John Barton Payne (January 26, 1855January 24, 1935) was an American politician, lawyer and judge. He served as the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

from 1920 until 1921 under

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

's administration.

Early life and career

Payne was born on January 26, 1855, in

Pruntytown, West Virginia Pruntytown is an unincorporated community at the junction of the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) and U.S. Route 250 in Taylor County, West Virginia, United States. It is the site of the former West Virginia Industrial Home for Boys, now the ...

, the son of Amos Payne, who was a doctor and farmer, and the former Elizabeth Barton. Admitted to the bar in 1876 in West Virginia, Payne entered politics five years later as the chairman of the

Preston County Preston County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood. The county was formed from Monongalia County in 1818 and named for Virginia Governor James P ...

Democratic Party. He moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in 1883, and was elected in 1893 to the

Superior Court of Cook County The Superior Court of Cook County was a court in Cook County, Illinois. It was preceded by earlier courts. 1845 saw the creation of the County Court of Cook County. In 1849, this was renamed The Cook County Court of Common Pleas. In 1859, this was ...

, which he served on until resigning from that post in 1898. After resigning his judgeship, Payne was the senior partner in Winston, Payne, Strawn and Shaw. A successor firm,

Winston & Strawn Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm. Headquartered in Chicago, it has nearly 800 attorneys in ten offices in the United States and six offices in Europe and Asia. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest and oldest law firms in Chic ...

, still exists. He was the president of the Chicago's South Park Board from 1911 to 1924. JohnBpayne1910

In 1913 he declined an offer from president

to serve as

solicitor general of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Payne went to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to act as the counsel for the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

and was the general counsel of the

United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...

Feb. 1918-Aug. 1919. From 1919 through his appointment to Wilson's cabinet in February 1920, Payne served as the Chairman of the

U.S. Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. From October 1921 until his death, Payne served as the Chairman of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. In May 1921, Payne pledged funds for the permanent structure for the Warrenton Library in

Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 16 ...

. Payne was a founder of the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in 1911, and he donated 50 paintings to the museum in 1919. Some of his personal papers were given to the Special Collections Research Center at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

Personal life

Payne married Kate Bunker on October 17, 1878. She died after a long illness. Payne married his second wife, the former Jennie Byrd Bryan (daughter of the late

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chi ...

), on May 1, 1913. Jennie Payne died in 1919, and he remained a widower in office. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

after an operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

on January 24, 1935, at the age of 79. Two days later, an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

obituary ran in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Payne was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in

, next to his second wife.

Sources

* John B. Payne, Ex-Member of the Cabinet, Dead, Chicago Tribune, p. 1, Jan. 24, 1935
American Red Cross website

Fauquier County Public Library - Library History

References

External links

American President.org - Secretary of the Interior: John B. Payne (1920 - 1921)

Fauquier County Public Library - Library History

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement History - John Barton Payne 1922-35

Finding aid for the John Barton Payne Papers

William & Mary Libraries Special Collections Research Center - John Barton Payne Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, John B. 1855 births 1935 deaths People from Taylor County, West Virginia Presidents of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies American Red Cross personnel United States Secretaries of the Interior West Virginia Democrats Illinois Democrats Lawyers from Chicago West Virginia lawyers American art collectors Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Judges of the Superior Court of Cook County Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) People from Preston County, West Virginia Deaths from appendicitis