Henry Clay Payne (1843–October 4, 1904) was U.S. Postmaster General from 1902 to 1904 under Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. He died in office and was buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was also a chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Payne's birth is noted in different references as either September 23 1843,The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia; AmericanPresident.org (2005), Postmaster General: Henry C. Payne (1902 - 1904). Retrieved December 29 2005. or November 23 1843.The Political Graveyard (March 10 2005), Politicians in Railroading in Massachusetts. Retrieved December 29 2005.Those Prolific Pains: Henry C. Payne. Retrieved December 29 2005. He was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts; he spent his youth in Massachusetts, and attempted to enlist for the American Civil War, but he was rejected from service due to poor health. In 1863, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he found work as a dry goods merchant.

In 1872 he began his political career with the Young Men's Republican Club of Milwaukee County. He worked his way up to become secretary and then chairman for the organization. In 1876, Payne was appointed Postmaster of Milwaukee, a position he held for the next ten years. He transferred his organizational skills to his next position as president of Wisconsin Telephone Company in 1885, and successively served as director for the First National Bank of Milwaukee and president of the Milwaukee and Northern Railroad, Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company and the Milwaukee and Cream City Traction Company. In 1893 he was elected president of the American Street Railway Association in recognition for his service to the street railways of Milwaukee, and later in August 1893, he was appointed receiver for the bankrupt Northern Pacific Railroad.

References