Oliver Hazard Payne

Oliver Hazard Payne (July 21, 1839 – June 27, 1917)[1] was an American businessman, organizer of the American Tobacco trust, and assisted with the formation of U.S. Steel, and was affiliated with Standard Oil. He is considered one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.[2]

"Oliver Payne" redirects here. For the British contemporary artist, see Oliver Payne and Nick Relph. For the English field hockey player, see Ollie Payne.
Oliver Hazard Payne
BornJuly 21, 1839
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 27, 1917(1917-06-27) (aged 77)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeLake View Cemetery
EducationPhillips Academy
Alma materYale University
OccupationBusinessman
Parent(s)Henry B. Payne
Mary Perry
RelativesWilliam Payne Whitney (nephew)
Harry Payne Whitney (nephew)
Frances Payne Bolton (niece)

Early life

Oliver Hazard Payne was born on July 21, 1839 in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] He was the son of Henry B. Payne, a businessman, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator, and Mary (née Perry) Payne. He was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a relative of his mother. He was the uncle of William Payne Whitney and Harry Payne Whitney. He was also the uncle of Congresswoman Frances Payne Bolton.[1]

Payne was educated at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1859. He attended Yale University, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.[1]

Career

In 1861, at the outbreak of the American Civil War of 1861-1865, Payne enlisted in the Union Army. By 1863, he was colonel of the 124th Ohio Infantry. He was Brevetted Brigadier General 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 Standard Oil, and he became a trustee of that firm.[3] 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, though the charges were dropped.

Yachting

Payne was a yachtsman and built the steam yacht Aphrodite in 1898.[4] 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.[1]

Personal life

Payne, who did not marry nor have children, died at his home, 852 Fifth Avenue in New York City, on June 27, 1917.[1] He was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.[5] His estate was valued at in excess of $32,000,000.[6]

His estate at Esopus, New York, known as the Col. Oliver Hazard Payne Estate, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and is now the home of Marist College's Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership Development.[7]

References
  1. New York Times (1917). "Col. Oliver H. Payne, Capitalist, is Dead" (PDF). New York Times (28 June 1917). Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  2. The Wealthy 100 Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine at www.scottwinslow.com
  3. "Oliver Hazard Payne". academic2.marist.edu. Marist College. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. Fairburn, William A. (1899). "Full Powered Sea-Going Steam Yacht Aphrodite For Col. Oliver H. Payne, Of New York". Marine Engineering. Aldrich & Donaldson. 3 (June 1899): 10–13. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  5. Rose, W.R. (June 29, 1917). "All in the Day's Work". The Plain Dealer. p. 10; Albrecht, Brian (June 23, 2015). "Lake View Cemetery hosts Civil War walking tour". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. "PAYNE ESTATE $32,000,000.; Ex-Standard Oil Officer Had No Stock in Company at His Death". The New York Times. 29 November 1917. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
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