Stephen J. Payne

PAYNE, LEWIS, SEWARD, BEAUMONT, DAVIS

Posted By: Karen DaPra (email)
Date: 11/4/2001 at 06:20:03

Taken from "Centennial History of Argentine, Kansas City, Kansas 1880-1980":

CAPTAIN STEPHEN J. PAYNE'S FAMILY AND DESCENDANTS

Captain Stephen J. Payne served in the War of 1812. His wife was Ruth Lewis (Payne). Captain Stephen J. Payne died in Indiana.

Stephen J. Payne Jr. (1817-1863) was born in Indiana. His wife was Mary E. Steward (Payne). Stephen Payne moved from Indiana to Kentucky, then to Springfield, Illinois and from there to McDough [sic] County, Illinois in 1838. In 1842 they moved to VanBuren County, Iowa and then on to Jackson County, Missouri in 1854 and finally they settled in Wyandotte County, Kansas in 1855.

Stephen and Mary Payne had eleven children. John S. Payne was born in 1840 in McDough [sic] County, Illinois. Thomas J. Payne was born in 1842 in VanBuren County, Iowa. Lewis V. Payne was the first white male born in Jackson County, Missouri. They were one of the first families to settle in Wyandotte County, Kansas. They stayed with Captain Joe Parks in Rosedale, Kansas for two years and then moved to Turner, Kansas. The other sons of Stephen and Mary Payne were William J. Payne, Henry B. Payne and Afred [sic] E. Payne. The Payne family was the first white family to settle in the Shawnee Township. They settled in the vicinity of 50th and Metropolitan. They were staunch Abolitionists and a very good friend of James Lane, who was the first United States Senator for Kansas.

Bill Anderson, a bushwacker, came to the Payne's home on July 31, 1863 and knocked on the front door. When Stephen J. Payne opened the door, Bill Anderson shot and killed him in front of his family and then burned down the Payne's home.

Lewis V. Payne (Luke), son of Stephen J. Payne, Jr., married Annie Beaumont in 1889. They had four children, Elsie, Lennie, John and William. William remains the only living child of this union.

Louis V. Payne was a car inspector for the Santa Fe Railroad. He died in 1930.

John A. Payne was born July 10, 1893 in Wyandotte County, Kansas. He married Bessie M. Davis (Payne) in 1923. They have three children. Delmar V., Vona C., and Betty A. John worked at the Elevator A as an electrician. He died September 20, 1977.