Challenging - John Paxton (1779-1851)

Last week I wrote about the fairly easy brick wall I broke through. This week I’ll write about a more challenging brick wall, her father, John Paxton.

John Paxton was born about 1779 in Pennsylvania. He married Margaret or Peggy Hanna on 31 Jan 1804 in Belmont Ohio. John and Margaret had at least nine children, all mentioned in John’s will. John and Margaret lived in Cadiz Ohio, at least as early as 1830, but many of their children we born in Pennsylvania. On the 1850 census John and Margaret were living in Cadiz with their youngest son and two of their unmarried daughters.

Sale of John Paxton's Estate

               According to an old bio John was a Presbyterian. His daughter Rebecca would remember her strict Presbyterian upbringing.  The Paxtons would bake bread, black shoes, grind coffee, and do most everything else on Saturday so that all work could be laid aside on Sunday. The family spent long hours and church and spent the afternoon in religious study. John was also a “rank abolitionist” in politics. Indeed the Paxton and Hanna families were quite active in abolitionist activities. Margaret’s brother Robert operated a station on the underground railroad in Mercer, PA. John’s son, Robert, spoke at abolitionist rallies, and John’s other son married a Quaker girl, the couple had likely met through abolitionist activities.

               John died on 11 Nov 1851 and was buried in the old Cadiz cemetery. His will mentioned his wife, two sons, and seven daughters. When he made the will in 1840 only two were married, but by 1851 four were married (including my ancestor Rebecca), and the other three would not marry. John’s older son Robert administered his estate.

John Paxton Sr's gravestone

               However, John’s parents were unknown. Many trees, including find a grave, listed his parents as Thomas Paxton and Ann Crawford. However, an encyclopedia of Pennsylvania settlers described John, the son of Thomas as having married his cousin Martha and having died fairly young, whereas my John had lived to 80 and married a Margaret. I concluded that these were not his parents, but I was still unsure as to who might really be the parent.

               After searching various databases I came up with a viable candidate. John Paxton of Fayette PA died in 1816. His will left almost everything to his son John Jr, and also mentioned John Jr’s children, John III and Mary S Paxton. However, John Jr refused to administer the estate because he was in Ohio. Now this lined up with my John Paxton as my John spent much of his life in Ohio and also had a daughter always referred to as “Mary S”. My John did not have a known son named John, but the early censuses recorded an older boy living with the family so it was likely that they had a son who died or left and was not included in the 1840 will. Also if John jr returned to Pennsylvania to take over his father’s land, that might explain why so many of his children were born there. Finally there is a John Paxton living in Fayette in 1820 that approximates my John Paxton’s family at that time.

               I’m not sure I’ll every be 100% certain of the identities of John’s parents, but I’m fairly well convinced that John Paxton Sr. is likely the father.