The Paton Line

Marjorie Irene (Schmidt) Paton

Marjorie was the youngest of Kenneth Oswald Schmidt and Nellie Florence Bowland's three children, after Richard Dean and Ronald Ray (see the Schmidt Line and the Bowland Line). She married Frank William Paton on Feb 1, 1949, in Cook County, Illinois — a date confirmed independently by the Cook County marriage index and Frank's own memorial record. She died in 2022, near Elgin, Illinois, at 93.

Frank William Paton

Frank was born in Chicago in 1924 and died in Oak Lawn, Illinois, in 2019, where he is buried at Chapel Hill Gardens South. His marriage to Marjorie and his vital dates are confirmed by his Find a Grave memorial and the Cook County marriage index; his own parents and ancestry have not yet been researched.

Frank William Paton's Parents

No research has begun on Frank's own parents or his own ancestry. His own siblings and children, however, are named in his obituary: Frank was the brother of the late John, Harold, and George Paton, and the father of Richard, James, Roni, and Cindy. His eldest son, Richard Franklin Paton (b. 12 Apr 1950), is Rich Paton — the family researcher who has separately contributed leads on the Dudley and Voudy lines, including a Voudy pedigree chart and testimony on the John H. Dudley parentage question (sources X-PATONTREE, X-GILMANTEST, X-UNCLERICH-2 and others). That relationship, previously undocumented here, was confirmed directly by Blaine in October 2026.

Marjorie was the youngest of three. Her brothers Richard and Ronald are both covered in full on the Schmidt Line.

Frank’s Find a Grave biography states, verbatim: “Husband of Marge for 70 years; father of Richard, James, Roni and Cindy; brother of the late John, Harold and George.” All three Paton brothers predeceased Frank. None has been researched beyond a bare birth year/state from census hints — John (b. 1921, IL), Harold (b. 1923, IL), and George (b. 1926, IL).