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William Bertram Payne

Male 1878 - 1915  (36 years)


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  • Name William Bertram Payne  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Birth 22 Jul 1878  Missouri Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 5
    Gender Male 
    Death 22 Jun 1915  Seminole County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 5
    Notes 
    • The year of his birth is sometimes shown as 1877, but his granddaughter, Linda Miller, shows it as 1878. This is based on their family Bible. Linda notes that he had a cleft palate and wore a mustached most of the time to cover it up, his features appeared Indian, but he had light blue eyes.

      Ken Harvey writes that he was known as Bert, and that he was a professional cowboy. His granddaughter, Linda Miller, says her father said he was always called Will by his family. Grace Ellen Gentry, who knew him, had a lot of respect for William Bertram. She had high standards and was not an easy lady to please. He was considered a very physically tough person but he was very well mannered. He worked for his uncle Walter W. Payne at one point, Walter having a ranch.

      He once had an accident when roping steers. His lower arm ended up being jerked off at the elbow. He gained a lot of respect from the fact that he didn't let this later hinder him on a horse. He used to hold the reins wrapped around the stump and it was considered that he could do more than many men who had both their hands.

      Linda Miller recalls the story of how her grandfather actually lost his arm as follows: "He had been working on the Bell Ranch in New Mexico, when a young cowboy thought it would be funny to see old Will Payne be thrown, so he hit the horse (just green broke) that my grandfather was riding on the rump with his felt hat and he was thrown alright. My grandfather at the time weighed about 230 pounds and was 6 foot 2 or 4 inches tall. When he fell it drove his left arm into the ground. There was a compound fracture above the elbow. The doctor that was available thought it best to take off his arm right above the break. It did not heal well and went back to Oklahoma and then went to a doctor in Missouri that took it off in the shoulder joint after gangrene had set in. During his weakened condition he contracted T.B. and died of it when my father was 6 months old, leaving my grandmother a young widow with three boys."
    • (Research):Census Information

      1910 Census
      Oklahoma, Washita County, Union Twp
      Enumerated 3 Jun 1910 by Thomas Hudgens
      SD 5 ED 268 Sheet 22B
      303-303
      Payne, William B Hd M W 33 W Mo Mo Mo English Farmer
      Thompson, Lawrence Servant M w 18 S Ka Mo Mo English Farm L
      aborer
    Person ID I4658  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 17 Aug 2014 

    Father Levi Newton Payne,   b. 2 Aug 1856, Shelby County, Missouri Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 3 Dec 1932, Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years) 
    Mother Sarah Elizabeth McClanahan,   b. 8 Jun 1849, Schuyler County, Missouri Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Jan 1921, Cruce, Stephens County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 71 years) 
    Marriage 28 Feb 1875  Shelby County, Missouri Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 6
    • Ken Harvey states that the dates of births and deaths relating to this family group came from family bible which is in possion of Ruby Nichols at Higley, Arizona; Levi Newton Paynes death certificate; and Marriage license between Levi Newton Payne and S.E.MCCLANAHAN. Additional information is from the unpublished typescript MCCLANAHAN FAMILY HISTORY by Dorothy Lee Pattison (1989).
    Family ID F1051  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Shirley Thompson,   b. Abt 1877   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage 11 Jun 1905  [1, 7
    Children 
     1. Firm Fremont Payne,   b. 14 Dec 1905, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Jan 1968 (Age 62 years)
     2. Harold N. Payne,   b. 28 Feb 1907, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Nov 1983, Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years)
     3. Chester F. "Jack" Payne,   b. 16 Oct 1908, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1960, New Mexico Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 51 years)
    Family ID F2517  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 9 Dec 2006 

    Family 2 Elizabeth Louise Belter,   b. Abt 1891, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 17 Feb 1960, Clinton, Van Buren County, Arkansas Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 69 years) 
    Marriage 16 Jul 1910  Arapaho, Custer County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    • Linda Miller reports that her grandparents met on her parent's farm in Oklahoma. Will was helping Elizabeth's father with his animals, being somewhat of a veterinarian as well as a cowboy. After they married, they moved to New Mexico, around Roy, and homesteaded there on 5 sections of land. The family would go back and forth to Oklahoma where their families still lived.

      The marriage date was recorded in the Family Bible.
    Children 
     1. Bert W. Payne,   b. 11 Apr 1911, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     2. Scott W. Payne,   b. 7 Apr 1913, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Oct 1918, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 5 years)
     3. Raymond Ruben Payne,   b. 13 Dec 1914, Little Cemetery, Little, Seminole County, Oklahoma Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 2 Dec 1989, Twin Falls, Twin Falls County, Idaho Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years)
    Documents
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Marriages)
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Marriages)
    Close up of Marriage's from the Family Bible
    Belter, Elizabeth to William Bertram Payne 1910 Marriage License
    Belter, Elizabeth to William Bertram Payne 1910 Marriage License
    Issued in Custer County, Oklahoma
    Family ID F2518  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 8 Aug 2008 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 22 Jul 1878 - Missouri Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 16 Jul 1910 - Arapaho, Custer County, Oklahoma Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 22 Jun 1915 - Seminole County, Oklahoma Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    Payne, William Bertram and Elizabeth (Belter)
    Payne, William Bertram and Elizabeth (Belter)
    Payne, Bert and his wife Elizabeth (Belter), with their youngest son, Raymond on his lap. It appears their oldest son, Bert was also pictured--based on his darker hair. It is not known why son Scott is missing from this photo. This was taken shortly before William Bertram died.

    Documents
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible
    An overview of the Family Bible Information
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Births)
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Births)
    Close up of Birth's from the Family Bible
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Deaths)
    Payne, William Bertram Family Bible (Deaths)
    Close up of Deaths from the Family Bible
    Bell Ranch, San Miguel County, New Mexico panaramic photo
    Bell Ranch, San Miguel County, New Mexico panaramic photo
    William Bertram (the son of Levi Newton Payne) just worked on the ranch....but then later homesteaded his on 5 sections in northern New Mexico around the area of Roy. His wife Elizabeth continued after his death to try and work the ranch with their oldest son Bert and youngest son Raymond....I know at times they had help some brothers by the name of Harper.

  • Sources 
    1. [S468] Williams, Cova Jean Hurst--Family Researcher (GEDCOM file).

    2. [S250] Ancestral File, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints [database online], (Ancestral File (found at www.familysearch.org) is a collection of genealogical information taken from Pedigree Charts and Family Group Records submitted to the Family History Department since 1978. The information has not been verified against any official records. Since the information in Ancestral File is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the file to verify its accuracy.).

    3. [S124] Harvey, Kenneth C--Family Member; Gedcom, Printed Descendants Reports of Payne and Gentry Families, Correspondence.

    4. [S270] Payne Family Bible, Family Register of Mr. Levi Newton Payne and Miss Sarah Elizabeth McClannahan (1875) Property of Ruby Nichols, Higley, Arizona, "Birt Payne 22nd July 1877" (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S572] Miller, Linda Payne--Family Researcher (laftonm@hotmail.com).

    6. [S358] Shelby County, Missouri Marriage Records, B-327 (Reliability: 3).

    7. [S270] Payne Family Bible, Family Register of Mr. Levi Newton Payne and Miss Sarah Elizabeth McClannahan (1875) Property of Ruby Nichols, Higley, Arizona, "Birt W. Payne 11 June 1905" (Reliability: 3).