Richmond planet., 1925-06-27
HISTORY OF AGED
PRELATE, WHO HAS LED A
FLOCK FOR 45 YEARS.

Anniversary services of the forty
five years pastorate OK the Rev.
Evans Payne, D. D.. and of the sew
enty-thsrd anniversary Of the historic
Fourth Baptist Church closed Mon
day night, June 18th, after an elab
srate program lasting eight days.
Mr.. George w. Gillian, Jr., clerk OF
the church. in sketehing the life OF
DR.. Payne, says:
THE subject of this sketch was
born of slave parents, William and
Betsy Payne. about 1S49. AS soon
as he was large enough he was put
to work on the farm where he Ia
bored until he came to richmond
Virg MIA, April 5. 1865. Remaining
here for a while he worked at what-
ever he could find to do, such as car
Den1er. helper in a blacksmith shop
and cooper in warehouse. he mar
ried Miss Sarah Walker of Bucklng-
ham County, Virginia, and as re-
suit of this union, he was pressed
with two children, Felisco and Vlr-
g'nia V. Payne. He also adopted TWO
of his nleces. Rosa B. and Lille b.
Jackson.
Rev. Mr.. Payne professed religion
n 1856 and was a candidate for mem
bership in the Dovermine Baptist
Church of Goochland, Virginia. Clr-
mmstances, over which he had no
control caused him to be absent from
the above named church at the times
of baptizing; so that two years
elapsed before he could be baptized.
Yer he remained under the supervls
ion of the elders of the church. When
he settled in Richmond he petitloned
the Second Baptist Church for mem
bershsp After he was examined py
the deacons and the church, ne was
bapt zed by the late Reverend VIII
liam Troy. September 12, 1858. The
church soon granted him a license TO
preach: he was gifted In song, prayer
and exhortation and worked hard IN
preparation for the work that was
before him.
"In 1880 he was called to the
Fourth Baptist Church to succeed the
larnented Reverend Scott GwatEnsy
He accepted the call and wss or
dained by the Second Baptist Church
I'm May of that year. When he as
sumed charge of the Fourth Baptist
Church, the meeting house was
small frame structure located on
Thir:y.second Street, between M and
N Streets. After remaining there
about five years he led the churcn
to move TO Twenty eighth and
Streets where a magnificent brlck
structure. sixty by ninety feet, was
erected. 1t was with foresight and
vision that Pastor Payne succeeded
In erecting a building forty years
ago that is still. modern. The main
auditorium seats about twelve hun
dred persons and the gallery has
seating capacity of about five hun
dred more. There IDS also a very
large basement with seating capac''
itv of about seven hundred people
The building cost seventy five thous-
and dollars.
cit is estimated that fully ten
thousand persons have been baptized
bv Pastor Payne into the membership
of the Fourth Baptist Church and
fully twice that number have been
received into, fellowship. The mem
bership today enrolls two Thousand
five hundred. Many upright leaders
have gone from this church to spread
glad tidings elsewhere, al is ev1N
denced by the work OF the late Dr:
P. ]. Wallace, who built the colossal
First Calvary Baptist Church. Nor
folk, Virginia; the Reverend F. B.
Morris, successful pastor of Enon
Baptist Church, Philadelphia Penn
sylvania; and the Reverend W. L.
Ransome, A. M, D. D., scholar
teacher and pastor of the First Bap
tist Church, South Richmond, Vir
ginia. 1t is conservative to remark