Milton J. Payne

Milton Jameson Payne (October 29, 1829 – July 17, 1900), who served six one-year terms as Kansas City, Missouri Mayor, was also the city's youngest mayor (first being elected in 1855 at the age of 26).

Milton J. Payne
Born
Milton Jameson Payne

(1829-10-29)October 29, 1829
Christian County, Kentucky
DiedJuly 17, 1900(1900-07-17) (aged 70)
Kansas City, Missouri
OccupationEditor, politician
Spouse(s)
    Adeline Mary Prudhomme
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1852; died 1867)​
      Jeannie Chamberlin
      ​
      (m. 1892)​
      Children6
      Signature

      Payne was born on a farm in Christian County, Kentucky. After being self-educated he moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1849 where he worked and saved enough money to head west in the California Gold Rush. En route he decided to stay in Kansas City, where he married Adeline Mary Prudhomme in 1852, the posthumous daughter of Gabriel Prudhomme, who had once owned all of the original Kansas City town site.[1] He worked at Walker, Boyd & Chick, the biggest merchant in the old.[2]

      He was among the founders of Kansas City's first newspaper, the Enterprise.

      Payne, who always carried a gun while walking the streets, was elected mayor five times between 1855 and 1859 and was elected to a sixth term during the American Civil War in 1862.

      Payne pushed for sewers, and helped build a road system up to 29th Street. His real estate developments included the area where the Liberty Memorial is now located.

      Payne's wife Adeline died in 1867. He remarried to Jeannie Chamberlin in 1892.[1]

      Milton J. Payne died at his home in Kansas City on July 17, 1900.[3] Despite his contributions he was originally buried in an unmarked grave in Union Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri; a monument was added later.

      References
      1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. IX. James T. White & Company. 1907. p. 115. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via Google Books.
      2. Green, George Fuller (1968). A Condensed History of the Kansas City Area. Kansas City, MO: Lowell Press. OCLC 40731.
      3. "Col. M. J. Payne Dead at 71". The Kansas City Star. July 17, 1900. p. 1. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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