• Source: List of early settlers of Rhode Island

This is a collection of lists of early settlers (before 1700) in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Most of the lists are of the earliest inhabitants of a particular town or area.




Native American tribes and leaders



The following people lived in Rhode Island prior to Colonial settlement:
Wampanoag people lived throughout Plymouth Colony and around Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island

Massasoit, tribal leader, met the Pilgrims at Plymouth
Wamsutta, son of Massasoit, renamed Alexander; became tribal leader upon father's death but died shortly after
Metacomet, son of Massasoit, renamed Philip; succeeded his brother as tribal leader; instigated King Philip's War
Narragansett people lived throughout the Rhode Island colony

Canonicus, chief sachem, deeded land to Roger Williams on which he established Providence Plantations
Miantonomo, nephew of Canonicus, sold Samuel Gorton and others the land to establish Warwick, Rhode Island
Canonchet, son of Miantonomo, led Narragansets during the Great Swamp Fight and accepted his own death at the end of King Philip's War
Pumham, lesser sachem of Kent County, Rhode Island
Soconoco, lesser sachem of the same area as Pumham
Niantic people lived around the Pawcatuck River in the southwestern corner of Rhode Island

Ninigret, kept the Niantics neutral during King Philip's War
Harman Garrett, Indian governor and nephew of Ninigret
Nipmuc people wandered within Rhode Island Colony, mostly from the north




First European settler


William Blackstone, settled along the Blackstone River in Cumberland, Rhode Island (1634–35), part of the Plymouth Colony at the time




First settlers of Providence



Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in October 1635 but was allowed to remain at his home in Salem, Massachusetts until the end of winter, provided that he did not preach. However, his followers visited him at his home in sizable numbers, and the authorities deemed this to be preaching. They planned to apprehend him by force and put him on a ship for England in January 1636, but magistrate John Winthrop warned him privately, and he slipped away from Salem in the dead of winter to find shelter with the Wampanoags. He bought a parcel of land in Seekonk from Wampanoag sachem Massasoit which was at the western edge of the Plymouth Colony (now Rehoboth, Massachusetts). In a 1677 statement, Williams mentioned the four who were with him at Seekonk. The five members of the group were:

Roger Williams
William Harris
John Smith (miller)
Francis Wickes (a minor)
Thomas Angell (a minor)

In the spring of 1636, Williams and his company planted crops at Seekonk but were informed in a gentle letter from Governor Edward Winslow of Plymouth that they were within Plymouth's jurisdiction, and this fact would cause difficulties with the Massachusetts authorities. Without urgency, Winslow suggested that Williams and his group move across the Seekonk River into the territory of the Narragansetts, where no colony had any claim. Joshua Verin wrote a statement in 1650 mentioning "we six which came first to Providence", suggesting that he was the next to join the original five. Also, Benedict Arnold later wrote, "We came to Providence to Dwell the 20th of April, 1636". The traditional date of the settlement of Providence has been given as about June 20, 1636, but this does not take into account the Arnold record. More recent analysis of the settling of Providence suggests that Williams likely negotiated with the Narragansetts for land in March 1636, and that he and his party actually settled the land in April 1636 along with the Arnold family. It is likely that the following people were the original settlers in the Narragansett territory at Providence Plantations:

Roger Williams (his wife Mary and daughters Mary and Freeborn likely came later)
William Harris (his wife Susannah and son Andrew likely came later)
John Smith (his wife Alice and children John Jr. and Elizabeth likely came later)
Francis Wickes (a minor)
Thomas Angell (a minor)
Joshua Verin (his wife Jane may have come later);
The Arnold party, including:

William Arnold with wife Christian, daughter Joanne, and sons Stephen and Benedict
William Carpenter with wife Elizabeth (the daughter of William Arnold)
William Mann with wife Frances Hopkins (the niece of William Arnold)
Thomas Hopkins, still a minor, nephew of William Arnold (and ancestor of Governor Stephen Hopkins)




Providence civil compact, 1637


Several young men were admitted as inhabitants to Providence before the settlement was a year old, but they were discontented with their position and wanted to be able to vote and otherwise have equality with the older settlers. The following resolution was adopted in a town meeting on August 20, 1637 and is sometimes called the "civil compact." The 1637 date was on the original town records, but when they were transcribed in 1800, the page containing that date was missing. The text of the resolution is as follows:

We, whose names are hereunder, desirous to inhabit in the town of Providence, do promise to subject ourselves in active or passive obedience to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for public good of our body, in an orderly way, by the major assent of the present inhabitants, master of families, incorporated together into a town fellowship, and others whom they shall admit unto them only in civil things.
Richard Scott
William Reynolds X his mark
John Field X his mark
Chad Browne
John Warner
George Richard
Edward Cope
Thomas Angell X his mark (now an adult)
Thomas Harris
Francis Wickes X his mark (now an adult)
Benedict Arnold (now an adult)
Joshua Winsor
William Wickenden




Original proprietors of Providence


Those named in a deed from Roger Williams, dated about October 8, 1638:

Roger Williams
Stukeley Westcott (left Salem about March 1638)
William Arnold
Thomas James (was minister at Charlestown; Providence by June 1637; left for New Haven in 1639)
Robert Coles (was earlier at Roxbury, Ipswich, and Salem)
John Greene (had departed Boston by March 1636)
John Throckmorton (was at Salem earlier)
John Sweet and wife Mary (received grant of land in 1637, was at Sweet's Cove, Salem; their lot became Court Street; their son John Sweet was a settler of Warwick Colony)
William Harris
William Carpenter
Thomas Olney (left Salem about March 1638)
Francis Weston (left Salem about March 1638)
Richard Waterman (left Salem about March 1638)
Ezekiel Holyman (left Salem about March 1638)




Pawtuxet settlers



Those settlers who left Providence to settle on the north side of the Pawtuxet River about 1638, putting themselves under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1642 to 1658:

William Arnold
Benedict Arnold, moved to Newport in 1651
William Carpenter
Thomas Hopkins, did not stay long
William Mann, did not stay long
Robert Coles
William Harris, did not stay long
Zachariah Rhodes (married Joanna, daughter of William Arnold), did not stay long
William Field, did not stay long
Stukeley Westcott, moved to Warwick about 1643




Signers of Providence agreement for a government, 1640



Those 39 Providence settlers who signed an agreement to form a government on July 27, 1640:

Chad Brown
Robert Coles
William Harris
John Throckmorton
Stukely Westcott
Benedict Arnold
William Carpenter
Richard Scott
Thomas Harris
Francis Wickes X his mark
Thomas Angell X his mark
Adam Goodwin X his mark
William Burrows X his mark
Roger Williams
Robert West
Joshua Winsor
Robert Williams
Mathew Waller
Gregory Dexter
John Lippitt X his mark
John Warner
John Field
William Arnold
William Field
Edward Cope
Edward Manton X his mark
William Man
Nicholas Power
William Reynolds X his mark
Thomas Olney
Richard Waterman
William Wickenden
Edward Hart
Hugh Bewit
Thomas Hopkins X his mark
Joan Tiler (widow)
Jane Sears X her mark (widow)
Christopher Unthank
William Hawkins X his mark




Settlers of Cocumscussoc (Wickford) area



Those early settlers who had trading posts in the area of Wickford in what was then the "Narragansett country" and later a part of North Kingstown, Rhode Island:

Richard Smith, built a trading post established about 1637 where his house Smith's Castle still stands, rebuilt by Richard, Jr. after King Philip's War
Roger Williams, built his trading post about a mile north from Smith's post along the Pequot Path (or Post Road) and occupied it from about 1644 to 1651 and then sold it to Smith to get funds for his proposed errand to England
Mr. Wilcox (possibly Edward or John), built his trading post in the early 1640s in the same general area




Founders of Portsmouth



Supporters of Anne Hutchinson who signed the Portsmouth Compact, dated March 7, 1638:

William Coddington
John Clarke
William Hutchinson, husband of Anne Hutchinson
John Coggeshall
William Aspinwall
Samuel Wilbore
John Porter
John Sanford
Edward Hutchinson, Jr., oldest son of William and Anne Hutchinson
Thomas Savage
William Dyer, husband of Mary Dyer
William Freeborn
Philip Shearman
John Walker
Richard Carder
William Baulston
Edward Hutchinson, Sr., brother of William Hutchinson
Henry Bull (signed with a mark)
Randall Holden
Thomas Clarke
John Johnson
William Hall
John Brightman
The last four names on the list were crossed out, but these men nevertheless came to Portsmouth or Newport.




Inhabitants of Aquidneck Island (1638)


The following individuals were among the earliest settlers of Aquidneck Island in the Narragansett Bay; the island was officially named Rhode Island by 1644, from which the entire colony eventually took its name. The first group of 58 names appears to be settlers of Pocasset (later Portsmouth), while the second group of 42 appears to be settlers of Newport. These two lists come from Bartlett's Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, and apparently they were compiled and incorporated into the town records of Newport on November 25, 1639. The actual arrival dates of the individuals likely span over several months during 1638; a few individuals have legible dates next to their names, while several others have illegible dates.
A Catalogue of such who, by the Generall consent of the Company were admitted to be Inhabytants of the Island now called Aqueedneck, having submitted themselves to the Government that is or shall be established, according to the word of God therein [1638]


"Inhabitants admitted at the Town of Nieu-port since the 20th of the 3:1638" (since 20 May 1638)




Residents of Portsmouth after split with Newport



Those Portsmouth settlers who remained after the group left to found Newport and who signed an agreement for a government on April 30, 1639:




Founders of Newport



Those who signed an agreement for a new government on April 28, 1639:

William Coddington
Nicholas Easton
John Coggeshall
William Brenton
John Clarke
Jeremy Clarke (his wife was Frances (Latham) Clarke)
Thomas Hazard
Henry Bull
William Dyer




Founders of Warwick



Those who purchased the land from the Indians on January 12, 1642:

Randall Holden
John Greene
John Wickes
Francis Weston
Samuel Gorton
Richard Waterman
John Warner
Richard Carder
Samson Shotten
Robert Potter
William Wodell
Nicholas Power
John Sweet




Pettaquamscutt purchasers



Those who purchased the Pettaquamscutt lands (later South Kingstown) from the Indian sachems in 1657:
Original purchasers:

John Porter
Samuel Wilbore
Thomas Mumford
Samuel Wilson
John Hull (Boston goldsmith and minter)
Later purchasers:

William Brenton
Benedict Arnold

In 1659 a second group set up the Atherton Trading Company, with perceived rights to land in Narragansett, in an area south of the North Kingstown, which included Wickford. Their claim was declared void years later.




Early inhabitants of New Shoreham (Block Island)



The original purchasers of Block Island in April 1661, whose names appear on a plaque at the north end of the island:

Thomas Terry
John Clarke
William Jud
Samuel Dearing
Simon Ray
William Tosh
Tormut Rose
William Barker
Daniel Cumball
William Cohoone
Duncan Mack Williamson
John Rathbun
Edward Vorce, Jun.
Trustrum Dodge, Sen.
Nicholas White
William Billings
John Ackurs (Acres).
The early settlers whose names appear on the plaque:

Richard Billingum
Samuel Dearing
Nathaniel Winslow
Tormut Rose
Edward Vorce
John Rathbun
Thomas Faxson
Richard Allis
Phillip Warton
John Glover
Thomas Terry
James Sands
Hugh Williams
John Alcock
Peter George
Simon Ray
Trustrum Dodge was also an early settler, though his name only appears on the plaque as an original purchaser




Those named in the Royal Charter of 1663



The early Rhode Island inhabitants named in the Rhode Island Royal Charter, dated July 8, 1663 and signed with the royal seal by King Charles II; this charter was the basis for Rhode Island's government for nearly two centuries:

Author: John Clarke
Governor: Benedict Arnold
Deputy Governor: William Brenton
Assistants:

William Baulston
John Porter
Roger Williams
Thomas Olney
John Smith
John Greene
John Coggeshall
James Barker
William Field
Joseph Clarke
Others named in the document:

William Codington
Nicholas Easton
Samuel Gorton
John Wickes
Gregory Dexter
Randall Holden
John Roome
Samuel Wildbore
Richard Tew
Thomas Harris
William Dyre
________ Rainsborrow (given name omitted)
________ Williams (this is undoubtedly Robert Williams, brother of Roger Williams)
John Nickson




Early inhabitants of Westerly


Westerly, at first called Misquamicut, was purchased on 27 August 1661 by the following Newport men:

William Vaughan
John Coggeshall, Jr.
John Crandall
Hugh Mosher
James Barker
Caleb Carr
James Rogers
Joseph Torry
John Cranston
Of these men, only John Crandall appears to have settled in Westerly.
Westerly inhabitants appearing in the town records of 18 May 1669:




Colonial leaders during King Philip's War



During the devastating events of King Philip's War (1675-1676), the Rhode Island General Assembly sought the counsel of 16 prominent citizens of the colony with the resolution, "Voted that in these troublesome times and straites in this Collony, this Assembly desiringe to have the advice and concurrance of the most juditious inhabitants, if it may be had for the good of the whole, doe desire at their next sittinge the Company and Councill of":

Benedict Arnold
John Clarke
James Barker
Obadiah Holmes
William Vaughan
William Hiscocks
Christopher Holder
Phillip Shearman
Capt. John Albro
William Wodell
George Lawton
Robert Hodgson
William Carpenter
Gregory Dexter
Capt. Randall Holden
Capt. John Greene




Original proprietors of East Greenwich


At a meeting of the General Assembly in Newport in May 1677, the following 48 individuals were granted 100-acre tracts in East Greenwich "for the services rendered during King Philip's War."




Early Settlers of Bristol (1680)


Bristol's early history began as a commercial enterprise when John Gorham was awarded 100 acres of land if it could be "honorably purchased from the indians." Gorham's enterprise succeeded on 18 Sep 1680 when four proprietors were awarded the deed to Mt. Hope Lands:

John Walley
Nathaniel Byfield
Stephen Burton
Nathaniel Oliver (sold share to Nathan Hayman)
Nathan Hayman
On 27 Aug 1680, twelve men signed Articles agreeing to purchase lands:

Capt. Benjamin Church
Doctor Isaac Waldron
Timothy Clarke
William Ingraham
Nathaniel Paine
Nathaniel Reynolds
Christopher Saunders
John Wilkins
Nathaniel Williams
Samuel Woodbury
Nathaniel Bosworth
Benjamin Jones
On 1 Sep 1681, more than 60 families were present at the first town meeting and named these lands Bristol after Bristol, England. Bristol was originally part of Massachusetts, but it became part of Rhode Island when disputed lands were awarded to the Colony of Rhode Island in 1747.




Settlers of Frenchtown



French Huguenots settled in what is now East Greenwich in 1687. On 12 October 1686, an agreement was signed between the following, representing the French settlers and the land owners:
Representing Land Owners

Richard Wharton
Elisha Hutchinson (son of Edward Hutchinson)
John Saffin
Representing Huguenot Settlers

Ezechiel Carre'
Peter Le Breton
Those who signed the agreement
The following individuals signed the follow-on agreement, usually giving only their surname, and these same names are found on a plat map of the settlement.

Also on the map are two additional lots: "La terre pour L'Eglise" (land for the church) and "La terr pour L'ecolle" (land for the school). Almost all of these people left Rhode Island to settle in Massachusetts and New York following some severe civil clashes with the English settlers. Two families remained on their original land, however:

LeMoine (later anglicized to Money, and then Mawney)
Targe' (which became Tourgee)
The Ayrault family moved to Newport.




Other prominent early settlers (pre-1700)


Jireh Bull, early settler of Pettaquamscutt (South Kingstown)
Thomas Cornell (settler)
Joseph Jenckes Jr., early settler of Pawtucket, Warwick, and Providence
Stephen Northup, built house that remains as one of oldest in the state
John Steere, early settler of Providence and Smithfield, Rhode Island
Pardon Tillinghast, early pastor of the First Baptist Church in America
John Whipple, early settler of Providence
Reverend William Vaughn, first Baptist minister of Newport
Reverend Thomas Dungan, Baptist minister of Newport
Captain Arthur Fenner, established RI boundaries, military leader of the Providence Plantations during King Phillip's War




See also



History of Rhode Island
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations




References






External links


Early Rhode Island maps
Original purchasers and settlers of Block Island

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• List of early settlers of Rhode Island
• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
• List of people from Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Royal Charter
• Philip Sherman (settler)
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Block Island
• Roger Williams
• William Hutchinson (Rhode Island judge)
• William Blaxton