Frank Paxton, Jr.

Frank Paxton, Jr. had a different approach to genealogy: Instead of documenting just his own family line, he wrote the history of 23 branches of the Paxton family from the time they came to America. This work occupied much of his free time for more than a quarter of a century. During those years, Frank also built the family lumber company into the nation’s largest hardwood distributor, served as a police commissioner and was an avid golfer.

Frank started his research as a favor to his aunt, Mary Paxton Keeley. Mary was the childhood friend of Bess Wallace Truman and the first woman graduate of the journalism school at the University of Missouri. In the late 1960s, she felt it was imperative that the family genealogy be compiled, but she believed she was too old for the task. In fact, Aunt Mary would live to be 100.

In the era before the internet, Frank developed vast amounts of time to his project. He wrote letters and waited for responses. He traveled to distant libraries and archives (making sure to take change for the copy machines). He filled notebooks with correspondence and supporting materials. He cut and pasted drafts.

Frank was doing what he expected to be the final edits on his work at the time of his death in 1997. His widow, Millie Heath Paxton, wanted to complete Frank's project. She enlisted Christie Kennard to finish preparing the manuscript for publication.

The two-volume set is a compendium of biographical sketches and photos. It includes maps and military records. For the general reader, it is a slice of Americana. Frank looked for, and found, multi-generational family talents and interests. For members of the Paxton family, it is a summary of who many of our ancestors were, where and how they lived, and the events that shaped their lives.   

About the author:
Frank Paxton, Jr. was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1918. He attended the University of Washington. Frank attained the rank of major in the United States Army during World War II. He worked in the family business for more than 40 years, becoming president of the Frank Paxton Lumber Company on his father's death in 1951. Governor Joseph Teasdale appointed him to be a police commissioner in Kansas City in the 1970s. Frank was a friend of Thomas Hart Benton and served as the founding chairman of the Thomas Hart Benton Associates.  

Heather Paxton
May 2016
Daughter of Frank Paxton, Jr.