PAYNE/FOSTER REUNION -- INTRODUCTION
Welcome to this blog site created for the many descendants of Dr. Isaac Bonaparte Payne and his wife, Sarah Jane Foster Kidd. The reunion of Dr. Payne's descendants has been held for many years on the third weekend of October at the Hudson Community Center (adjacent to the Hudson Holiness Tabernacle) about 12 miles north of Winnfield, Louisiana.
The 2009 Payne/Foster Reunion was held on Saturday, October 17. Unfortunately, the long-time president of this reunion, Dr. George Hearn, had been ill and could not continue in his role. Kenneth Peters was selected as incoming president, Patsy Sharp continues as secretary/treasurer, and I (Steve Payne) was drafted as vice-president. As the role of vice-president seemed less defined, I volunteered to start and maintain some kind of web presence for the reunion. This bog site will serve as a place to communicate news or events, particulary about the annual reunion, as well as a source for a little of the history concerning our Paynes (and related lines). If you have information, questions, comments, or even digitized photos/images that you would like to share with others in this extended family, please comment directly on this blog site (going through the brief 1-2-3 registration method) or e-mail me at steve.payne@gcsu.edu to post this for you.
Are You One of These Paynes (or related to those who are)?
Those who are older and/or have attended previous Payne/Foster reunions are aware of a little of the history of Dr. I.B. Payne and our other known ancestors. Dr. Payne's early life in east-central Georgia, his completion of a medical degree from the Albany (New York) Medical College in 1857, his inheritance of about $1000 and several slaves a year later, his move to Winn Parish in Louisiana, his Civil War experiences, his marriage to a young widow of a Civil War soldier, his role as a government official in the parish during the Reconstruction, and his service (and death as a result of it) as a rural physician would likely make an entertaining plot for a novel or feature film.
Since we have had a few previous attendees at the Payne/Foster Reunion who are descendants of Dr. I.B. Payne's siblings, I'll start with a quick listing of that Wilkinson County family and then move to to listing the sons and daughters of Dr. I. B. Payne and Sarah Jean Foster Foster Kidd.
Joseph Payne and Seney Crumbley Mitchell had seven children:
Francis Elizabeth b. 8/24/1829 m. 7/13/1843 to William Dixon
Jeremiah Thomas Payne b. 5/20/1831
James W. Payne b. about 1835
Isaac Bonaparte Payne b. 2/25/1837 5.
Georgia Ann Payne b. 5/16/1841
Mary E. Payne b. 4/1842
Joseph Payne b. about 1845
Dr. I.B. Payne and Sarah Foster Kidd also had seven children. She had married previously to Iverson Kidd and had two children: Turtulian Clement & Sarah Brooks.
The Payne/Foster children included:
Helen (1865-1931) married Isaac A. Peters
Joel (1868-1919) married Lucy Margaret Garr
Edwin (1870-1914) married Carrie Cook
Joseph or Brack (1873-1955) married Della Elizabeth Garr
James or Jim (1874-1955) married Ida Snow
Luler (1877-1886)
I.B. or Buddy (1879-1970) married Martha Geneva Young
That seems like enough background/history to get this site up and running.
