I visited the library, too, and spent a full eight hours each on two days just very quickly scanning the many thousands of items, particularly correspondence, in the 22 boxes. Since I was trying to trace a group of Paynes who turned up in the mid/late-1700s in SC (supposedly from VA), I didn't have benefit of focusing on a particular VA county or Payne family there. I didn't have much luck either, since most of the actual research was based on his visits to the many VA counties and courthouses (but no significant work outside VA). Many Paynes moved over time within VA and down into TN, NC, SC and GA, and he did a much better job on those Payne branches that were fairly stable and could be followed from court and other records in particular VA counties. To transcribe and be able to organize names and places meaningfully from the many scattered documents in the collection would seem a huge task to me -- perhaps a larger task than even Patrick imagines or describes. --- Steve

As one of the 23 participants in the first round of Payne DNA testing, I want to express my appreciation here for all of the work of Patrick Payne in trying to provide us with an alternative input for our genealogical pursuit of Payne ancestors. I'm sure that the conclusions reported by Relative Genetics and Patrick don't begin to square with or address all of the information or interests of participants, but they do seem to create a reasonable base from which further work by us as individuals or groups might extend. I hope others will want to be included in a second round of DNA tests. The more of us that can be tested, there should be increasing evidence to support or refute initial results and to provide more linkages on these early Paynes. Since results in my own case suggest a strong link somehow to John Payne, the immigrant to Westmoreland Co., VA, I'd like to do more study on him and about three generations of his descendants. Perhaps there is some evidence that I haven't seen yet that would somehow link this John and his close kin to my earliest known ancestor, Phillip Payne, and probably three or four Payne brothers/cousins who started settling in the Craven/Kershaw/Camden area of South Carolina in the 1750s and 1760s. Although several of us have been collecting info on these SC Paynes, there has been little evidence other than family legends linking them directly to earlier Virginia Paynes. My own speculation has been these SC Paynes are a branch of earlier Goochland and/or Pittsylvania, VA Paynes who moved into some of the North Carolina counties before continuing south to the Camden, SC area, but this speculation is based on very little information that certainly needs to be challenged and developed further. If others have information or guidance on tracking these VA to SC Paynes (early/mid 1700s), please let me know. Thanks. --- Steve Payne