Robert Treat Paine (March 11, 1731 – May 11, 1814) was an American lawyer, politician and

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

who signed the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the American colonies adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 20, 1774. It called for a trade boycott against B ...

and the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

as a representative of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He served as the state's first

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and as an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously func ...

, the state's highest court.

Early life and ancestors

Robert Treat Paine was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas fro ...

on March 11, 1731. He was one of five children of the Rev. Thomas Paine and Eunice (Treat) Paine. His father was pastor of Franklin Road Baptist Church in Weymouth but moved his family to Boston in 1730 and subsequently became a merchant there. His mother was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Treat, whose father Maj.

Robert Treat Robert Treat (February 23, 1624July 12, 1710) was a New England Puritan colonial leader, militia officer and governor of the Connecticut Colony between 1683 and 1698. In 1666 he helped found Newark, New Jersey. Biography Treat was born in Pitm ...

was one of the principal founders of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

, and later a governor of Connecticut. Robert Treat Paine's Treat family had a long history in the British colonies and his Paine family, in particular, can trace a lineage back to the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...

''.

Education

Paine attended the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

and then entered

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

at age 14; he graduated in 1749 at age 18. He then taught school for several years, first back at Boston Latin and later in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Paine also attempted a merchant career, with journeys to the Carolinas, the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, and Spain, as well as a whaling voyage to Greenland. He began the study of law in 1755 with his mother's cousin in

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

. Paine served as a chaplain in the Crown Point Expedition. Upon returning to civilian life, he did some occasional preaching and returned to his legal studies. In 1756 he returned to Boston to continue his legal preparations with Samuel Prat, and he was admitted to the bar in 1757. He first considered establishing his law practice at Portland (then part of Massachusetts but now in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

), but instead in 1761 moved to

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

, then back to Boston in 1780.

Legal career

In 1768 he was a delegate to the provincial convention which was called to meet in Boston. Paine, along with Samuel Quincy, conducted the prosecution of Captain Thomas Preston and his British soldiers following the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

of March 5, 1770.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

was opposing counsel, and Adams' arguments won the jury's sway, and most of the troops were let off. Paine served in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

from 1773 to 1774, in the

Provincial Congress The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...

from 1774 to 1775, as well as represented Massachusetts at the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

from 1774 through 1776. In Congress, he signed the final appeal to the king (the

Olive Branch Petition The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed on July 8 in a final attempt to avoid war between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies in America. The Congress had already authorized the i ...

of 1775), and helped frame the rules of debate and acquire gunpowder for the coming war, and in 1776 was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He returned to Massachusetts at the end of December 1776 and was speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1777, a member of the executive council in 1779, a member of the committee that drafted the state constitution in 1780. He was

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder al ...

from 1777 to 1790 and prosecuted the treason trials following

Shays' Rebellion Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. T ...

. From 1777 to 1785, his acting Attorney General was Benjamin Kent. In 1780, he was a charter member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

. He later served as a justice of the state supreme court from 1790 to 1804 when he retired.

Death and legacy

Statue of Robert Treat Paine by Richard E Brooks 1904

Paine died at age 83 in 1814 and was buried in Boston's

Granary Burying Ground The Granary Burying Ground in Massachusetts is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery, founded in 1660 and located on Tremont Street. It is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including Paul Revere, th ...

. Many of his papers, including correspondence and legal notes, are now held by the

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bosto ...

. Paine was a Congregationalist and a devout Christian. When his church, the First Church in Boston, moved into

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin language, Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the Trinity, doctri ...

, Paine followed that path. A statue of Paine by Richard E. Brooks was erected at Taunton's Church Green in 1904. Paine is an honoree of the Washington, D.C.

Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence is a memorial depicting the signatures of the 56 signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence. It is located in the Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in W ...

. Paine married Sally Cobb, the daughter of Thomas and Lydia (née Leonard) Cobb and a sister of General David Cobb, on March 15, 1770. She was born May 15, 1744, and died June 6, 1816. They were the parents of eight children: * Robert Paine (May 14, 1770 – July 28, 1798), died unmarried, graduate of Harvard College. * Sally Paine (March 7, 1772 – January 26, 1823), died unmarried. *

Robert Treat Paine Jr. Robert Treat Paine Jr. (December 9, 1773 – November 13, 1811) was an American poet and editor. He was the second son of Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born Thomas Paine (after his paternal grandfather), he changed ...

(December 9, 1773 – November 13, 1811), graduate of Harvard College. * Charles Paine (August 30, 1775 – February 15, 1810), graduate of Harvard College, married Sarah Sumner Cushing (niece of both U.S. Supreme Court associate Justice William Cushing and Massachusetts Governor

Increase Sumner Increase Sumner (November 27, 1746 – June 7, 1799) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Massachusetts. He was the fifth governor of Massachusetts, serving from 1797 to 1799. Trained as a lawyer, he served in the provisional go ...

). * Henry Paine (October 20, 1777 – June 8, 1814), married Olive Lyman, daughter of Theodore Lyman. * Mary Paine (February 9, 1780 – February 27, 1842), married Rev. Elisha Clap, graduate of Harvard College. lapp, Ebenezer The Clapp Memorial: Record of the Clapp Family in America : Containing ...” 1876/ref> * Maria Antoinetta Paine (December 2, 1782 – March 26, 1842), married Deacon Samuel Greele. * Lucretia Paine (April 30, 1785 – August 27, 1823), died unmarried. Some of his notable descendants include: * Charles Jackson Paine * John Paine *

Robert Treat Paine Storer Robert Treat Paine Storer (April 17, 1893 – February 5, 1962) was an American football player for Harvard University. In 1912, he scored Harvard's first touchdown against Yale since 1901 and was selected as a first-team All-American at the t ...

* Robert Treat Paine, owner of The Robert Treat Paine Estate, known as Stonehurst * Lyman Paine. He married, in 1926, Ruth Forbes of the distinguished Forbes family and a great-granddaughter of

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

Sumner Paine Sumner Paine (May 13, 1868 in Boston, Massachusetts – April 18, 1904 in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American shooter. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Biography Born in 1868, Paine's father was Charles Jackson Pai ...

Michael Paine Michael Ralph Paine (June 25, 1928 – March 1, 2018) was an American engineer. He became notable after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, because he was an acquaintance of the President's assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. His wife, Ruth ...

, husband of

Ruth Paine Ruth Hyde Paine (born September 3, 1932) was a friend of Marina Oswald, who was living with her at the time of the JFK assassination. According to four government investigations, Lee Harvey Oswald stored the 6.5 mm caliber Carcano rifle that ...

* Robert "Bob" Treat Paine III, zoologist * Treat Williams, Actor

References

Bibliography

Robert Treat Paine Papers
Digital Edition. * ''The Papers of Robert Treat Paine'', ed. Stephen T. Riley and Edward W. Hanson, vol. 1, 1746–1756, Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society 87 (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1992). * ''The Papers of Robert Treat Paine'', ed. Stephen T. Riley and Edward W. Hanson, vol. 2, 1757–1774, Collections 88, (1992). * ''The Papers of Robert Treat Paine'', ed. Edward W. Hanson, vol. 3, 1774–1777, Collections 89, (2005). * ''The Papers of Robert Treat Paine'', ed. Edward W. Hanson, vol. 4, 1778–1786, Collections 92, (2018).

External links

*
Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Robert Treat 1731 births 1814 deaths 18th-century American lawyers 18th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers American abolitionists American Congregationalists American people of English descent Boston Latin School alumni Burials at Granary Burying Ground Congregationalist abolitionists Continental Congressmen from Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard College alumni Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Massachusetts Attorneys General Massachusetts lawyers Members of the colonial Massachusetts House of Representatives People of colonial Massachusetts Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Signers of the Continental Association Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence