Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
1883 - 1964 (81 years)| Name | William Claudius PACK [3, 4, 5, 6] | |
| Birth | 28 Jul/27 Aug 1883 | Clarendon County, South Carolina  [7] |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | Per the article- William Claudius Pack is the great-great-grandson of Joseph Pack the original settler of Packville (Paxville), South Carolina- there appears to be a missing generation. jkh 'Peaceful Village' oldest in Clarendon County? Posted: Sunday, February 20, 2011 6:00 am | Updated: 7:33 pm, Fri Feb 18, 2011. BY SAMMY WAY Item Historian THE LAND GRANT The small community of Paxville is believed to be the oldest town in Clarendon County and was once a part of a land grant awarded by King George III to three men. These early settlers were Daniel Kelly from Ireland, Joseph Pack from England, and a Mr. Bird from Scotland. Pack was given the largest portion of the 10,000-acre tract of woodlands, and he gave the early settlement its original name of Packsland. It was noted in an article printed in the Item in 1965 that there was only one male member of the original Pack family left in the community. James Pack, a local merchant, was listed as the last heir to the Pack name residing in Paxville at that time. THE VILLAGE The village continued to grow and soon constructed a post office to dispense mail to the local residents. Letters and packages were shipped via the Santee River by boat and were brought to the settlement on horseback (Pony Express) twice a week. In 1889 a rail line was extended through Paxville allowing for mail to be delivered daily. The mail service was often disrupted due to the similarity of Packsville and Parksville, and residents in these two locations frequently received one another's packages. The solution came in the form of a name change. Historic records indicate that it was a Pastor Huggins who made the suggestion to change the name to Paxville. The Latin word pax, meaning peace, was combined with ville or village, thus creating Paxville, or "Peaceful Village." The new title was quickly approved by the Post Office Department and continues to this day. Paxville continued to expand at a rapid rate due to the large number of settlers moving to the community to purchase land. The new residents constructed homes and operated successful businesses. Principally, three men are credited with helping Paxville make tremendous advances; they were Jack McLeod, F.G. Geddings and George H. Curtis. McLeod raised 22 children, who became some of the leading residents in the Paxville community. Geddings was a skilled farmer, who was also very active in the religious life of the village and soon became a steward in the Methodist church. Another of his passions was education; he eventually served on the board of trustees of the local public school he was instrumental in founding. Curtis came from Hartford, Conn., and became the area's most prosperous resident. He is credited with providing a vast amount of resources and demonstrating excellent leadership during the initial stage of settlement. Many historians and residents credit him with being the founder of the community; he built a large house and a store there in 1875. With the arrival of the railroad, Curtis was selected to serve as the first depot agent of Paxville. He shared the same commitment to education as F.G. Geddings and gave a section of land where the community built a school. Farming proved to be the leading industry in Paxville. Cotton was the principal crop, and soon developers built a number of gins that provided many jobs for the local residents. Growing cotton proved to be a profitable enterprise that led to several stores being constructed - which in turn attracted a number of customers to the area. THE SCHOOL The Paxville community was experiencing unprecedented growth during the early20th century. The founding fathers realized that a new school would be required to keep pace with the growing population of young people in the rapidly growing village. The community had previously constructed a school which was well-maintained; however, there was an obvious need for a large, modern school facility staffed with equipment and teachers to meet the future educational needs of Paxville's children. The residents held an election, which resulted in a strong vote of confidence authorizing the sale of bonds to meet the cost of constructing this new facility. The plans for the building were prepared by E.J. and W.K. Dunne, an architectural firm located in Sumter. The building to be constructed was a two-story brick structure featuring a red-tiled roof and a basement. It was designed to provide a number of classrooms to meet both the present and future needs of the students. The building included a large assembly hall, cloak rooms and a number of modern conveniences. The estimated cost of the facility was $12,000, and construction was scheduled to begin as soon as possible. The school eventually employed six teachers and ultimately merged with the Manning school system. The first house of worship to be constructed in Paxville was the Baptist church, organized in 1889. The church was built on land given by Mr. and Mrs. William Rogers. The Methodist church was organized in 1892 by the Rev. C.W. Creighton on land that was also donated by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. There is a historical marker placed adjacent to the sanctuary noting the couple's gift of land to the Methodist congregation. This marker was erected by Ms. Ethel Corbett Pritchard. Paxville, like many rural Southern communities, reached its peak with the coming of the railroads. The construction of modern paved highways and the improvement of the automobile led many of its residents to seek shopping opportunities in other communities. The railroad that once encouraged the growth and expansion of industry ceased to operate in the early 1930s. The tracks have since been removed, leaving only a faint reminder of their significance to the community's previous residents. The school has also disappeared, leaving only the memories of those who once attended its classrooms. The city has recently constructed a park on the site where students once played and learned. Paxville, like hundreds of similar communities, has been required to deal with numerous changes wrought by the passage of time; however, today's residents continue to view this area as its name implies, a "peaceful village." The Item Archives and the writings of Robert Raymond and Cassie Nicholes were sources used in preparing this article. Several photos were provided by Wade McLeod. Reach Item archivist Sammy Way at (803) 774-1294. Posted in Reflections on Sunday, February 20, 2011 [6] | |
| Occupation | retired farmer | |
| Religion | Paxville Baptist Church, Paxville, South Carolina, for many years he was a member of the Board of Deacons [7] | |
| _UID | 90D85ADD5B1449EA8825D0BE9B8D0DB768BE | |
| Death | 30 Oct 1964 | at his home in Paxville, South Carolina [8] |
| Burial | 31 Oct 1964 | Paxville Baptist Church Cemetery, Paxville, South Carolina [7, 9] |
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| Person ID | I23214 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 7 Mar 2018 | |
| Father | James DuPre/e PACK, b. 22 Dec 1852, Paxville, Clarendon County, South Carolina d. 5 Nov 1916, Paxville, Clarendon County, South Carolina (Age 63 years) | |
| Mother | Josephine E. /RICHBURG/RICHBOURG BROADWAY, b. 3 Mar 1853 d. 15 Aug 1929 (Age 76 years) | |
| _UID | B6E7177D11A44D379AE83F2A6F538BB1533D | |
| _UID | B6E7177D11A44D379AE83F2A6F538BB1533D | |
| Family ID | F16359 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Annie BAGNAL, b. 21 Sep 1890, Clarendon County, South Carolina d. 15 Jan 1968, Tuomey Hospital, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 77 years) | |||||||||||||||
| Marriage | 20 Feb 1910 [4] | |||||||||||||||
| _UID | E26B6FF73D3A4DCBBEB5B9D354A44EC04771 | |||||||||||||||
| _UID | E26B6FF73D3A4DCBBEB5B9D354A44EC04771 | |||||||||||||||
| Children |
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| Family ID | F16362 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||||||||||
| Last Modified | 22 Nov 2005 | |||||||||||||||
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