Background
Payne was born on January 26, 1855 in Pruntytown, West Virginia, the son of Amos Payne, who was a doctor and farmer, and the former Elizabeth Barton.
Payne was born on January 26, 1855 in Pruntytown, West Virginia, the son of Amos Payne, who was a doctor and farmer, and the former Elizabeth Barton.
Private schools, Orleans, Fauquier Company, Virginia, 1860-1870. Doctor of Laws, George Washington University, 1919, University of Cincinnati, 1920, College of William and Mary, Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Virginia), 1926.
He served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1920 until 1921 under Woodrow Wilson"s administration. Admitted to the bar in 1876 in West Virginia, Payne entered politics five years later as the chairman of the Preston County Democratic Party. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1883, and was elected local judge in 1893.
After resigning from that post in 1898, Payne was the senior partner in Winston, Payne, Strawn and Shaw.
A successor firm still exists. He was the president of the Chicago"s South Park Board from 1911 to 1924.
After the outbreak of World War I, Payne went to Washington, District of Columbia, to act as the counsel for the Emergency Fleet Corporation and was the national railroad administration. From 1919 through his appointment to Wilson"s cabinet in February 1920, Payne served as the Chairman of the United States. Shipping Board.
From October 1921 until his death, Payne served as the Chairman of the American Red Cross.
In May 1921, Payne pledged funds for the permanent structure for the Fauquier County, Virginia. Some of his personal papers were given to the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.
Member Winston, Payne, Strawn & Shaw, Chicago, to January
Married Jennie Byrd, daughter