William Farquhar Payson (18 February 1876 – April 15, 1939) was an American author and editor.

Early life

He was born in New York City on February 18, 1876. He was a son of Francis and Mary F. (

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 ...

Dabney) Payson. Among his siblings was Mary Dabney Payson (the wife of banker Stephen Baker, the president of the

Bank of the Manhattan Company The Manhattan Company was a New York bank and holding company established on September 1, 1799. The company merged with Chase National Bank in 1955 to form the Chase Manhattan Bank. It is the oldest of the predecessor institutions that eventually ...

and a son of

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 ...

Stephen Baker). He was a grandson of John Larkin and Frances (née Lithgow) Payson, and of Charles Henry and Ellen M. (née Jones) Dabney, and a descendant of

Edward Payson Edward Payson (July 25, 1783October 22, 1827) was an American Congregational preacher. He was born at Rindge, New Hampshire, where his father, Rev. Seth Payson (1758–1820), was pastor of the Congregational Church. His uncle, Phillips Payson (1 ...

(1614–1675).Edward Payson came to America with other Puritans from Nazing, Essex, England, and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he was admitted as a "freeman" in 1640. He received his preparatory education in England and in New York city; was a student at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1892 to 1893.

Career

In 1893 engaged in journalism. From 1893 to 1895, he was on the editorial staff of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', and managing editor of ''

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'' from 1895 to 1897, after which he made his home in

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...

, and gave his attention to literary work.Johnson & Brown. ''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans'', The Biographical Society, 1904; VIII-16. From 1909 to 1913, he was a vice president and literary advisor for the Sturgis & Walton Company, Publishers. In 1924, he helped found Payson & Clarke, Ltd., Publishers, and served as the firm's president for the next four years.

Personal life

On October 27, 1897, he was married to Mary Farquhar Jones King (1868–1955), a daughter of Charles Goodrich King of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. In 1927 he married

Clara Moores Clara Moores Payson (July 27, 1896 – January 21, 1986), born Clara Munchhoff, was an American stage actress. Early life Clara Louise Munchhoff was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1898, the daughter of Joseph W. Munchhoff and Mate (or May Etta) C ...

, a former actress. After an illness of three years, Payson died on April 15, 1939 at 19 East 98th Street, his residence in Manhattan. He was buried at the Acacia Memorial Park in

Lake Forest Park, Washington Lake Forest Park is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located northeast of Seattle. It was developed in the 20th century as a bedroom community with single-family housing on medium to large-sized lots. Less than 4% of ...

Published works

* ''The Copymaker'', 1897 * ''The Title-Mongers'', 1898 * ''John Vytal; a Tale of the Lost Colony'', 1901 * ''The Triumph of Life'', 1903 * ''Debonnaire'', 1904 * ''Barry Gordon'', 1908 * ''Periwinkle; an Idyl of the Dunes'', 1910 * ''Love Letters of a Divorced Couple'', 1915 * ''Give Me Tomorrow'', 1935

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payson, William Farquhar 1876 births 1939 deaths American male journalists American newspaper editors