Daniel Payne and Some of his Descendants, published in 2008, starts with the first member of our paternal line to arrive in the then Colony of Virginia. In fact, we do not know positively the name of the Immigrant, but rather the name of his son, Daniel Payne, born in 1633, in Accomacke County on Virginia's Eastern Shore. We believe that the immigrant, Daniel's father, was a William Payne who appears in the records of Northampton and Accomacke Counties as early as 1633, but without unassailable evidence, we cannot go back across the "pond" to search for previous generations.

       From Daniel, we continue with succeeding generations to Clyde Wells and Belva Mitchell Payne, including collateral families. The work is composed of two volumes, Volume I containing the paternal line (Clyde's) and Volume II the maternal line (Belva's). Volume II is now in print.

       Daniel and his descendants remained on the Eastern Shore for several generations. The first Daniel, whose father we do not know positively, was a cordwainer, married Ann Crozier and they had four children, Daniel, b.c1660, Isabell, Margaret and Ann Payne. We know little or nothing of the children except for son Daniel. Daniel II m. Hannah Scarborough about 1695 and they had three chilfren, John, Daniel III and Esther.  Daniel II, like his father, was a cordwainer, but unhappily he died in 1709, on his plantation in Northampton County, VA. In his will, Daniel II left his plantation to his sons John and Daniel, his wife to enjoy during her lifetime.

       Hannah's father was Matthew Scarborough, a major land holder in both Maryland and Virginia, but after the border between the two states was finalized, his holdings were mostly in Maryland. The records are sparse concerning the family after Daniel II's death, but his son John left Northampton County to live in Somerset, later Worcestter County, MD., as we find him in the records there by 1717. Daniel disappeared with out a trace and Esther m. Thomas Griffith. Hannah Payne m.William Foster in 1710 and it is probable that son John left to go to school or to learn a  trade at that time. In any case, John ended up in Maryland, most likely with his grandparents or others in the Scarborough family. He married Elizabeth Upshur and his descendants remained on Maryland's eastern shore until his grandsons, Moses Upshur and John Payne left for the new frontier lands opening up after the American Revolution and the Louisana Purchase. There are still distant relatives living on the eastern shore, but none of the name of Payne, at least to my knowledge.

         Only 100 books of Volume I were printed  and a few remain in possession of the author. The Morman Library in Salt Lake City has added the book to its collection and anyone interested in reading the book may do so by going on line and downloading or reading it from that source. 

        Volume II concerns the life and times of one of Daniel Payne's grandsons, Clyde Wells Payne and his wife Belva Mitchell Payne. Volume I contains the collateral families on the Payne side, many of these families are carried back many generations, some to Charlemagne and beyond. With Voume II, we were not so fortunate to find many of our maternal ancestors roots going back to the old countries. Here again, only 100 copies of Volume II were printed, with a copy presented to the Morman Library.

Many years of research has gone into writing  Volumes I and II of Daniel Payne's genealogy. Many famous people have emerged in the process, two of whom, Moses Upshur and Jacob Upshur Payne , sons of the pioneer Moses Upshur Payne, who left the eastern shore in 1798 to settle in Kentucky. These young gentlemen were destined to be important members in our society over nearly the entirety of the nineteenth century.  Jacob would make his mark in Mississippi and New Orleans and Moses in Missouri. Jacob cast his lot with the South during the War Between the States and Moses with the North. It wasn't as though there was disagreement between the brothers, as both were in strongly in favor of preserving the Union, it was simply a matter of their following the path of their respective states.

     Their accomplishments and their lives have intrigued me to an extent that I have started to write their story.   Hopefully, time left to me will permit th necessary research and good health necessary to finish the task.

       In many if not most cases of family genealogies, collateral ancesters often  prove to be the most interesting. It has been obseved that if genealogy were confined to one family line, most wrirings would afford dull reading. In wriing both Volume I and Volume II, much effort and research were given to find collateral relatives and to trace their lines. In many cases, these ancestors are traced over hundreds of years, including a Royal connection. If you look at the tab, above, "Clyde and Belva Payne and some of their ancestors," you will find the names of many of our collatersl families. All of those listed have something written about them in the books.