Millie Lawson Bethell Paxton
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Millie Lawson Bethell Paxton (February 2, 1875 – July 2, 1939) was a Virginian civic leader and political activist.
Early life, education, and career
Millie Paxton was born on February 2, 1875 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States to Alice Lawson. Her recorded father, possibly her stepfather, was Clinton Bethell. She attended the Virginia Seminary and graduated from the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in 1895. She married William H. Paxton on December 25, 1895, and they had two sons and one daughter. Her husband died on October 6, 1901. After the death of her husband, Paxton worked various domestic jobs, and her primary employment was as a truant officer for the Roanoke African-American schools.[1]
Civic leadership and political activism
By 1905, Paxton had organized local chapters of the Independent Order of Calanthe, which were women's organizations affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.[1] She was also vice president of the Missionary Society at the Roanoke First Baptist Church.[1] For several years, Paxton served as president of the auxiliary at the segregated Burrell Memorial Hospital for African Americans.[1] After World War I, she served as the chair of the Roanoke chapter of the Better Homes in America organization.[1]
Paxton was the president of the Colored Women's Voting Club in Roanoke, which by November 2, 1920, after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, reported registering 655 Black women to vote.[2]
Later life and legacy
Paxton suffered from chronic hepatitis and arteriosclerosis in her later life. She died on July 2, 1939 in Roanoke. She was buried at Lincoln Burial Park. When she died, a Virginia newspaper said that she had been "one of Roanoke's most widely known and beloved colored citizens," active "in all phases of civic and religious work."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Edds, Margaret (2020). "Millie Lawson Bethell Paxton (1875–1939)". Dictionary of Virginia Biography,. Library of Virginia. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Edds, Margaret (February 12, 2021). "Paxton, Millie Lawson Bethell (1875–1939)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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