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JAMES PAYNE

        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.

Compiled and contributed by Charles Dawkins, Hattiesburg, MS

Above Photos Courtesy of William Tynes, Birmingham, AL

Payne's Landing Map

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

Payne's Landing Ledger

dated 19 Dec 1829 to 24 May 1830

Click on link then click on image to enlarge.

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James Payne's store ledger courtesy of Henry Brandt, Council Bluffs,  Iowa

Digitally photographed by James Bruce, Council Bluffs Iowa

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