In Memoriam

This monument was erected by the Board of Directors of Stratford Hall in 1953. The reference to "those negroes who served Stratford so faithfully" reflects the attitude of the time shown by upper and middle class whites to former slaves and their descendants.

The cemetery is the final resting place for many African Americans, including members of the Payne family, whose association with Stratford Hall dates back to the early 19th century and possibly to the period when Stratford was owned by the Lees. Wesley Payne (1875 - 1954), who continued to work at Stratford Hall after its acquisition by the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation in 1929, provided names of some family members interred here:

Walter Payne (uncle)*
Hannah Jackson Payne (mother), c. 12845 - 1886
Ardrick [Theodorick] Payne (brother), 1879 - 1883
Lal [Lawrence] Payne (brother), 1879 - 1883
Wesley Payne (great-grandfather)
Ardrick [Theodorick] Payne (great-uncle)
William Payne (great-uncle)
Walter Payne (great-uncle)
Hannah Payne (infant sister) 1886 - 1886

*Parentheses indicate each family member's relationship to Wesley Payne.

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Show me all markers in:  Montross, VA  |  Westmoreland County  |  22520  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Stratford Hall
Oval Site
Clifts Plantation Burial Ground
Clifts Plantation Site
Controlling the Water Supply to the Mill
The Stratford Mill
The Stratford Cliffs
To Keep in Perpetual Remembrance the Name of Thomas Lee
Stratford Hall
Stratford Landing: Significant Events

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