Centennial history of Rush
County, Indiana
Edited by A. L Gary and E. B. Thomas
Rushville, Ind.
In Two Volumes
Illustrated
VOLUME II
1921
HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS

EDWIN PAYNE, who died at his home in Rushville in the spring of 1907, was for many years recognized as one of the foremost figures in commercial circles in this part of Indiana. Entering upon his career as a banker in 1S70, Mr. Payne became identified with the banking business of the county just at the period which began to mark the general commercial expansion of the state and so continued for many years an influential factor in that development. As the founder of the Peoples National Bank of Rushville he left an enduring memorial in the community in which he had resided since the days of his young manhood and his will long be a continuing influence in the commercial life of the city in which he elected to make his home. Born on November 1, 1840, in New Trenton, Franklin county, Indiana, the son of William J. and Louisa (Sloan) Payne, Edwin Payne located at Rushville When he was twenty-six years of age, and immediately began to make his presence felt in his new home. He was appointed a deputy under E. H. M. Berry, county treasurer, not long after taking up his residence in Rushville and later served in the same capacity under Benjamin F. Johnson, the county auditor. He then for a short time was connected with the A. G. Mauzy department store, and in 1870 entered upon the banking career in which he eventually attained such prominence. In that year (1870) Mr. Payne was elected cashier of the Rushville National Bank. For twenty-seven years thereafter he fulfilled his duties with that institution with accuracy and ability. In 1897 he retired, but a life of inactivity was not to his liking, and on October 10, 1900, he opened the doors of the Peoples Bank, which he founded as a private bank. Almost from the first day his bank prospered under his watchful eye, operating under its original charter until September 1, 1904, when it was nationalized under the name of the Peoples National Bank. How- ever, long years of unremitting application to the arduous duties entailed in his chosen field of endeavor caused Mr. Payne's health to fail, and he presently retired from active participation in the affairs of the institution, leaving his two sons to control the des- tiny of the bank. On March 29, 1907, he bowed his head to the inevitable and died mourned by all who knew him. On May 12, 1870, Edwin Payne was united in marriage to Mary Frances Mauzy, daughter of Abram G. and Emily (Jameson) Mauzy, and to that union were born two sons, Earl II. and Ralph, the former of whom is president of the Peoples National Bank and the latter, president of the Peoples Loan and Trust Company. These two institutions have been enlarged in the scope of their activities by the efforts of the sons of the founder, and in memory of their father they have erected a modern and well-arranged building on the northwest corner of Main and Second streets at Rushville. Ralph Payne was married on June 13; ]898, to Jennie Wallace, and they have four children: William Wallace, Lawrence Wesley, Frances Evelyn and Virginia. Fraternally, he is a member of all Masonic bodies save the Thirty-third degree, and in politics holds to the principles of the Republican party.