Robert Treat Paine, Jr
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. (1773-1811) was the son of Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a notable figure in early American literature and law. Originally named Thomas, he grew up in Boston and excelled academically at Harvard University, where he began composing poetry that garnered praise. Despite his father's aspirations for him to pursue a career in finance, Paine chose to follow his passion for writing and journalism, founding the Federal Orrery, a political and literary newspaper, in 1794.
Paine's personal life was marked by significant challenges, including his marriage to actress Eliza Baker, which led to estrangement from his family and high society. He found professional success in law and gained recognition for his literary works, including the celebrated poem "Adams and Liberty." However, his life was also plagued by indulgence, leading to financial struggles and health issues. After the tragic loss of two of his children in 1804 and his subsequent illness, Paine returned to his father's home, reflecting a complex legacy defined by both artistic achievement and personal hardship.
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Subject Terms
Robert Treat Paine, Jr.
Poet
- Born: December 9, 1773
- Birthplace: Tauton, Massachusetts
- Died: November 11, 1811
- Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts
Biography
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. was the second son of Sally Cobb Paine and Robert Treat Paine, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a prominent lawyer who held numerous offices in state and national government. The Paines originally named their son Thomas, after Thomas Jefferson. The family moved to Boston when Paine was around seven years old, and Paine attended Boston schools before enrolling in 1788 at Harvard University, proving to be an exceptional student and earning both his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree there. The poetry Paine composed in college was praised, and he was focused on pursuing writing as a career once he graduated from college. Robert Paine, Sr., however, planned for his son to become a Boston businessman in finance. The younger Paine briefly adhered to his father’s arrangement, but within a few months, he left his clerkship and in 1794 founded the Federal Orrery, a political and literary newspaper that he ran for two years.
He had also become a fan of theater and had developed friendships with many in the theater community, which ultimately led to his marriage to actress Eliza Baker in February, 1797. The marriage resulted in Paine’s being ostracized by high society and his being banished from his father’s home; the rift between father and son was never fully mended. Paine subsequently was named the local theater’s master of ceremonies, a post that may have been created for him, and he received an acceptable income for his duties, though an indulgent and often drunken lifestyle likely contributed to his spiral into deep debt. Nevertheless, Paine continued to write and achieve publication successfully, earning impressive amounts for his writings. One such writing was his lauded The Ruling Passion, whose composition was commissioned by the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard for the group’s 1797 anniversary. The Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society also commissioned the writer one year later, and for that society Paine wrote his most famous work, Adams and Liberty.
During this time, Paine abandoned his drinking habits and paid off his debts, refocusing on a successful career in law and stepping away from his interests in theater and poetry. It was not until 1798, when Paine’s older brother died, that Paine took his brother’s name, Robert Treat Paine, Jr.; he did so both to honor his father, with whom he had briefly reunited, and to separate himself from the Thomas Paine who had made the name famous with his controversial work The Rights of Man.
Two of Paine’s children died in a matter of four days in 1804, and Paine was left devastated. The next year, he himself fell irrevocably ill, and the rest of his life was tainted by financial troubles and poor health; he spent the last of his life back in his father’s home.