was sold in 1978. In 1982 it was approved by the Bucks County Conservancy for the Bucks County Register of Historic Places. At the time it still had "the large complement of stone outbuildings [that] capture a museum-like example of agrarian life in the 18th century."[309]
Like so many others who appear in this family history, we find a trace of Moses in the legal records that have been preserved. It was not a very monumental event when Moses and Isaiah Paxson were asked to make an inventory of the estate of Jacob PAINTER of Solebury. They valued it at $11,922.58.[310]
He married secondly on 14 March 1820 Sarah
Paxson, daughter of Jonathan5 #96 (Thomas4, Thomas3, William2, William1). Sarah was born 27 December 1775, and was 21 years younger than Moses. She died "in her 79th year" on 23 May 1854 at her residence in Bucks County. They had no issue. In her old age she was a faithful Orthodox Friend, an "esteemed minister of Solebury Particular and Buckingham Monthly Meeting" known as "Aunt Sally".[311]
Children of Moses and his first wife Mary (Pownall) Paxson:
319 i. Charles5, b. 28 Aug. 1781; m. Ann SMITH 1803; rem.
to New Orleans; 4 ? children.
320 ii. Ann, b. 4 Sept. 1783; d. 1867; m. David HESTON 17 Fifth Mo. 1808 in Buckingham Mtg;[311] They had three children:[312]
a) Phebe Ann Heston, b. 26 Oct. 1814; m. 16 Nov. 1837 at Fallsington Mahlon S. KIRKBRIDE (3 Aug. 1811-24 Jan. 1887) son of John and Elizabeth Kirkbride.
325 iii. Hannah, b. 11 Nov. 1785; m. 11 Apr. 1809 at Buckingham Meeting David LIVEZEY, son of Jonathan and Mary; had a son:[313]
b) Elizabeth Heston, b. 1821; d. 14 June 1837; bur. at Fallsington.
c) David Heston, b. 5 Apr. 1827; m. 11 May 1848 at Fallsington Mary BALDERSTON, daughter of John Brown and Letitia (CADWALLADER) Balderston; Mary b. 5 Feb. 1827; 4 children.a) Robert P. Livezey, b. ca. 1810, m. 9 Nov. 1841 Ann KITCHEN, daughter of William and Eleanor (CAREY) Kitchen.
321 iv. Robert, b. 27 Spr. 1788; d. Feb. 1813; unmarried.
322 v. Thomas, b. 30 Dec. 1790; d. 6 Apr. 1817 at New Albany, (Ind. or La.?); unmarried.
323 vi. Mary, b. 21 Apr. 1794; d. Aug. 1868; m. 1820 Joseph DILWORTH at Solebury Meeting; had 9 children:[314]
a) Martha Dilworth, b. 1821; m. 18 Oct. 1843 to Stedman R. COWDRICK by Mayor J. M. CANNON in Philadelphia. Stedman was b. 19 Dec. 1816 in Hunterdon Co., NJ, son of John and Elizabeth (HALL) Cowdrick; 2 children: Beulah Cowdrick and Austin Cowdrick.
324 vii. Moses, b. 18 Sept. 1801; d. 14 Sept. 1822 at New Orleans; unmarried.
b) Thomas Dilworth, b. 1823; m. to Urania JOHNSTON of Hunterdon Co., NJ by Mayor Charles BURROUGHS at the American Hotel in Trenton on 12 Oct. 1847;
c) John Dilworth, b. 1825; unmarried.
d) Charles Dilworth, b. 1825; unmarried.
e) Joseph B. Dilworth, b. 1828; unmarried.
f) Hannah Dilworth, b. 1830; m. 20 July 1848 to Dr. Alfred K. SCHOOL in Phila. by the Rev. John L. GRANT;
g) Mary Anna "Annie" Dilworth, b. 1832; m. 1850 Dr. Abraham LIVEZEY, son of Robert and Sarah (PAXSON) Livezey.
h) William Dilworth, b. 1835; m. 1856 Marion GREENOUGH;
i) Sarah Dilworth, b. 1838; m. 1860 Edward A. PRICE;
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