William Wiseham Pain (1817-1882) was born in Richmond, Virginia. He moved with his parents to Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1827. He attended school in Mount Zion and studied law in Washington, both Georgia towns. Paine was admitted to the bar in 1838. He served in the Seminole Indian was of 1836. In 1840, he moved to Telfair County, Georgia, and commenced practicing law. He was a member of the State Convention in 1850, and he served as private secretary to Governor Howell Cobb, 1851-1852. He was in the Georgia Senate from 1857 until 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered the Confederate States Army as a Captain in the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment. At the end of the war, he moved to Savannah and continued to practice law. Pain was a representative from Georgia in Congress, 1870-1871, and a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, 1877-1879. On June 12, 1876, W.W. Paine was appointed a Special Commissioner of the U.S. Commissioners of Claims to take testimonies on cases pending from the State of Georgia. He was a member of the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society.
From the description of William Wiseham Paine papers, 1837-1882. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 123765650
