The family of Stephen Paine 1686-1745

 We are now in the fourth generation of Paines who helped build America, and particularly Massachusetts and then Rhode Island.  Three of the men I've written about, including this one, are named Stephen, and following tradition, there are several men who are siblings, cousins, etc who are also named Stephen, which makes it rather difficult to keep them all straight.  I believe that some of the trees our there have confused the various men named Stephen, particularly in the lists I've seen of children of these men.

This particular Stephen Paine, the son of John (!) and Elizabeth Belcher Paine, was born in 1686 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts and died in 1745 in Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island.  He married Sarah Vallett or Vallette, who may or may not be the daughter of Jonathan Vallette of Glocester.  I have seen three other wives for Stephen.  One, Sarah Thornton, is definitely not correct because she was married to Stephen's son named (what else?) Stephen.  That leaves Sarah Leach, who did marry a Stephen Paine in 1727, and Martha Smith, who married a Stephen Paine in 1737.  The marriage to Martha was in Glocester, and the one to Sarah Leach was in Pomfret, Connecticut.  I think the Stephen who married Sarah Leave was not this Stephen Paine, but I believe that Martha Smith was indeed his second wife, although no children were born to this marriage.  I don't know who Martha's parents are.

Three children are usually attributed to Stephen Paine and Sarah Vallette.   There may be a fourth.

The first child, Stephen, was born in 1716 and died in 1797 in Glocester, Rhode Island.  He married Sarah Thornton, the daughter of Benjamin and (possibly Mary)Gurney Thornton.  Their children are Nathan, Stephen, Sarah, Mary, Benjamin, and Moses.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Naomi (Neomy) was born in 1718 and died in 1763.  She married Robert Saunders, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Howland Saunders.  (Don't get excited about the Howland name; it doesn't appear to be part of the Mayflower Howland family.) Their children are Sarah, Othniel, Robert, Abiah, and Jeremiah.

Then there seems to be about an eleven year gap between children.  Was Sarah ill, or were there unsuccessful pregnancies and infant deaths we know nothing about?  Perhaps Dorcas was a bit of a surprise.  She was born in 1729 abd died in 1810 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island.  She married Captain Stephen Keech, the son of Jeremiah and (spouse unknown) Keech.  Their children are Rhoba (Rhoda?), Urana, Jeremiah, Stephen, Freelove, David, Martha, and Nicholas.   

Some family historians think that Rebecca, born about 1716, is also the child of Stephen Paine, and perhaps an unknown person who could be a spouse, or a one night stand, or something in between.  Since her records are of Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts, I am leaning fairly strongly to the idea that she is not the child of this Stephen Paine, but perhaps someone has seen records that would prove or disprove this.  As of now, I am not pursuing Rebecca but I wanted to bring her to your attention.

I'd like to know more about Stephen, and about his life.  How many wives did he have, really? Is Rebecca actually his child? Did he serve in any military actions (he died before the French and Indian War began)? But mostly, I'd like to acknowledge him as another part of our family, and as a builder of America.