Submitted by Charles Dawkins of Hattiesburg, MS
Jane Wood Payne
James Payne
Above Photos Courtesy of William Tynes, Birmingham, AL
James Payne was born in Culpepper County, Virginia in 1801.
Exactly when he came to the Natchez District is not known, but
the earliest record for him shows him to be a Master Mason at
Harmony Masonic Lodge in Natchez in 1827 and 1830 and a member in
1831 and 1834.
In 1829-30 he had a store at Payne's Landing
on the Mississippi River a few miles from the Maryland Settlement,
now known as Church Hill.
He married Jane Caroline Wood on
January 30, 1828, and they had ten children. She was the daughter of
Col. James Gillam Wood and Martha Young Wood, who migrated to
Jefferson County in 1811 from Maryland.
Col. Wood, who
provided homes for all of his children, built Oak Grove for the
couple in 1829. It still stands today, and it was in the attic of
this house where the store ledger from Payne's Landing was found.
In addition to Payne's Landing he also was co-owner of a store
in Rodney and was apparently a land speculator. His net worth was
estimated to be $133,500 in 1850. Yet when he died his entire estate
consisted of one gray horse and one gold watch worth a total of$200,
and he was $36,377.96 in debt.
James Payne died June 16, 1853
while visiting Cooper's Wells. His body was transported from there
to Rodney and he is buried in the Wood family cemetery on property
now part of the Cedars, another home built by Col. Wood, which
adjoins Oak Grove.
His tombstone reads, "James Payne, a
Virginian, who died 1853 in the 52nd. Year of his age.
Map section from a map of MS River Plantations compiled and published by John La Tourette, New Orleans, LA; designed and engraved by Peter J. Grassner, 1853
James Payne's store
ledger courtesy of Henry Brandt, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Digitally photographed by James Bruce, Council Bluffs Iowa
Click on link to see the image. It will open in a new window. Some of the pages have surnames noted, others are not transcribed.
PAGE NUMBER-SURNAMES ON PAGE
1 - Skinner
2 - Skinner - Savage - Hinds
3 - Hinds- Cocks (Cox)
4 - Baker - Cocks (Cox)
5 - Cocks (Cox)
6 - Cocks (Cox)
7 - Cocks (Cox) - Shields
8 - Shields - Baker - Hinds - Tucker - Green - Scriber - Steele - Elam - Donaho - Wm Robb Estate - Foster
9 - Foster - Donaho - Cocks (Cox) - Skinner - Wood - Wilson - Wilkerson - Tucker - Scriber
10 - Foster - Wood
11 - Wood - West - Cocks (Cox) - Hinds - Savage
12 - Helm - Savage - Wm Robb Estate - Foster - Wood
13 - Ross - Savage - Tucker - Wilson
14 - Wilson - Wood - Clark - Donaho - Foster - Skinner - Elam - Steele
15 - Tucker - Est. Robt. Turner - Wilson - Skinner - Scott - Foster - Steele - Ross - Rawling - Young
16 - Donaho - Wood - Adams - Tucker - Wilson - Williamson - Green - Foster
17 - Clark - Rawlings - Foster - Helm - Donaho - Elam - Freeman - Payne - Adams
18 - Noble - Thomas - Steele - Helm - Wilkerson - Smith - Rawlings - Wood - Payne - Wm Robb Estate - Tucker
19 - Young - Turner - Wilson - Skinner - Noble - Scriber - Steele
20 - Longacre - Elam - Conklin - Donaho - Wood - Scott - Fitzgerald - Rawlings - Baker - Turner
21 - Green - Foster - Baker - Donaho - Cain - Williams - Foster - Scriber - Shields
22 - Scriber - Elam - Smith - Vincent - Foster - Wood - Donaho - Wilkerson - Adams - Noble - Skinner - Payne - Robert Turner Estate - Scott
23 - Donaho - Cocks (Cox) - Elam - Williamson - Clark - Foster - Green - Wm Robb Estate - Robert Turner Estate - Wilkerson - Wilson - Coleman
24 - Z B Jones Estate - Turner - Skinner - Scriber - Williams - Donaho - Helm
25 - Helm - Donaho - Williamson - Vincent - Rawlings - Elam
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Misc-Scrap found between pages 16 and 17
Front Cover
Back Cover
Inside Front Cover
Spine
