According to his own account, Charles Paine was 15 years old when he was sold in 1770 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Joshua Harper to Seth Daniels of Franklin, Massachusetts. Charles purchased his freedom from Daniels in 1777, and enlisted in the Massachusetts Line of the Continental Army for a three year term. He then served two tours with the Franklin militia. Before he purchased his freedom, Paine married Rachel Hayden "alias Newberry, a Mulatto" also of Franklin. He was struck by lightning while serving at West Point, New York, which apparently disabled him for the remainder of his life. In 1782, he moved his family to Shutesbury, Massachusetts, and then to nearby Deerfield in 1786. Paine and his wife had several children: Melita (1786-1868), Lucinda (1789), Benjamn (1792-1792), Mahala (1793-1833), Timothy (1796), Levi (1800), and possibly Susannah (1803), Charles, and Juda. If birth and death dates are correct, Charles, Sr. died at the age of 105.