WILLIAM HOSACK PAXTON, of the firm of Paxton Brothers, a highly respected citizen of Canonsburg, is a descendant of one of the oldest families in Washington county, Penn. John Paxton, grandfather of subject, was a native of York county, and came to Washington county in 1782. He married Martha Paxton, also a native of York, who when a child, crossed the mountains on horseback, in coming to Washington county. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Paxton settled in CHartiers township, where they died. The children born of their union were: Thomas (who married Miss Jane Mills), Eliza (who married John Nesbit, and lived on a farm in CHartiers township, where she and her husband died; they had no children), Isaac, Samuel (who married Miss Harsha, by whom he had two sons and one daughter), and John. John Paxton, father of subject was born in Canton township, September 10, 1810. He worked on his father's farm until about sixteen years of age, and then went to Washington, Penn., where he learned the saddle and harness trade, which he followed exclusively until 1856, when, in partnership with Matthew Wilson, he engaged in butchering and stock dealing. He was a man of more than ordinary ability and energy, traits of character that manifested themselves at an early date. When a small boy, he, in company with a sister, raised a crop of oats, threshed them with a flail, and carried them on horseback to Washington, where they sold them. Money was scarce in those days and strict economy was practiced, one pair of shoes being made to last a year. Mr. Paxton married Mrs. Elizabeth (Wilson) Power, a widow, and daughter of Henry and Jane (Dill) Wilson. By her first marriage, Mrs. Power had two daughters, Margaret and Anna Power. Margaret Power married Thomas Bell. He went to California in 1852, during the gold fever, and died there in 1855. To this union was born one daughter, Anna. Mrs. Bell, after her husband's death, lived in her stepfather's family until her death, which occurred June 6, 1889. Anna Power married David Hart, and they made their home with William and Oliver L. Paxton, in Canonsburg. Henry and Jane (Dill) Wilson, parents of Mrs. John Paxton, lived on a farm in South Strabane township. They were members of the Presbyterian Church. Four sons and two daughters were born to them, viz.: Dill (a farmer by occupation, who married but had no children), Matthew (who learned the saddle and harness trade with his brother-in-law, John Paxton), Thomas (who graduated from Jefferson College, studied for the ministry, graduated in theology, became a Presbyterian minister, and married Miss Margaret Sanders, of Baltimore, and by her had two sons, Morris and Calvin D., both of whom are Presbyterian ministers), Samuel J. (who graduated from Washington College, and at Allegheny Theological Seminary, and was for many years, at the time of his death, professor of theology in Allegheny Theological Seminary; he had one son and two daughters, viz.: Robert D., a lawyer in Allegheny county, unmarried; Catherine and Jane, both of whom are married), Jane (who married Louis Guthrie, a tailor of Moundsville, W. Va.), and Elizabeth (who was first married to Mr. Power and afterward to John Paxton). Mr. and Mrs. Paxton were members of the Presbyterian Church. He died December 24, 1890, at the age of eighty-one. Mrs. Paxton was born December 10, 1809, and died October 29, 1858. Their marriage was blessed with seven sons and two daughters, a brief history of whom follows: (1) Wilson N. Paxton graduated from Jefferson College in 1856, went South as a teacher, and after returning to Canonsburg, Penn., read law. He was admitted to the bar of Allegheny county, and practiced his profession in Pittsburgh. In 1862, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served three years as second lieutenant. He was taken prisoner at Gettysburg on the second day of the fight, carried to Libby Prison, and remained there and at other prisons twenty months. He was promoted to the captaincy of his company, and is now in the pension office at Washington, D.C. He married Miss Emily J. Newkrik, but has no children. (2) Thomas Paxton is engaged in the butcher and cattle business. He enlisted in Company D, Tenth Regiment, P.R.V.C. Reserves, in April, 1861, and was killed at Spottsylvania, May 9, 1864, being shot through the bowels while doing picket duty. He was never married. (3) Martha Jane Paxton died January 24, 1890, unmarried. (4) John R. Paxton graduated from Jefferson College with honors. At the time of the commencement of the Civil war, in 1861, he was in the junior class at college. He enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers; Captain Frazier, of this company, was professor in Jefferson College. At the close of the war, Mr. Paxton came home and re-entered Jefferson College, where he graduated. He then entered the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, graduated there, and also at Princeton Theological Seminary. He married Miss Mary L. Lindsay, of Allegheny. His first charge was Churchville, Maryland, from there to Harrisburg, and then to Washington, D.C. He is now minister of the West Presbyterian Church, New York City. His marriage was blessed by four children, of whom one son and one daughter are now living. (5) William Hosack, subject of our sketch. (6) Oliver L. Paxton, who was born March 23, 1848, and educated in the common schools. He is engaged in buying and shipping stock, in partnership with his brother, William Hosack. (7) Mary E. Paxton married Rev. W. F. Connor, a Methodist minister, of Johnstown, Penn. To them have been born two daughters, Mabel and Bessie. (8) Matthew H. Paxton was born in 1854. He entered Jefferson Academy, and completed his education at La Fayette, Penn. He was appointed assistant paymaster of the Government under Maj. Keefer, and traveled over the Northwest and Southwest. He was married in Walla Walla, Wash., and was stationed for a time in Newport, Ky., but disliking to travel, he resigned his position as assistant paymaster, and located in Walla Walla, where he has been elected county assessor and appraiser three times, and where he owns land and is engaged in the real-estate business. William Hosack Paxton, the subject of this biographical sketch, was born March 9, 1846, in Canonsburg. Politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Paxton ranks among the prominent business men of Canonsburg, and is highly respected both in social and commercial circles.

Text taken from page 231 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed March 1997 by Victoria Smith of San Jose, CA as part of the Beers Project. Published March 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

[ [Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]