Oliver Hazard Payne (July 21, 1839 – June 27, 1917) was an American businessman, organizer of the

American Tobacco The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...

trust, and assisted with the formation of

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

, and was affiliated with

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

Early life

Oliver Hazard Payne was born on July 21, 1839, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was the son of Henry B. Payne, a businessman,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, and Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Perry) Payne, who was a member of the Perry family. He was named for Oliver Hazard Perry. He was the uncle of William Payne Whitney and

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...

. He was also the uncle of Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton. Payne was educated at the

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

, where he graduated in 1859. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Career

In 1861, at the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

of 1861–1865, Payne enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. By 1863, he was

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

124th Ohio Infantry The 124th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 124th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 124th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 124th Ohio Infantry was organized in Cleveland, Ohio, and mus ...

. He was Brevetted

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

March 13, 1865. Payne began his career shortly after the war, investing in iron and then oil refining. His oil interests were the first acquired by

, and he became a trustee of that firm. He was charged with bribing members of the Ohio Legislature to attain a Senate seat for his father (before the U.S. Senate was directly elected), and with bribing the Democratic Party to name his brother-in-law

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

, though the charges were dropped.

Personal life

Payne was a yachtsman and built the steam yacht ''Aphrodite'' in 1898. ''Aphrodite'' was one of the finest yachts of the time with Payne making a round the world cruise aboard and took the yacht to Europe every summer from 1908 until outbreak of war in 1914 limited his cruises to American waters. Payne died at his home, 852

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on June 27, 1917. He was buried at Lake View Cemetery in

.; His estate was valued at in excess of $32,000,000. His estate at Esopus, New York, known as the

Col. Oliver Hazard Payne Estate Col. Oliver Hazard Payne Estate is a historic estate, also known as Omega and Wiltwick, located on the west bank of the Hudson River at Esopus in Ulster County, New York, United States. The estate features a Beaux Arts-style Mediterranean pa ...

, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2002 and is now the home of Marist College's Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership Development.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Oliver Hazard 1839 births 1917 deaths People from Esopus, New York Union Army colonels People of Ohio in the American Civil War Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland