About us
Payne Family of Western North Carolina DNA Project
Coordinated by publicist and family history reviver Regina Lynch-Hudson, in collaboration with genetic genealogist Connie Bradshaw, The Payne Family of Western North Carolina DNA Project studies the descendants of Sarah “Sally” Payne (1806-1892) and Drucilla “Drucy” Payne (1816 - aft. 1870), two Payne family matriarchs who lived side by side on the 1860 Columbus Division of Polk County, NC Census.
Please note: To join this project, the Family Finder DNA test, already taken or ordered, is required.
The goal of the Paynes of Western North Carolina DNA Project is to identify the descendants of Sarah “Sally” Payne and Drucilla “Drucy” Payne and their related families. Kinship DNA matches are evident among descendants of matriarchs Sarah “Sally” Payne and Drucilla “Drucy” Payne ─ and this project aims to help younger generations connect pieces of a puzzle where the Paynes, Freemans, Laws, Owens, Littlejohns, Haydens, Hamiltons, Lynchs and Logans meshed in the early settlements of Shiloh, Rutherfordton, Edneyville, Hendersonville and Chimney Rock.
Celebrity songbirds Freda Payne (famed for her 1970 hit single "Band of Gold," and anti-war song “Bring the Boys Home" recorded in 1971 during the Vietnam War era) and Scherrie Payne (best known as a member of the R&B/Soul vocal group The Supremes from 1973 until 1977), are a part of the steadily growing Payne Family of Western North Carolina DNA Project.
Outlying branches from Sarah “Sally” Payne’s line include Sally’s son, George Washington Henry Lee Payne (1838-1927), who is featured in a permanent exhibit at the heavily publicized national landmark, the Biltmore Estate, where he was the estate’s lead blacksmith. G.W. Payne’s siblings were Samuel, Jane, Joseph, Joshua, Thomas, Sarah and Lonny Jr.
Drucilla “Drucy” Payne (1816 - aft. 1870), is the great-great grandmother of Freda and Scherrie Payne. Branches from Drucilla “Drucy” Payne’s line include Drucy’s children, Rebecca “Susan Ann,” John Henry, and Luthera ─ and their offsprings, including centurion Arthera Payne Owens (1884-1986).
The Paynes, Freemans, Laws, Owens, Littlejohns, Haydens, Hamiltons, Lynchs and Logans all interconnect again, and again, and again, through many layers of double-kinship, cousins marrying cousins, and relatives intermarrying. Since Biblical days, beginning with Genesis, relatives have married, and history repeats itself in these families throughout several generations.
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Bios of Project Administrators:
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Connie Bradshaw (rvsailor@aol.com), owner of I Dig Your Roots, a genetic genealogy research firm, combines the science of DNA testing with traditional genealogical research methodology. A 26 year U.S. Navy Veteran, she is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the International Society of Genetic Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, and performs all research within their strict ethical code of standards. As the genealogist for the Historic Carson House, located in Marion, North Carolina, she has unraveled several complicated Carson family relationships. Her all-embracing manner proved instrumental in coordinating an inclusive reunion that successfully and harmoniously drew black and white Carson descendants together. Utilizing DNA testing to move beyond conventional research, she was able to explain their intertwining Carson kinship. Focused on education, she completed Boston University’s Certificate Program in Genealogical Research in 2012. She provides educational lectures on genetic genealogy for local heritage and genealogy societies, and facilitates a Jacksonville, Florida based DNA Interest Group. Continually engaged in learning new genetic genealogy developments, she encourages DNA testing as a valuable tool for genealogical research, providing answers where oral histories leave off.
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Regina Lynch-Hudson (thewritepublicist@earthlink.net), owner of The Write Publicist & Co., is a family history reviver and author of Family Gems: A Pictorial History of Western North Carolina Ancestors. The 418-page coffee table book, published in 2009, gives long overdue homage to five family lineages in Western North Carolina, and features ancestral trees, museum-quality montages, DNA charts and restored black-and-white photographs. She is a nationally published travel writer who has penned articles on historical sites ranging from the Biltmore Estate, where her maternal great-grandfather George Washington Richard Henry Lee Payne reigned as an early estate blacksmith, to coverage of Historic Carson House, a house museum that was former residence of her paternal great-great-great grandfather Colonel John Carson. World traveled, her article and accompanying photos of Cairo, Egypt, titled ‘Cairo Unveiled’ won Best Feature Story in 1995, awarded by the Atlanta Association of Media Women. In March 2006, she co-organized ‘Soulful Sojourn to South Africa’, a trip for Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine readers, and orchestrated media coverage for the adventure. Today, the semi-retired publicist alternates between international leisure travel, heritage-inspired journeys and publicizing her Western North Carolina ancestors.
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