Edward Bell Payne, M. D. With an understanding of what is awaiting the man of science, the many doors yet unopened which will lead to the further amelioration of the ills of mankind, and the constant yearning to add to his store of knowledge, it is practically impossible for the conscientious physician and surgeon to arrive at a state of mind where he is satisfied with what he has accomplished and, of necessity, he keeps on striving for perfection as long as life lasts. A long list of accomplishments in his profession have marked the career of Dr. Edward Bell Payne, one of Fort Scott’s leading medical men, who, still in the prime of life, may be looked to for further and greater achievements.
Doctor Payne was born in Miami County, Kansas, on a farm near Paola, October 9, 1866, and is a son of Rev. James M. and Mary A. (Cantwell) Payne. The latter, who was born in 1843, was a daughter of Andrew Cantwell, a native of the South of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States at an early date and settled in Illinois, where he farmed until moving to Linn County, Kansas. There he followed agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life. Rev. James M. Payne was born in 1843, on a farm in Indiana, and as a young man moved to Illinois and engaged in farming. When the Civil war came on he enlisted in Company G, Second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, with which organization he served four years, five months and fourteen days as a private. In 1866 he came to Kansas and settled on a homestead near Paola, Miami County, where he engaged in farming. Being of a deeply religious nature, he studied for the ministry and was ordained in the Methodist Church in 1878. His ministerial labors began in Miami County and for many years he preached in Eastern and Southeastern Kansas. From 1893 until 1898 he was pastor of Grace Methodist Church, at Fort Scott, and in the latter year was appointed chaplain of the National Military Home, at Leavenworth, Kansas, a position which he has retained to the present time. Reverend Payne is beloved by all, and counts hundreds of friends in all walks of life and of all religions and creeds. Mrs. Payne, a woman of culture and refinement, is a devout Christian and has been of great assistance to her husband in his religious and charitable labors. They had three children, of whom two died in infancy.
Edward Bell Payne began his education in the country schools of Miami County, following which he attended Baker University, at Baldwin, Kansas. He next began his medical studies in the University Medical College of Kansas City, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1889, and then took his degree in Bellevue (New York) Hospital in 1890. Doctor Payne started practice at Galena, Kansas, in the fall of 1890, and remained there until 1905, during which time he was the recipient of numerous honors, being at various times president, vice president and secretary of the Cherokee County Medical Society, and for five years a member of the school board of Galena, during which time he was instrumental in having built two splendid school buildings. For thirteen years he served as superintendent in the Methodist Sunday schools and in various other ways held a prominent place in the life of the community. In 1905 Doctor Payne came to Fort Scott, where he has since advanced to a leading place in the ranks of his profession. Holding to high ideals in his professional service, his work has always been characterized by a devotion to duty and with an appreciation of the responsibilities resting upon him. He is interested in all that pertains to modern progress, both in and outside of his calling, particularly along intellectual, moral and material lines, and his charities assist many worthy enterprises. He belongs to the American Medical Association, the Kansas State Medical Society and the Bourbon County Medical Society, and has served Bourbon County as coroner for six years. Politically, the Doctor is an adherent of republican principles. He stands high in Masonry, belonging to the Knights Templar and the Shrine at Leavenworth. He has continued his religious labors at Fort Scott, where he is trustee of the Methodist Church and has been superintendent of the Sunday school for ten years. As a relaxation from the exacting duties of his calling, Doctor Payne engages in agricultural work, having a natural love for farming and being the owner of a handsome property at Redfield, Bourbon County, where he raises the standard crops and also breeds good livestock.
Doctor Payne was married July 6, 1898, at Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Miss Rose Luckey, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of John and Susan Luckey, who came to Cherokee County, Kansas, direct from Illinois. Doctor and Mrs. Payne have one daughter, Mary Esther, who was born at Galena, November 11, 1903, and is now attending school. Mrs. Payne is well known in social circles of Fort Scott, and, like her husband, takes an active part in religious and charitable work, being district president of the Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society.