William G. Edwards and Paulina Melvina Renfro Edwards were the maternal grandparents of Birdie Rhyne Simpson. William G. Edwards was born February 20, 1818 in North Carolina, where his parents were also born. Paulina Melvina Renfro was the daughter of Absalom Carty Renfro and Levica Shelby Tipton. Her father, Absalom C.