John Paine Sr. (ca. 1702 – 1755)

John’s Date of Birth

Daniel Paine’s will established that Daniel and Hannah Paine had a son named John.[1] Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence of John’s date of birth. On September 2, 1700, the Northampton County court referred to his mother as Mrs. Hannah Maynard, indicating that she married Daniel Paine after that date.[2] Therefore, the earliest he could have been born would have been late 1701.

John’s oldest son, Moses, was mentioned in the Somerset County, Maryland, tax lists for the first time in 1737.[3] Since the tax lists include males 16 and older, I concluded that Moses was probably born around 1721. It is unlikely John would have been married and had a son before the age of 16, so the latest he would have been born would have been around 1705. 

Based on the evidence available, I settled on 1702 as a rough estimate of his date of birth.

John’s Siblings

Daniel Paine’s will also established that John had two siblings named Daniel and Esther. It is unclear what happened to Daniel since he does not appear in any other records. He most likely died young or left the area once he was grown.

Esther married Thomas Griffith and remained in Northampton County, Virginia. On May 14, 1728, she and her husband gifted 150 acres of land that had been her father Daniel’s to their son John.[4] On June 8, 1736, she inherited half of the estate of her half-brother, William Foster.[5]

John first appeared on the Somerset County tax list in 1723. [10] The Somerset County Tax Lists are the surviving record of the poll tax levied on free males over age fifteen. During the colonial period, officials for each Maryland county collected taxes to cover the costs of provincial government and the established church, as well as various county expenses. The county was subdivided into hundreds. As each constable made the rounds of his hundred, he kept a list, organized by household, of the people who were taxed. Because the courts fined household heads if they did not inform the constable of every dependent, these lists presumably provide an accurate record of the taxable population for each year.[11]

John appeared on tax lists almost annually until 1740. He is twice included in the Pocomoke Hundred and the other times in Mattapany Hundred. Since the two hundreds are adjacent and confusion about hundred boundaries was common, he presumably remained on the same tract of land despite appearing in two different hundreds. That could also explain the few years when he did not appear on the list, since families who lived along the boundaries between two hundreds could be omitted if each constable assumed that these households were enumerated in the other hundred.[12]

Mattapony means "landing place" or "river of high banks" in the Algonquian language. Following American independence, Maryland's hundreds were converted into election districts, and Mattapony became the Sandy Hill, later the Stockton, election district. Mattapony Hundred's original borders were the Pocomoke River to the west and northwest, Corker's Creek to the northeast, Chincoteague Bay to the east, and Accomack County, Virginia, to the south. During the colonial period, Mattapony Hundred was divided by the creation of Pitts Creek Hundred, which was formed from its western third.[13]

Pocomoke Hundred derived its name from the indigenous people who inhabited the area.[14] It was located on the western side of the Pocomoke River and North of Mattapany Hundred.

John’s Wife

I know that John married a woman named Elizabeth because she renounced the administration of his estate after John died without a will.[15] Elizabeth Paine wrote her will on December 3, 1762.[16]

While there is no direct evidence of Elizabeth’s surname, she was most likely the daughter of John Upshur and Elizabeth Blades. After John Upshur died, John Paine was listed as one of John Upshur’s nearest kin, along with Robert R. Blades (likely Elizabeth Blades’ brother).[17] Also, Elizabeth’s son, Jacob, named his son Moses Upshur Paine, and Moses Upshur Paine continued the tradition by giving two of his sons the middle name Upshur. This pattern would have been unlikely if they had not had an ancestor from the Upshur family.

The Upshur family lived in Virginia and Maryland.[18] Arthur Upshur (1624-1709) was born in Essex County, England, and immigrated to the Eastern Shore of Virginia about 1637.[19] He was accompanied by his brother Abel, who settled on the Western Shore of Virginia in an area later known as Gloucester County.[20]

John and Elizabeth’s Children

According to Elizabeth’s will, John and Elizabeth had seven children.[21] She bequeathed her clothing to three daughters, Jemima Dubberly, Elizabeth Conner, and Sarah Roley. She bequeathed her son John 25 shillings due to her from her son Isaac. She bequeathed only one shilling to Isaac. She bequeathed the remainder of her estate to Moses, Jacob, Jemima, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

According to tax records, it appears that Moses was the eldest son, born around 1721. Moses appeared on the Somerset County tax list for the first time in 1737, indicating that he was 16 years old at the time.[22] John appeared on the Somerset County tax list for the first time in 1740, indicating he was born around 1724.[23] Unfortunately, tax records stop here, so I don’t know when Isaac and Jacob were born. There are also no records showing when their three daughters were born.

John’s Death

John died without a will sometime before May 5, 1744. On that date, his son Moses transferred land to his other son John, and the deed identified the land “that was his father John Paines.[24]” For some reason, the estate was not probated until ten years later. On December 27, 1755, John’s widow, Elizabeth Pain, renounced administration of his estate. John Pain, Isaac Pain, and William Watson paid a bond of 200 pounds sterling, and John Pain was named administrator of the estate.[25] On March 9, 1756, John Pain submitted an inventory of his father’s estate to the court, identifying Isaac and Jacob Pain as kin.[26] The inventory listed dozens of farm animals, an array of farm tools, and furniture.

Footnotes

[1] Virginia, Northampton County. Wills Deeds Etc. 1708-1717. FamilySearch, Film 007645514, image 170 of 570 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-NSQT-1?i=169, pp. 79-80, images 215-216 of 570 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-NSQY-9.

[2] Maryland, Worcester County. Inventories & Accounts 1688-1742 J.W. 15. FamilySearch, film #104858221, image 1 of 613 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYX-BSJY-8?lang=en&i=0, pp. 327-329, images 384-386 of 613 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYX-BSVD-L?lang=en&i=383.

[3] Maryland, Somerset County Court. Tax Lists 1723-1759. Maryland State Archives C1812 https://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/series.aspx, 1737 Tax List  https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/tax1737.html

[4] Virginia, Northampton County. Wills, Deeds & C No. 26 1725-33. FamilySearch, film 007645509, image 434 of 807 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P6-Y39K?lang=en&i=433, p. 117, image 574 of 807 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P6-YQ3N.

[5] Virginia, Northampton County. Wills & Inventories No. 18 1733-1740 Part 1. FamilySearch, film #007676192, image 359 of 568 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-NSQX-F, pp. 165-166, images 527-528 of 568https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TC-NSQS-C.

[6] Virginia, Northampton County. Order Book No. 18 1722-29, image 1145 of 1174 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-YCM3?lang=en.

[7] FamilySearch, Somerset County, Maryland Genealogy, Genealogy Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Somerset_County,_Maryland_Genealogy : accessed 21 April 2025), Somerset County, Maryland.

[8] Maryland, Somerset County. Land and Court Records 1719-1731 EK6. FamilySearch, film 007575974, image 2 of 700 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99XH-XXRM?lang=en&i=1, p. 109, image 63 of 700 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XH-XFM8?lang=en&i=62.

[9] Maryland, Somerset County Court. Tax Lists 1723-1759. Maryland State Archives C1812 https://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/series.aspx, 1736 Tax List https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/tax1736.html.

[10] Maryland, Somerset County. Taxi Lists 1723-1759, 1723 Tax List https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/tax1723.html.

[11] Russo, J. Elliott. Somerset County Tax Lists: Introduction. Annapolis MD: Maryland State Archives. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/c1812_intro.html.

[12] Ibid.

[13] “Mattapony,” Wikimedia Foundation, last modified June 4, 2022 06:46, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattapony.

[14] “Territories and Villages of the Pocomoke People,” Pocomokeindiannation.org, last modified February 2024, https://www.pocomokeindiannation.org/Territories%20and%20Villages.htm.

[15] Maryland, Worcester County. Administrators Bonds Liber J.W No. 5 1753-63. FamilySearch, film #005080350, image 4 of 236 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1V-27H?lang=en&i=3, pp. 71-73, images 42-43 of 236 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1V-234?lang=en&i=41.

[16] Maryland, Worcester County. Wills Liber J.W. No. 4 1769-83 FamilySearch, film # 005080348, image 3 of 421 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-S56X?lang=en&i=2, p. 25, image 17 of 279 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-STHH?lang=en&i=16.

[17] Maryland, Somerset County. Wills 1748-49. FamilySearch, film 005087783, image 4 of 530 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYMF-GD9?lang=en&i=3, p. 539, image 278 of 530 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YMF-P64?lang=en&i=277. (while dates say 1748-1749, it has inventories from 1720s).

[18] Upshur, John Andrews. Upshur Family in Virginia. Lynchburg VA: Warwick House Publishing, 1993. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062511142&seq=11.

[19] Ibid., 3.

[20] Ibid., 4.

[21] Maryland, Worcester County. Wills Liber J.W. No. 4 1769-83, p. 25, image 17 of 279 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-STHH?lang=en&i=16.

[22] Maryland, Somerset County Court. Tax Lists 1723-1759, 1737 Tax List  https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/tax1737.html

[23] Maryland, Somerset County Court. Tax Lists 1723-1759, 1740 Tax List https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/coagser/c1800/c1812/html/tax1740.html.

[24] Citation

[25] Maryland, Worcester County. Administrators Bonds Liber J.W No. 5 1753-63, pp. 71-73, images 42-43 of 236 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1V-234?lang=en&i=41.

[26] Maryland, Worcester County. Inventories Liber J.W No. 8 1742-63. FamilySearch, film #005080352, image 1 of 278 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1J-F9S?lang=en&i=0, pp. 207-208, image 147 of 278 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1J-XJV?lang=en&i=146.