Melissa Mathis-Campbell's Page

Haha, that's funny! My grandma was also famous for finding new loves. After divorcing Bobby she remarried twice. She was a very strong willed person and nothing was gonna get in her way. 

Yes, I can see your pic, as well as know how to send email lol. 

My grandfather went away to war and came back with a new lady love, so divorce ensued. My mother lost contact with her father when she was young and once she decided to try to find him in the late 90's we found that he had passed away just a few years before. My mother didn't know the name of her grandparents until we got his death certificate (though they had her last name listed as Dayne, which sent us on a 15 year goose chase) so we unfortunately don't know much about this side of the family other then the few things my grandmother told my mom and when my mom located her grandfather's brother many years ago. Don't know if they have alcoholism in the Payne side since all our info came from non Payne sources, but my mom and I are tea tottlers and my brother and sister drink a lot. My brother is currently dealing with issue related to alcohol to tell the truth, so there may be something to it. I'd be interested to know if your mom and my mom look alike at all since the description is similar. 

That's a heck of a list! If I can verify this is my lineage looks like you've done most of my work for me! :)

Hattie died when my grandfather was very young and not many people spoke much of the dead in my family apparently, but my grandfather's brother is still alive and was able to tell us that Hattie loved to bake for all the children that lived near by. They would come over after school just to get some homemade bread from Hattie. We were told that she had another son from a previous marriage and through my research have been able to determine that child's name is Otto Wood. Hattie and her first husband James Wood are found in 1920 living in the home of Moriss and Maud Clements in Lincoln, IA, James as a hired man and Hattie as a servent, with Otto at just 2 years old. I don't know what happened to James but can only assume he passed away sometime between 1920 and 1926, Hattie and Otto are found in 1930 living with my great grandfather Albert Alexander Lucas with their two sons William H Lucas age 4 and my grandfather Bobby John Wesley Lucas age 2 in Shawnce, Wyandotte, Kansas. That is unfortunately all I know other than she was born sometime around 1897-1898 in Missouri and the census has her listing both parents being born in Missouri.

That is very interesting that you bring up the indian as my mom has a similar story, but it was cherokee indian. I followed the Lucas side of her family all the way back to England with no indian heritage, so we were convinced it was on the Payne side of the family. My mother has even been mistaken for being full blooded because of her dark features and high cheekbones. Can't help but wonder where it came from if it's not native american. 

I'm working on more research and will keep you updated

Wow, Melissa, thank you for all that! I've been stuck on this line for a while because it's been so difficult to determine who my great grandmother Hattie was as a child. There were three Hattie Paynes in the general location and two had the same brother names,. I finally ruled out the other possibility last night since she lived until 1970 and my Hattie died young. Now I've started working full time on this line. I haven't made it past William Henry, but I'm not still 100% that he is my direct ancestor, as I'm still trying to verify that my William A Payne is the son of this William Henry Payne. It's really hard to tell for sure who is who in census records, when as you say, they keep changing their birthdays. This is what I think my lineage is.

William Henry Payne 1844

William A Payne 1868

Hattie L Payne 1897

Bobby John Wesley Lucas 1928

Deborah Lucas 1951 (my mom still living)

Arletta Benson 1975 (me)