John Payne (ca. 1750-1804)
While no records document John Payne’s birth, the 1800 U.S. census indicates he was over age 45, suggesting he was born sometime before 1755.[1] Since he was named for his father, he was likely the first-born son. According to the same census, John’s brother Levin was also born sometime before 1755.[2] Because their father appointed Levin as executor of his will, it is possible that Levin, rather than John, was actually the first-born.[3]
During this generation, the surname spelling shifted from “Paine” or “Pain” to the increasingly popular spelling “Payne.”
John’s Role in the Revolutionary War
On December 12, 1774, delegates to the Second Maryland Convention voted to form militia companies composed of the gentlemen, freeholders, and other freemen in Maryland. In the summer of 1775, the Convention provided more details on how to establish militia companies and captains were instructed to submit their militia company rolls to the committee of observation by October 1.
Many colonists living in Worcester and Somerset counties opposed the Revolution, and farmers in the lower Eastern Shore regularly supplied British ships in the Chesapeake. In February 1777, the Continental Congress directed Maryland to use the militia to suppress British sympathizers and arrest ringleaders of the insurgents. Others were granted amnesty if they surrendered their arms and took an oath of fidelity within forty days.[4]
Although John’s personal views on the rebellion are not documented, he served in the militia and took an oath of fidelity to the new Maryland State government. On March 2, 1778, Nehemiah Holland sent a letter to the governor listing all the men who had taken the oath of fidelity to the State of Maryland before him within the time required by law; “John Pain” was included on this list.[5] A “John Pain” also appears on a list of Worcester County militia serving under Captain James Patterson in the Wicomico Battalion, dated July 15, 1780.[6] John’s brothers Levin and Samuel also served in the militia.
John’s Wife and Children
John appears to have married Elizabeth Porter, the maternal niece of his neighbor James Virdin, in the late 1770s or early 1780s. Although no marriage record survives, John’s will mentions a wife named Elizabeth.[7] Matthew and Mary Porter had a daughter, Betty, born on April 23, 1758, in Rehobeth, Somerset County, Maryland.[8] Matthew Porter’s will bequeathed 40 shillings to his grandsons Levin and James Payne.[9] John’s will lists a son named James but not a son named Levin.[10] However, John Payne was the only Paine/Payne man in the area married to a woman named Elizabeth, and no Paine/Payne men in the region married women named Sarah or Mary (Elizabeth Porter’s sisters). No other Paine/Payne men in the area had sons named Levin and James. Most likely Levin Payne died before John wrote his will in 1804.
Further evidence supports this connection: Matthew Porter purchased land from Zorobabel Hill in 1790,[11] and Hill was John Payne’s neighbor in 1793.[12] John also lived next to James Virdin, Elizabeth Porter’s maternal uncle.[13] This also supports a conclusion that John Payne married Elizabeth Porter. John’s land was located near Rehobeth, where Elizabeth Porter was born. Together, these connections strongly support the conclusion that John Payne married Elizabeth Porter.
John and Elizabeth had four sons (Levin, James, Jacob and Joshua) and three daughters (Elizabeth, Polly, and Eleanor).
John’s Livelihood
John Payne appears to have been a successful, self-sufficient farmer, with enough wealth to enjoy a comfortable standard of living. He focused primarily on agricultural production and household manufacturing. In 1777, he inherited a parcel land from his father. This land, part of Townsend’s Mistake, bordered the properties of Zorobabel Hill and James Virdin’s land.[14] John appears to have purchased additional land during his lifetime, as he referenced such a purchase in his will, though no deed for this acquisition has been located.
The inventory filed after John’s death in 1804 shows that he owned substantial livestock and household furnishings.[15] A final accounting of debts paid to John’s estate, totally more than $1,200, indicates that he ranked in the upper-middle economic range for rural Marylanders.[16]
While John’s land was originally in Mattapany Hundred, his estate became part of a new Hundred that was formed in the 1780s called Pitts Creek Hundred. A 1783 tax assessment for Pitts Creek Hundred shows that John owned 100 acres of land.[17] In 1793, two surveys were conducted to establish the boundaries of John Payne’s land and that of his neighbors.[18]
John’s Death
John Payne signed his will on May 28, 1804.[19] He left bequeaths to his wife Elizabeth, his sons Joshua, James and Jacob, and his daughters Betsey, Polly and Nelly. He appointed his son James and his friend William Aydelott executors of his estate. The will was witnessed by his brother, Wrixham Payne, and Wrixham’s wife Susanna.
John appears have died soon afterward, as his will was probated in court on June 26, 1804. The inventory of his estate was filed in court on August 7, 1804, with his brother Wrixham and sister Rebecca listed as the nearest next of kin.[20] At the time of his death, many individuals owed John money. Two lists of debts owed to the estate, totaling $244, were filed with the court in 1804[21] and 1806[22]. A final accounting of debts paid to his estate, totaling $943, was submitted on February 27, 1807.[23]
Footnotes
[1] 1800 U.S. census, Worcester, Maryland, p. 182, John Payne https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7590/images/4440897_00189?pId=112373.
[2] 1800 U.S. census, Worcester, Maryland, p. 180, Levin Payne https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7590/images/4440897_00187?pId=112179.
[3] Maryland. Worcester County. Wills Liber J.W. 1790-99, pp. 331-332 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBJ-S5PF?i=171&cc=1803986&cat=66222.
[4] Clements, S. Eugene & Wright, F. Edward. The Maryland militia in the revolutionary war. (Silver Spring MD: Family Line Publications, 1987).
[5] Maryland Historical Society. MS 3088 Box 2 Folder 76 Oath of Fidelity Worcester Nehemiah Holland. Available at the Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore MD.
[6] Maryland Historical Society. MS 1146, Box 1 Folder 17746 1777-1780 Rosters, Worcester County Militia Companies. Available at the Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore MD.
[7] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.B.R., 1803-1806, pp. 155-158 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-STFH?i=91&cc=1803986.
[8] "Maryland, Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYGX-HMPZ : 12 February 2020), Matthew Porter in entry for Betty Porter, 1758.
[9] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.W., 1790-99, p. 138 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-SRZC?i=72&cc=1803986.
[10] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.B.R., 1803-1806, pp. 155-158 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-STFH.
[11] Maryland, Worcester County. Land Records, Liber N, 1788-91, pp. 288-289 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QC-6SB8-9.
[12] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber P, 1792-94, pp. 113-114 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JQ-5.
[13] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber P, 1792-94, pp. 65-67 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JF-Z.
[14] Maryland. Worcester County. Wills Liber J.W. 1790-99, pp. 331-332, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBJ-S5PF.
[15] Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, 1804-06, pp. 88-91 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBJ-9XGH.
[16] Maryland, Worcester. Administrators Accounts, 1805-1812, pp. 100-101 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBV-95DP.
[17] Maryland, Worcester. 1783 Tax Records. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s1400/s1437/html/1437wo.html.
[18] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber P, 1792-94, pp. 65-67 and 113-114 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JF-Z and https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JQ-5.
[19] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.B.R., 1803-1806, pp. 155-158 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-STFH?i=91&cc=1803986.
[20] Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, 1804-06.
[21] Maryland, Worcester. Index Inventories, Liber JBR, No. 7, 1804-1806, p. 107 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYH-B7PK.
[22] Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, 1806-1808, p. 32 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-9DQK.
[23] Maryland, Worcester. Administrators Accounts, 1805-1812.
John Payne’s Will
In the name of God amen I John Payne of Worcester County in the State of Maryland being sick and weak in body but of sound and disproving mind memory and understanding and calling to mind the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time thereof and being desirous to settle my worldly affairs do make & ordain this my last will and testament in manner & form following.
Item I give and bequeath to my loving wife Elizabeth Payne all my lands, during her natural life or widowhood, and also my big horse and old mare and my old yoke of oxen and one head of sheep & also twenty five head of hogs and my best bed and furniture and my desk all sitting chairs and my large chest & one spinning wheel also all my bacon and one ??? of pork and also ninety baskets of corn and also ten head of cattle her choice and all the fowls and also all my farming utensils and all my kitchen and furniture and all my tables and my canoe and all my sider casks and barrels and also my hand mill during her natural life or widowhood and after her marriage or death as follows.
Item I give and bequeath unto my son Joshua Payne my plantation and lands, hereto belonging and also my hand mill and my young colt to him his heirs and assigns forever.
Item I give and bequeath unto my son James Payne four hundred and fifty dollars in cash and also my gray horse and also two young pride bulls and one bed and furniture to him his heirs & assigns forever.
Item I give and bequeath unto my son Jacob Payne my plantation that I bought of Mandy Blades lying near Francis Lanes Mill and the woodland thereto belonging and also my young mare and my young yoke of oxen one bed and furniture to him his heirs and assigns forever.
Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Betsey Payne the house where she now dwells and two acres of land where her house stands during her widowhood and after marriage or death to my son Joshua and also ten bushels of corn and one cow and also ten dollars in cash.
Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Polly Payne forty dollars and also three head of young cattle and one bed and furniture to her her heirs and assigns forever.
Item I give and bequeath to my daughter Nelly Payne forty dollars and also three head of young cattle one bed and furniture to her her heirs and assigns forever.
Item I give and bequeath to my two daughters Polly and Nelly Payne all the property that I have given to my wife at her decease to be equally divided between them and also all that is not mentioned in my will except the corn and pork to be equally divided between Polly and Nelly to them their heirs and assigns forever.
Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my son James Payne and William Aydelott whole and sole executors of this my last will & testament revoking and making null and void all former Will or Wills by me heretofore made ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto put my hand and affix my seal to this twenty eighth day of May in the year of our Lord God Eighteen hundred and four.
Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said testator to be his last Will and Testament in presents of us who at his request and in his presents subscribed our names as evidences thereof in the presents of each other. Levi Ellis, Wrixham Payne, Susanna Payne.
John Payne
Worcester County for the 26th day of June Anno Domini 1804 Then came James Payne and made oath on the holy Evangels of almighty god that the forgoing instrument of writing is the true and whole will & testament of John Payne late of Worcester County deceased that hath come to his hands or possession and that he doth not know of any other Before James B. Robins Reg Wills. The 26th day of June Anno Domini 1804 then came Levi Ellis and Wrixham Payne two of the subscribing witnesses to the within and foregoing last Will & Testament of John Payne late of Worcester County deceased and severally made oath on the holy Evangels of almightly God that they did see the testator John Payne sign and seal this will and that they heard him publish pronounce and declare the same to be his last will & testament that at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their apprehension of sound and disproving mind memory and understanding and that they with Susanna Payne the other witness respectively subscribed their names as witnesses to this will in the presence and at the request of the testator and in the presence of each other. Before James B. Robins Reg Wills.
Source: Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.B.R., 1803-1806, pp. 155-158 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-STFH?i=91&cc=1803986.
Inventory of John Payne’s Estate
A true and perfect Inventory of the personal estate of John Payne of Worcester County deceased as appraised by the Subscribers the 26 day of July 1804 Viz.
1 young mare — $30.00
1 grey horse — 55.00
1 old horse large — 65.00
1 mare and colt — 30.00
1 yoke oxen, 1 ditto — 50.00
1 dark cow, 1 ditto bridle — 14.00
7 yearlings — 30.00
1 old cow — 7.00
1 do bundle — 7.00
1 do black — 7.00
1 red cow and calf — 7.00
2 calves — 2.50
10 large hog — 20.00
1 ditto small — 10.00
1 large sow — 2.50
9 large hogs — 18.00
7 pigs — 3.50
10 head of sheep — 12.00
120 bushels of Indian corn — 90.00
2 barrels of pork — 32.00
50 lb of bacon — 6.25
No. 1 feather bed — 14.00
No. 2 feather bed — 16.50
No. 3 ditto old feathers — 11.00
No. 4 feather bed — 12.50
No. 5 ditto — 17.40
1 bed frame, 1 small bed frame — 3.25
1 bed frame — 2.00
5 blankets — 7.00
11 sheets — 12.00
1 comforter — 3.00
16 old bed quilts — 60.00
2 tablecloths — 1.00
4 towels — 0.50
10 old chairs — 2.50
2 chests — 4.00
4 chisels — 1.50
1 old red chest — 1.00
1 safe — 4.50
1 walnut desk — 10.00
1 case & tea bottles — .50
1 candle stand — 0.25
1 gun — 2.50
1 large bible — 3.00
1 lott books — 2.50
2 looking glasses — 0.33
1 ???? — 0.75
½ of an old canoe — 2.00
1 old chair — 0.50
1 old pine table — 0.25
1 spinning wheel — 2.00
1 walnut table — 1.00
1 coffee mill — 0.75
1 dozen plates — 0.50
1 old coffee pot — 0.50
1 large glass tumbler — 0.25
1 decanter — 0.50
1 small ditto — 0.12 ½
1 white cup — 0.12 ½
1 set queens ware — 0.40
1 cream pot & tea spoons — 0.10
1 pitcher & 2 coarse bowls — 0.32
1 chamber pot & lantern — 0.55
10 white plates — 0.67
2 large stone ??? — 1.00
2 butter pots — 0.50
1 chamber pot & 1 small funnel — 37 ½
1 tin quart pot, 1 sifter — 0.22 ½
1 flower ???, 3 covered tubs — 2.00
1 hand bellows, 3 ??? — 2.75
Some sole leather — 0.75
2 old saddles, 2 old bridles — 2.00
15 lb raw tow — 0.90
1 large grind stone — 3.00
50 lb hogs lard — 6.25
1 ½ bushels of allum salt — 1.50
3 fat tubs, 2 barrels — 1.00
15 gallons soft soap — 0.90
1 cart — 8.00
5 barrels, 3 old barrels — 5.50
1 old cask & some wheat — 1.00
3 cockle rakes, 1 hand mill — 3.00
1 cross cut saw, 1 cider funnel — 2.12 ½
18 old casks — 18.00
59 sheaves of flax — 7.00
1 large cypress tub, 1 pair ??? — 1.75
10 gallons tar — 1.50
63 ½ lbs dirty wool — 11.43
1 large basket, 1 case of knives & fork — 1.00
1 candle stick, 12 old sppons — 1.12
3 old plou bolts & ??? — 3.25
2 old har??? & 1 set of harrow hoes — 2.00
2 spades & 1 shovel — 2.00
1 ox chain, 3 weeding, 2 ??? hoes — 3.25
3 logwood axes, 1 broad ax — 3.50
4 old baskets, 1 pair fire tongs — 1.25
1 frying pan, 1 tea kettle — 1.25
1 small iron pot, 1 large pot & ??? — 2.40
1 common size pot — 1.75
1 pair flesh forks & 3 old buckets — 0.30
3 washing tubs, 1 hammer — 0.70
1 iron bound ??undelett — 0.33
58 lb broke flax — 3.48
1 flax brake, 1 ox yoke — 1.50
1 pair iron ??dges — 0.75
1 pair sheep shears — 0.25
17 ????? — 4.25
4 turkeys — 1.20
$787.20
John Stevenson Wm Aydelett Greatest Creditor
Jno Holland John Stevenson Sworn Appraisers
Wrixham Payne Rebeca Watson Nearest Kin
Worcester County. The 17th day of August Anno Domini 1804. Then came James Payne acting Executor of the last will and testament of John Payne late of Worcester County deceased and made Oath on the holy Evangelis of Almighty God that the within and foregoing is a true and perfect inventory of all and singular the goods and Chattels of the said deceased that have come to his hands or possession at the time of the making thereof and that what hath since or shall hereafter come to his hands or possession he will return in an additional Inventory. That he knows of no concealment of any part or parcel of the deceased estate by any person whatsoever and that if he shall hereafter discover any Concealment or suspect any to be he will acquaint the Register of wills therewith that it may be enquired into according to Law.
Before James T. Robins Reg Wills.
Source: Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, 1804-06, pp. 88-91 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBJ-9XGH.