Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Rail Road Co. signed by H.B. Payne - 1862 dated Autographed Stock Certificate

Sheet of 2 Various Denomination Bonds signed by H.B. Payne.

Henry B. Payne (November 30, 1810 – September 9, 1896) was an American politician from Ohio. Moving to Ohio from his native New York in 1833, he quickly established himself in law and business while becoming a local leader in Democratic politics. After serving in the Ohio Senate, Payne was elected to a single term in the United States House of Representatives in 1874. In the House, he worked unsuccessfully for a compromise in the debate over whether all of the nation's currency should be backed by gold. He was defeated for reelection, but served on the Electoral Commission that convened in early 1877 to resolve the dispute over the results of the 1876 presidential election. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1880, but lost to Winfield Scott Hancock, who would go on to lose the general election to James A. Garfield. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1884. His election by the Ohio legislature was tainted with charges of bribery, but after investigation by the Senate, Payne was permitted to keep his seat. In the Senate, he voted for moderate tariff reforms and against the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, but was otherwise a reliable Democratic vote. He did not run for reelection, and died in 1896.

The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad (CP&A), also known informally as the Cleveland and Erie Railroad, the Cleveland and Buffalo Railroad, and the Lake Shore Railroad, was a railway which ran from Cleveland, Ohio, to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Founded in 1848, the line opened in 1852. The railroad completed the rail link between Buffalo, New York, and Chicago, Illinois.

The CP&A connected at the state line with the Franklin Canal Company (FCC), a Pennsylvania company. The FCC and CP&A shared the same track gauge, and the CP&A operated both rail lines. At Erie, Pennsylvania, the FCC connected with the Erie and North East Railroad. The Erie Gauge War of late 1853 to early 1854 occurred when the Erie & North East, a broad-gauge railway, changed its gauge to match that of the CP&A. The resolution to the conflict led to the CP&A purchasing the FCC outright.

One of the most profitable railroad lines in the United States in the 1860s, the CP&A was renamed the Lake Shore Railway in 1868. It merged with the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad in 1869 to form the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland,_Painesville_and_Ashtabula_Railroad_(1848%E2%80%931869)

Read More

Read Less