Among the initial American representatives in Paris was Thomas Paine (1737-1809) who visited for the first time in March of 1781 in order to secure a loan, later returning in 1787 to present an invention to the Académie des Sciences. He stayed at the Hôtel White at 1 rue des Petits-Pères on September 19th, 1792, before moving to 7 Passage des Petits-Pères where he lived until March of 1793; both of these were in the 2ème. From March until December of 1793, Paine rented a house at 63 (now no. 144) rue de Faubourg Saint-Denis in the 10ème, which had previously been inhabited by Madame de Pompadour. In September of 1793 he served as a member of the French National Assembly, and though he was an envoy of the U.S., Robespierre nevertheless imprisoned him for advocating that Louis XVI be banished and find asylum in the U.S. Paine was later imprisoned for his writings, including “The Rights of Man” which advocated overthrowing the government if it is not protecting the people or their interests. Once liberated from prison, Paine lacked financial resources and as a result lived with James Monroe from 1794 to 1796 at the Hôtel Cusset, located in the 2ème at 95 rue de Richelieu. He then resided at 2 rue de l’Odéon in the 6ème from April 1797 to October 1802, before later being recalled to the U.S. by Thomas Jefferson.
White’s Hotel stood at the intersection of passage des Petits Pères and rue des Petits Pères, which join at an angle, and Paine also lived in a place across from the hotel at 7 passage des Petits Pères, hence the confusion.