Bob Paul was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on June 12, 1830 and at age 12 (some reports say age 14) went to sea from New Bedford, Massachusetts on the whaling ship "Majestic" with his older brother John. When the voyage ended two years later in the Sandwich Islands, the captain sold the cargo of whale oil and gave Paul his share, $250 (approximately $ as of ). He shipped out as a merchant sailor for the next two years and when his ship put in at San Francisco on February 2, 1848, he left to try his luck in the California gold fields.