John Howard Payne


John Howard Payne was an American actor, poet, playwright, and author who had most of his theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of "Home! Sweet Home!", a song he wrote in 1822 that became widely popular in the United States and the English-speaking world. After his return to the United States, Payne spent time with the Cherokee Indians. He published accounts that suggested their origin as one of the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel.
In 1842, Payne was appointed American Consul to Tunis, where he served for nearly 10 years until his death. Payne was a distant cousin of the American parlor song composer Carrie Jacobs-Bond, born 10 years after Payne's death.

Early life and education

John Howard Payne was born in New York City on June 9, 1791, one of seven sons among nine children and seven sons. Early in the boy's childhood, the family moved to Boston where his father the family to Boston, where he headed a school. The family also spent time at his grandfather's colonial-era house in East Hampton, New York, which was later preserved in honor of Payne. As a youth, Payne showed precocious dramatic talent, but his father tried to discourage that path. After the death of an older brother, his father installed young Payne, age 13, in the brother's position at the same accountants' firm in New York, but the boy did not have a mind for commerce.
His interest in theater was irrepressible. He published the first issue of The Thespian Mirror, a journal of theater criticism, at age 14. Soon after that, he wrote his first play, Julia: or the Wanderer, a comedy in five acts. Its language was racy, and it closed quickly. But Payne's work on "The Thespian Mirror" had caught the attention of William Coleman, the editor of the "New-York Evening Post," who saw in him a highly promising prospect for greatness in the city's cultural future, sought a sponsor for his college education. John E. Seaman, a wealthy New Yorker, accepted that financial responsibility. Columbia was ruled out because of its proximity to the distraction from young actresses, and even the College of New Jersey was considered too close. Union College in Schenectady, NY, seemed a safer choice, and the novelist Charles Brockden Brown, an active promoter of New York City as an intellectual leader, accompanied him as far as Albany.Union College.
Payne started a college paper called the Pastime, which he kept up for several issues. When he was 16, his mother died, and the academy run by his father was failing. Payne, unhappy in his "exile" at Union, left for Easter and informed his grieving father that he was dropping out of college to pursue a stage career. On February 24, 1809, he made his debut at the old Park Theatre in New York in the eponymous role of Young Norval. Scoring a brilliant success, he went on to become the first American actor to play Hamlet; regarded as a prodigy, he was regaled as a home town wonder when he returned to Boston, among other major cities he toured. His appearances as Romeo to Eliza Poe, Edgar Allan Poe's mother, won particular acclaim, and he favored her to play opposite him in comedies. But despite his success, financial dealings with the theaters were contentious. In a brief interval away from the theatre, he founded the Athenaeum, a circulating library and reading room.
Payne was friends with Sam Colt and his brother John C. Colt, who was accused of murdering a printer named Samuel Adams. Payne was a character witness at John Colt's murder trial and acted as a witness in Colt's wedding ceremony to Caroline Henshaw on the morning of Colt's scheduled execution.

Career

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Befriended by the English tragedian George Frederick Cooke, who appeared with Payne in King Lear at New York's Park Theatre. Payne was persuaded to bid for recognition in London's theatre world, and he crossed the Atlantic in February 1813.
Despite an oversupply of British actors, Payne drew plaudits at once, with notable engagements at Drury Lane and Covent Garden. Paris followed. Resuming his interest in playwriting, he not only crafted his own plays but also adapted and translated a variety of French works for production in England. In 1818, he sold hisBrutus, which gained much respect. But a constant need for money led him to expand into theater management at Sadler's Wells Theatre, an endeavor that clearly proved it was not among his skills.
In 1823, Payne sold a group of his plays to Charles Kemble, the manager of Covent Garden Theatre. for £230. The first that Kemble chose to stage, however, was already being produced elsewhere. Payne saw this as a minor hurdle. By tinkering with the plot and added adding song lyrics, Payne easily transformed it into an operetta he entitled Clari; or the Maid of Milan. Among the new material was "Home, Sweet Home," a reworking of a poem he had written as a Union student, which helped make the opera an instantaneous success and Payne a famous man. Set to music Sir Henry Bishop adapted from an Italian folk tune, the song insured Payne's lasting fame,
The sheet music rapidly sold 100,000 copies, earning its publishers £2100 net profit in the first year. Years later, when the Lincoln family was mourning the death of their son the president asked that it be played repeatedly at the White House. As was typical throughout his career, however, Payne realized onl meager profits from its enorous popularity. "While his money lasted, he was a prince of bohemians", but had little business sense.
While in Europe, Payne had several romantic interests, including a brief infatuation with Mary Shelley, Shelley's young widow and the author of Frankenstein. The interest foundered when it became evident that she hoped to employ him as a means to attract the notice of his friend, Washington Irving. Payne never married.
Leaving Europe after nearly two decades, Payne returned to the United States in 1832. Friends arranged a benefit concert in New York to try to help him give him a stake. He also toured the country with artist John James Audubon. Desperate for an income from his pen by writing for periodicals, Payne sought to exploit public interest in the Cherokee, he traveled south to Georgia as the guest of the Cherokee Chief John Ross in 1836 to gain acquaintance with the tribe. While staying with Ross, Payne was arrested and briefly imprisoned by Georgia authorities as his arrival was considered suspicious. WHen one of the soldiers sand "HOme, Sweet Home," Payne mentioned that he had written it. This led to an intercession by General Edward Harden of Athens, to whom Payne had a letter of introduction, and he was released.
What he found was contrary to his naive expectations. A strong sympathy for their plight and admiration for their achievements turned him into an ardent advocate for them against Andrew Jackson's depredation, which became known as the tribe's Trail of Tears. Payne not only lobbied COngress on their behalf but also amassed a voluminous volume of research, most of which remains unpublished, on the constitution, written language, customs, myths, food, and history of the tribe. Although his efforts to advance the theory that the Cherokee were one of the ten lost tribe of Israel, based on what he was convinced were similarities between the Cherokee language and ancient Hebrew, has impeached the reputation of his study, it has nevertheless been an important source of information for subsequent scholars... Payne's theory, crazy as it sounds today, was not unique; Benjamin Franklin shared the same belief.
Payne has faded from America's literary consciousness, but he was a prominent figure during his early years.He was closely associated with Washington Irving, with whom he collaborated on five plays. And although the fact that poetry paid almost nothing at the start of the nineteenth century dissuaded Payne from developing his talent in the genre, he is extolled as one of the more gifted young poets of his generation in the Intriguing biographical detective work in 2919 fostered the speculation that Payne was Edgar Allan Poe's biological father.

Last years in North Africa

In 1842, President John Tyler appointed Payne as the American Consul in Tunis, due in part from support from statesman William Marcy and Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who were moved by his famous song and wanted to help him. Payne served twice in North Africa. He died in Tunis in 1852 and was buried there in St. George's Protestant Cemetery.

Late celebration

"ever was a dead poet so famous for a single song, or so honored."
Payne's song was widely sung during the American Civil War, when it was treasured by troops of both the North and the South. It was also a particular favorite of President Abraham Lincoln. He asked Italian opera star Adelina Patti to perform it for him and his wife when she appeared at the White House in 1862. The Lincolns were still mourning the death of their son Willie.
In February 1883, Payne's remains were disinterred and brought to the U.S. by steamer, at the suggestion and expense of the philanthropist W.W. Corcoran of Washington, DC, who arranged reinterment in his home city. In New York, the coffin with Payne's remains was received with honors and transported by black funeral hearse to City Hall, where it was held in state while several thousand people visited the hall to pay respects. For a day, all the papers were filled again with the story of his life, for "his song is that one touch of nature which makes the world kin. It is the frailest thread of which fame was ever spun." The remains were transported to Washington, DC, and held for services on the anniversary of Payne's birth in June.
Arrangements were made for a memorial service to mark the reinterment of Payne's remains at Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown neighborhood. The memorial service was held on the 91st anniversary of Payne's birth and was attended by President Chester A. Arthur, members of his cabinet, the State Department and the Supreme Court; the Marine Band, and a crowd of 2,000-3,000, filled with literary and other prominent people. Organizers arranged for a full choir to sing "Home, Sweet Home."
Payne has faded from America's literary consciousness, but he was a prominent figure during his early years.He was closely associated with Washington Irving, with whom he collaborated on five plays. And although the fact that poetry paid almost nothing at the start of the nineteenth century dissuaded Payne from developing his talent in the genre, he is extolled as one of the more gifted young poets of his generation in the Intriguing biographical detective work in 2012 advnces the speculation that Payne was Edgar Allan Poe's biological father.*

Legacy and honors

  • 1873: A bronze bust of Payne was installed with a public ceremony in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
  • 1883: Payne's ashes were brought back to the United States, received with honors, held in state at New York's City Hall, and reinterred in a ceremony in Washington, DC on the 91st anniversary of his birth.
  • Circa 1890s: Payne's grandfather's home on James Lane in East Hampton was preserved by Mr. Gustav Buek, a wealthy admirer of the poet, and identified as "Home Sweet Home" in Payne's honor. Payne spent time there as a child. It is next door to the Mulford Farmhouse, a significant English colonial farmstead, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • 1970: John Howard Payne was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

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