"None knew him but to love him, Nor named him but to praise."
The Chicago Tribune obituary for Rodney C. Paine, dated March 18, 1875, ended with this quote by Fitz-Greene Halleck, written of his friend and poet-collaborator Joseph Rodman Drake.
Paine like Halleck was a native of Connecticut, born there March 13, 1806. As a child he moved with his parents to Auburn, N. Y.
His Niles obituary states "he was denied an opportunity for collegiate education and entered upon a life of business at an early age."
Upon reading of Paine's accomplishments today, the simple phrase "a life of business" can seem more than a bit of an understatement. His life was filled with not only business, but politics and involvement and even more practical public service.
Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website
Published March 11th, 2008