Blanche Lorena Peden was born January 2nd, 1893, to John Elliot Peden and Mary Anna Richardson in Piedmont South Carolina. Blanche was the oldest surviving child of 8 siblings born between 1891 and 1914.  She continued to live in the Piedmont / Grove area of Greenville County, South Carolina all her life until she passed away at age 99.  Blanche married James Huff Payne at the age of 16; he was 22 years old. Their first child, James, was born in 1914 and tragically died when he was only two and a half years old.  Blanche and James went on to have four more children, two boys and two girls, between 1917 and 1927: Harold (1917-1996), William Walter (1920-2009), Margaret (1925-2016), and Lillian (1927-2019).  Margaret's story is told in a separate Digital Exhibit, "Women & WWII: The Letters of Margaret Payne".  

James Huff Payne and Blanche Peden Payne. [n.d.]

William Walter Payne, son of James and Blanche and brother of Harold, Margaret, and Lillian. [n.d.]

Blanche Peden Payne and her son, Harold Payne. [n.d.]

Blanche Peden Payne [n.d.]