Paul was born with the last name of Fountain. While being married and the father of three girls, he met an "older" women whom he "kept company" with. Her name was Ella Filson and she was very wealthy. Her adoption of Paul allowed him to inherit all of her estate upon her death without the threat of a sucessful challenge from the rest of her family. The adoption and subsequent inheritance had a greater impact on him and his family than even he expected.

Some of the fallout:

Paul's father, Rev. George Fountain was very proud of his family name and it's place in history. Paul's father was the one who introduced Ella to Paul as one of his parishioners. Rev. Fountain was so appalled by his son's relationship with her and his willingness to "sell" the Fountain family name that he disowned Paul completely after the adoption went through. Paul went by Filson the rest of his life.

Paul Wright Fountain Filson