USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > Governors for three hundred years, 1638-1959; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations > Part 13
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Babylon Halls of the City, where Built of large trick fomentar Together with Bitumen, or a time anjeing out of the Earth, which in Time homas Harder then Marble; They were go gubite which 200 in Hith: [Or 75 feet Which is 300 foot Right.
"to the stones for the foundation
NICHOLAS EASTON
President and Governor: 1650-1651; 1654; 1672 to 1674.
Born: 1593 in Lymington, Herts Co. England.
Died: August 15, 1675 in Newport, R. I.
Buried: Newport, R. I. Coddington Cemetery.
EASTON, GOVERNOR NICHOLAS, was born in Lymington Herts County England in 1593. By trade he was a tanner. He came to this country and landed in New England, May 14, 1634, accompanied by two sons, Peter and John. For some months his home was in Ipswich, Massachusetts. In the spring of 1635 he commenced the settlement of Agawam, now Newberry, Massachusetts. In 1638 he built the first English house in Hampton. In consequence of the Antinomian controversy, which produced so much excitement in Mas- sachusetts, and reached even the most remote hamlets of the colony, Mr. Easton decided to cast in his fortunes with those who removed to Rhode Island. We find his name among the nineteen settlers of Aquidneck who signed the civil compact which was formed at Providence, by which the parties pledged themselves to be governed. The compact was as follows: "The 7th day of the first month, 1638. We whose names are underwritten do here solemnly, in the presence of Jehovah, incorporate ourselves into a Bodie Politik, and as he shall help, will submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of his given us in his holy word of truth to be guided and judged thereby. Exod. xxiv. 3, 4; 2 Chronicles xi. 3; 2 Kings xi. 17." The signature of Easton must have been affixed con- siderably later than January 7, 1638, as it was in this year that he built his house in Hamp- ton, and was not admitted as a freeman into the little colony of Pocasset until August 20.
In November a water-mill was projected by Mr. Easton, or, as the name was written, Esson, and his two sons, for the use of the plantation, and a grant of land and timber was made to him for that purpose. Six months later the father and his sons built the first house in Newport. He was elected an "Elder" to assist Judge Coddington in his official duties, etc. So rapid was the growth of Pocasset that it was decided to commence another colony on the southwest side of the island, where now Newport is, and the name of Nicholas Easton appears second on the instrument by which the parties agreed to start the new set- tlement. All the members of the Pocasset government were among the emigrants. Mr. Easton and his sons went to Newport, and, as has already been said, proceeded to erect the first house that was built in the place. The house was on the east side of Farewell Street, a little west of the Friends' meeting-house. By the carelessness or malice of some Indians, who kindled a fire in the woods nearby, it was burned down in 1641.
How modest in their expectations of growth the early settlers of Newport were, ap- pears from the circumstance that they concluded that the territory selected by them for settlement "might reasonably accommodate fifty families." Four acres were assigned for each house lot. The town soon began to be in a flourishing condition, and it was not long before the two governments, that of Pocasset and that of New Port, as the name was spelled, were united; and at the first "General Court of Election," held at Newport March 12, 1640, Nicholas Easton was chosen "Assistant" from that town. The four towns of
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the State were united under a charter or patent in 1647. Under this patent he was Presi- dent from May, 1650, to August, 1651, and a second time from May, 1654, to Septem- ber 12, 1654. From May, 1670, to May, 1671, he was Deputy Governor, and Governor under the Royal Charter from May, 1672, to May, 1674. His death occurred at Newport, August 15, 1675. For many years before his death Governor Easton had been a member of the Society of Friends.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF NICHOLAS EASTON. GOV" DIED AUGUST 15 TỪ 167,5 AGED BEIYEARS
HERE LYETHI YEBODY OF PETER EASTON. SENIOR BORN 1622 DIED FEBRUARY 12- 169 ZYEARS
GOVERNOR NICHOLAS EASTON
CODDINGTON CEMETERY FAREWELL STREET, NEWPORT, R. I.
"Easton-Nicholas Easton one of the first English Planters of this Rhode Island he lived to the age of Foure Score years & Three & then Dyed at Newport and was buried in the burying place that Wm. Coddington gave to Friends in Newport on the 15 day of ye 6 Mo 1675".
Reference-Friends Record Bock of Deaths, pg. 4, Vault #822 N. H. S.
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WALTER CLARKE
Governor: 1676 to 1677; May 1686 to June 29, 1686; 1696 to 1698.
Born: 1640 in Newport, R. I.
Died: May 22, 1714 in Newport, R. I.
Buried: Newport, R. I. Golden Hill.
CLARKE, GOVERNOR WALTER, son of Jeremiah and Frances (Latham) Clarke, was born in Newport in 1640. As a public man he filled many posts of honor and civil trust. During King Philip's war he was chosen Governor, and held the office from May, 1676, to May, 1677. He was acting Governor some time previous to this, for we find that when Providence was threatened with an attack from the Indians, application was made to Governor Clarke for assistance. The reply of the Governor may be found in Sta- ples's Annals, page 162. It is written in a quaint style, and expresses sentiments such as we might expect a Quaker Governor would utter. "What you can secure by your own people is best." he tells Captain Arthur Fenner and the other citizens who had petitioned for help, "and what you cannot secure is best to be transported hither (Newport) for security; for we have no hope, but sorrows will increase and time will wear you out, and if men lie upon you, their charge will be more than your profit twice told. I know your losses have been great and your exercises many, which do and may exasperate to pas- sionate words, yet men should keep within the bounds of reason, lest what they threaten others with, fall upon themselves; and if reports are true, we have not deserved such re- proach, and I can truly say I have done to the uttermost of my ability for your good, and do, and shall do; yet we know the Lord's hand is against New England, and no weapon formed will or shall prosper till the work be finished by which the wheat is pulled up with the tares, and the innocent suffer with the guilty." Soon after the town was burned Governor Clarke was again called upon for aid, and agreed "to bear the charge of ten men upon the colony's account."
Rhode Island was a great sufferer by the war, and the wisdom of her Governor and his Council was taxed to the utmost to meet the emergency. "Victors and vanquished at the close of the war were alike exhausted. The rural districts were everywhere laid waste. Rhode Island, excluded from the league, and always opposed to the war, had suffered most severely of all. Her mainland had become a desert, her islands fortresses for de- fense and cities of refuge." To add to the misery of the citizens, especially of the island of Rhode Island, in the train of war came pestilence, and but few families escaped with- out the loss of some of their number.
At the spring election, May, 1677, Benedict Arnold was elected Governor in the place of Governor Clarke, which was considered a triumph for the war party in Rhode Island. The fact that Governor Clarke was chosen Deputy Governor from May, 1679, and each year to May, 1686, is an evidence of the high place he held in the regards of his fellow-citizens. In May, 1686, he was again elected Governor. During the suspension of the Royal Charter, for a period of nearly four years, Governor Clarke declined to serve. and the Deputy Governor, John Coggeshall, acted as Governor. This was the period of the administration of the obnoxious Sir Edmund Andros. Governor Clarke was one of
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GOVERNOR WALTER CLARKE
SECTION 57
CLIFTON CEMETERY, GOLDEN HILL STREET
HERE LYETH INTERED THE BODY OF WALTER CLARKE ESQ'R A FORMER GOVEN'R OF THIS COLONY AND WAS WORTHY IN HIS DAY OF DOUBLE HONOR FOR HIS RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL CON-
CERNS HE DECEST THIS LIFE THE 22D DAY OF MAY IN THE -YEAR OF HIS AGE ANNO DOM 1714
See Map Page 135
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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seven persons from Rhode Island whom Andros selected to be members of the First Gen- eral Council, which was to meet in Boston.
On the return of Andros from his visit to Connecticut, in October, 1687, when the charter of the State was concealed in the famous oak in Hartford, he stopped at New- port and proposed to take possession also of the charter of Rhode Island. We learn from the Foster Mss., as quoted by Governor S. G. Arnold, that "in this attempt he was foiled by the foresight of the cautious Clarke, who, on hearing of his arrival, sent the precious parchment to his brother, with orders to have it concealed in some place un- known to himself, but within the knowledge of the secretary. He then waited upon Sir Edmund and invited him to his house. A great search was made for the coveted docu- ment, but it could nowhere be found while Andros remained in Newport. After he left it was returned to Governor Clarke, who kept it until the fall of Andros permitted a re- sumption of the government under it." This resumption took place in 1689, and Gov- ernor Clarke remained in office until the election of Governor Henry Bull, in February, 1690.
In the month of December, 1695, Governor Carr died, and again Walter Clarke was chosen Governor, and entered upon the duties of his office in January, 1696, and was in office until March, 1698, at which time he resigned in favor of his nephew, Gov- ernor Samuel Cranston. His fellow-citizens, however, were not willing to dispense with his public services, and at the spring election of 1700 he was chosen Deputy Governor. and held that office until the day of his death, May 22, 1714. Few men in Rhode Island have been longer in public life than was Governor Clarke.
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A ROUGH PLAN OF THE CLIFTON BURIAL GROUND THOMAS AND GOLDEN HILL STREETS
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Here lyeth intered the body of Walter Clarke Esqr., a former Governor of this Colony and was worthy in his day of double honer for his religious & civil concerns. He decest this life the 22nd day of May in the . ... year of his age anno dom 1714
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SECTION 28 RUTH WANTON 1736 wife of Wm. Wanton SECTION 70
Here lyeth ye body of Nicholas Easton the son of Peter Easton who deceased the first day of December 1670. Also Elizabeth Easton the wife of Nicholas 5th day of the 5th month 1676.
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THE
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GOV. JOSEPH WANTON
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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CLIFTON BURIAL GROUND
Family vault built at the expense of Joseph Wanton and William Wanton 1771 on a piece of land given by their Honorable parents James and Elizabeth Honeyman, as per deed recorded.
Hon. Wm. Wanton & Ruth his wife with their son Geo. Wanton and his son Capt. Benj. Wan- ton: with his sons viz. John & Benj. of Joseph & Mary Wanton also other bones of any other of the Wanton family which were in this old vault, being built by our grandfather dug up some from the Common Ground some from Bristol long lay in this vault under the ruins at this date 1771.
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Information from Book #1511 Newport Historical Society.
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Section 57
The bodys of Mother & Daughter Here interred Doth Rest Whose Precious Souls Without Any Doubt Are Forever Blest Here Lyeth Interred Mary Late Ye Wife of Samuel Cranston Esq. Gover of this Colony Who Dec. cest ye 7th Day of ye 4 mo Sepbr in ye 48th year of her age 1710
M.W.
Wife of Joseph Wanton Sen'r and daughter of Hon. Joseph Wanton Esq. buried Feb. 2, 1767. Removed to New Vault 18 Oct. 1771.
W.W.
Son of Joseph Wanton Sen'r was buried in old vault 10 April 1769 and removed same day as their mother into the new one.
A.W.
Wife of Joseph Wanton Jr. and daughter of James and Elizabeth Hon- eyman was buried in the old vault 2 June 1771 and was removed the same day as our mother and brother. She has 3 children removed into the new vault, on a shelf over her head viz., Ann, Dudley, and Wm. They were buried separately in this old vault yet by removing were put into one small coffin also Abigael.
Note:
Copy of paper in possession of Miss Emily Hasard sent to her from France by a lady descended from Rev. Joseph Wanton, to be returned to Europe.
Book #1511 Newport Historical Society.
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JOHN CRANSTON
Governor: November 8, 1678 to March 12, 1680.
War Service: Major, Commanding R. I. Militia, Colonial Wars.
Born: 1625 in Great Britain.
Died: March 12, 1680 in Newport, R. I.
Buried: Newport, R. I. Common Ground Cemetery.
JOHN CRANSTON was born in Great Britain in 1625, a descendant of an ancient Scot- tish family. He was the son of the Reverend John Cranston, Chaplain to King Charles I.
The first reference to Cranston's residence in Rhode Island is in March 1644, when, at the age of nineteen, he was elected drummer for the town of Portsmouth. He had evidently enjoyed excellent educational advantages for in 1654 he was elected Attorney General and served as such until 1656. He was Commissioner from Newport from 1655 to 1657; 1660, 1661, 1663, 1664 to 1666, and Assistant 1669-1671. On May 7th, 1674. he was again elected to this office but declined to serve. Cranston was elected Deputy Governor. May Ist, 1672, and again in 1673. He was also re-elected to this office from 1676 to 1678. He became Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plan- tations in November, 1678, but died in office on March 12th, 1680.
Governor Cranston's military service include that of Captain, and later, Major in command of the colonial militia during King Philip's War, 1675-1677, and as President of the Court Martial to try the cases of certain Indians engaged therein.
John Cranston was the first man to receive the degree of "Doctor of Physic and Sur- gery" from the colonial government. This was conferred upon him by the Legislature on March 1st, 1663.
In 1658, he married Mary, daughter of Governor Jeremy Clarke. She was born in Newport, in 1641, and died there on April 7th, 1711. Following Governor Cranston's death she became the wife of John Stanton of Newport. John and Mary (Clarke) Crans- ton were the parents of one daughter and seven sons, one of whom, Samuel, followed in his father's footsteps as a governor of Rhode Island.
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GOVERNOR JOHN CRANSTON
COMMON GROUND CEMETERY, NEWPORT. R. I.
1680
Arms from tomb For. J. Cranston
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PELEG SANFORD
Governor: Mar. 16, 1680 to May, 1683.
War Service: Lieutenant Colonel, King Philip War.
Born: May 10, 1639 in Portsmouth, R. I.
Died: About 1700 in Newport, R. I.
Buried: Probably somewhere on his Portsmouth Farm.
SANFORD, GOVERNOR PELEG, son of John Sanford, was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, May 10, 1639. Of his early history we know but little. He shared with his family in the hardships and self-denials incident to the lot of the new settlers of a country. In one of the numerous boundary questions which mark the earlier years of the history of Rhode Island, he was appointed by the General Assembly as an agent of the colony, in connection with Richard Bailey, to proceed to England, to endeavor to adjust the diffi- culties which had arisen, and two hundred and fifty pounds were voted for their outfit. Matters were so arranged, subsequently, that the colony agents did not cross the ocean. In 1677 he was appointed one of eight commissioners to settle disputes between Provi- dence and Pawtuxet relating to titles to lands in the latter place. In 1678 he was chosen one of five Bankrupt Commissioners, who was sworn to make a distribution of insolvent estates among the creditors. Under the Royal Charter he was General Treasurer from 1678 to 1681. On the decease of Governor John Cranston, "Major" Sanford was elected his successor by the General Assembly, and his election confirmed by the people March 16, 1680. and was in office until May, 1683.
In the month of October, a crew of privateers having been taken and imprisoned in Newport, a portion of them broke jail and laid a plot to assassinate Governor Sanford. The plot was disclosed by one of their number in time to avert the peril which threatened his death. At the election in the spring of 1683, Governor Sanford declined to be a can- didate, and William Coddington, Jr., was chosen in his place. In September of this year he was again chosen. with Arthur Fenner, as colonial agent, to proceed to England on business affecting parties living in Narragansett. In 1699 he was appointed by royal com- mission a Judge of Admiralty. As such, he had to sit in judgment on more than one case of piracy. especially that of the famous Captain Kidd. From this brief recital it is evident that Governor Sanford was "a man of affairs" in Rhode Island and one of her most useful citizens.
His wife, whom he married in 1665, was the daughter of Governor William Bren- ton, by whom he had three daughters. 1. Ann, who married a Mason and had a son, Peleg Sanford Mason. 2. Bridget, who married Job Almy, of Tiverton. They had three chil- dren. Sanford. Peleg, and Cook Almy. 3. Elizabeth, who married Thomas Noyes, of Stonington, Connecticut. Governor Sanford died not far from the year 1700.
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A ROUGH PLAN OF THE CODDINGTON BURIAL GROUND ON FAREWELL AND NORTH BAPTIST STREETS
Book #1511 Newport Historical Society.
SECTION 25
Here lyeth buried ye body of William Coddington Esq'r. Age 78 years. De- parted this life November ye Ift 1678.
SECTION 27
Here lyth buried ye body of William Coddington. Aged 37 years. Departed this life ye 4 day of February 1688.
SECTION 29
Here lyeth interred ye body of Henry Bull Esq'r, late Governor of this Colony. Aged 85 years. Deceased January ye 22d 1693-4.
SECTION 31
Here lyeth interred the body of John Easton, Governor. He departed this life Decem. ye 12, 1705, & ye 85th year of his age. On the right hand the body of Alice, the wife of John Easton, Gover- nor, who departed this life in the year 1699. Aged about 77 years.
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R
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WILLIAM CODDINGTON, JR.
Governor: May, 1683 to May 1685.
Born: January 18, 1651 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Died: February 4, 1688 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Buried: Coddington Cemetery, Newport, R. I.
CODDINGTON, WILLIAM, JR., colonial governor of Rhode Island (1683-85), was born in England in 1651, son of William Coddington, president and governor, and Anne Brinley, his third wife. In May, 1683, he was elected chief magistrate, taking the oath for trade and navigation, besides the usual engagement. In August, Thatcher, deputy col- lector of Boston, appeared at Newport for the purpose of seizing a vessel commanded by Capt. Thomas Paine, that had recently arrived from Jamaica. Gov. Coddington refused to assist him, and when Thatcher made a second demand, assuring him that the ship's papers were forged, replied that he had examined them and was convinced to the con- trary, and that the courts were open to Thatcher to try the question. Subsequently Thatcher's position was proved to be the true one, and the occurrence was referred to to substantiate charges made to the board of trade in England of disorderly acts on the part of the Rhode Island government. Edward Randolph was the accuser, and in 1685 he urged that the charter be revoked. The news of this came about the time the general assembly met (in May), and all felt that a crisis was impending. Gov. Coddington was not present when the assembly began its deliberations, but was re-elected, and a commit- tee was appointed to convey the news to him and request his attendance. He appeared. but declined to serve, and Henry Bull was chosen in his place. He died unmarried, in Rhode Island, Feb. 4. 1688.
The foregoing is practically all that we know of his life. The portrait accompanying this sketch was for many years said to be William Coddington, Sr. The authenticity of the Portrait of Governor Coddington has been challenged. Hamilton B. Tompkins on August 18, 1913 himself says, "It certainly is not that of William Coddington", basing his conclusions largely on the costume of the portrait as not being the dress of the time when Governor Coddington was in England, on the improbability of his wearing such costume after becoming a Quaker, and the lack of Portrait painters in his life time.
There are some historians who suggest that the portrait could be Governor William Coddington, Jr.
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WILLIAM CODDINGTON, JR.
YERE WID
GOVERNORS OF RHODE ISLAND
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HENRY BULL
Governor: May 1685 to May 1686; Feb. 27 to May 7, 1690.
Born: 1608 in South Wales, Great Britain.
Died: January 22, 1693 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Buried: Newport, R. I. Coddington Cemetery.
BULL, GOVERNOR HENRY, was born in South Wales in 1608, and came to this coun- try in the James, arriving in Boston June 4, 1635. He first took up his residence in Rox- bury, and was made a freeman in May, 1637. Subsequently he removed to Boston, where he became involved in the Mrs. Hutchinson affair, and was among the large number of citizens, adherents of this lady, who were disarmed by the government, which did not consider itself safe so long as her followers were in possession of weapons of warfare. Drake, in his History of Boston, says that "this disarming operation was a very serious af- fair, and much blood has flowed from far less causes. The peaceable manner in which it was submitted to ought to have convinced the rulers of the sincerity of the motives of those to whom the indignity was offered." Governor Arnold refers to it as "a most re- markable act, unparalleled in the subsequent history of the American States. Seventy-five names are enumerated as the objects of this astonishing order, which, naturally enough, as the finale of so much tyranny, aroused a strong feeling of indignation."
The persecuted party, among whom was Henry Bull, then in the freshness of his early manhood, had for some time been considering the question of escaping from the tyrannical grasp of the "Lord's Brethren." Under the leadership of John Clarke and William Coddington, their first plan was to find a home for themselves on Long Island. or near Delaware Bay, and they had actually set sail from Boston to carry this plan into execution. While, however, their vessel was doubling Cape Cod, they went by land to Providence. Narragansett Bay, which seemed the destined refuge for outcasts of every faith, attracted the wanderers by its fertile shores and genial climate. They were recom- mended by Roger Williams, in whom, as may readily be supposed, they found a sympa- thizing friend, to settle at Sowams, afterwards called Phebe's Neck, in Barrington, on the mainland, or on the island of Aquidneck, now Rhode Island. So much interest did he take in the matter that he accompanied the exploring party, of which, probably, Henry Bull was one, to Plymouth to inquire about Sowams. As it was found to be claimed within the Plymouth patent, it was decided that the exiles should proceed to Aquidneck. A deed of the island was obtained from Canonicus and Miantonomi, and a settlement commenced, which was called Pocasset, at the cove on the northern part of the island, in the town of Portsmouth. In the "Civil Compact" formed at Providence by the Aquid- neck settlers, and signed by nineteen persons, the name of Henry Bull appears as the eighteenth. Five days after the signing of this compact the General Court of Massachu- setts passed an act formally banishing William Coddington, with nine others, among whom was the subject of this sketch, with their families, from the Bay State.
The little colony, now safe from persecution, rapidly thrived and grew. We find that in June. 1638, the matter of a military organization was discussed in meetings held by
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