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The Barney History Project: The people, places, and stories of Barney, Georgia

Charles Dorothus Paxson and Household #197

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Charles Dorothus Paxson was a sawmill operator and landholder in Barney during the town's early railroad period. The 1900 census recorded his surname as Paxton and placed him, his wife Lena, and four children in Household 197. Contemporary newspapers also used Paxon and Paxton.

The Valdosta Times printed “C. D. Parson” among Barney's first council nominees in December 1903. The initials, unusual surname, Barney residence, business standing, and absence of a matching Parson make Charles D. Paxson the strong-probable intended man. Because the printed article says Parson, the identification is not treated as literal proof of election or council service.

Household Snapshot

The 1870 Walton County census placed ten-year-old Charles Paxson in the household of Benjamin and Sarah E. Paxson. The 1880 census explicitly recorded twenty-year-old C. D. Paxson as their son. He married Lena A. Hale in Walton County on November 14, 1889.

By 1900 the family lived at Barney. Charles rented his home, could read and write, and worked in saw milling. Lena reported four children born and four living. Their household contained Lamar, Annie B., Olive, and Thelma; all six family members were born in Georgia.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

  • During Barney's 1899 smallpox outbreak, the Atlanta Constitution reported that R. Paxton died while visiting his brother, C. D. Paxton. The broader newspaper sequence identifies the dead man as Robert and ties both brothers to Barney's milling economy. See the Robert Paxson dossier.
  • The Adel News called C. D. Paxson a Barney sawmill man on January 25, 1901, and placed him in Adel again that September.
  • On December 5, 1903, the Valdosta Times printed “C. D. Parson” in Barney's first nominated council slate. The strong-probable Paxson identification is explained on the Government and Early Officers page.
  • The 1910 census placed Charles and Lena at 516 River Street in Valdosta. Charles worked as a salesman connected with his own mill. Their daughter Annabelle married Lewis Gustavus Stowers at the family's Hill Avenue home in 1912.
  • Charles later farmed in South Miami. His 1933 obituary said he had lived in Dade County for eighteen years and named Lena and four surviving adult children.

Barney Property

Original deeds show that Paxson participated in both the railroad-side town plat and the developing street grid west of it:

  • On April 22, 1899, commissioner C. W. Ryall conveyed Paxson a half-acre known as Barney lot 13 in LL278 for $35. The parcel fronted Ninth Street and measured 200 by 108 feet. Paxson sold the same lot to W. C. Edenfield on October 23, 1899, for $40. Both instruments are recorded in Deed Book P, pages 58–59.
  • F. B. Walker conveyed Paxson a 110-by-200-foot LL321 parcel on August 15, 1901, for $50. It is recorded in Deed Book O, page 504.
  • Paxson returned that LL321 parcel to Walker on January 25, 1904, for $350. The deed is recorded in Deed Book Q, pages 11–12. One written course appears internally inconsistent, so the deed supports the ownership transaction but not a closed modern polygon without interpretation.

Several mortgage-index entries also name Paxson and banks in Adel or Quitman. The underlying instruments have not all been inspected, so they are not used here to claim additional ownership.

1900 Census Household

Name Relation Age Birthplace Occupation
Charles Paxton Head 40 Georgia Saw Milling
Lina Paxton Wife 26 Georgia —
Lamar Paxton Son 9 Georgia —
Annie B Paxton Daughter 8 Georgia —
Olive Paxton Daughter 6 Georgia —
Thelma Paxton Daughter 2 Georgia —

Children and Later Trails

  • James Lamar Paxson later served as a county commissioner in Florida.
  • Annabelle Paxson married Lewis Gustavus Stowers in Valdosta on Christmas Eve 1912.
  • Olive Paxson married Newton J. Beaver and lived in South Miami.
  • Thelma Paxson appeared in the 1900 household but not in 1910. No death or burial record has been located.
  • Eva Paxson, born after the 1900 census, appeared with the family in 1910. Charles's obituary called her Mrs. Eva Floyd; Lena's later obituary called her Mrs. Jack Miller. The intervening marriage record remains unlocated.

Charles died at South Miami on March 14, 1933. His obituary described him as a seventy-four-year-old farmer and said he had been ill for two weeks. He was buried at Miami Memorial Park. Lena died in 1955.

Sources still needed

  • Death or burial record for Thelma Paxson, who appears in 1900 and is absent by 1910.
  • Marriage record for Eva Paxson's possible later marriage to Jack Miller. The 1933 and 1955 obituaries imply a change from Floyd to Miller, but the marriage record has not been located.
  • Direct adult records for Olive Paxson Beaver and Annabelle Paxson Stowers beyond the obituary and census trail.
  • A primary source explaining Lena Hale Paxson's reported migration from Monroe County to Miami in her 1955 obituary.

June 14, 2026 continuation check: FamilySearch confirmed Thelma Paxton only in the 1900 census, attached to Charles and Lina Paxton; no death or burial record surfaced in the parent-linked search. Eva appeared in the 1910 Valdosta household and as an Eva L. Paxson residence-database hit with July 1903 birth, but no visible marriage record to Jack Miller appeared. These are useful index checks, but they do not close the Thelma death or Eva remarriage gaps.

Primary Sources

Unresolved Items

  • Thelma Paxson (b. ~1898): Present in 1900 census, absent from 1910. She likely died between 1900 and 1910 at age 2-12. A live Ancestry recheck on 14 June 2026 found a tree entry giving death in 1910, but no primary death record appeared in the visible results. Treat the 1910 death year as secondary-only until a death, burial, church, cemetery, or family Bible record is found.
  • Hale family connection to Barney households: No connections found. The Paxson and Hale families were from Walton County, not Brooks County.
  • Eva's possible remarriage to Jack Miller: She is listed as Mrs. Eva Floyd in Charles's 1933 obituary and as Mrs. Jack Miller (Germany) in Lena's 1955 obituary. This may indicate remarriage between 1933 and 1955, but no marriage record has been located.

Research status: Paxson's identity, marriage, household, sawmill work, Barney land transactions, later migration, death, and burial are supported. His placement behind the newspaper's printed “C. D. Parson” is strong probable. Proof of election or council service, the full mortgage record, Thelma's fate, and Eva's later marriage remain unresolved.

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