In a message dated 08/14/1999 2:34:37 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << My ggrandparents, Phoebe Paxton and James Beardsley lived out their adult lives in Paterson, New Jersey. Family tradtion and the obituary for James Beardsley say that Phoebe Paxton was "...from South Orange, New Jersey," >> Hi Kelvin, My husband's grandfather, Charles Sidney Paxton, was born 8 Feb 1876 in Irving, Kansas. His great grandfather was Everett Obadiah Paxton, born in New Jersey, and his great grandmother was Mattie Ward, born in New Jersey. I haven't been able to locate the exact place of birth for Everett, but I did find an Obadiah Paxton on the 1850 census. He was a 57 year old shoemaker living in Orange, Essex Co., NJ. I assume there is a family connection because of the name "Obadiah." Also, Everett was a harness maker and shoe maker/repairer, as were many of the men I located in Essex Co., NJ. On the 1900 Fed. census, Everett and Mattie's parents are all shown as born in NJ. Assuming Obadiah was born about 1793, he could be your Richard's older brother, or perhaps a cousin. I've done quite a bit of research into the family in NJ, and will check my records to see if I have anything on your branch of the family. Janet Paxton Yorba Linda, CA