Bass Payne
Obituary of William C. Payne, Charlottesville, Virginia.
William C. Payne, one of the most beloved residents of Charlottesville, Va., died at his home there on July 20, after several months' illness.
William Collins Payne was the son of William and Ann Payne of Fluvana County, and had passed his eighty-first year. He joined the Monticello Guard in 1857 and remained a member of that company until 1862. He was with his company at the hanging of John Brown. In 1861 he enlisted in Company A, 19th Virginia Infantry, and served with great gallantry in the many engagements of his company. In 1862 he was stricken with typhoid fever, which left him completely blind for a time. He recovered his sight later, but one eye was left very much impaired, and on this account he was discharged from service in the army.
Returning to Charlottesville, he again entered the grocery business, in which he continued until 1885, when he opened a music store. On account of failing health, he retired from active business about four years ago.
Comrade Payne was a member of the John Bowie Strange Camp, U. C. V., of Charlottesville. At the Confederate Reunion in Washington in June 1917, he headed the Virginia division in a rolling chair, carrying an old Confederate flag that had been through the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Mr. Payne was a man of sterling character and one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the city, enjoying the respect of all who knew him. He had been a member of the city council and held other offices of responsibility. He was an active member of the First Baptist Church and a prominent in Masonic circles.
He married Miss Susie L. Bass, of Appomattox County, who died about ten years ago. Five sons and four daughters survive him.
SOURCE: Confederate Veteran Magazine, September, 1920.