terry cosgrove
A reconstructed cabin stands on the Stratford Hall Plantation, shown at left. William Wesley Payne, center, smoking turkeys. Right: The Payne family reunion in 2011. Among the attendees were family members and local journalist, Terry Cosgrove. Cosgrove has written about the Payne descendants for the media. Barrett's research group will interview them as part of their Stratford Hall efforts. Other photos on this page are from Stratford Hall's historical archives.
Today, it is still maintained by RELMA, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, and its numerous state delegates. Their presence is felt – it is borne on the cabins each state delegate uses while at Stratford Hall, and by the mere fact that they managed something so impossible. The women of RELMA spared beautiful and desirable lands from the developer’s bulldozer. For historians, Stratford Hall is a dream as well, in that there are hundreds of acres of burial grounds, vaults, pastures, farmlands and mysterious footings, archaeological dig sites with present and future possibilities, and perfectly preserved buildings. All are remnants of a history imbued with folklore, culture, controversy and complexities. For example: The cabin of William Wesley Payne was recreated at Stratford Hall (“There was a near-miss from hurricane Irene,” says Barrett.) Descendants of the Payne family, who lived longer at Stratford Hall than any members of the Lee family, gathered for their second reunion on June 25, 2011—their first was in 2001. This revealed another aspect of Stratford Hall. “William Wesley Payne was born in 1875,” says Cosgrove, who photographed both Payne family reunions at Stratford Hall. Tim Barrett was also present at the 2011 reunion along with Cosgrove. They were privy to first-hand observations from the Payne family. “The Payne family reunion included descendants of Uncle Wes Payne, whose (reconstructed) cabin stands on the property,” Cosgrove explains. He observed the grandson of William Wesley Payne being shown the cabin which depicts
former servant quarters. The child misunderstood the rustic cabin’s historical context. “The little boy was saying, ‘This would be a cool place to camp.’" Cosgrove was strongly affected by the Payne descendants' “great sense of pride of their connection with Stratford.” Many family members are buried on the grounds. “You could randomly have a conversation with them, and they all knew where they fit into the family tree. There was a sense of pride in being attached to Uncle Wes, and to Stratford. It was pride of place, that, ‘This place couldn’t have existed without us,’” says Cosgrove. Barrett’s research group is requesting permission to conduct oral histories of surviving Payne family members. n
go to
www.johnsmith400.org/smithsmap.htm to see Smith’s 1612 map. www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/files/OLD JST SITE/files/treasured_landscapes/NGS Treasured Landscapes map to see the National Geographic Society’s “Treasured Landscapes” map. www.johnsmith400.org/voyage.htm provides additional information about the voyage of the recreated Captain Smith shallop. www.ced.uga.edu/cll to see the recently launched Cultural Landscape Laboratory.
UGA Graduate School Magazine w i n t e r 2 012
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