My Genealogy Hound

Judge Henry Payne, a prominent farmer of Prairie Township, Franklin County, was born in Lawrence County, Ala., in October, 1835, and is a son of Enoch and Sarah (England) Payne, natives of Virginia. The father grew to manhood, received his education and engaged in farming in his native State, from whence he went to Alabama, and located on a farm; he married in 1828, and was the father of two children: Henry and William, the latter now deceased. The father died during the Rebellion, and his widow in 1850. Henry Payne spent his early life in Alabama and Tennessee, receiving his education in the latter State. In 1862 he enlisted in the army, under Gen. Forrester; he was present at the battle of the Wilderness, and was captured at the battle of Spottsylvania, and taken to Delaware prison, where he was held for one year, at the end of which time, the war being ended, he returned to Alabama. In 1868 he married Virginia Thompson, a native of Alabama, and a daughter of Eggleston Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Payne have one child, Viola, now the wife of T. A. Watson. Mr. Payne removed to Arkansas in 1870, locating on the farm where he has since resided, and which consists of 260 acres, with ninety acres under cultivation. He was elected justice of the peace in 1874, which office he held until 1880; he was elected county judge in 1884, and again in 1886, and served his county with credit. He is an active Democratic politician, and is interested in all educational and public enterprises. The family are members of the Baptist Church.