Saturday, January 29, 2011

More Winn Parish and Payne History: Hudson Holiness Camp Meeting & College

The Hudson Camp Meeting started in 1899 on 40 acres donated by Rev. W.M.D. Garr and J.B. (Brax) Payne. W.M.D. Garr was a talented preacher, educator, successful businessman and the largest native, individual landowner in Winn Parish at that time. Brax OR Braxton Payne was one of the sons of Dr. I.B. Payne and Sarah Foster Kidd, and he was also a community leader and sawmill owner/operator. Other Payne brothers, such as Buddy, had a share, too, in helping build the camp meeting site (as described in an interview of Buddy in a July 24, 1966 article in the Monroe Morning World) .

The centennial 1952 issue of the Winn Parish Enterprise describes a visit to the Ebenezer Camp Meeting near Montgomery by Garr and Payne and their subsequent intention to create a tabernacle and camp meeting in their part of Winn Parish. During the early days of the Hudson Interdenominational Camp Meeting, people prepared tents and shelters on the camp meeting grounds in order to stay for all or part of the two weeks of the annual camp meeting. In later years and after improved transportation means, some people just came and left each day, while others stayed nearby in the Hudson Holiness College's dormitory rooms (that served as a hotel). The August 30, 1912 issue of the Dodson Times (p. 5) relates that Robert E. Young (brother-in-law of Buddy Payne) "will have charge of the hotel during the Hudson Camp Meeting now in progress at that place. He will also handle feed stuff and will be glad to serve all who need anything in his line." Camp meeting attendance was estimated at times to reach as high as 1500 people.

J.L. (Jim) Payne, brother of Brax and Buddy, was the camp meeting secretary for over twenty years, starting in 1915. He also wrote hymns and poems, such as "Beulah Heights," that was published in the Dodson Times on May 5, 1904. Payne in-laws, such as Morris Simmons and James Bonnette, later assumed this camp meeting secretary role. Buddy Payne made the trip south to Winnfield each year to visit business owners and collect donations to help fund the camp meeting. Even now, the old camp meeting continues through several Payne descendants filling leadership positions (Robert Leach and Patsy Sharp).

Major construction of the Louisiana Holiness College was not completed until about 1907. The publication, Legends and Legacies of Winn Parish (Vol. 1, Issue 4, 1998, p. 138), tells about construction in 1906 of one of the three-story buildings there with its 26 rooms, including offices, classrooms, music and recitation areas, as well as a dining hall. Faculty taught courses such as literacy, business, stenography, typewriting, music, and theology. Rail service linked this college and Dodson, and dormitory rooms at the college were available for students. The Louisiana Holiness College opened in 1906 as an expansion and enhancement of the earlier Hudson Training School and College (started in 1896 at that site). W.M.D. Gaar, a minister of the Protestant Methodist Church, was the president of the LHC, and he and his family and friends were able financially to give the college a good start.

The web site "The People's Story of the Southern Nazarene University" describes the LHC and other early colleges in the South that had Nazarene religious ties or support. Leaders in the LHC at Hudson appealed to the Nazarene Church for union with or adoption by the church to help meet its increasing financial needs after 1910 or so. "Garr came to realize ... that meeting the demands of maintaining the College single-handedly was impracticable. Also, most students from the hardscrabble area in north central Louisiana found it impossible to meet the small charges that were assessed. Failing to achieve Nazarene affiliation, and the help that was expected from it, the leaders came to the painful decision to close the school. Final closure came at the end of the 1912 academic year." The buildings on the LHC campus after it closed were used as temporary housing purposes for the camp meeting and for Sunday school classes.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Quick Update

I'm sending my contact letter to about 60 addresses of individuals and couples who were on Patsy Sharp's mailing list. Most of those addresses seemed correct based on web verification or I found new ones, but there were some folks who seem to have moved (or at least I couldn't find a recent address for them). If you have a correct current address for those below, please e-mail me (steve.payne@gcsu.edu) and I'll make sure they are contacted. Thanks. --- Steve

Johnny Blackman, Tim & Carla Gibson, Ronnie & Kim Hemphill, Doris Payne Henderson, Mr./Mrs. R.L. McKnight, David & Cynthia Powe, Steve & Lynne Regan, Andrew & Gail Smith, and Leonard & Carrie Williams

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Welcome Payne/Foster/Kidd family members.


Perhaps some of you are checking this blog site for the first time and after receiving my mailed update during this holiday season. I'm using this site to post news about our annual reunion, as well as bits and pieces about the history of our family and Winn Parish where our ancestors lived just before and long after the Civil War. Hope some of you in our family will respond with info that I can share here.

Dr. Isaac Bonaparte Payne and his wife, Sarah Jane Foster Kidd, will be a major and obvious choice for attention on this blog site; however, for this long post I'm going to describe aspects of Winn Parish history and members of our family about which/whom some of you are largely unaware.

Winn Parish shares some characteristics with other largely rural Southern locations, but it was truly a distinctive place in many ways. Huey Long and his political philosophy had roots going back at least to the Civil War. One historian, H.T. Kane, in 1941 claimed that "Winn became known as the wildest, orneriest parish of Louisiana, with a mind of its own and a will like a mule's." He described its people as poor and "persnickety" and producing only the crop of "dissent" in abundance.

The independent nature of those in Winn Parish was seen at the Louisiana Secession Convention held in early 1861, when its representative was one of only 17 to vote against secession and one of only seven to refuse to sign the passed ordinance. Many in the parish refused to enlist, and some fought openly for the Union side. They complained specifically about the ten percent tax (in kind) that the Confederacy had imposed on their crops. Many in Winn and Jackson Parishes protested the Confederacy draft, and conscription in this area into the Confederate forces was very limited. W. I. Hair (1991, p. 25) estimated that up to half of Winn's eligible young, white males escaped to hideaways in the thick forests and swamps there. According to his Union army friend John W. Shumaker, in a 1879 statement that Dr. Isaac B. Payne filed with the Southern Claims Commision for reparations, Dr. Payne escaped conscription from the Confederate cavalry and headed to the North. He returned later saying that the climate there was "too cold for him," and "his desire was for the U.S. to succeed." Later in 1864 Dr. Payne delivered several horses to Pineville for U.S. cavalry scouts there under the Union command of General Banks. Dr. Payne during the Reconstruction Period of 1871-1873 served as a justice of the peace and a police juror for the parish (at a time when former Confederate soldiers and supporters were restricted from parish or state offices, and some of them worked behind the scenes with home guard and clan activities).

Winn Parish was known for its strong agrarian interests after the Civil War. Agricultural associations, such as the Grange, located in the parish. The Grange state convention was held at Gaar's Mill in 1883, and a Grange store was built later in Sikes. Winn Parish was home to the Farmers' Alliance in the 1880s and the birthplace of the People's Party. The state's leading populist journal, called The Comrade, was begun in the parish when Alliance proponents bought the only parish newspaper. The Comrade was a weekly published every Thursday (Brinkley, 1982, p. 11), and "devoted to the interests of the People's Party and of Organized Labor, and engaged in the defense of the masses against the encroachment of the money power. Populism as a political movement hoped to organize farmers and workers to bury sectional (north vs. south) and racial (black vs. white) hostilities and to lead to more equity and less corporate domination. Winn Parish became the bastion of populism in Louisiana, and no other county in the South gave it more support. The Populist gubernatorial candidate in 1892, R. L. Tannehill, was a local resident and received 76.7% of the Winn Parish vote that year (Hair, 1991, p. 16).

Populism faded after the 1896 election, when the Populists joined the Democrats, but a more radical agarianism developed in the parish. Its followers drew largely upon ex-Populist farmers and from timber workers who felt exploited by corporations that moved into this virgin timber land, paid relatively low wages, and had little worker safety/health concern. The railroads and sawmills had been enthusiastically welcomed into the parish. Such industry brought new prosperity to some, but it changed the nature of life and work for those in the parish and created some new problems and stresses. A socialist group was formed in Sikes, and one of the very few socialist newspapers in the South, called The Toiler, was published in Dodson (Hair, 1991, p. 370). The message of this publication was a repeat of what some in the parish had long been saying about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (Eakin, 1997, p. 50). Among the strong socialist supporters there was Turtulian Clement (or T. C.) Kidd, a son of Sarah Foster Kidd Payne by her first husband Iverson Kidd. T. C. Kidd served for several years as the secretary of the Socialist group in Sikes in the early 1900s (The Comrade, 12/12/1910). He was also the postmaster of the New Hope community (which some maps back then listed as the community of Payne or Grady).

So we have two family representives (as step-brothers) who held prominent positions in the area in the first decade of the 1900s. T. C. Kidd was one, and Joel T. Payne was the other. Joel T. Payne (son of Dr. Payne and Sarah Foster Kidd) was also a postmaster for Payne/Grady from 1895-1902, later editor and publisher of the Dodson Times, and also a Dodson mayor for a term starting in 1903. Joel T. Payne was somewhat more moderate politically. He belonged to the Woodmen of the World and the Farmers Union, and pushed as Dodson Times editor for improvements in roads/schools.

Guess this is enough history for one post, but I wanted to show how linked our family members were to the unique history of Winn Parish. Almost all of this post came from parts of the first two chapters of The I.B. Payne Families of Winn Parish (2002). For the full references (or otherwise) concerning the description above, check with me. I'll probably share other historical and family info in future posts -- particularly if there's interest in this. --- Steve

Monday, September 27, 2010

2010 Payne/Foster Family Reunion

It's that time of year again, especially after this long, hot summer and with the nice days that we usually get in October. Hope many in our extended family will make the drive in the country to the old Hudson Camp Grounds on Saturday, October 16 (10 am - 3 pm). Don't forget to bring your favorite covered-dish item and then see and enjoy what others have to share.

If you need directions or have questions about this year's reunion, please contact Patsy Sharp, our secretary/treasurer, by mail (523 Jake Creel Road, Dodson, LA 71422) or telephone (318-628-5646).

One bit of news: Tom Kelly, the editor and publisher of the Piney Woods Journal, based in Dodson, LA, has started an on-line newpaper called the Dodson Times. In both the September 2010 issue of the Piney Woods Journal (p. 5) and this on-line Dodson Times are articles about Joel Payne, the editor of the original Dodson Times of a century ago.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Info on Buddy and Martha Payne Reunion

When: June 11-12, 2010
Where: Hudson Community Center
Activities: Friday Night -- Snack and yak
Saturday -- Breakfast 8-10 AM, followed by visit to cemetery; tour of homes (refreshments); potluck supper at 5 PM; beanbag baseball, etc.
Sunday -- Breakfast 8-10 AM; devotional; lunch & clean up

Sunday, February 7, 2010

BUDDY AND MARTHA PAYNE REUNION

In addition to the annual October Payne/Foster Reunion, one branch of the Dr. Isaac Bonaparte Payne family has long had a reunion of its own during the early summer of even-numbered years. The youngest child of Dr. I.B. Payne was also named I.B. and called Buddy Payne (1879-1970). Buddy Payne married Martha Young in 1905 and had ten children -- Avis, Attrice, Polly, Ollie, Louis, Laverne, Jack, Laura, Sue, and I.B. Descendants of Buddy and Martha Payne usually congregate at the Hudson Community Center on a Friday evening, participate in various activities on Saturday, and conclude on Sunday following a worship service and lunch. In recent decades, Jedonne Bradford and Olliene Thomas have planned and communicated activities related to this reunion. It probably won't be that long now before information about the 2010 Buddy and Martha Payne Reunion will be mailed, and I will try to share that info here shortly afterward. As a Buddy and Martha descendant myself, I really look forward to our special time together and hope that many of my cousins and kin will be able to attend.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

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.