BILL PAYNE

                    
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BILL PAYNE

He said that Bill Payne came from over about Hillsboro, probably in the eighties, and was a hard character - was reported to have killed two or three men over there before he came to Hamilton County.

[William Dennis "Bill" Payne married Olive "Ollie" Dunlap in 1872 in Hill County and relocated to Hamilton County later that year.]

Killing of Poe

It was about 1886 that he killed Tom Poe, who was said to be a constable at the time. It seems, he said, that he, Payne, and Poe and one Griffin had been out together horseback hunting horses. That later Poe went to his house and got his gun. When he came back Payne walked up to his horse, grabbed the reins of the horse, and shot Poe while he was on the horse and killed him.

At that time Mr. Williams was working as a cow hand for Jim Livingston, and had been feeding. Bill Payne most of the time there at the cow camp. Later on Payne killed Livingston.

Right after Payne killed Poe a posse was organized and went out looking for him horseback during the night. Tom Freeman lived out that way in the part of the country where the killing took place, and where Payne was thought to be, and he was a large man like Payne and usually rode a similar horse.

The posse ran up in sight of Freeman during the night and thought he was Payne. Freeman, who knew what they were after, would run his horse ahead, always keeping out pistol shot, and then would slow up. The he repeated this process until he arrive at the Livingston cow camp, where he seemed to have been working and where his identity was made known. Mr. Williams thought he probably did it just for fun but agreed he could have been luring them on, and off of the trail, but probably just doing it as a prank.

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CHESLEY'S  HAMILTON COUNTY INTERVIEWS

BY

HERVEY EDGAR CHESLEY, JR.

Born: 21 November, 1894

Died: 17 July, 1979

 

 

 

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People and Places: Gazetteer of Hamilton County, TX
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Copyright © March, 1998
by Elreeta Crain Weathers, B.A., M.Ed.,  
(also Mrs.,  Mom, and Ph. T.)

A Work In Progress