Born on January 21, 1757, in Brooklyn, Connecticut Colony, British America,[1] Paine attended the public schools and served in the Continental Army from 1776 to 1777, during the American Revolutionary War.

[1] He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1781 from Harvard University and read law in 1784.

[1] In 1793, Paine ran for Vermont's 2nd congressional district, finishing a distant second to Anti-Federalist incumbent Nathaniel Niles.

[2] He was reelected as a Federalist in 1800 and served from March 4, 1795, to September 1, 1801, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial post.

[1] Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Paine served as Postmaster of Williamstown, Vermont from 1815 to 1842.