Stephen Paxson

Stephen Paxson
1837-1881
Stephen Paxson was born with a speech impediment and later nicknamed “Stuttering Stephen.” He also was crippled and was lame for life. Paxson was a hatter by trade, but also was the favorite fiddler for Saturday night dances. His daughter, Mary, begged her father to attend church and help her win a prize. He was pressed into service and taught a class of boys. They read the Scripture, and he asked questions out of a book. After accepting Christ, Paxson showed sincerity in voluntary service. He became a missionary of the American Sunday School Union.

Paxson often returned east to raise money for libraries to establish Sunday Schools. The sophisticated audiences wept and laughed alternately, never heeding his grammatical mistakes. They gave liberally. They became a part of founding Sunday Schools in log cabins, tobacco barns, taverns, and dance halls.

The Mississippi Valley Enterprise was one of the most successful in the annals of Sunday School. In 1824 there were 2,000,000 inhabitants unreached with the Gospel. In a 1,300,000-square-mile area, led by Stephen Paxson and other hard working missionaries, the American Sunday School Union established over 61,297 Sunday Schools with 407,244 teachers and enrolled 2,650,784 pupils in 50 years. The area grew to 4,000,000 people.

Stephen Paxson was finally retired to the St. Louis office and died in 1881. He founded 1,314 new Sunday Schools, with 83,000 students.