Beacon November 2025

Drawing of Cornelius Ryder's house at Number 293 Bleeker Street in Manhattan where Paine lived with Madame Bonneville and her two sons until May 1809. Paine can be seen sitting in the window - The New York Public Library

The Myth of Paine’s Pennilessness

Joy Masoff / November 1, 2025

Thomas Paine made his way to 4 Rue du Théatre Français. With his knock on the door, life changed for Nicolas and Marguerite Bonneville and their very young children.

The Bonneville Family and Thomas Paine, Thomas Paine in France, Thomas Paine in New Rochelle

The Myth of Paine’s Pennilessness Read Post »

While writing Common Sense, Paine addressed a shortage of US gunpowder during the start of the revolution. He and a colleague conducted experiments on how families could make gunpowder from commonly available materials, with the results being printed in newspapers across the colonies.

Paine in Wartime: A Lifesaving Invention

Joy Masoff / November 1, 2025

Beacon November 2025

While Paine was speed writing Common Sense, he addressed a critical shortage of gunpowder that threatened to bring the American rebellion to a grinding halt.

Thomas Paine and Science

Paine in Wartime: A Lifesaving Invention Read Post »

Province Island and Mud Island south of Philadelphia in the Delaware River. Detail from John Montrésor‘s survey of Philadelphia, 1777. Library of Congress

Dr. John Kearsley, Jr.: Paine Arrives in America Stricken by Typhus

Richard Briles Moriarty / November 1, 2025

Beacon November 2025

In a March 1775 letter to Franklin, Paine said he had “suffered dreadfully” during the voyage, “had very little hopes” he “would live to see America,” and that six weeks in the care of Dr. John Kearsley, Jr. resulted in full recovery.

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. John Kearsley, Jr.: Paine Arrives in America Stricken by Typhus Read Post »