Robert Treat Paine

Stylized handwritten text that reads 'Built For Rain'.
A portrait of an older man with white hair, wearing a dark coat and a white cravat, set against a dark background.

BORN - March 11, 1731, on School Street, near the Old City Hall in Boston, MA.  Parents (English ancestry) – Thomas Paine (1694-1757) and Eunice Treat Paine (b1704-d1747).  Five Children – Abigail Paine Greenleaf (b1725-d1810), Robert Treat Paine #1 (b1727-d1727, as infant), Thomas Paine, Jr. (b1729-d1730, as infant), Robert Treat Paine #2 (b1731-d1814), Eunice Paine Greenleaf (b1733-d1803).

DIED - May 11, 1814(1814-05-11) (age 83), Boston, MA.  Religion – Congregationalist (Puritan) / Unitarian.  Buried - Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA, two blocks from his birthplace.

APPEARANCE – The picture above is the portrait of Robert Treat Paine (age 71) painted by Edward Savage in 1802 and finished by John Coles, Jr. in 1822.  Great powers of mind, profound knowledge of the law and habits of thorough investigation.      

FAMILY – Married - Sally Cobb (b1744-d1816) in 1770.  Eight Children – Robert Paine (b1770-d1798), Sally Pain (b1772-d1823), Thomas Paine (b1773-d1811) named changed to Robert Treat Paine, Jr. in 1801, Charles Paine (b1775-d1810), Henry Paine (b1777-d1814), Mary Paine Clap (b1780-d1842), Maria Antoinetta Paine Greele (b1782-d1842), Lucretia Paine (b1785-d1823).

OCCUPATION – LAWYER, MERCHANT, LEGISLATOR, ATTORNEY GENERAL, JUDGE.  Graduated from Harvard College (now Harvard University) in 1749.  Established a law practice in Taunton, MA in 1761 and then Boston in 1780.  Was the unsuccessful prosecuting attorney at the trial of British soldiers after the Boston Massacre in 1770.  Lost to the defense attorney, fellow future signer John Adams and the soldiers were set free.  Member of the Continental Congress representing Massachusetts from 1774 to 1778.  First Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1777 to 1790.  Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from1790 to 1804. 

AT SIGNING – Age 45 at signing.  Although Paine has been alleged to be the only signer whose signature shows a slip of the quill, as there seem to be two “e”s in Paine, the second loop is actually a flourish.  Other surviving samples of Paine’s signature also include a flourish after the letter “e”. 

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in the Congress in Philadelphia until 1778.

HISTORIC SITES  

Statue – Statue of Robert Treat Paine, Taunton, MA (1904).   Located Church Green in front of City Hall, Taunton, MA.

Gravesite - Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA (1660).  Located at 100 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111, next to the Park Street Church and near the site of the Boston Massacre, Phone 617-635-4505, Website cityofboston.gov. 

Boston Home – Boston Home Site, Boston, MA.  Located near the corner of Milk and Devonshire Streets, Boston, MA.  The historical marker reads – “On this site stood the house of Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  In this house he died on the 11th of May 1814.”

Statue of a historical figure on a tall pedestal surrounded by flowers, with trees and a church in the background.

Statue of Robert Treat Paine, Taunton, MA (1904).  

Located Church Green in front of City Hall, Taunton, MA.