ABSTRACT

Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England in the county of Norfolk, on January 29, 1737. He was the son of Joseph Pain and Frances Cocke Pain (Thomas added the “e” shortly before he came to America). Joseph Pain was a stay-maker by trade 1 The Pains were not a poor family, nor did Joseph’s occupation qualify as one that would afford a luxurious lifestyle for his family. Rather the Pains were of the “middling sort,” able to afford to send young Thomas to the local grammar school in Thetford until he was thirteen. At the age of thirteen Paine’s father removed him from school to apprentice him into the family trade.