Colonial Connections It's been almost a year since my last post. Although I've been as active as before in trying to discover Payne colonial connections, my focus over that time was more often on the London area and several Payne families in London (or close to it) who had relatives and friends involved in colonial business and settlement. I hadn't discovered much yet that seemed worthy of sharing, particularly as it didn't relate strongly to what I had posted earlier about Paynes in the West Country. I have recently found, though, what seems to be a useful angle for further Payne research in the West Country. One of the eight Carolina proprietors was Gen. George Monck, Duke of Albemarle. His younger brother, a clergyman named Nicholas Monck, had a role to play in the restoration of Charles II to the monarchy when he secretly visited his older brother to determine if he would lend his support to this restoration effort, See a chapter entitled "Nicholas Monk, the King's Messenger and the Honest Clergyman" in Report and Transactions, Vol. 31, of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art, by Frances B. Troup, 1899. Both of the Monck brothers were later rewarded by Charles II. Nicholas Monck became the Bishop of Hereford and Provost of Eton shortly before his death in 1661. Nicholas Monck had married Susanna Payne, the daughter of Thomas Payne, rector of Plymtree (Devon). When Thomas Payne of Plymtree died (1567-1646), his son-in-law Nicholas Monck had succeeded him as rector of Plymtree. It appears that Thomas Payne of Plymtree had been married twice (1- Grace ? & 2- Mary ?) and had children by both women. Beyond the marriage of Susanna Payne to Nicholas Monck, Thomas Payne's other daughters apparently married in Plymtree the following: Hugh Canworthy (Grace -- 1625), William Colchette (Jane --1621), and William Payne (Elizabeth -- 1634), and Humphrey Walrond (Sarah -- 1634) . The Monck and Granville families in the West Country were wealthy and related. Sir Thomas Monck (father of Gen. George and Bishop Nicholas Monck) had married Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir George Smythe of Maydford (near Exeter, Devon), while Sir Bevill Granville had married another daughter, Grace, of this same Sir George Smythe. Bevill Granville, and his son John Granville (Earl of Bath) had as their servant, a son of one of their tenants, the Cornwall Giant, Anthony Payne, who saved the life of the son John when his father Beville fell in a battle in the Civil War. When Gen. George Monck died, his son Christopher succeeded him as the 2nd Duke of Albemarle and a Carolina proprietor. Nicholas and Susanna Payne Monck had two daughters, one married Arthur Fairwell (Mary) and one married Curwen Rawlinson (Elizabeth). The son of Curwen Rawlinson and Elizabeth Monck was christened Christopher after his godfather, the 2nd Duke of Albemarle. This Christopher Rawlinson (grandson of Susanna Payne) was set to inherit all of the Duke of Albemarle estates should he outlive the elderly Grace Smythe Granville, widow of Sir Bevill Granville, but he died of smallpox just a month before Grace did, and the Albemarle estates eventually came to living Granville family members (such as John Granville, Earl of Bath). From the work of Patrick Payne and others, we know that some Paynes, particularly in Jersey and associated with the Carterets, were supporters of the Royalty during the Civil War. Shortly after the restoration of Charles II, we can also see a couple of specific cases of Paynes being appointed to key offices in Ireland by Charles II: 1) a Captain John Paine in Feb. 1661 as Overseer and Director General of the King's Fortifications and Plantations there, and 2) a Robert Payne in March 1661 as Auditor of the Excise in Ireland. Who are these two Paynes? Are they related to Jersey Paynes or to ones such as the Thomas and William Payne in Plymtree, Devon (closely related to the Dukes of Albemarle)? Was the Thomas Payne of Plymtree at all related to Anthony Payne of Cornwall? Given the Carolina lands of the Moncks, did Paynes related to Thomas Payne of Plymtree get Carolina land or offices? Perhaps at least one Carolina connection exists. A deputy of the 2nd Duke of Albemarle in Albemarle, Carolina was James Hill. He was from York Co., VA and had married Hannah Bassett Phelps (a Quaker who had left Massachusetts and was an early settler in Albemarle). Among those transported to Albemarle by Hannah Hill, beyond her Phelps and Hill relatives, was a Robert Paine (who probably died in 1671 and had a son called at times Stephen or John Payne). So we can see Payne connections to at least three Carolina proprietors -- the Moncks, the Granvilles, and the Carterets. I also wonder about the marriage of a daughter of this Thomas Payne of Plymtree to a Humphrey Walrond. There were several Humphrey Walronds in Devon at that time, a few of of them closely related, and one of them had a big role in the colonization of Barbados. It's difficult to determine precisely which of these Humphey Walronds married Sarah Payne in 1634, but it doesn't appear to me to be the more prominent Walrond. I don't know if any researchers are examining a Plymtree, Devon branch of Paynes, but it could well be one branch worth further study.