Augustus G. Paine Jr.
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Augustus Gibson Paine Jr. (October 19, 1866 – October 23, 1947) was an American paper manufacturer and bank official.


Early life

Paine was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on October 19, 1866. He was a son of Augustus G. Paine Sr. (1839–1915) and Charlotte M. (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Bedell) Paine (1840–1929). He was educated privately in the United States and Europe.


Career

In 1885, Paine moved to
Willsboro, New York Willsboro is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States, and lies south of the city of Plattsburgh (city), New York, Plattsburgh. As of the 2020 United Sta ...
, to manage a local pulp mill. He became president of the New York and Pennsylvania Company of
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is a city in, and the county seat of, Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan ...
, which was founded in 1890. The firm was later based at 230
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
operated a Clarion paper mill and related industries in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1920 built the Castanea Paper Company in Lock Haven. The New York and Pennsylvania Company became one of the leading paper manufacturers in the country and a major supplier to the
Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home ...
, the publisher of the ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...
'', ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'' and others. In 1945,
Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home ...
acquired a 30% interest in the New York and Pennsylvania Company. After his death in 1947, Curtis became the sole owner of the New York and Pennsylvania Co. around 1950.


Ornithology

Paine was an avid hobby
ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
. At the age of 19 or 20, together with Lewis B. Woodruff, he composed a list of birds of
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, counting over 100 species. This was regarded as the first official list of birds of
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, and was published in ''
Forest and Stream ''Forest and Stream'' was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. The magazine was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. When independent publication ceased, in 1930, it was the ninth oldes ...
'' on June 10, 1886. An article in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' on August 26, 1974, calls attention to this early list. His collection of some 1,200 specimens were later donated by his family to the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
under the name "Augustus Paine and Alvah Jordan collection of birds". A copy of the original catalogue and documents relating to the gift were also given by the family to the museum archive.


Personal life

In 1888, he married Maud Eustis Potts (1865–1919), who converted from the Episcopal Church to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 1913. Maud was a daughter of George Potts and Mary Laurette (née Eustis) Potts. Together they were the parents of five sons, all of whom married and had children themselves: * Augustus Gibson Paine III (1891–1938), who married Dorothy Marian Quimby (1893–1937), a daughter of Dr. Charles Elihu Quimby. * George Eustis Paine (1894–1953), was chairman of the board of the New York and Pennsylvania Co. until his death. He married Helen Ellis (1895–1948). After her death, he married Katryna Ten Broeck Weed (1897–1962), a daughter of
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
man George S. Weed, in 1950. * Alexander Brooks Paine (1898–1976), who married Walburga Kaul Reilly (1902–1942) in 1922. They later divorced before her remarriage and eventual suicide. * Hugh Eustis Paine (1905–1973), who married Helen Clirehugh Duncan (1906–1992) in 1928. * Peter Standish Paine (1909-2004), who was president of the New York and Pennsylvania Company. He was also CEO of the
Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation Great Northern Paper Company was a Maine-based pulp and paper manufacturer that at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s operated mills in Arkansas, Georgia, Maine, and Wisconsin and produced 16.4% of the newsprint made in the United States. It was also ...
. He married Ellen Cadeen Lea, a daughter of Robert C. Lea of Chestnut Hill, in 1933. Four years after the death of his first wife on June 4, 1919, he married Francisca Machado Warren (1891–1981) at St. John's Memorial Chapel in Cambridge. Francisca daughter of the late Minton Warren, a Latin professor at
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...
and later
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, and Salomé (née Machado) Warren, who was of Cuban descent. Together Francisca and Augustus were the parents of one daughter: * Francisca Warren Paine (1928–2016), who married David Irwin. After a long illness, Paine died on October 23, 1947, at the age of 81 at his home, 31 East 69th Street in Manhattan. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
. His widow lived another three decades until her death on February 8, 1981.


Descendants

Through his second son George, he was a grandfather of New York State Senator George Eustis Paine (1920–1991) who married, and divorced, Joan Widener Leidy, a granddaughter of art collector Joseph E. Widener. He was also a grandfather of Augustus Gibson Paine IV (1919–1993), who was married (and divorced) Iris Vanderbilt Smith (1927–2006), a daughter of Earl E. T. Smith, the former U.S. Ambassador to Cuba and granddaughter of Virginia Fair Vanderbilt and
William Kissam Vanderbilt II William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. Early life He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the secon ...
. Augustus also served as president of New York and Pennsylvania Co. before becoming a partner in the Wall Street firm of Clark, Dodge & Company from 1963 until retiring in 1973. Through his son Hugh, he was also a grandfather of the actress Molly McGreevy (1936–2015), formerly Mary Wheaton Paine, known for her role as Polly Longworth on the daytime
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...
''. Through his son Peter, he was a grandfather of Peter Standish Paine Jr., a graduate of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
who became a partner in the law firm of
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb), formerly Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly & Cox and Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, Steen & Hamilton, is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York Cit ...
. Paine also served as trustee and president of the
Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...
.


Residences

Paine was closely associated with the architect C. P. H. Gilbert, who received a number of commissions from him, such as his townhouse in New York's Upper East Side on 31 East 69th Street in 1917–18. The house was sold to the Austrian government in 1952, the Austrian Consulate General is located in it today. When Paine was based in Willsboro, Gilbert also received commissions from him to construct the Essex County Bank in 1921. In May 1930, Paine donated $150,000 for a library to the town of Willsboro in memory of his mother. Both the bank and the library were constructed by Gilbert in the Neoclassical style. In 1885, after moving to Willsboro, Paine began buying land in the area, eventually amassing about , including three miles of
Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...
shoreline. There he built his Flat Rock Camp compound, which featured extensive gardens, planted on
topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic mat ...
laid over the
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
, which were maintained under the guidance of his first wife, Maud, and, after her death, his second wife Francisca and their daughter. The gardens are listed in the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens. The camp and its surrounding property, which includes
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
s, farmland, orchards and forests, are still owned by the Paine family, but in 1978 they were placed under the stewardship of the Adirondack Nature Conservancy to ensure that the land will not be developed in the future.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Augustus G. Jr. 1866 births 1947 deaths American bankers 19th-century American Episcopalians American financiers Philanthropists from New York (state) Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Businesspeople from New York City People from Willsboro, New York