David L. Payne

Capt. David Lewis Payne (December 30 1836 – November 28 1884) – considered the Father of Oklahoma for work in opening the state to settlement. He organized, trained, and led the Boomer Army on its forays into the Unassigned Lands. His actions eventually succeeded in opening the public lands for settlement some four years after his death. The opening of the Indian lands soon followed, leading the formation of the Twin Territories and eventually to the entry of the state of Oklahoma into the Union.

Youth

David L. Payne was born December 30 1836, in Grant County, Indiana, on a farm near Fairmount . He grew up working on his father's farm. During winters he attended the local rural school.

Kansas Immigrant

In the spring of 1858, Payne and his brother left home intending to join in the Mormon War. Their interest evidently waned by the time they crossed the Missouri River, as they stopped in Doniphan County, Kansas. There, in Burr Oak Township, Payne acquired some land and built a sawmill. It soon failed and Payne fell to hunting to support himself. Eventually private parties and then the government hired him to scout for their various expeditions. These activities lead to his exploration of what would later become Oklahoma.

Soldier and Politician

At the opening of the Civil War, Payne enlisted in the 4th Kansas Volunteer Infantry. In April 1862, his regiment and the 3rd Kansas were consolidated to form the 10th. He served from August 1861 to August 1864 as a private in Company F. During his service the unit saw action in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and the Cherokee Nation.

At the end of his three–year service Payne returned to Doniphan County and was elected to the Kansas Legislature, serving in the 1864 and 1865 sessions.

In March 1865 he enlisted for one year in the 15th Kansas Cavalry as a private assigned to Company H. The unit had been activated in response to a January state legislative resolution calling for the governor to organize a regiment of veteran volunteer cavalry to protect western Kansas from Indian activity.

In July 1867, Governor Crawford issued a proclamation calling for volunteers to protect Kansans from Indian attacks in the west. The 18th Kansas Cavalry was brought up for four months as a result. Payne enlisted and was mustered in as the captain of Company D. This battalion replaced the Seventh Cavalry which had been transferred to the Platte for the summer.

In 1868 Payne enlisted in the 19th Kansas Cavalry. He mustered in as a lieutenant in Company H and mustered out a captain. The regiment was organized October 1868 at Topeka, Kansas, for six months, to serve in a winter campaign against Indians on the Western Plains. During this campaign, Payne served as a scout for General Sheridan in the western and central portions of the Indian Nations.

In 1870 Payne moved to Sedgwick County, Kansas, near Wichita, and the following year he was again elected to the State Legislature.

His involvement in politics lead to his appointments as Postmaster at Fort Leavenworth on March 19 1867; Sergeant-at-arms for two terms of the Kansas State Senate; and, in 1875 and 1879, Assistant to the Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives.

During the intervals between political engagements and military service he supported himself as he had before the war; by hunting, scouting, and guiding wagon trains.

Boomer

In 1866, shortly after the Civil War, the federal government forced many of the tribes in the Indian Nation into making concessions. Washington accused them of abrogating the standing treaties by joining the Confederacy. As a result some two million acres (8,000 km²) of land in the center of the Indian Nation were ceded to the United States, thought by many to be public domain land. The popular press began referring to this tract as the Unassigned Lands or Oklahoma and to the people agitating for its settlement as Boomers. To prevent settlement of the land, President Rutherford B. Hayes, in April 1879, issued a proclamation forbidding unlawful entry into Indian Territory.

Also in 1879, Payne began his efforts to enter and settle the public domain lands as allowed by existing law. On his first attempt Payne and his party, in April, laid out a town they named Ewing on the present–day site of Oklahoma City. The Fourth Cavalry arrested them, took them to Ft. Reno and then escorted them back to Kansas. Payne was furious, as public law (see Posse Comitatus Act) prohibited the military from interfering in civil matters. Payne and his party were freed—effectively denying them access to the courts.

Anxious to prove his case in court, Payne and a larger group returned to Ewing in July. The Army again arrested the party and escorted them back to Kansas. Again they were freed but this time leading to a trial in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Payne was charged under the Intercourse Act. Judge Isaac Parker ruled against Payne and fined him the maximum amount of one thousand dollars. Since Payne had no money and no property, the fine could not be collected. The ruling settled nothing as to the question of the public domain lands, however, and Payne continued his activities unabated. He organized and led several more expeditions into the territory.

During his last venture, this time into the Cherokee Outlet in 1884, the Army again arrested him. Instead of taking him to Kansas, they hauled him several hundred miles under severe physical circumstances over a tortuous route to Ft. Smith. Public sentiment grew so great over his mistreatment at the hands of the military that the government finally granted his trial. Payne was turned over to the United States District Court at Topeka, Kansas. In the fall term, Judge Cassius G. Foster quashed the indictments and ruled that settling on the Unassigned Lands was not a criminal offense. Joyous celebrations broke out among the Boomers. It was short–lived however. The government refused to accept the decision.

Payne immediately planned another expedition, but he would not lead it. On November 28 1884, in Wellington, Kansas, the morning after a late–night address to the Boomers, he collapsed and died. His funeral filled the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wellington and thousands filed past his grave.

The Unassigned Lands were finally opened for settlement April 22 1889, and the Oklahoma Territory established in 1890.

At Rest

In 1995 Payne's family, after a trying for most of a century, was able to have his remains moved to Oklahoma. On April 22 1995, a monument was dedicated at his final resting place in the park overlooking Boomer Lake in Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma.

Pictures of the memorial, located in the southwest corner of the park:

Payne-memorial-east-side.jpg Payne-memorial-south-side.jpg Payne-memorial-west-side.jpg

External links