Hello to all on the NEWTON list, I am looking for a NEWTON/PAYNE connection. Appearing in the 1850 census for Tennessee, Macon county: PAYNE, Willliam, wm, age 46, born NC. Wife, Mary_________? wf, age 37, born TN. Children: Talitha or Tabitha, age 19 Alfred, age 17 Thomas, age 12 Eveline, age 10 Catharine, age 8 Malvinia H., age 4 John D., age 6 Amanda, age 1 William and Mary________?Payne will have one more son, in 1852, and they named him, NEWTON. NEWTON does not appear on the 1850 census record of Macon county TN but he does appear on the 1860 Arkansas census for Fulton county, Big Creek township. I have posted the above information to the ADAMS-L list, the PAYNE-L list and other lists on rootsweb. I suspected, for some time, that Mary______? Payne's maiden name was ADAMS because she and William lived among FIVE close neighbors in Macon county, TN all named ADAMS with North Carolina connections. So far I have not been able to connect Mary_______?Payne to any ADAMS line. A posting, recently, on the ADAM-L list from [email protected] that mentioned connections between the ADAMS/NEWTON family in SC set me to thinking. I have often wondered why William and Mary____?Payne named their last born son NEWTON. NEWTON is a name not often used in any of the PAYNE lines that I have seen posted on the PAYNE-L list. The Paynes used names like Alfred, John, James, and Thomas so often that it has been difficult to keep them all separated. (The 1850 census of Macon county, TN lists about 30 William Paynes, most were head of households or were a member of a household with the surname PAYNE, if you get my drift.) Now along comes one NEWTON Payne. Why did they name their last born son NEWTON? I think it was because they knew, admired, loved or was related to someone named NEWTON. Mary________?Payne's maiden name could be NEWTON. Some of the ADAMS men who lived as close neighbors to the Paynes could have had wives whose maiden name(s) may have been NEWTON. Any one out there on the NEWTON-L list with a Mary NEWTON married to a William PAYNE? Mary______?Payne was born circa 1813 and in the state of Tennessee. (I have no idea where in TN she was born.) Thanks you for any hints you may be able to send my way. Raymond L. Gann, (grasping at the best straw I have at the moment.)