Moses Payne (ca. 1768-1815)

There are no records documenting the birth of Jacob and Tabitha Payne’s son Moses. According to the 1810 U.S. census, he was born between 1766 and 1784.[1] He must have been born before 1772 since his father named him in a will written that year.[2] A birth date of about 1768 is an educated guess.

During this generation, the surname spelling shifted from “Paine” or “Pain” to the increasingly popular spelling “Payne.”

Moses’s Uncle and Guardian

In his will signed on February 7, 1772, Moses’s father bequeathed Moses “the plantation and land whereon I now dwell after his uncle’s decease,” together with his long gun and new hat.[3] Jacob further asked that his brother Moses “have the care and charge” of Moses until he reached the age of twenty-one. 

After Moses’s father died between December 11, 1772, when he wrote a codicil to his will, and August 14, 1773, when the will was probated, Moses probably went to live with his uncle Moses, as his father had directed. His uncle Moses named him in his will dated October 19, 1792.[4] The elder Moses bequeathed his nephew the bulk of his estate, including several enslaved people, and named him executor of his estate. Moses probated his uncle’s estate on May 23, 1794. 

Moses’s Life in Worcester County, Maryland

It appears that Moses was active in Worcester County society and business. He owned and presumably farmed land that he inherited from his father and uncle. While he inherited several enslaved persons from his uncle Moses, he freed these individuals on June 9, 1794.[5] He witnessed a deed and a land survey involving his cousin John Payne.[6] There are multiple records of debts paid to him and debts he owed to others.[7]

Moses’s Move to Woodford County, Kentucky

Despite being a successful farmer, Moses was the first of Daniel Paine’s descendants to leave the Eastern Shore. Land records confirm that the Moses Payne who lived in Worcester County, Maryland, in the 1790s was the same man as the Moses Payne who lived in Woodford County, Kentucky, in the 1800s. In 1803, Moses sold the land he owned in Worcester County, Maryland, to his cousin Wrixham.[8] In 1805, Mary Payne relinquished her rights of dower to this land, and she was in Woodford County, Kentucky.[9]

Moses left no records explaining why he decided to leave his home. He was possibly inspired by the possibilities of the new territories in what was then western Virginia. In the 1790s, there were widespread reports of rich land available at little cost in what would become Kentucky and Tennessee. Tales of Daniel Boone's excursions and settlements beyond the mountains spread rapidly and kindled the urge to take advantage of easy terms for acquiring land. Other conditions such as high taxes, crowded conditions in the seaboard states, and economic difficulties being experienced by nearly everyone after the revolutionary war's end, added to the motivation to move west. In 1790, Kentucky's population was 77,000 and by 1800, it had grown to 221,000.[10]

Moses would have been in his late 20s or early 30s and still single when he left Maryland in the late 1790s. He most likely traveled along the Wilderness Road, the principal overland route used by Maryland emigrants to Kentucky in this period. The Wilderness Road originated from ancient buffalo paths and Native American trails used by tribes such as the Cherokee and Shawnee for hunting and warfare. Before European settlement, these trails facilitated migration and intertribal conflicts. After Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792, the legislature funded improvements, and by 1796, the road was upgraded for wagon and carriage travel, making it an all-weather route. [11]

Moses did not appear in the 1800 U.S. census in Kentucky or Maryland, so he may have been enroute to Kentucky when the census was taken. He had reached Versailles in Woodford County, Kentucky, by July 30, 1800, when he posted a £50 bond for his marriage to Mary “Polly” Miller.[12] Mary had been living in Kentucky since before 1784, when she was identified by the court as an orphan after her father Andrew Miller died.[13] Moses most likely met Mary soon after arriving in Woodford County.

Woodford County was formed in 1788 from a large portion of Fayette County, Virginia, and became the last of the original nine counties created by Virginia before Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792. It was named in honor of General William Woodford, a Virginia Revolutionary War officer who died in British captivity in 1780.[14]

Versailles was founded in 1792 on 80 acres of land owned by Hezekiah Briscoe, who was, at the time, only a child. His guardian, Marquis Calmes, named the town after Versailles, France, in honor of General Lafayette, a family friend and hero of the American Revolution. The town, located in what became known as Bluegrass country, became the county seat of Woodford County, Kentucky.[15]

Moses became a prominent member of the Versailles community. In 1801, he served on the jury for a murder case.[16] He served as a trustee for the town of Versailles,[17] and on several occasions provided services to Woodford County.[18] In 1815, the court appointed Moses to be a commissioner to review a new road being built.[19]

Moses’s Wife and Children

When Moses married Mary Miller in 1800, he entered an influential social circle. Mary’s sister, Hannah, was married to Edmund Searcy, who was the sheriff of Woodford County and a captain in the local militia.[20] Another close associate was Herman Bowmar, one of the earliest of Woodford’s officials who also served as sheriff, served two terms in the state senate, and was the Democratic nominee for Congress to succeed Henry Clay when the latter became United States senator.[21]

Moses and Mary had five children: Elizabeth, Jacob Upshur, Andrew Miller, Moses Upshur, and Maria Harriett.[22]According to a deposition Elizabeth gave in a 1822 legal case, she was born on July 7, 1801.[23] According to their grave markers, Jacob Upshur was born on February 12, 1803,[24] Andrew Miller was born on February 27, 1805,[25] Moses Upshur was born on October 25, 1807,[26] and Maria Harriett was born on February 21, 1814.[27]

Moses’s Livelihood

Moses appears to have been a successful farmer and businessman in both Maryland and Kentucky. When he married Mary, he obtained 700 acres of land on Glens Creek that Mary inherited from her father.[28] It does not appear that Moses and Mary lived on this land since a court case from December 1801 referred to a house in Versailles owned by John Jackson and occupied by Moses Payne.[29] A legal case filed after Moses died referred to individuals who rented portions of this land, so Moses and Mary must have received regular income from these leases.[30]

In 1807, Moses paid taxes for 350 acres of land in Woodford County, Kentucky.[31] He bought and sold various parcels of land on Glens Creek several times in partnership with Herman Bowmar, who purchased the half owned by Mary’s sister, Hannah, in 1805.[32] An 1828 lawsuit described these purchases and sales as an effort to prevent legal claims on the land.[33]

Moses and Herman Bowmar were unable to avoid claims from the heirs of William Preston, who argued that their father patented some of the land Moses and Herman controlled. In December 1808, the heirs filed a chancery equity suit (case 3031) and an ejectment action (case 3355) against Moses and Herman in Woodford County court. Moses and Herman successfully defended against these claims, with the Kentucky Appellate Court upholding the lower court’s decision in their favor.[34]

The Preston heirs were unwilling to accept this decision and in 1814 they filed a new legal claim in the U.S. Circuit Court, which also found in Moses and Herman’s favor.[35] The heirs lost an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed the circuit court’s decision.[36] Preston’s Heirs v. Bowmar was a landmark case because it established that in land-patent disputes with conflicting survey calls and no natural monuments, courts should avoid rigid rules and instead uphold the claim of the party in actual possession, preserving stability in property law.

Moses owned several enslaved persons. A special 1810 census of slaveholders and the 1810 U.S. federal census both recorded three enslaved people in his household.[37]

In addition to being a farmer, it seems that Moses had a successful shoe business. In 1813, the estate of James Long paid Moses for shoes.[38] A legal case filed after Moses died lists an accounting over several years of John and Joseph Kinkead repairing shoes for Moses.[39] The inventory of Moses’s estate after he died contained several items consistent with an active shoemaking operation. 

Moses earned enough money to run up an extensive tab with grocery or tavern owner Alexander Laughrey for groceries and alcohol. Laughrey’s estate executor sued Mary Payne in 1818 for a $118 debt incurred from 1813-1814 by Moses Payne. [40] Most of the sales were for cider, toddy, brandy, a cordial, wine, and beer.

Moses’s Death

Moses Payne died on June 24, 1815, without leaving a will. His wife, Mary, later testified to the date of his death in a court case involving Herman Bowmar.[41] An inventory of his estate was filed in Woodford County on August 8, 1815, showing a total value of $1,428.[42]

Footnotes

[1] "United States, Census, 1810," FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH29-JVV, Entry for Moses Paine, 1810.

[2] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.W, No. 4, 1769-83, pp. 196-197 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-SRPJ. 

[3] Ibid.

[4] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.W., 1790-99, pp. 160-162 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBL-SR47. 

 [5] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber Q., 1794-1796, p. 224 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JP-B. 

[6] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber P., 1792-1794, pp. 83-84 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JW-J and pp. 113-114 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK4-89JQ-5. 

[7]Maryland, Worcester County. Administrators Accounts 1792-96, p. 134 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBV-9T7C; Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, Liber L.H., No. 2, pp. 209-210 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYH-Y334-L; Maryland, Worcester. Inventories, Liber L.H., No. 2, pp. 262-263 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYH-Y33R-M; and Maryland, Worcester. Administrator Accounts, 1792-1796, pp. 342-343 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTBV-95JS. 

[8] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber V, 1801-1803, pp. 468-470 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKH-7T37. 

[9] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber X, 1805-1806, p. 525-526 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSG6-HCXV.

[10] "Migration to Kentucky." Genealogy Trek, S3DA, LLC, genealogytrek.com/genealogy/context/migration-to-kentucky. Accessed 16 July 2026. 

[11] "Wilderness Road," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Road. 

[12] Kentucky, Woodford. Marriage Bonds, 1789-1860 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-993Y-46JC. 

[13] Kentucky, Lincoln. Order Book, Volume 1, 1781-1784, p. 208 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-DSPF-J.

[14] "Woodford County, Kentucky," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodford_County,_Kentucky : accessed 31 August 2026.

[15] "Versailles, Kentucky," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles,_Kentucky : accessed 31 August 2026. 

[16] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number: 1106 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37S-3S97-V. 

[17] Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book E, 1809-1812, pp. 22-23 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLX-P727; Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book E, 1809-1812, p. 241 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLX-P7JX; Kentucky, Woodford. County Court, Order Book C, 1794-1812, p. 654 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-XPBK.

[18] Kentucky, Woodford. Order Book D, 1812-1821, p. 66 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-XPK3; Kentucky, Woodford. Order Book D, 1812-1821, p. 83 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-XPGW; Kentucky, Woodford. County Court Order Book C, 1794-1812, p. 510 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-XG46.

[19] Kentucky, Woodford. County Court Order Book D, 1812-1821, p. 131 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PK-C3C1-G.

[20] Kentucky, Woodford. Marriage Record, 1780-1848, p 13 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89SQ-NZW1. “Edmund Searcy to Thomas Jefferson, 22 May 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-43-02-0359. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 43, 11 March–30 June 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 471–472.]

[21] "Biographies Bourbon County KY," Kentucky Genealogy Trails, https://genealogytrails.com/ken/bourbon/biographies/bios3.html : accessed 31 August 2026.

[22] Missouri, Callaway. Record of Will, Volume D, 1842-1857, pp. 113-114 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99L4-F97F-M.

[23] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number 5677 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-14K7.

[24] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11809224/jacob_upshur-payne: accessed 3 Sep 2026), memorial page for Jacob Upshur Payne (12 Feb 1803–11 Mar 1900), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11809224, citing Lafayette Cemetery Number 1, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by Mamarama (contributor 48076823).

[25] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11347262/andrew_miller-payne: accessed 3 Sep 2026), memorial page for Andrew Miller Payne (27 Feb 1805–12 Jun 1874), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11347262, citing Live Oak Cemetery, Pass Christian, Harrison County, Mississippi, USA; Maintained by Thunderbird (contributor 47100429).

[26] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107752166/moses_u-payne: accessed 3 Sep 2026), memorial page for Moses U. Payne (25 Oct 1807–9 Aug 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 107752166, citing Wyuka Cemetery, Nebraska City, Otoe County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by Lloyd Donahoo (contributor 47132707).

[27] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97095455/maria_h-wood: accessed 3 Sep 2026), memorial page for Maria H. Wood (21 Feb 1814–13 Sep 1847), Find a Grave Memorial ID 97095455, citing Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, USA; Maintained by k75evad (contributor 47379698).

[28] Virginia. Virginia and Old Kentucky Patent Series, Patent 7544.0, Hannah and Mary Miller. https://web.sos.ky.gov/land/vakypatentseries.aspx. 

[29] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number: 2432 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-BSB8-Q.

[30] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number 5677 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-14K7.

[31]Kentucky, Woodford. Tax Records 1807, p. 19 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-CSZ5-M. 

[32] Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book C, 1794-1803, pp. 477-480 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4V-69YX-8; Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book C, 1794-1803, pp. 579-581 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4V-69YW-S; Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book F, 1812-1815, pp. 281-284 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLX-PQJT; Kentucky, Woodford. Deeds, Book F, 1812-1815, pp. 308-310 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLX-PQDT.

[33] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number: 9772 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYL-C9C6-F.

[34] Preston's Heirs v. Bowmar, 2 Bibb 493 (Ky. Ct. App.), available at CourtListener, https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8701574/prestons-heirs-v-bowmar/ (last visited July 31, 2026).

[35] United States. Appellate Case Files of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1792-1831, Roll 52, Cases 1003-1027, 1819-1820. Case No. 1013 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-L3NT-WG88. 

[36] Preston's Heirs v. Bowmar, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) 580 (1821), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/19/580/.

[37] Genealogy Trails, "1810 Census," Woodford County, Kentucky, https://genealogytrails.com/ken/woodford/1810Census.html, citing a census of slaveholders taken by George Railey, deputy marshal, under Col. George Crocket; "United States, Census, 1810", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH29-JVV : Sun Mar 10 06:19:41 UTC 2024), Entry for Moses Paine, 1810.

[38] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, Case Number 6108 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTB-SQDR-W.

[39] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number: 4391 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-12LB.

[40] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number 4868 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-Y3JZ-L.

[41] Kentucky, Woodford. Circuit Court Case Files, 1788-1850, Case Number 5677 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C379-14K7. 

 [42] Kentucky, Woodford. Wills, Book D, 1812-1815, pp. 323-326 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9DL-N9Z7-8.