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Payne Cemetery
Payne Gap, Forge Creek, Johnson County, Tennessee

Index of Surnames Included

You may click on one of the surnames below to go to the first image with that surname. Click here to go to the first grave marker image or here to see views of the cemetery or views from inside the cemetery.

Location

Located in Payne Gap, Forge Creek, Johnson County, Tennessee.
Cemetery is located at Payne Gap, heading into North Carolina on Forge Creek highway, turn left at the first road and head back up the hill into Tennessee. Cemetery is on the left at the top of the hill behind the white mobile home.
See the views below.

Pictures Taken

These pictures were taken at Payne Cemetery in Payne Gap, Johnson County, Tennessee on 30 Dec 2002 by John B. Rochelle and he is the owner of all images unless otherwise noted. A few more pictures were taken 13 June 2009 by Basil McVey.

Sources of Names Listed

The listing that follows is derived from the photographs taken and research by John B. Rochelle. We have used an alphabetical listing by last name.

Information in brackets [sample] was provided by John B. Rochelle unless indicated otherwise.

Views of Payne Cemetery

The views are noted with the approximate location in the cemetery.

Payne Cemetery view 1

Payne Cemetery, view 2

Payne Cemetery, view 3

Payne Gap, from Payne Cemetery

Payne Cemetery, foggy morning 2009 4

Payne Cemetery Marker Photos

There are several marked graves, with no names. These are listed as "unknown". Some of the funeral home markers inventoried by Jeff Carrier in 1980 may belong to these "unknowns".
Some listings offer more than one picture.

Eastridge, Cora Octavie

Eastridge, Cora Octavie
29 Apr 1885-06 Mar 1894
footstone
(currently not identified)
Eastridge, D. A. (no marker visible in 2002)
1861-1932 2
(Not in Nikazy)
Eastridge, Dewey
Eastridge, Dewey
1909-1971
[s/o _____ Eastridge & Cora _____]
Eastridge, Joel
Eastridge, Joel
29 Mar 1837
Private Co. G. 4th.
Reg. Tenn. Inf.
"He was beloved by God and Man"
footstone
[Joel Eastridge
29 Mar 1837-07 Apr 1927
s/o Pleasant Eastridge & Phoebe Graybeal
Md. 1st Sarah C. Rominger 04 Apr 1957 Ashe Co NC
Md. 2nd Mary E. "Mollie" Osborne]
Note: Joel's daughter, Phoebe Eastridge Jenkins, is buried in the Phillippi Cemetery
```
#Joel Eastridge, widower
30 Mar 1837 (NC)-07 Apr 1927
s/o Pleasant Eastridge (NC) & Phoeba Graybeal (NC)
c.o.d. Apoplexy
Informant Phoeba Graybeal Jenkins (Mountain City)
No cemetery listed
1927 # 7989
```
Eastridge, Mollie E.
Eastridge, Mollie E.
w/o Joel Eastridge
d. 28 Dec 1926
aged 59y 3m 5d
"Gone but not forgotten"
footstone
[Mary E. "Mollie" Osborne
23 Sep 1867-28 Dec 1926
d/o Alexander Osborne & Louanna Cole
2nd w/o Joel Eastridge]
```
#Mollie Eastridge, married
Age 59y, d. 28 Dec 1926
d/o Alex Osborn (Ashe Co NC) & Annah Cole (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. Chronic Myocordial Disease
Informant Nola Curd (Shouns)
Payne Cemetery
1926 # 29516
```
Eastridg(e), Phebe
Eastridg(e), Phebe
"She believed and sleeps in Jesus"
"In memory of"
[Phebe Graybeal
d/o Henry Graybeal & Celia Henson
w/o Pleasant Eastridge]
Eastridge, Ple(a)sant
Eastridge, Ple(a)sant
s/o Joel Eastridge
07 Jan 1881-12 May 1899
"He was beloved by God and Man"
footstone
[Pleasant Eastridge
s/o Joel Eastridge & Sarah C. Rominger]
Eastridge, Sarah
Eastridge, Sarah
w/o Joel Eastridge
01 Apr 1838-08 May 1904
"She believed and sleeps in Jesus"
footstone
[Sarah C. Rominger
d/o Joshua Rominger & Mary B. _____
1st w/o Joel Eastridge]
Eastridge, Julia A.
Eastridge, Julia A.
w/o B. B. Eastridge
d/o Wm & Mary Glenn
04 Jul 1882-20 Dec 1914
"She believed and sleeps in Jesus"
[Not in Nikazy
Julia A. Glenn
d/o Rev. William H. Glenn & Mary Susan Blair
w/o Benjamin Brown Eastridge who is the s/o Thomas M. Eastridge & Nancy Caroline Brown
Benjamin operated a small store next to the old Creston Post Office. His second wife was Mae Sally Brown. Mae was his first cousin and d/o Milton Brown & Emma Brown. Emma Brown was a sister to Nancy Caroline Brown.
B.B. Eastridge was brother to Carl S. Eastridge. Two of Carl's sons, nephews of B.B. Eastridge, Joseph Eastridge & John Eastridge gave James Osborne the information that B.B. Eastridge was married before to Julia.
James doesn't believe that Benjamin & Mae had any children, but 2 of their nieces used to stay with them some times. The nieces were Phoebe Eastridge & Bonnie Eastridge, daughters of Carl S. Eastridge. Benjamin B. Eastridge & Mae Sally Brown Eastridge are buried at Ashelawn Memorial Gardens in Jefferson NC.] 3
Fields, James D.
Fields, James D.
1933-1933
Not in Nikazy
(currently not identified)
Fields, William M.
Fields, William M.
02 Mar 1872-05 Dec 1942
"Father"
alt view
(currently not identified)
Warner, Flossie Fields
Warner, Flossie Fields
27 Jun 1900-06 Aug 1971
"Mother"
alt view
(currently not identified)
Graybeal, Selma Denton
Graybeal, Selma Denton
d/o H. C. & Danford Graybeal
29 Sep 1912-10 Dec 1912
"Darling, We Miss Thee"
footstone
[Selma Denton Graybeal
d/o H. C. Graybeal & Danford _____]
Jones, Mary J.
Jones, Mary J.
w/o H. L. Jones
16 Apr 1861-12 Oct 1918
"She believed and sleeps in Jesus,
In my father's house are many mansions"
footstone
[Mary J. _____
w/o Harrison L. Jones]
Jones, Retha

Jones, Retha
d/o Samuel & Inez Jones
18 Nov 1921-28 Feb 1922
"Darling we miss thee"
footstone
[Retha Jane Jones
d/o Samuel Jones & Inez Graybeal]

#Retha Jane Jones
18 Nov 1921-28 Feb 1922
d/o Sam Jones (Ashe Co NC) & Inez Graybeal (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. unknown
Informant Jane Jones (Shouns)
No cemetery listed
1922 # 212

Lewis, Bonnie 4

Lewis, Bonnie
1932-2005
Nichols, Sarah Frances (no marker visible in 2002)
1870-1947 2
[Sarah Frances Eastridge
ABT 1870-21 Dec 1947
(parents not known; father probably Joel or Barnabus Eastridge)
Md. 1st Godfrey Morris Curd
Md. 2nd John W. Nichols]
Sarah Frances Nichols, aged 77 years, died Dec. 21, 1947. She is survived by her husband, John W. Nichols; three daughters, Marie Curd, Holston, VA, Sarah Jones and Mary Campbell, Hemlock, NC; one son (should be listed as one daughter), Emmer Hall, preceded her in death. She is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
(Johnson County News, Thursday, Dec. 25, 1947, p. 2)
Nichols, Lula
Nichols, Lula
26 Mar 1884-29 Oct 1924
w/o W. A. Nichols
"Mother"
[Lula Sutherland
d/o Ruben Sutherland & Clara Winebarger
1st w/o William Arthur Nichols (buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Mountain City)]
(this stone was spelled NIckols when Jeff Carrier visited the cemetery in 1980. The photograph clearly shows where the "K" has been changed to an "H")
```
#Lula Nichols
Mar 1882 (Ashe Co NC)-29 Oct 1924
d/o Ruben Sutherland (Ashe Co NC) & Clara Winebarger (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. thought to be acute paralysis
Informant W. A. Nichols (Shouns)
Payne Cemetery
1924 # 305
```
Owens, Bettie Lou
Owens, Bettie Lou
d/o Howard & Bonnie Owens
21 Feb 1936-28 Feb 1936
"Our Darling"
"Darling we miss thee"
footstone
[Not in Nikazy
Bettie Lou Owens
d/o Howard Owens & Bonnie _____]
Payne, Charity G.
Payne, Charity G.
d/o J. J. & L. C. Payne
31 Jan 1896-19 Jun 1898
"In heaven there is one angel more"
footstone
[Charity G. Payne
d/o James Jasper Payne & Laura C. Jones]
Payne, David M. and Payne, Donia E.
Payne, David M.
05 May 1890-08 Jan 1982
[David M. Payne
s/o James Jasper Payne & Laura C. Jones]
(and
Payne, Donia E.
06 Mar 1889-31 Aug 1981
[Effie Caldonia Jones
w/o David M. Payne]
Payne, Infant daughter
Payne, Infant
daughter of J. J. & L. C. Payne
[Infant daughter Payne
d/o James Jasper Payne & Laura C. Jones]
Payne, J. Dayton
Payne, J. Dayton
11 Aug 1910-03 Jan 1965
footstone
[James Dayton Payne
s/o Roby Smith Payne & Margaret Elmina Jane Osborne
Md. 1st Eunice Mae Curd 1930 Johnson Co TN
Md. 2nd Ruby Virginia McElyea 1948]
Payne, Eunice
Payne, Eunice
06 May 1910-04 May 1943
[Eunice Mae Curd
d/o Alvin A. Curd & Susannah E. Eastridge
1st w/o James Dayton Payne]
Eunice Payne, born May 6, 1910, died May 4, 1943, at her home in War, WV. She suffered a severe illness for many months.
She was the daughter of Alvin & Susan Curd. She married Dayton Payne, and had three children: Jolene, Ray and Nola Fay; also three sisters: Mrs. Thomas Finnigan of Farmington, MI, Mrs. John McNutt of Detroit, MI, and Mrs. Roy Payne of Shouns.
Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Thames and Rev. A. E. Browne at 11:00 am Thursday, May 6. Interment followed in Payne Cemetery.
(Johnson County News, Mountain City, Thursday, May 13, 1943, p. 1)
Payne, James J.
Payne, James J.
09 Sep 1859-28 Feb 1943
[James Jasper Payne
s/o Zebulon Payne & Charity Lipps]
James J. Payne died at his home in the 3rd District Sunday. He was 83 years of age. He had been a member of the Methodist Church since early life.
He married Lennis C. Jones in 1882 and to this union 10 children were born, one daughter died in infancy.
Surviving are his widow, and the following children: R. W. Payne, R. C. Payne, David W. Payne, of Shouns; Conley Payne of Pulaski Co KY; Mrs. C. W. Taylor, Mrs. Henry H. Curd and Miss Annie Payne of Shouns; Mrs. Lennis Lewis, Mrs. Elsie Brown of Parker, NC; one sister, Mrs. Titia Howard of Shouns.
Funeral service will be Tuesday morning at 11:00 at Laurel Springs Church with Rev. A. E. Browne of Mountain City in charge. Interment will be in the Payne Cemetery.
(Johnson County News, Mountain City, Wednesday, March 3, 1943, p. 1)
Payne, Laura C.
Payne, Laura C.
08 Feb 1866 [Ashe Co NC]
25 Nov 1958 [3rd District, Johnson Co TN]
"Resting In Peace"
footstone
Mrs. Laura J. Payne, age 92, Shouns Route 1, died Nov. 25, at her home. She was the widow of the late James J. Payne. Borne in Ashe County, NC, she had lived at Shouns for 78 years. She was a member of the Laurel Springs Methodist Church.
Survivors include three sons, R. S. Payne of Mountain City, D. M. Payne of Shouns, Roy Payne of Shouns; five daughters, Mrs. Cora Taylor, Mrs. Vada M. Curd, Mrs. Ennis Vanover, all of Shouns; Mrs. Ethel Brown of Mountain City, Mrs. Maude Lewis of Palmyra, VA; 40 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at the Laurel Springs Methodist Church at 2 pm Friday with Rev. Nancy Owens, H. T. Mabry and D. O. Miller officiating. Burial was in the Payne Cemetery.
Hill Funeral Home in charge.
(The Tomahawk, Mountain City, TN, Wednesday, December 3, 1958, p. 3)
Payne, R. S.
Payne, R. S.
28 Feb 1882-15 Feb 1973
[Roby Smith Payne
s/o James Jasper Payne & Laura C. Jones]
Payne, Maggie E.
Payne, Maggie E.
w/o R. S. Payne
09 Mar 1882 Ashe Co NC-14 Dec 1952
[Margaret Elmina Jane "Maggie" Osborne
w/o Roby Smith Payne]
Payne, Robert S.
Payne, Robert S.
05 Oct 1933-11 Oct 1933
[Robert Smith Payne
s/o James Dayton Payne & Eunice Mae Curd]
Payne, Roy C.
Payne, Roy C.
29 Apr 1899-28 Oct 1983
[Roy C. Payne
s/o James Jasper Payne & Laura C. Jones
Md. Hettie L. Curd]
Payne, Hettie L.
Payne, Hettie L. Curd
w/o Roy C. Payne
24 Feb 1906-29 Aug 1950
[Hettie L. Curd
d/o Alvin A. Curd & Susannah L. Eastridge
w/o Roy C. Payne]
Mrs. Roy Payne, 44, who died in Appalachian Hospital, Johnson City, Tuesday, Aug. 29, after a long illness, was buried at 2 o'clock Friday, Sept. 1, at the Laurel Springs Baptist Church, with Rev. Leroy Wood officiating. Burial was in Payne Cemetery.
Survivors are her husband; a daughter, Mrs. Irene Richardson, Clifton, NC; three sons, Glynn Payne, Mountain City; Earl and Paul Payne, Shouns; two sisters, Mrs. Alice Finnigan, Pontiac, MI; and Mrs. Nola McNutt, Detroit, MI.
(Johnson County News, Mountain City, TN, Thursday, Aug. 31, 1950, p. 4)
Payne, Ruby M.
Payne, Ruby M.
04 Feb 1914-04 Nov 1987
[Ruby Virginia McElyea
2nd w/o James Dayton Payne]
Payne, Villar J.
Payne, Villar J.
d/o R. S. & Maggie Payne
03 Mar 1905-27 Feb 1929
"Gone but not forgotten"
footstone
[Villar J. Payne
d/o Robert Smith Payne & Margaret Elmina Jane "Maggie" Osborne]
```
#Villas J. Payne
03 Mar 1905-27 Feb 1929
d/o R. S. Payne & Maggie Osborn (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. Hodgkins Disease
Informant R. S. Payne (Shouns)
Payne Cemetery
1929 # 15322
```
Payne, Jebalun
Payne, Jebalun
Co E 13th Tenn Calv
alt view
[Zebulon Payne
s/o George Payne, Jr. & unknown
(stone clearly starts with a "J", stone is heavily weathered)
Md. Charity Lipps 23 Jul 1835 NC]
Payne, Charity
Payne, Charity
w/o Zebalun Payne
29 Oct 1815-29 Sep 1904
"She believe and sleeps in Jesus"
[Charity Lipps
d/o John Lipps & Martha Church
w/o Zebulon Payne]
Rash, Wiley Glen
Wiley Glen Rash
[G. R. marker
July 1,1922 - September 22, 1923
s/o Amos Preston Rash and Etta Nichols
half-brother of Nancy Potter who provided this information]
Vanover, Elizabeth Ann
Vanover, Elizabeth Ann
29 Oct 1943-13 Jan 1961
[d/o Mr. & Mrs. Winston F. Vanover
Vanover, Jerry L 4
Vanover, Jerry Lee
Dec. 18, 1971 - Oct. 1, 2007
At home with my Saviour
Vanover, Richard E.
Vanover, Richard E.
1971-1971
(currently not identified)
Vanover, Winston F. and Vanover, Della M.
Vanover, Winston F.
1900-1976
Married Nov. 16, 1930
(currently not identified)
(and
Vanover, Della M.
1910-
[w/o Winston F. Vanover]

Unknown Markers:

unknown concrete marker 1
unknown concrete marker 1
unknown concrete marker 2
unknown concrete marker 2
unknown fhm & footstone 1
unknown fhm & footstone 1
unknown fhm & footstone 2
unknown fhm & footstone 2
unknown fhm 1
unknown fhm 1
unknown fhm 2
unknown fhm 2
unknown grave
unknown grave
unknown marble marker 1
unknown marble marker 1
unknown marble marker 2
unknown marble marker 2
unknown marble marker 3
unknown marble marker 3
unknown marble marker 4
unknown marble marker 4
unknown marble marker 5
unknown marble marker 5
unknown marble marker 6
unknown marble marker 6
unknown marble marker 7
unknown marble marker 7
unknown marble marker 8
unknown marble marker 8

Possible burials in this cemetery:

Payne, Infant, male

#Infant Payne, male
12 Mar 1921-13 Mar 1921
s/o Joe Payne & Mary Hicks (NC)
c.o.d. not written down
Informant Joe Ward (Butler)
Payne Cemetery
1921 # 204

Payne, Mary M.

#Mary M. Payne, single
16 Dec 1838 (Ashe Co NC)-23 Feb 1930
d/o Zebulon Payne (Ashe Co NC) & Charity Church (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. Old Age
Informant R. S. Payne (Shouns)
Payne Cemetery
1930 # 3401

Payne, Edward Smith

#Edward Smith Payne
20 Jul 1922-28 Jul 1922
s/o David M. Payne & Dona Jones (Ashe Co NC)
c.o.d. Broncho Pneumonia
Informant David M. Payne (Shouns)
Payne Cemetery
1922 # 1267
Note:  not sure which Payne Cemetery is referred to here.  No data to suggest one choice over the other.

Sources

1. Photos taken, readings and genealogical research by
2. Upon A Lonely Hill The Cemeteries of Johnson County, Tennessee by Jeffrey L. Carrier
3. James Osborne

Go to The Original Johnson County Tennessee Genealogy Page

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This page added 28 June 2003 and last updated 14-Jun-2009

The images and all content are copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without specific written approval by Basil L. McVey or for images, the owner of the image. However, the images may be used freely for non-commercial genealogical purposes as long as the source is cited.