Schley County GaArchives Biographies.....Payne, Pollard August 16, 1786 - September 4, 1856 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Walter Goff goffswhr@yahoo.com June 23, 2008, 8:08 am Author: Walter Goff The following is a collection of facts on Pollard Payne (16 Aug 1786 in Bedford Co., VA - 4 Sep 1856 Schley County, GA). In the History of Schley County book, he is listed as being buried in Larkin Cemetery. His great granddaughter, Lois Payne, had his tombstone moved to Mt. Vernon Cemetery so that it could be with all the other Paynes in the family. I think this may be interesting to some on the mailing list. Thanks, Walter Goff Pollard Payne served a short time in the War of 1812, until he hired a substitute to take his place. That was legal in those days. Pollard Payne came with is wife and children to Georgia in the early 1820's and settled in Butts County, in an area which was then Monroe County. Butts County, Deed Book C474, shows that Pollard Payne bought from John Boyd for $175 a tract of land situate lying and being in the fourteenth district of, formerly Monroe, now Butts County; lot number six containing 202 1/2 acres. The date was December 13, 1833. According to the old map in the Jackson, Georgia Courthouse, this area is probably on Forsyth Road (Brownlee Road) at the junction crossing Sandy Creek in South Butts County. In the 1840 census of Georgia, Pollard Payne and family were living in Butts County, Georgia. In the 1850 census of Georgia, the family was living in Marion County, in southwest Georgia. From the "History of Marion County, Georgia," the Pan Handle District was third in wealth in the 1855 tax district. Pollard Payne was one of the largest taxpayers in this district. When Pollard died September 4, 1856, in Schley County, Georgia, he was quite well off. He owned 27 slaves and a lot of land. Since Schley County was formed from Marion County, this is probably where he settled after the family came from Butts County. Pollard Payne died September 4, 1856, and left a will dated December 29, 1852. Daughter Elizabeth was said to have been disowned for marrying John Jack Kilcrease because he owned only a horse and saddle. Daughter Rhoda was disowned for marrying Alexander McEwen because he married Rhoda after his first wife, Melinda, also Pollard's daughter, had died. Pollard claimed MeEwen worked her to death. Daughter Nancy also was not named in the will for some reason. Taken from the Macon County Life 1933 - 1983 After service he was entitled to bounty land. In the early 1820's he and his family joined other families seeking new territory and took the Cumberland trail into Georgia, settling first in Monroe County, and then Butts. Some years later he moved to Marion County and then to Schley where his 160 acres of bounty land was located. He died there in 1856 and was buried on a portion of his land set aside for a private family burying ground. His tomb is located 3 miles north of Ellaville a few hundred feet from the main highway on the route to Atlanta. His wife Becky followed him in death in 1859, but her grave has not been located. From the History of Schley County, Georgia: Pollard Payne was buried in Poplar Ridge Cemetery, located just yards from Hwy 19 North of Ellaville, Georgia. Other persons buried here are: W.H. Heath (10 May 1843 - 23 Nov 1903), Kitty Jones (15 Oct 1900 - 16 Oct 1900), Aron M. Larkin (1847 - 1923), Mrs. A.M. Larkin (9 April 1865 - 11 Feb 1933), J.J. Larkin (25 Jan 1849 - 18 April 1924), Joe Larkin, and Ruth Larkin. Pollard's dates were 16 Aug 1786 - 5 Sept 1856. Clearly Pollard was the first one to be buried here. This information was collected for the Schley County Preservation Society by Sandra Myrick Wall. From Flayl Payne of Maryland Descendants 1706 - 1986: In the spring of 1976, my father, Paul Payne, and I visited Lois Payne of Oglethorpe, Georgia. After Lois gave us directions that Sunday afternoon in April 1976, Daddy and I set out to find Pollard's grave. It did not take us long to find out how difficult it can be to find a single grave in all the many acres of wooded area, especially a headstone, that Lois said had been on the ground for many years. Finally, after several hours of riding up and down Highway 19 and asking several people who knew nothing, we desperately began combing the thick wooded areas, beginning in the vicinity of the three-mile area above Ellaville. Shortly, we spotted some graves about forty yards from the highway. The undergrowth was very thick and hard to get through, and there was no path leading to the small cemetery. About half way there, I stumbled upon a large stone in the ground. The stone had been blackened by time and the elements. After close examination, I saw the name "Pollard Payne" on it, with dates and other inscriptions. Daddy and I were really excited about the find. A couple of weeks later I came from South Carolina on vacation. Daddy and I borrowed some equipment to raise the large marble headstone. The huge pine trees beside the grave gave our com-a-long some support to help in lifting the stone. We mixed cement on the spot and mounted the headstone to a base on the ground. Next, we took axes and hoes and cleaned the vines and undergrowth away. Needless to say, I got a good case of poison ivy out of the deal. While chopping in the leaves, my hoe struck something that sounded like a skull. This is what my sister Jan said anyway. I dug and found a crown-shaped object that fit perfectly on top of the headstone. We took the crown and soaked it in chlorox overnight and cleaned the black mildew from the rest of the stone. The grave can be seen quite well from Highway 19 in the winter, but one almost has to walk into the woods to see it after the leaves come onto the trees. The stone is over six feet tall. This plot is probably where Pollard's land was, as it was common then to bury people on their land. The family cemetery nearby does not contain the Payne name. Nobody seems to know where Pollard's wife was buried or whether she remarried. However, there is a jagged stone sticking out of the ground near Pollard's grave which could have been a headstone worn away by time. From my own visits to the area: Pollard Payne's tombstone does in deed stand over six feet tall with the crown sitting upon it. However, it is not located just off of Highway 19 like these two books say. Somebody has moved the stone to its current location, Mt. Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery. This is where Pollard's son, Thomas, along with his wife, built a church. This location is off of Highway 240 and is about 50 - 75 yards from the Macon County line. I spoke to Billy Payne, mentoned earlier in this section, who told me that Lois Payne paid to have Pollard's tombstone moved to Mt.Vernon so it could be with the rest of the Payne family. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/bios/payne349bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 7.3 Kb