Family tradition indicates that Thomas Paine came to America at the age of ten with his father, also named Thomas at an unknown date. He was probably born about 1610 to 1612 in England and died on August 16, 1706 in Eastham. He married Mary Snow (b. about 1630 in Plymouth, d. April 28, 1704 probably in Eastham), daughter of Nicholas Snow and Constance Hopkins and granddaughter of Stephen Hopkins, both of the Mayflower, in 1649 or 1650. The date they arrived in Eastham is unknown, but certainly before 1653, when he as acting as constable in Eastham. In 1662 he was made surveyor of highways and to view and layout a local meadow. Afterwards he held various Eastham offices, and moved to Boston and back to Eastham in the 1690s.
Some Paine Personalities:
Elizabeth Paine
Jacob Small Paine: Son of John K. H. Paine, he took over his father's organ building business and continued directing his Portland town band, was the franchised dealer for Chickering pianos, and made musical instruments and umbrellas. His brother David was an outstanding organist and his brother William was a well-known composer in Maine.
John Knowles Paine: Son of Jacob Small Paine and Rebecca Bebee Downes and the first important American composer of classical music, and organizer of Harvard's Dept. of Music and its first professor. He grew up in a musical household and his older sister Helen was a contralto, pianist, and music teacher. He began studying organ, piano, and composition under Hermann Kotzschmar in Portland in 1850, and wrote a string quartet when he was only sixteen years old. In 1858 he went to Germany to study in Berlin's Hochschule fur Musik and returned to Portland in 1861; his music has a German flavor, especially his Mass in D. Returning to Germany in 1866, the Mass in D became the first large composition by an American composer to be performed (1867) in Europe. He married Mary Elizabeth Greeley in 1869.
Joseph Paine: Although born (1741) in Eastham MA, he moved to Standish ME in 1780. Later, all of his sons moved to Portland, including John K. H. Paine, who began his career as a cooper but began manufacturing musical instruments for bands during the War of 1812: fifes, flutes, bassoons, and drums. In 1820 John built the first church organ in all of Maine.
Solomon Paine: After moving with his family from Eastham to Canterbury CT, he was converted at age 24 and joined the First Church. Later he joined the Separate Church, was ordained September 10,1746, and became its pastor until his death in 1754.
Some Paine Family Lines:
Elisha Paine (b. III-10-1658 prob. Eh, d. II-7-1735/6 C) TP-MS son
Rebecca Doane (b. V-12-1668 prob. Eh, d. XII-19-1758 C) his wife
~~~~married I-5-1685 prob. Eh
*Rev. Solomon Paine (b. V-16-1698 Eh, d. X-25-1754 pl?) EP-RD son
*Sarah Carver (b. XII-14-1701 pl?, d. VIII-9-1731 pl?) his wife
~~~~married III-2-1720 pl?
**Elihu Paine (b. VIII-5-1725 C, d. II-27-1752 C) SP-SC son
**Elizabeth Cleveland (bap. I-4-1731 C, d. VI-18-1788 C) his wife
~~~~married XI-24-1748 C (Eliz. remarried Ezra Ensworth)
***Elizabeth Paine (b.VII-25-1752 C, d. dpl?) to Richard Taylor Central
Joseph Paine (b. abt. 1670 Eh?, d. X-1-1712 Eh) TP-MS son
Patience Sparrow (b. X-25-1675 Eh, d. X-25-1745 B) his wife
~~~~married V-27-1691 Eh
*Richard Paine (b. III-25-1699 ?, d. 1775 Eh) JoP-PS
*Phebe Myrick (b. 1698/99 Eh, d. dpl?) his wife
~~~~married X-20-1726 Eh
**Joseph Paine (b. IV-21-1741 Eh, d. X-13-1827 ME) RP-PM son
**Phebe Rich (b. III-3-1747 pl?, d. X-8-1828 ME) his wife
~~~~married I-20-1767 ME
**John K. H. Paine (b. III-20-1787 ME, d. 1835 ME) JP-PR son
Sources of Information:
***Paine Genealogy: Eastham Family
***Program with John Knowles Paine's Mass in D Minor
***Mayflower Families Through Five Generations", Volume Six, Third Edition, Stephen Hopkins
See the Richard Taylor Central blog for extra information and links to Taylor family blogs
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