Wishful Wednesday: A Conversation with Edward Biron Payne

Rev. Edward B. Payne preaching at a Unitarian Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, from the 11 Feb 1881 issue of the *Vermont Phoenix*, Brattleboro, Vermont, Vol. 48, No. 6, Page 2, Column 8, via Chronicling America, Library of Congress.

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

On this anniversary of the “natal” day of Edward B. Payne (AKA “birthday”) it is only fitting to post this lovely compliment and bit of history.

“Rev. E. B. Payne of Springfield, Mass, formerly a Congregational minister, will occupy the pulpit of the Unitarian church next Sunday. Mr. Payne is a young man recently from California, although a native of Vermont, and a brilliant preacher.”

“…a brilliant preacher“- there are those of us who so wish that we could have heard his “brilliant” sermons, or sat at the dinner table with him, or lounged under the trees at Wake-Robin Lodge discussing economics, social movements, literature, and his beliefs and experiences in life. He knew the politicians, religious leaders, movers and shakers, artists and writers of the times, especially when he lived in Berkeley, or at Wake-Robin Lodge with Jack and Charmian (Kittredge) London, or Altruria, the Utopian colony he founded, or Camp Reverie, the adult summer camp in the woods that he and Ninetta (Wiley) [Eames] Payne ran. All these fascinating persons would have been around the table or out on the porch with him in the evening, and the topics would have been very intellectual and far-ranging. Edward B. Payne was a prodigious reader, remarkable author, and profound thinker- and he must have been a fascinating conversationalist.

Edward Biron Payne was born in Middletown, Vermont, on 25 July 1847, so was not yet 34 when the above was written about him.

Edward B. Payne, circa 1874. Image courtesy of Second Congregational Church, Wakeman, Ohio. — Edward B. Payne, circa 1874, about 7 years before the above newspaper article was written. Image courtesy of Second Congregational Church, Wakeman, Ohio.

After service in the Civil War, graduation from Oberlin College with his degree in theology, and ordination in 1874 as a Congregational minister, E.B. went to Berkeley, California for a time. While there, he felt a need to reexamine the faith he inherited from his father and other ancestors, and Rev. Payne converted to the Unitarian Church.

E. B. then returned to New England in 1880 to visit his parents (Joseph Hitchcock Payne and Nancy S. (Deming) Payne), per some accounts, and decided to stay. His wife, Nanie M. (Burnell) Payne, had gone blind soon after their marriage, and their daughter Lynette Payne (later McMurray) had been born 26 October 1879. The couple would have wanted their family to meet their beautiful babe and likely needed some help at home (Lynette had been born very premature), which was not always affordable on a young minister’s salary.

In addition, it is likely that E. B. may have felt the need to make a clean break with the Congregational church in California. He had been the first pastor at Berkeley Congregational/ First Congregational Church, and it must have been hard to explain to church members why he had changed faiths. He surely wanted a fresh start with his new understanding of religion, so moving to another place, especially a place where there would have been more interaction with ministers of the Unitarian faith, would have been beneficial in coalescing his ideas about God and our world.

Rev. Payne was called to serve as pastor at Unitarian churches in Springfield, Massachusetts; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Leominster, Massachusetts. He “exchanged pulpits” periodically with ministers in other cities, to give his flock as well as himself some variety in his preaching.

Edward B. Payne, of Springfield, Massachusetts, exchanged pulpits with Rev. Mr. Green of Brattleboro, Vermont, from the *Wyndham County Reformer*, Brattleboro, Vermont, Vol. 5, No. 27, Page 2, Column 9, via Chronicling America, Library of Congress.

Finding new pieces of information about Edward B. Payne such as these helps us to feel a bit of our “Wishful Wednesday” has been granted, though it can never replace what would have been a mesmerizing conversation with this brilliant man.

Notes, Sources, and References:

The day of one’s birth was called a “natal day” back when he was born on 25 July 1847 and the term was also used for many years. In 1893, the Morning Call (San Francisco, California), Thursday, 27 July 1893, Volume LXXIV (74), No. 57, Page 3, Column 2, ‘Chronicling America’ via loc.gov, reported a surprise party “in honor of the anniversary his natal day.” See Mystery Monday: The Birth of Edward B. Payne at heritageramblings.net/2016/07/25/mystery-monday-the-birth-of-edward-b-payne
Interestingly, E. B.’s parents were enumerated on the Federal Census on 29 June 1880 in Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, living with their other child, Cornelia Mary (Payne) Hinckley, her husband Horace A. Hinckley, and the Payne’s first grandchild, William H. Hinckley, age 11. Nanie’s parents were living in Illinois at that time as well, although a different county, so maybe E. B. and Nanie had gone to New England to visit E. B.’s parents, and then decided they had better opportunities in the Northeast than in the young California town of Berkeley. Of course, the family did move back to Berkeley in 1892, about 12 years after ministering to souls in New England, but that’s another story.

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Sentimental Sunday: Fishing with Dad and Grandpa McMurray at Cass Lake, Minnesota

Case Lake, Minnesota, section of the photo album of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., completed in late 1940s. Photos probably from about 1939 estimated from other pictures on the same page. Captions added by Ed McMurray. (*Click to enlarge.*)

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

The things we do with our kids when they are young can become lifelong interests, and they will always carry the sweetness of having done them first with mom and/or dad. Passing those hobbies and passions along to the next generation adds to the richness of family and traditions in our lives.

Cass Lake, Minnesota, from the photo album of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., completed in late 1940s. Photos probably from about 1939. (*Click to enlarge.*)

Fishing at Cass Lake, Minnesota is one of those family traditions, and about 475 miles from Newton, Iowa, where the McMurrays lived. That was at least an 8 hour drive, plus one needs to add in stops. Of course, we must forget about frequent superhighway rest stops, fast food joints, and DVD players or satellite radio- none of those existed back in the 1930s.

(Newton, Iowa, is approximately under the “A” in “Iowa.”)

Fast food joints did not really exist even years later when Ed McMurray, Jr. took his own family north to Big Lake, Minnesota, which is about 3 miles NW of Cass Lake as the crow flies, or about 20 miles to drive. There were some hamburger joints but they weren’t really affordable and didn’t work with a car full of kids and a dog. So in the 1960s, families travelled as they had in the 30s, only with faster and more roomy vehicles, like station wagons. Comic books and coloring books (watch out for melting crayons in the car!) kept kids occupied in the days before DVD players for those in the back seat. Families packed picnic lunches of cold fried chicken, potato salad and coleslaw, American cheese sandwiches or the old stand-by for kids, peanut butter and jelly; had drinks like iced tea or in the 60s, Kool-Aid, from a big thermos; and Zero brand candy bars for a snack- those did not melt in the midwest summer heat with no air conditioning in the car. Small parks with playground equipment now considered dangerous were a way for kids to run off some steam before getting back into the car for more hours on the two-lane road, passing trucks and farm equipment when one could finally be in the clear. Bathroom stops were at old gas stations with the roller-style linen towels hanging in a box on the wall (you had to hope there was still some clean towel left!), and many families carried their own ‘trip extenders’ or stopped in the woods somewhere. A journey in the 1960s was not much different than that of the 30s, and heading north to the wilds of Minnesota with his young family must have brought back some great memories to Ed McMurray, Jr. of the same trip with his father and grandfather, as well as other family members.

(Case Lake is the big lake just NE of Pike Bay- not sure why the name does not show up on the embedded map.)

Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Sr., with his father, William Elmer McMurray, fondly known as “Lala.” Taken at Cass Lake, Minnesota, in the late 1930s. (*Click to enlarge*.)

Sadly these pictures don’t show faces very well. It would be interesting to know when the family began going to Cass Lake- had Will McMurray taken his own sons, Edward A. McMurray, Sr., and Herbert McMurray, and maybe his daughter Maude “Midge” McMurray to the lake when they were young?

Probably Dr. Edward A. McMurray and his wife, Elna Mae (Kenner) McMurray, and Edward’s father, William Elmer McMurray, in a boat at Cass Lake, Minnesota, circa 1939; from Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album. (*Click to enlarge*.)

The captions Ed wrote when he put this album together add so much to the photos.

Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Sr., and others at Cass Lake, Minnesota, late 1930s. From Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album. (*Click to enlarge.*)

Notes, Sources, and References:

Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album, compiled in the late 1940s.
Zero candy bar– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZERO_bar
Take a look at the map in GoogleMaps and you will be able to see that Cass Lake is downstream from the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca. One can still walk across the Mississippi River there! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Itasca

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

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Sorting Saturday: South Dakota Campers

Johnnie Warburton and Don Nelson. John was from Newton, Iowa, and maybe Don was too? From Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album. Taken about 1936 in South Dakota at Summer Camp. *(Click to enlarge.)*

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Johnnie Warburton was the best friend of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., growing up in Newton, Iowa.

Notes, Sources, and References:

Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album.

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.

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Those Places Thursday: South Dakota and Ed McMurray, Jr. at Summer Camp

Pierre Lodge, South Dakota, circa 1936, from Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album. (*Click to enlarge.*)

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Exploring South Dakota with Edward A. McMurray, Jr., in the mid-1930s is an unexpected activity this year! His trips out west for Scouts (or just an organized camp) were fond memories throughout his life.

A South Dakota “Dream House” per Ed’s photo caption. From Edward A. McMurray Jr.’s photo album. *(Click to enlarge.)*

Ed did really enjoy the mountains, but they must have been quite surprising to a twelve year-old boy from Iowa. While Newton, Iowa, where he grew up, really has rolling hills covered in corn and now soybeans too, the 5,725 ft. elevation of Mt. Rushmore must have been mesmerizing.

South Dakota has other treasures too, carved by more natural forces than chisels and dynamite:

“The Well Known Eye” from the photo album of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., circa 1936. (*Click to enlarge.*)

“Part of the Needles” from the photo album of Edward A. McMurray, Jr., circa 1936.

It is sad that we don’t know anything about how he got out there, if family was along for the ride, and whether or not he took these photos himself.

“Scene of the Needles,” circa 1936, Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album. (*Click to enlarge.*)

Notes, Sources, and References:

Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s Photo Album
Scenic USA: South Dakota– http://www.scenicusa.net/010706.html

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Travel Tuesday: Edward A. McMurray, Jr., in South Dakota

“Mt. Rushmore Project,” South Dakota, about 1936. (*Click to enlarge.*)

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Ed McMurray, Jr., sometimes spoke of going out to camp over the summer in South Dakota. It may have been a Boy Scout camp, or just a camp for boys- the memories are hazy now, because they weren’t written down twenty years ago. (Argh.) His dad, Dr. Edward A. McMurray, Sr., paid for camp for a couple of summers. Ed Jr. did love it- except, of course, having to jump in the cold mountain stream in the morning instead of taking a shower. He did say, however, that was quite effective in waking them up!

Finding this image in his photo album was very exciting. Do you notice anything missing in the picture of Mt. Rushmore? Maybe two Presidents?

This image really helps us date these photos. The carving of Washington (far left as we look at the mountain) was dedicated on 4 July 1930, and Jefferson (second from left) on 30 August 1936. The Lincoln figure (which will be on the far right) was dedicated next, on 17 September 1937, and Roosevelt (to the right of Jefferson) on 2 July 1939. So we know the image was taken sometime after 1930, when Washington was finished, and before 1937, as it seems the Lincoln face has not even been started. It does look like they have started work on the Roosevelt figure, but maybe more research will tell us exactly when the carving was at this stage. (There are some other timelines on the internet, but it has been hard to determine their sources of information for accuracy.)

Interestingly, Jefferson was carved originally to the left of Washington. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, did not like the way it looked, so had dynamite taken to the head, and then carved Jefferson to the right of Washington.

To me, it seems like Mr. Jefferson needs a bit of finishing up, so I am wondering if this might have been the summer of 1936, not long before the dedication. Wonder if Ed and his buddies were there to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt give the dedication speech?

And way to go, Ed, with your picture-taking! I have not found another image like this on the internet, though it seems there should be one somewhere…

Stay tuned for more summer travel pics!

Notes, Sources, and References:

Edward A. McMurray, Jr.’s photo album.
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota Timeline– https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/timeline.htm
Mt. Rushmore Historic Photos– https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=F47518BA-155D-4519-3E3F35CAD0584ADE
“Construction of Mount Rushmore,”- Wikipedia– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_of_Mount_Rushmore

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Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.

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