Arthur (Art) Payne was born June 2, 1908 in Jackson, Tennessee, to Albert Marx Payne and Sallie Viana Denson, Payne. He only weighed 1 1/2 pounds at birth. He was just like a doll. They could put a teacup over his head he was so small. His mother could have thrown him out one of the cracks in the wall of the cabin. She took a pillow put cotton on it and laid Art on the pillow covered him up with cotton and that's the way they had to take care of him.
His Dad had his own cow, and his own chickens, and pigs for their meat. They would gather the eggs, and take them to the little grocery store close by which carried a little bit of every thing from hardware, to materials, and clothing. They would trade the eggs, for the staples like coffee, sugar, and salt, or whatever they needed. In the fall when Dad didn't have much to do, he would go up on Cumberlin Mountain and hew ties to get a little bit of money.
His parents had a mule to plow their land, which was a hillside, because Tennessee was not a money making place. In the spring when they were ready to plant their crops, Mother would go out and help with the planting.
Art was very small at that time, and his mother would dig a big hole in the ground, and spread a quilt in it so he couldn't roll down the hill. Sometimes she would find a bed of ants in the hole and would have to dig another hole to put him in.

They had a big turkey in the yard, and he used to come up to the door and crow. Art's mother would always yell for him to get out. Art was little and sickly and his mother worried about him. She would throw things at the turkey to get him to leave. When Art could walk around good and would go outside, that turkey would tackle him and beat him with his wings. His mother would have to fight the turkey to get him off Art. Art still has the scars from that.
The school that Art and his siblings attended was 3 miles away so they had to walk.
One time when Art and his brothers were working and Kern's place in Clinton they decided to have a birthday dinner for Art. After supper was over Art stretched out on the floor and went to sleep. Kern, Bill, and Dick decided to play a birthday joke on him. They got a bucket of water and threw it at him all over in sister-in-law Lula's living room. Art was mad but everyone else just laughed even Lula and after they went back to work in the field she cleaned up the mess.
Art lived most of his life in Utah. He was married 4 times but did not have any children.