| Notes |
- BIO:James Albert Payne was born April 20, 1920 in the "Little House" south
across the road from the Johnson "homeplace". This was in Forest
township of Clinton County, Indiana. His grandfather, Albert Tell
Johnson, had built the big house on the north side of the road in
1900. He died the year James parents were married and his grand-
mother, Virena Ellen (Venneman) Johnson had built the little house
for his parents to live while farming the Johnson estate which was
located three mile south and about three quarters mile west of
Russiaville, Indiana.
His older brother John Robert, older sister Rosemary Ellen, and
younger brother William Joe were born in the "Big House" on the North
side of the road on the Johnson homeplace. His youngest sister,
Patricia Sue, was born in the house on the Honey Creek farm.
When James was about six years old his parents moved from the Johnson
farm to the tenent farm of Clark Van Auken which was just about a half
mile west and an eighth mile north of where he was born. James
father, John Leonard Wilkinson Payne, had worked for Mr. Van Auken up
to and a little while after marrying James mother, Effie Marie
Johnson.
In the spring of 1929 James parents moved to a farm they had purchased
about a mile and a half north of the Clark Van Auken place and there
he lived with his siblings till they each went their own way and he
went into service during World War II. This farm was located just
over the line from Clinton County, Indiana - in Howard County, Indiana
and situated in Honey Creek Township. After his mothers death in
1966 he purchased this farm from her estate and continued to live
there till his death on July 27, 1995.
James started school at Forest, Indiana. When his parents moved in
the spring of 1929 to Howard County he and his older brother and
sister continued to attend the Forest school by riding the interurban
car from the edge of their farm to Forest and back each day. Their
parents purchased a pass for them to use during these few weeks they
had to commune from the farm to school. The interurban tracks ran
across the northwest corner of the Payne farm at that time and there
was a waiting shelter located where it crossed the road just north of
the farm house. There the children waited each morning and were let
off each evening by the conductor of the car.
The next school year they all attended the Russiaville school and
continued their education till they each graduated, John Robert and
Rosemary Ellen in 1936 and James Albert in 1938. His younger brother
William Joe attended all 12 years and graduated in 1942. Also his
younger sister, Patricia Sue attended the same school for all of her
grades and high school experience.
James was very much the businessman even in his youth. Besides his
chores on the farm and helping his father with field work for which
there was only the pay of meals, lodging, and clothing; James found a
way to earn cash by taking the job of "Waterboy" for the threshing
ring that would harvest the wheat and oats of the farmers in his
community. He was too small to "pitch bundles" or run a "bundle wagon
as his older brother could so he purchased a buggy at a neighbors
farm auction in the early days of the "Big Depression" and with a pony
his father had bought from a lady near Kokomo, Indiana he begin his
yearly summertime task as waterboy for the threshing ring. He obtain-
ed several stone jugs and cleaned them carefully. Each day that the
threshing ring was working he would fill his jugs with cold well water
fresh for the farm pump where they were threshing and take the water
to the men working in the fields and at the threshing machine. He
would make the rounds continously all day long and on each new circuit
he would again rinse out the jugs and refill them with fresh well
water and wrap them in wet burlap sacks to keep them cool. At the end
of the season there was a settling up held at one of the homes of a
member of the ring where James was paid for his services as were the
others who had money coming. After the settling up there was a big
ice cream feed with the ice cream supplied by the members of the ring
and cakes brought by the wives of the members. It was a jolly time
for all.
James, along with his brothers and father, farmed from 300 to 500
acres most of the years from 1930 to 1942. The acreage varied as his
father would rent ground available each year. The rent was half the
crops to the owner with his father furnishing all the labor and
equipment to plant and harvest the crops. Most of the work in the
early years to 1940 was done with horses. Tractors were slow and
expensive at first. By the mid 1930's they owned a Farmall F-30 and a
small Farmall F-12. They had over a dozen head of horse's. By
1940 James was able to help his father purchase a new Farmall M which
was both a powerful tractor of that day and had a road gear so that it
could be used to moved quickly (18 mph) from farm to farm on the road.
It was on rubber tires. Earlier tractors were on steel wheels with
big lugs bolted to the rims to grip the ground.
James also purchased a John Deere 5 foot combine in 1941 and was just
starting to get his equipment togather to become a farmer in his own
right when World War II came along. His whole life was changed with
this event and the farming was put on hold till his return from
service.
James started his Christian experience in the Forest Methodist Church
and then the Russiaville Methodist Church where he was converted. He
became a member of the Brethren Church in his early married life and
remained in that faith for 36 years. He first went to the Loree
Brethren Church near Bunker Hill from 1949 to 1953 and then to the
Burlington Brethren Church from 1954 to 1985 where he served as a
deacon, Sunday school teacher, and superintendent of Sunday School. At
the time of his death he was a member at Main Street Christian in
Russiaville where he served as a deacon of the church, member of the
Education Board, Capp's Mission Board, and was active in the church
choir. He had been a chaplian for Kokomo Gideons International and
past president of National Layman's Association of the Brethren
Church. He was a volunteer for Howard Community Hospital and at the
Billy Graham Cove Ministries in Asheville, N.C. He led mission work
and tours to Columbia, South America and Argentina.
When World War II came along his belief would not let him serve in any
area of the military.
James started his service to his government as a conscientious
objector in a camp in Michigan where he worked in a former CCC camp
and spent the working part of the days there in the forests building
fire lanes, replanting trees, and general forestery duties. He met
Arlene LeMaster during this time as her church, the Brethern, near
Bunker Hill, Indiana supported young men who were conscientious
objectors. James was transferred to a state mental hospital in Sykes-
ville, Maryland to work with patients. While there he and Arlene were
married and she too worked with patients. The hospital owned some
1600 acres of land and had a large dairy herd as well as the crop
land. James, being experienced in farm work, was put in charge of
part of the dairy herd and had patients helping him in that area. He
also worked in the fields and other duties around the farm and had
patients to supervise as they worked the fields and cared for the
livestock.
James also was used as a "guinea pig" by the government during this
time to test for ailments. He was injected with the germ or bacteria
and watched by Doctors to see how he responded. It is hard to believe
that our government could subject any member of the human race to such
treatment. Their only recourse was the fact they made it a "volunteer"
assignment. Some of the volunteers died during these tests.
Men who elected to serve the government but would not carry a gun were
put in the medical corp. These men wore the regular uniform of their
division and were paid like any soldier. James, however, being of
such strong belief that even that duty was not acceptable as it still
aided the War effort was assigned to an old CCC Camp. He had to pay
his own way for the most part as there were not provisions to pay
conscientious objectors who would not serve as medics. The Brethern
Church helped many of these young men during that time. After being
assigned to the hospital in Maryland he did receive a small allowance
and a room in which to live. After he was married to Arlene they were
provided with living quarters by the hospital but she had to work too.
These were difficult times for the young married couple.
After the end of World War II James was released from service and he
brought his bride back to Indiana and settled near her parents in
Miami County, Indiana where he was a tenent farmer and started his
family, continuing his service to God in the Loree Brethren Church
near Bunker Hill, Indiana.
Later he moved to Howard County, Indiana and was a tenent farmer on
Russell Vogus's farm some two and a half mile east and three quarters
of a mile south of Russiaville. There his family continued to grow.
He later purchased a small farm one mile south and about a mile and a
half east of Russiaville. He later still purchased a hundred and
twenty acres about a mile and a half northwest of New London. When
his father passed away in 1964 he moved to the homeplace which is one
and a half mile west and a mile south of Russiaville. Here he raised
his family of four children; Peggy Jo born 2-2-1947, married James
Boyd McGovern; Joyce Ann born 1-17-1950, married Terry Steiner; Sue
Alice born 1-18-1952 - died 7-21-1990, married Lewis Adams; and his
only son, Philip LeMaster Payne born 2-3-1955, married Sherry York.
Arlene passed away March 15, 1980 having cancer. Living alone now the
following months were lonely for him as the children were all married.
Audrey F. (Smith) Dodds, wife of a minister who had been the former
minister of the Burlington Church, had been widowed by her first
husbands death and was living a life alone too. They met later that
year and married December 27, 1980. They continued to live on the
farm till James death from cancer July 27, 1995.
James' funeral was held July 31, 1995 in the Main Street Christian
Church in Russiaville, Indiana with burial beside his first wife,
Arlene (LeMaster) Payne in the Quaker Cemetery at New London, Indiana.
James' life touched many people and he is fondly remembered by family
and friends. The world is a much better place for his life among us.
Rev. Feb. 1996
|
1920 - 1995 (75 years)
