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i  UR'T-CONNOLL 
•CCLES I A  E 


COLLECTIONS 


f  • 


OF 


^otie  f^Ianti  ^i^tortcal 


VOL.    IV. 


PROVIDENCE: 

KNOWLES,    VOSE    &    COMPANY. 
MDCCCXXXVIII. 


PREFACE. 


IT  has,  for  several  years,  been  the  desire  and  in- 
tention of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society  to 
cause  Callender's  Historical  Discourse,  with  ap- 
propriate notes  and  a  selection  of  documents  requi- 
site for  its  illustration,  to  be  embodied  in  their  pub- 
lished Collections.  The  original  edition  of  the 
Discourse,  which  was  published  in  1739,  has  long 
been  out  of  print,  Of  that  edition  but  few  copies 
remain  perfect,  and  even  those  are  extremely  rare. 
The  propriety,  and  indeed  necessity,  of  its  repub- 
lication  has  been  rendered  greater  during  each 
succeeding  year,  by  the  increased  attention  which 
has  been  paid  to  the  early  history  of  New-England, 
among  the  memorials  of  which,  this  work  has  ever 
been  held  in  high  and  merited  estimation. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  object,  it  has  been 
fortunate  for  the  Society  that  the  editorship  of  the 
present  edition,  with  the  task  of  preparing  such 
notes  and  additions  as  it  was  desirable  should  ac- 
company it,  has  been  undertaken  by  one  qualified 
to  discharge  it  with  so  much  ability.  The  original 
materials  which  Professor  Elton  has  contributed, 
the  information  contained  in  the  notes,  respecting 
distinguished  individuals  whose  names  are  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  Colony  during  the 
first  century,  add  much  to  the  value  of  the  work  ; 
and  when  it  is  considered  how  little  has  been 


4  PREFACE. 

known  in  relation  to  the  life  of  Mr.  Callender,  we 
feel  confident  that  every  reader  of  the  Discourse 
will  be  gratified  to  find  so  interesting  a  Memoir  of 
its  author. 

The  Appendix  of  historical  documents  is  exten- 
sive and  well  selected.  All  the  papers  which  it 
contains,  not  only  deserve  a  place  in  the  Collections 
of  the  Society,  but  are  also  particularly  valuable 
as  explanatory  of  the  facts  narrated  in  the  Dis- 
course, conveying,  as  they  do,  full  information  on 
many  points  to  which  brief  references  only  could 
be  made  in  a  work  written  for  such  an  occasion. 
With  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  these  docu- 
ments are  here  published,  the  Committee  are  happy 
in  bearing  testimony  to  the  unwearied  care  and 
minute  examination  which  have  been  bestowed  in 
their  preparation  for  the  press.  In  every  instance 
they  have  been  carefully  compared  with  the 
originals,  and  no  pains  have  been  spared  to  ensure 
their  correctness. 

In  presenting  this  volume,  the  Committee  can 
therefore  speak  with  much  confidence  respecting 
the  manner  in  which  Professor  Elton  has  met  the 
wishes  of  the  Historical  Society.     He  is  entitled  to 
the  thanks  of  that  Society,  for  the  valuable  ad- 
dition which  he  has  made  to  their  Collections,  and 
deserves  the  grateful  remembrance  of  the  people 
of  our  State,  for  the  satisfactory  manner  in  which 
lie  has  illustrated  this  history  of  their  forefathers. 
For  the  Committee  of  Publication ; 
ALBERT  G.  GREENE, 
WILLIAM  G.  GODDARI), 
Providence,  April,  1838. 


AN 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 

ON 

THE   CIVIL  AND   RELIGIOUS   AFFAIRS 

OF  THE  COLONY  OF 

RHODE-ISLAND. 

/m. 

BY    JOHN    CALLENDER,  M.  A. 

WITH  A  MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR;    BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES  OF  SOME 

OF  HIS  DISTINGUISHED  CONTEMPORARIES  J 

AND  ANNOTATIONS  AND  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS,  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF 
THE  HISTORY  OF  RHODE-ISLAND  AND  PROVIDENCE  PLAN- 
TATIONS, PROM  THE  FIRST  SETTLEMENT  TO  THE 
END  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY. 

BY  ROMEO  ELTON,  M.  A.,  F.  S.  U.  S., 

Member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries,  at  Copenhagen  ; 
one  of  the  Vice-Presidentsof  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society; 
and  Professor  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Languages  and  Lite- 
rature in  Brown  University. 


Nescire  quid  antea  quam  natus  sis  acciderit,  id  cst  semper  esse  puerum. 

CICERO. 


PRO VI DENCE: 
K  N  O  W  L  E  S,    V  O  S  E  &  C  O  M  P  A  N  Y. 

1838. 


Entered  according  to  Act  o 
Elton,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  oft 


in  the  year  1838,  by  Romeo 
strict  Court  of  the  United  States, 


within  and  for  the  District  of  Rhode-Island. 


CONTENTS. 

*5jfc     *' 

Page 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN  CALLENDER,  M.  A. 
Dr.  Cotton  Mather. — Letter  sent  to  Dr.  Mather's  Church,  on  Mr. 

Callender's  ordination,  -  -  27 
Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.  -  28 
Professor  Wigglesworth,  29 
Biographical  sketch  of  Dean  Berkeley,  -  -  30 
Letter  from  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Boston  to  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  Cambridge,  -  37 
Rev.  John  Comer, 

Biographical  notice  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Clap,       -  39 

Mary  Callender.— Dr.  Waterhouse's  sketch  of  her  character,  40 

CALLENDER'S  HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE,                                              -  47 
No.                                       APPENDIX. 

1.  Biographical  notice  of  Rev.  Thomas  Prince,  177 

2.  Ante-Columbian  Discoveries,                                                     -  178 
Biographical  notice  of  President  Stiles,      -  186 

3.  Voyage  of  Verrazzario  to  America,        -                                       -  189 

4.  Roger  Williams.— His  Address  to  the  Clergy,      -  190 

5.  Rev.  William  Blackstone.                                                           -  202 

6.  Deed  of  the  chief  Sachems  of  Narragansett  to  Roger  Williams,  204 

7.  Deed  of  Roger  Williams  to  his  twelve  original  associates,  206 

8.  Deposition  of  Roger  Williams,        -  207 

9.  Biographical  notice  of  John  Clarke,    -                                      -  210 
10.  Form  of  Civil  Compact  agreed  to  by  the  first  settlers  on  the  Isl- 
and of  Rhode-Island,       -  212 

H.  Indian  Deed  of  the  Island  of  Aquetneck,        -                         -  214 

12.  Deposition  of  William  Coddington,  220 

13.  Reference  to  Simplicity's  Defence ; — and  the  Early  History  of 

Narragansett,                                                                            -  221 

14.  The  first  Patent  of  Rhode-Island,  221 

15.  Letter  to  the  Massachusetts  Governor  and  Assistants,  from  mem- 

bers of  Parliament,  in  commendation  of  Roger  Williams,  226 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

16.  Laws  of  Rhode-Island,  1647,  228 

17.  Letter  from  Oliver  Cromwell  to  Rhode-Island,             -             .  230 

18.  From  the  General  Assembly  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 

Colonies,                                                                                -  231 

19.  Letter  of  Commissioners  to  John  Clarke,         -                          -  234 

20.  Commission  to  John  Clarke,                                                   -  239 

21.  The  Charter  granted  by  King  Charles  II.  July  8,  1663,          -  241 

22.  Decision  of  Carr,  &c.,  relative  to  Misquamacock,  262 

23.  Commission  from  Carr,  &c.,  1665,       ....  263 

24.  Establishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  RJhode-Island,  265 

25.  Philip's  War,  1675,                                                          .            .  267 

26.  List  of  the  Presidents  and  Governors  of  Rhode-Island,  268 


MEMOIR 

OF    THE 

REV.    JOHN    CALLENDER,  A.M. 


BIOGRAPHY,  as  well  as  history,  is  too  frequently 
employed  in  eulogizing  men  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  merely  as  crafty  statesmen  or  as  ambi- 
tious warriors.  The  historian  and  the  biographer 
say  little  of  those  characters  who  are  actuated  by 
Christian  principle,  and  who  seek  not  the  praise  of 
men,  but  of  God.  Moral  excellence,  however,  is 
the  most  beneficial  to  mankind ;  and  it  is  but  justice 
to  allow  it  to  participate  in  those  honors  which  are 
more  usually  appropriated  to  men  of  great  depravity 
of  heart,  and  who  employ  their  fellow  men  only  as 
tools  for  advancing  their  own  ambition.  The  biog- 
raphy of  a  person  of  unostentatious  piety  and  good- 
ness, may  afford  more  useful  instruction  to  the  ma- 
jority of  readers,  than  the  dazzling  exploits  of  an 
Alexander  the  Great,  a  Julius  Caesar,  or  a  Buo- 
naparte. 

-*  '^«(r 

The  subject  of  the  following  memoir,  died  nearly 
a  century  ago,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
materials  to  fill  up  his  character  are  not  more 
ample ;  particularly  those  parts  of  his  private  con- 

*jk 


10  MEMOIR    OF 

duct,  which  would  have  made  us  familiar  with  this1 
excellent  man,  and  imparted  a  graphic  reality  to 
the  portrait.  The  imperfect  sketch  which  follows, 
will  not  do  justice  to  the  subject,  but  it  may,  at 
least,  furnish  a  few  facts  respecting  a  man  who 
possessed  a  mind  of  no  ordinary  vigor,  and  whose 
memory  is  still  precious. 

The  Rev.  JOHN  CALLENDER  was  born  of  reputable 
parents,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  Mass.,  A.  D.  1706, 
His  father,  John  Callender,  Esq.,  was  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  Ellis  Callender,  the  highly  honored  and  es- 
teemed minister  of  the  first  Baptist  Church  in 
Boston  from  1708  till  1726.  Elisha  Callender,  his 
son,  uncle  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  became 
his  successor  in  the  pastoral  office.  This  gentle- 
man was  educated  at  Harvard  College,  and  was 
one  of  the  fourteen  students  who  were  graduated 
in  the  year  1710.  At  his  ordination,  which  took 
place  May  21,  1718,  three  Congregational  ministers 
gave  their  assistance,  viz.  Dr.  Increase  Mather, 
Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  and  Rev.  John  Webb.  Dr. 
Cotton  Mather  preached  the  ordination  sermon, 
which  was  entitled,  Good  Men  United* 

This  expression  of  Christian  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  Congregational  ministers  in  Boston,  and  the 
catholic  spirit  which  existed  at  Cambridge,  in- 
duced Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.  of  London,  a  wealthy 
merchant,  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  to  bestow: 

H  See  note  A, 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  11 

very  large  benefactions  upon  Harvard  College. 
Besides  making  large  additions  to  its  library  and 
philosophical  apparatus,  he  founded  two  professor- 
ships in  that  Institution,  one  of  Divinity,  and  one  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  endowed 
the  College  to  the  amount  of  a  hundred  pounds  a 
year,  to  be  distributed  among  ten  scholars  of  good 
character.* 

Mr.  Callender  continued  faithful  and  successful 
in  the  pastoral  office,  till  his  death,  March  31, 1738. 
A  few  days  before  he  died,  he  said,  "  When  I  look 
on  one  hand,  I  see  nothing  but  sin,  guilt  and  dis- 
couragement ;  but  when  I  look  on  the  other,  I  see 
my  glorious  Saviour,  and  the  merits  of  his  precious 
blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  I  cannot  say, 
I  have  such  transports  of  joy  as  some  have  had, 
but  through  grace  I  can  say,  I  have  gotten  the 
victory  over  death  and  the  grave."  His  obituary 
in  the  public  newspaper,  three  days  after  his  death, 
was  in  the  following  words:  "On  Friday  morning 
last,  after  a  lingering  sickness,  deceased  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Elisha  Callender,  minister  of  the  Baptist  Church 
in  this  town ;  a  gentleman  universally  beloved  by 
people  of  all  persuasions  for  his  charitable  and 
catholic  way  of  thinking.  His  life  was  unspotted, 
and  his  conversation  always  affable,  religious,  and 
truly  manly.  During  his  long  illness,  he  was  re- 
markably patient,  and,  in  his  last  hours,  like  the 
blessed  above,  pacific  and  entirely  serene;  his 

*  See  note  B. 


12  MEMOIR  or 

senses  were  good  to  the  last.  '  I  shall/  said  he, 
'  sleep  in  Jesus/  and  that  moment  expired,  very 
much  lamented  by  all  that  knew  him."  'He  pub- 
lished a  century  sermon  in  the  year  1720,  com- 
memorative of  the  landing  of  our  forefathers  at 
Plymouth,  which  has  furnished  important  informa- 
tion for  succeeding  historians. 

Of  the  early  years  of  JOHN  CALLENDER,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  following  narrative,  we  have  little  infor- 
mation. At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered  Harvard 
College,  where  he  received  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Hollis's 
donation.  The  Hon.  John  Leverett,  F.  R.  S.  was 
at  that  time  its  President,  a  man  whose  mental 
excellencies  were  adorned  by  the  noblest  moral 
qualities.  Here,  his  vigorous  understanding  was 
cultivated,  a  proper  direction  given  to  his  activity, 
and  his  mind  imbued  with  the  principles  of  virtue 
and  religion.  He  graduated  from  that  Institution  in 
1723.  In  the  same  year,  he  was  baptised  on  a  pro- 
fession of  faith,  and  united  with  the  first  Baptist 
Church  in  Boston,  of  which  his  uncle  was  pastor. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  this  church,  in  June, 
1727.  In  August,  1728,  he  received  and  accepted 
an  invitation  from  the  Baptist  Church  in  Swansey, 
the  oldest  in  Massachusetts,  to  supply  their  pulpit, 
and  continued  laboring  among  this  people  until 
February  15,  1730.  Soon  after,  he  received  a  re- 
quest from  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Newport,  to 
visit  and  preach  to  them.  This  was  the  second 
Baptist  Church  in  America,  and  was  founded  in 


JOHN  CALLENDER. 


13 


1644.  After  long  and  mature  deliberation  and 
earnest  prayer,  he  accepted  the  invitation  of  that 
Church  to  the  pastoral  office,  and  was  ordained, 
October  13,  1731.  Rev.  Elisha  Callender,  of  Bos- 
ton, preached  on  the  occasion,  from  Matthew  xxviii; 
18,  19.  Mr.  Callender  continued  the  faithful  and 
beloved  pastor  of  this  church  and  congregation,  till 

he  was  called  to  his  final  rest. 

; ) 

Soon  after  his  settlement  in  Newport,  he  became 
a  member  of  a  literary  and  philosophical  society  es- 
tablished in  that  place.  The  celebrated  Dean, 
afterwards  Bishop  Berkeley,  who  resided  there  at 
that  time,  is  thought  to  have  suggested  its  forma- 
tion.* The  society  was  select,  and  some  of  its 
members  were  men  of  great  intellectual  power— 
among  whom  were  Judge  Edward  Scott,  Hon. 
Daniel  Updike,  Governor  Josias  Lyndon,  Dr.  John 
Brett,  Hon.  Thomas  Ward,  Hon.  William  Ellery, 
Rev.  James  Honyman,  Rev.  James  Searing,  Rev. 
John  Checkley,  jun.,  and  Rev.  Jeremiah  Condy,  of 
Boston.  Among  the  occasional  members  were 
Governor  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Samuel  Johnson, 
D.  D.,  afterwards  President  of  Columbia  College, 
New- York.  As  this  was  probably  one  of  the 
earliest  societies  of  the  kind  in  this  country,  we 
have  thought  proper  to  subjoin  a  copy  of  its  rules 
and  regulations,  the  original  of  which,  (in  the  hand 
writing  of  Judge  Scott,)  is  in  the  archives  of  the 
Rhode-Island  Historical  Society. 

*  See  note  C. 


14  MEMOIR    OF 

"Whereas,  A.  D.  1730,  Messrs.  Daniel  Updike, 
Peter  Bours,  James  Searing,  Edward  Scott,  Henry 
Collins,  Nathan  Townsend,  Jeremiah  Condy  and 
James  Honeyman,  jun.  did  form  a  Society  for  the 
promotion  of  Knowledge  and  Virtue,  by  a  free  con- 
versation according  to  several  regulations  by  them 
agreed. 

"  We  the  present  members  of  the  said  Society, 
finding  it  necessary  on  many  accounts  for  the  more 
effectual  answering  the  end  of  our  Institution,  do 
agree  to  enter  into  a  more  strict  engagement,  and 
establish  the  following  as  the  laws  and  orders  to 
be  observed  in  this  Society. 

"  1.  The  members  of  the  Society  shall  meet  every 
Monday  evening,  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  mem- 
bers, seriatim,  and  converse  about  and  debate,  some 
useful  question  in  Divinity,  Morality,  Philosophy, 
History,  &c. 

"2.  The  member  who  proposed  the  question, 
shall  be  moderator,  (pro  hac  vice)  and  see  that 
order  and  decency  be  maintained  in  all  the  debates 
and  conversation. 

"  3.  Every  member  in  order  shall  freely  give  his 
opinion  with  his  reasons,  having  liberty  to  explain 
the  sense  of  the  question,  or  his  own  expressions, 
and  to  retract  or  alter  his  opinion  as  to  him  shall 
seem  right. 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  15 

"  4.  The  member  at  whose  house  we  meet  shall 
propose  a  question  for  the  next  evening's  conver- 
sation, the  Society  to  judge  of  its  propriety  and 
usefulness,  only  nothing  shall  ever  be  proposed  or 
debated  which  is  a  distinguishing  religious  tenet  of 
any  one  member. 


a  K 


5.  No  member  shall  divulge  the  opinion  or  ar- 
guments of  any  particular  member  as  to  any  sub- 
ject debated  in  the  Society,  on  penalty  of  a  per- 
petual exclusion.  Nevertheless,  any  member  may 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  any  that  may  inquire  the 
names,  number,  general  design,  method  and  laws 
of  the  Society,  and  the  opinions  or  conclusions  of 
the  major  part,  without  discovering  how  any  par- 
ticular member  voted. 

"6.  The  moderator  for  the  time  being  shall  keep 
a  book,  in  which  he  shall  register  the  questions  and 
the  solutions  or  answers,  and  another  for  the  fines 
and  forfeits  that  may  become  due. 

"7.  The  question  shall  be  propounded  by  the 
moderator  exactly  at  seven  in  the  evening,  or  if 
he  be  then  absent,  another  shall  be  chosen  in  his 
room,  and  whoever  shall  come  after  that,  shall  for- 
feit one  shilling ;  whoever  is  absent  the  whole 
evening,  shall  forfeit  two  shillings  and  six  pence  ; 
only  the  moderator  shall  forfeit  double.  Whoever 
shall  make  it  an  excuse  to  avoid  giving  his  opinion, 
that  he  has  not  thought  of  the  question,  or  has  for- 


16  MEMOIR    OF 

got  what  the  question  is,  shall  forfeit  one  shilling. 
Whoever  is  unprovided  of  a  proper  question,  on  his 
turn  to  propound  it,  shall  forfeit  one  shilling.  He 
that  omits  to  register  the  question  or  solution  in  his 
turn,  shall  forfeit  two  shillings  and  six  pence.  A 
treasurer  shall  be  chosen  once  in  three  months,  and 
whoever  shall  refuse  an  office  when  chosen,  shall 
forfeit  five  shillings.  And  every  treasurer  that  is 
deficient  in  his  duty  in  collecting  the  fines,  shall 
pay  them  himself.  No  excuse  shall  be  taken  for 
absence  but  sickness  in  person,  or  family,  or  the 
being  out  of  town.  The  fines  shall  be  gathered 
every  month,  and  be  laid  out  in  books,  <fcc.,  as  the 
Society  shall  think  best.  Whoever  shall  absent 
himself  a  quarter  of  a  year  successively,  without 
sufficient  excuse,  shall  have  his  name  struck  out  of 
the  list. 

"  8.  Any  member  may  bring  with  him  any  friend 
or  stranger  who  shall  desire  it,  and  whom  he  may 
think  may  not  be  offensive  to  any  other  member. 

"  9.  Any  member  may  propose  a  candidate,  but 
none  shall  be  admitted  without  the  full  and  free 
consent  of  every  member,  to  be  manifested  in 
written  votes,  after  a  month's  probation.  However, 
the  same  person  that  has  been  negatived,  may  be 
propounded  again  by  another  member. 

"  10.  If  the  Society  incline  to  choose  any  gentle- 
men at  a  distance  to  be  occasional  members,  their 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  17 

election  shall  be  made  in  the  same  manner ;  they 
shall  be  subject  to  the  same  rules  of  secrecy,  and 
have  the  same  liberty  to  speak  and  debate  any  sub- 
ject with  the  other  members,  and  shall  vote  in  all 
occasional  matters. 

"11.  The  laws  shall  be  publicly  read  in  the  So- 
ciety every  three  months,  on  the  same  evening  that 
the  treasurer  is  chosen.  And  every  member  shall 
then  produce  his  copy,  upon  the  forfeiture  of  two 
shillings  and  six  pence. 

"  12.  Every  member  shall  promote  the  good  of 
the  Society,  as  far  as  lies  in  his  power. 

"  13.  Each  of  the  present  members  shall  sign 
these  articles  in  the  book,  and  shall  have  a  copy  of 
them,  signed  by  the  moderator  for  the  time  being, 
to  be  and  remain  as  a  proof  and  token  of  our  fellow- 
ship and  society.  And  every  gentleman  that  may 
hereafter  be  chosen  a  member,  shall  enter  his  name 
in  the  same  manner,  and  have  a  copy  of  the  laws 
signed  as  above,  together  with  a  list  of  the  Society, 
and  a  copy  of  the  additional  or  explanatory  laws 
that  may  hereafter  be  made. 

Newport,  February  2,  1735. 

DANIEL  UPDIKE,  JOHN  BRETT, 

PETER  HOURS,  CHARLES  BARDIN, 

EDWARD  SCOTT,  J.  HONYMAN,  jun.  Feb.  9th. 

NATHAN  TOWNSEND,  HEZ.  CARPENTER,  May  24,1736 

SAMUEL  WICKHAM,  JAMES  SEARING, 


18  MEMOIR    OF 

THOMAS  WARD,  JOSEPH  JACOB, 

JOSIAS  LYNDON,  WILLIAM  ELLERY,  Oct.  3,  1737 

JOHN  CALLENDERJun.  JOS.  SYLVESTER, 

SUETON  GRANT,  JOHN  CHECKLEY,  jun. 

OCCASIONAL  MEMBERS. 

JOHN  ADAMS,  JOHN  WALLACE, 

DANIEL  HUBBARD,  STEPHEN  HOPKINS, 

JEREMIAH  CONDY,  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 

"  Oct.  3,  1737.  Voted,  That  every  member  who 
shall  neglect  to  bring  or  send  the  book  of  fines, 
shall  forfeit  two  shillings  and  six  pence.  A  true 
copy,  compared  with  the  Society's  book,  by 

EDWARD  SCOTT,  Moderator.77 

One  of  the  objects  of  this  Society  was  the  col- 
lection of  valuable  books.  It  was  subsequently 
joined  by  Abraham  Redwood,  Esq.  who  gave  the 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  sterling  to  increase 
its  library,  on  condition  the  Society  would  build  a 
suitable  edifice.  The  Society  obtained  a  charter 
from  the  Colony  in  1747,  by  the  name  of  The 
Company  of  the  Redwood  Library.  In  1748,  the 
present  classical  building  was  erected,  from  a  de- 
sign by  Harrison,  the  assistant  architect  of  Blen- 
heim House,  England.  This  library  contains  many 
choice  and  rare  European  editions. 

Apart  from  his  more  ordinary  employment  and 
influence  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  Mr.  Callender 
acted  an  important  part  in  relation  to  the  more 
general  and  public  interests  of  the  town  and  State. 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  19 

In  civil  matters  he  was  much  consulted,  and  fre- 
quent and  honorable  mention  of  his  name  appears 
on  the  records  of  the  town.  His  character  com- 
manded the  respect  and  confidence  not  only  of  his 
own  church  and  society,  but  also  of  the  State  of 
which  he  was  an  intelligent  and  useful  citizen. 

In  1739,  Mr.  Callender  published  a  historical 
discourse  on  the  civil  and  religious  affairs  of  the 
Colony  of  Rhode-Island,  from  the  settlement  in 
1638  to  the  end  of  the  first  century,  usually  known 
by  the  name  of  the  "  Century  Sermon."  This  is 
the  only  history  of  the  Colony  or  State  of  Rhode 
Island,  which  has  been  written,  and  though  small, 
it  is  a  noble  and  enduring  monument  to  the  talent 
and  piety  of  its  author.  It  is  written  with  great 
fidelity,  is  distinguished  by  solid  and  profound  phi- 
losophical views,  and  by  an  ardent  attachment  to 
the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom.  It 
breathes  a  spirit  of  candor,  impartiality,  and  en- 
lightened piety,  in  ever  page.  Mr.  Callender  evi- 
dently took  great  pains  in  investigating  the  sources 
from  which  he  drew  his  information,  and  his  ob- 
servations on  men  and  things  indicate  an  acute, 
observant  and  reflecting  mind. 

In  the  same  year,  he  published  a  sermon  preached 
at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Jeremiah  Condy,  A.  M., 
to  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Bos- 
ton. In  this  sermon,  the  liberal  sentiments  of  Mr. 
Callender  on  the  subject  of  free  communion,  are 


20  MEMOIR    OF 

fully  exhibited.  After  earnestly  inculcating  the 
duty  of  all  Christians  loving  one  another  as 
brethren,  he  observes,  "  But  I  have  trespassed  too 
much  upon  your  patience  already,  and  shall  there- 
fore only  beg  leave  to  add,  that  if  that  glorious 
principle  which  was  a  fundamental  article  in  the 
constitution  of  the  first  Baptist  Church,  gathered 
in  this  Province,  could  be  fully  acted  upon,  we 
might  with  the  utmost  propriety,  join  the  heavenly 
host,  and  sing,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest :  Peace 
on  earth,  and  good  will  towards  and  among  men. 
For  they  declared  in  their  church  covenant,  "  That 
union  to  Christ  was  the  sole  ground  of  their  com- 
munion with  each  other,  and  that  they  were  ready 
to  accept  of,  receive  to,  and  hold  church-communion 
with,  all  such,  as  in  a  judgment  of  charity,  were 
fellow-members  with  them  in  their  head  Christ  Jesus, 
though  differing  in  such  controversial  points,  as  are 
not  absolutely  and  essentially  necessary  to  salvation"* 

The  religious  sentiments  of  Mr.  Callender  were 
ever  thus  fearlessly  avowed  and  honestly  main- 
tained. His  inflexible  integrity  did  not  permit  him 
to  conceal  the  convictions  of  his  mind  on  any  sub- 
ject which  he  thought  affected  the  social,  political 
or  moral  interests  of  mankind. 

Mr.  Callender  was  ingenious  in  devising  plans  of 
usefulness,  and  especially  in  endeavoring  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  the  young.  In  1741,  he  pub- 

*  See  note  D. 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  21 

lished  a  sermon  on  the  advantages  of  early  religion, 
preached  to  a  society  of  young  men  in  Newport. 
This  sermon  is  replete  with  sound  practical  in- 
struction, flowing  from  a  heart  warmed  with  the 
love  of  God. 

In  the  year  1745,  Mr.  Callender  published  a  dis- 
course occasioned  by  the  death  of  his  friend,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Clap,  in  which  he  pays  a  tribute  of  affec- 
tionate veneration  to  his  memory.  Mr.  Callender's 

sermon  was  founded  on  Hebrews  xiii.  7,  8. 

"•--  .  .    *  j      •  •  _•  ,  .   ' 

The  prominent  traits  in  the  character  of  Mr. 
Clap,  are  faithfully  delineated  in  the  following 
extracts  from  that  sermon  : 

"  The  main  stroke  in  his  character  was  his  eminent 
sanctity  and  piety,  and  an  ardent  desire  to  promote  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  true  godliness  in  others.  As 
his  understanding  was  above  the  common  level,  so  was 
his  learning,  though  he  studiously  concealed  it.  He 
thought  his  station  required  more  than  common  instances 
of  innocency,  self-denial  and  caution. 

"  He  was  zealously  attached  to  what  he  considered  as 
the  true  doctrines  of  grace,  and  to  the  forms  of  worship 
he  thought  to  be  of  divine  institution.  But  his  charity 
embraced  good  men  of  all  denominations.  He  had  little 
value  for  mere  speculative,  local,  nominal  Christianity, 
and  a  form  of  godliness  without  the  power.  He  insisted 
most  on  those  things  on  which  our  interest  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  our  title  to  eternal  life  must  depend :  that  faith 


22  MEMOIR   OF 

by  which  we  are  justified  and  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus,  and  that  repentance  towards  God 
and  new  obedience,  which  are  the  necessary  effect  and 
evidence  of  our  regeneration,  and  the  proper  exercise  of 
Christianity. 

"  He  abounded  in  contrivances  to  do  good  by  scattering 
books  of  piety  and  virtue,  not  such  as  minister  questions 
and  strife,  but  godly  edifying,  and  put  himself  to  a  very 
considerable  expense,  that  he  might,  in  this  method, 
awaken  the  careless  and  secure,  comfort  the  feeble  mind- 
ed, succor  the  tempted,  instruct  the  ignorant,  and  quicken, 
animate  and  encourage  all. 

"  He  abounded  in  acts  of  charity  to  the  poor  and  ne- 
cessitous— to  whom  he  was  a  kind  father  and  guardian. 

"  In  fine,  he  was  a  public  blessing,  as  an  able  minister 
of  the  New  Testament,  an  example  of  unsuspected  piety, 
and  an  honor  to  religion. 

"  There  are  two  things  in  which  he  excelled  in  so  re- 
markable a  manner,  that  I  must  not  omit  them  :  his  care 
about  the  education  of  children,  and  his  concern  for  the 
instruction  of  servants. 

"  The  conclusion  of  his  life  and  ministry  was  a  peace- 
ful and  happy  death,  without  those  raptures  which  some 
boast  of,  but  with  perfect  resignation  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  good  hope  and  humble  confidence  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  was  the  sum  of  his  doctrine  and  the  end  of  his  con- 
versation."* 

*  See  Note  E. 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  23 

Mr.  Callender  collected  many  papers  relating  to 
the  history  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  this 
country,  which  were  used  by  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Backus  in  his  Church  History  of  New-England. 

After  a  long  and  painful  illness,  which  he  bore 
with  Christian  resignation,  he  died  in  full  expecta- 
tion of  the  blessedness  of  the  righteous,  January 
26, 1748,  in  the  42d  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Callender,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1730, 
was  married  to  Elizabeth  Hardin,  of  Swansey, 
Mass.  By  this  lady  he  had  six  children :  Eliza- 
beth, Mary,  John,  Elias,  Sarah  and  Josias.  The 
following  description  of  his  person  is  taken  princi- 
pally from  an  original  portrait :  He  was  about  the 
middle  size,  graceful  and  well  proportioned.  His 
complexion  was  fair,  his  features  were  regular,  his 
forehead  was  high  and  prominent,  and  in  his  coun- 
tenance there  was  an  admirable  mixture  of  gravi- 
ty and  sweetness.  His  eyes  were  of  a  dark  blue, 
and  said  to  be  remarkable  for  their  intelligence  and 
brilliancy. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Callender,  both  in  public 
and  private  life,  was  truly  amiable  and  excellent. 
Whether  viewed  as  a  citizen,  a  relative,  a  friend,  a 
Christian,  or  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  he  adorned 
the  sphere  in  which  he  moved. 


24  MEMOIR    OF 

His  remains  were  interred  in  the  common  bury- 
ing ground  at  Newport,  where  a  tomb  was  erected 
to  his  memory,  on  which  is  the  following  inscription, 
composed  by  Dr.  Moffatt,  a  celebrated  physician 
of  that  town : 

"Confident  of  awaking,  here  repose th 
JOHN  CALLENDER; 

Of  very  excellent  endowments  from  nature, 

And  of  an  accomplished  education, 
Improved  by  application  in  the  wide  circle 
Of  the  more  polite  arts  and  useful  sciences. 

From  motives  of  conscience  and  grace 
He  dedicated  himself  to  the  immediate  service 

Of  God, 

In  which  he  was  distinguished  as  a  shining 

And  very  burning  light  by  a  true  and  faithful 

Ministry  of  seventeen  years  in  the  first  Baptist 

Church  of  Rhode-Island  ;  where  the  purity 
And  evangelical  simplicity  of  his  doctrine,confirmed 
And  embellished  by  the  virtuous  and  devout  tenor 

Of  his  own  life, 

Endeared  him  to  his  flock,  and  justly  conciliated 
The  esteem,  love  and  reverence  of  all  the 

Wise,  worthy  and  good. 
Much  humility,  benevolence  and  charity 
Breathed  in  his  conversation,  discourses  and  writ- 
ings, 


JOHN    CALLENDER.  25 

Which  were  all  pertinent,  reasonable  and  useful. 
Regretted  by  all ;  lamented  by  his  friends ;  and 
Deeply  deplored  by  a  wife  and  numerous  issue, 

He  died, 
In  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age, 

January  26,  1748; 
Having  struggled  through  the  vale  of  life 

In  adversity,  much  sickness  and  pain, 

With  fortitude,  dignity  and  elevation  of  soul, 

Worthy  of  the  Philosopher,  Christian  and  Divine." 


NOTES  TO  THE  MEMOIR. 


NOTE  A — p.  10. 

Dr.  Cotton  Mather,  in  his  ordination  sermon 7 
after  alluding  to  the  severities  which  had  been 
used  against  Christians  by  the  ruling  powers,  says : 

"Cursed  the  anger,  for  it  is  fierce,  and  the  wrath,  for  it 
is  cruel ;  good  for  nothing  but  only  to  make  divisions  in 
Jacob  and  dispersions  in  Israel.  Good  men,  alas !  good 
men  have  done  such  ill  things  as  these  ;  yea  few  churches 
of  the  reformation  have  been  wholly  clear  of  these  iniqui- 
ties. New-England,  also,  has  in  some  former  times  done 
something  of  this  aspect,  which  would  not  now  be  so 
well  approved  of;  in  which,  if  the  brethren  in  whose 
house  we  are  now  convened,  met  with  any  thing  too 
unbrotherly,  they  now  with  satisfaction  hear  us  expres- 
sing our  dislike  of  every  thing  which  looked  like  perse- 
cution in  the  days  that  have  passed  over  us." 

The  following  is  the  copy  of  the  letter  sent  to 
the  Church  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Mather  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Webb,  on  Mr.  Callender's  ordination  : 

"  Honored  and  beloved  in  the  Lord, 

"  Considering  that  there  ought  to  be  a  holy  fellowship 
maintained  among  godly  Christians,  and  that  it  is  a  duty 


28  NOTES   TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

for  us  to  receive  one  another  as  Christ  also  received  us  to 
the  glory  of  God,  notwithstanding  some  differing  per- 
suasions in  matters  of  doubtful  disputation ;  and  although 
we  have  not  so  great  latitude  as  to  the  subject  of  baptism 
as  the  churches  of  New-England  generally  have  j  not- 
withstanding, as  to  the  fundamental  principles  in  your 
doctrine  of  Christ,  both  as  to  the  faith  and  order  of  the 
gospel,  we  concur  with  them ;  being  also  satisfied  that 
particular  churches  have  power  from  Christ  to  choose 
their  own  pastors,  and  that  elders  ought  to  be  ordained  in 
every  Church  ;  and  having  chosen  our  well  beloved 
brother,  Elisha  Callender,  to  be  our  pastor,  we  entreat 
you  to  send  your  elders  and  messengers  to  give  the  Right 
Hand  of  Fellowship  in  his  ordination." 

NOTE  B — p.  11. 

Thomas  Hollis,  Esq.,  was  a  great  patron  and 
friend  of  learning.  He  was  a  Baptist,  but  not  a 
sectarian.  What  he  required  in  the  character  of  the 
professor  of  divinity  was,  "that  he  should  be  a  man 
of  solid  learning  in  divinity,  of  sound  and  orthodox 
principles,  one  who  is  well  gifted  to  teach,  of  a 
sober  and  pious  life,  and  of  a  grave  conversation."* 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  a  sermon 
delivered  before  the  General  Court,  by  Dr.  Benja- 
min Colman,  of  Boston,  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Hollis : 

"  He  was  one  of  those  righteous  men  who  should  be 
had  in  everlasting  remembrance.  Like  Araunah,  he  gave 

*  Pierce's  History  of  Harvard  University,  Ap.  p.  96- 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  29 

as  a  prince.  Of  his  own  mere  motion  he  poured  in  upon 
us,  and  upon  other  places  also,  from  time  to  time,  as  a 
living  spring  whose  waters  fail  not.  That  which  is  sin- 
gular in  the  piety  and  benefits  of  Mr.  Hollis  unto  these 
churches  was,  that  he  was  not  strictly  of  our  way,  nor  in 
judgment  with  us  in  point  of  infant  baptism  ;  yet  his 
heart  and  hand  was  the  same  to  us,  as  if  we  had  been  one 
in  opinion  and  practice  with  him.  And  in  this  let  him 
stand  a  teaching  pattern  and  example  to  us  of  a  noble, 
Christian,  and  catholic  spirit  of  Jove." 

"  It  was  some  account  he  received  from  us  of  the  free 
and  catholic  air  we  breathe  at  Cambridge,  where  protes- 
tants  of  every  denomination  may  have  their  children  edu- 
cated, and  graduated  in  our  college,  if  they  behave  with 
sobriety  and  virtue,  that  took  his  generous  heart  and 
fixed  it  on  us,  and  enlarged  it  to  us.  And  this  shall  be  with 
me  among  his  distinguishing  praises,  while  we  rise  up  and 
bless  hismemory ;  that  is,  bless  God  in  remembrance  of  all 
the  undeserved  favors  done  us  by  him." — Colmari's  Life. 

The  first  professor  of  divinity  in  Harvard  College, 
was  Rev.  Edward  Wigglesworth,  D.  D.,  chosen 
in  1721,  at  the  age  of  thirty.  He  was  a  classmate 
of  Rev.  Elisha  Callender,  and  occupied  the  divini- 
ty chair  more  than  forty  years,  with  a  high  repu- 
tation for  piety  and  learning. 


30  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

NOTE  C.— p.  13. 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Dean  Berkeley,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Cloyne,  ivho  resided,  on  Rhode-Island, 

1729—1731. 

Dr.  GEORGE  BERKELEY  was  born  at  Kilkrin,  in 

Ireland,  in  1684.     He  was  educated  at  Trinity 

College,  Dublin,  where  he  distinguished  himself  by 

his  literary  attainments  and  the  superior  powers 

of  his   mind.     He  became   a   Fellow   of  Trinity 

College  in  1707 ;  and  was  created  D.  D.  in  1717. 

By  the  recommendation  of  Swift,  he  accompanied, 

as  chaplain  and  secretary,  the  celebrated  Earl  of 

Peterborough,  who  was  appointed  ambassador  to 

Sicily;  and  afterwards,  when  disappointed  in  his 

expectations  of  preferment,  he  spent  four  years  on 

the  Continent,  as  travelling  tutor  to  the  son  of  Dr. 

Ashe,  Bishop  of  Clogher.     Shortly  after  his  return 

to  London,  in  1721,  he  was  appointed  chaplain  to 

the  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland,  the  Duke  of  Grafton. 

By  a  legacy  of  Miss  Vanhomrigh,  the  Vanessa  of 

Swift,  his  fortune  was  considerably  increased.     In 

1724,  on  being  promoted  to  the  Deanry  of  Derry, 

he  resigned  his  Fellowship.     He  now  published  his 

proposals   for   the   conversion   of   the    American 

savages  to  Christianity,  by  the  establishment  of  a 

College  in  the  Bermuda  Islands.     The  plan  was 

very  favorably  received ;  and  he  obtained  a  charter 

for  a  College,  in  which  he  was  named  the  first 

President.      He  received,  also,  from   Sir  Robert 

Walpole,  a  promise  of  a  grant  of  twenty  thousand 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  31 

pounds  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Having  resigned  his 
living,  worth  eleven  thousand  pounds  per  annum, 
and  all  his  hopes  of  preferment,  he  set  sail  for  the 
field  of  his  distant  labors,  with  his  family,  and  three 
Fellows  of  Trinity  College,  and  several  literary 
and  scientfiic  gentlemen.  He  landed  at  Newport, 
after  a  tedious  passage  of  five  months,  January  23, 
1729.  His  arrival  is  thus  announced  in  the  New- 
England  Weekly  Journal : 

"NEWPORT,  January  24,  1729. 

"  Yesterday  arrived  here,  Dean  Berkeley,  of  London- 
derry, in  a  pretty  large  ship.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  mid- 
dle stature,  of  an  [ agreeable,  pleasant,  and  erect  aspect. 
He  was  ushered  into  the  town  with  a  great  number  of 
gentlemen,  to  whom  he  behaved  after  a  very  complaisant 
manner.  '  Tis  said  he  purposes  to  tarry  here  with  his 
family  about  three  months." 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  was  written  by 
Dean  Berkeley  to  Thomas  Prior,  Esq.,  of  Dublin, 
soon  after  his  arrival  at  Newport : 

"  NEWPORT,  in  Rhode-Island,  April  24,  1729. 
"  I  can  by  this  time  say  something  to  you,  from  my 
own  experience,  of  this  place  and  people.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  of  a  mixed  kind,  consisting  of  many  sects  and 
subdivisions  of  sects.  Here  are  four  sorts  of  Anabaptists, 
besides  Presbyterians,  duakers,  Independents,  and  many  of 
no  profession  at  all.  Notwithstanding  so  many  differences, 
here  are  fewer  quarrels  about  religion  than  elsewhere,  the 
people  living  peaceably  with  their  neighbors  of  whatsoever 


32  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

persuasion.  They  all  agree  in  one  point,  that  the  church 
of  England  is  the  second  best.  The  climate  is  like  that 
of  Italy,  and  not  at  all  colder  in  the  winter  than  I  have 
known  it  every  where  north  of  Rome.  The  spring  is 
late ;  but  to  make  amends,  they  assure  me  the  autumns 
are  the  finest  and  longest  in  the  world ;  and  the  sum- 
mers are  much  pleasanter  than  those  of  Italy  by  all  ac- 
counts, forasmuch  as  the  grass  continues  green,  which  it 
doth  not  there.  This  island  is  pleasantly  laid  out  in  hills, 
and  vales  and  rising  grounds,  hath  plenty  of  excellent 
springs  and  fine  rivulets,  and  many  delightful  landscapes 
of  rocks  and  promontories,  and  adjacent  lands.  The  pro- 
visions are  very  good,  so  are  the  fruits,  which  are  quite 
neglected,  though  vines  sprout  up  of  themselves  to  an  ex- 
traordinary size,  and  seem  as  natural  to  this  soil  as  to 
any  I  ever  saw.  The  town  of  Newport  contains  about 
six  thousand  souls,  and  is  the  most  thriving  place  in  all 
America  for  bigness.  It  is  very  pretty,  and  pleasantly 
situated.  I  was  never  more  agreeably  surprised  than  at 
the  first  sight  of  the  town  and  harbor." 

Soon  after  his  arrival,  the  Dean  purchased  a 
country  seat  and  farm  about  three  miles  from 
Newport,  and  there  erected  a  house  which  he 
named  Whitehall.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman 
of  the  Colony,  at  the  General  Assembly,  in  May, 
1729.  He  resided  at  Newport  about  two  years 
and  a  half,  and  often  preached  at  Trinity  Church. 
Though  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Europe  with- 
out effecting  his  original  design,  yet  his  visit  was 
of  great  utility  in  imparting  an  impulse  to  the  lite- 
rature of  our  country,  particularly  in  Rhode-Island, 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  33 

and  Connecticut.  During  his  residence  on  the 
Island  of  Rhode-Island,  he  meditated  and  com- 
posed his  Alciphron,  or  Minute  Philosopher,  and 
tradition  says,  principally  at  a  place  about  half  a 
mile  southerly  from  Whitehall.  There,  in  the  most 
elevated  part  of  the  Hanging  Rocks,  (so  called,) 
he  found  a  natural  alcove,  roofed  and  open  to  the 
south,  commanding  at  once  a  beautiful  view  of  the 
ocean  and  the  circumjacent  islands.  This  place  is 
said  to  have  been  his  favorite  retreat.  His  Minute 
Philosopher  was  published  in  London,  in  1732, 
shortly  after  his  return.  This  acute  and  ingenious 
defence  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  written  in  a 
series  of  dialogues  after  the  model  of  Plato.  It 
contains  many  allusions  to  the  scenery  about  his 
residence  on  Rhode-Island.  In  the  introduction, 
he  alludes,  with  the  resignation  of  a  Christian  phi- 
losopher, to  the  miscarriage  of  his  plan  in  founding 
a  College.  He  says : 

"  I  flattered  myself,  Theages,  that  before  this  time  I 
might  have  been  able  to  have  sent  you  an  agreeable  ac- 
count of  the  success  of  the  affair  that  brought  me  into  this 
remote  corner  of  the  country.  But  instead  of  this,  1 
should  now  give  the  detail  of  the  miscarriage,  if  I  did  not 
choose  to  entertain  you  with  some  incidents  which  have 
helped  to  make  me  easy  under  the  circumstance  which  I 
could  neither  obviate  nor  foresee.  Events  are  not  al- 
ways in  our  power,  but  it  always  is  to  make  a  good  use  of 
the  very  worst.  And  I  must  needs  own,  the  course  and 
event  of  this  affair  gave  me  opportunity  for  reflections 
that  make  me  some  amends  for  a  great  loss  of  time,  pains 
5 


34  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

and  expense.     For  several  months  past,  I  enjoyed  much 
liberty  and  leisure  in  this  distant  retreat." 

To  Bishop  Berkeley,  the  literary  institutions  of 
New-England  are  much  indebted.  He  visited 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1731,  and  during  his 
residence  at  Newport,  augmented  the  library  of 
Harvard  College  by  valuable  donations  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  classics.  To  Yale  College,  he 
presented  eight  hundred  and  eighty  volumes,  and, 
on  his  departure  from  Newport,  he  gave  the  White- 
hall estate,  consisting  of  his  mansion  and  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  for  three  scholarships  in  Latin 
and  Greek.  After  his  return  to  England,  in  1733, 
he  sent  a  magnificent  organ,  as  a  donation  to 
Trinity  Church,  in  Newport,  which  is  still  in  con- 
stant use,  and  bears  an  inscription,  which  per- 
petuates the  generosity  of  the  donor. 

Parliament  having  failed  to  afford  him  that  as- 
sistance for  the  establishment  of  a  College,  which 
had  been  promised,  his  project  miscarried.  After 
he  had  spent  more  than  seven  years  of  the  prime 
of  his  life,  and  a  large  part  of  his  private  fortune 
in  endeavors  to  accomplish  it,  he  returned  to 
England. 

In  1734,  he  was  raised  to  the  See  of  Cloyne,  and, 
twelve  years  after,  he  refused  the  offer  from  lord 
Chesterfield  of  a  translation  to  the  Bishopric  of 
Clogher.  In  the  discharge  of  his  high  office,  his  gen- 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  35 

•erosity  was  conspicuous  in  the  sacrifices  he  made, 
as  well  as  in  the  tokens  of  his  beneficence  which 
he  scattered  around  him.  When,  in  consequence 
of  the  infirmities  of  age,  he  was  unable  to  at- 
tend to  his  episcopal  duties,  he  was  unwilling  to 
receive  the  emoluments  of  his  Bishopric,  and  gen- 
erously signed  over  the  demense  lands  to  be  renew- 
ed at  a  yearly  rent  of  two  hundred  pounds  sterling, 
which  sum,  by  his  orders,  was  distributed  among 
the  poor.  In  1752,  he  retired  to  Oxford,  that  he 
might  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  learned 
leisure,  and  for  the  purpose  of  superintending  the 
education  of  his  son. 

,;  .  (  •     » 

This  excellent  man  died  suddenly  and  calmly 
at  Oxford,  January  14,  1753,  in  the  seventy- third 
year  of  his  age. 

Berkeley  was  endued  with  great  powers  of  mind, 
and  possessed  of  vast  stores  of  erudition.  His 
intellectual  and  moral  qualities  conspired  to  form 
in  him  a  character  of  high  and  attractive  excel- 
lence. The  learned  Bishop  Atterbury  said  of  him : 
"  So  much  understanding,  so  much  knowledge,  so 
much  innocence,  and  such  humility,  I  did  not  think 
had  been  the  portion  of  any  but  angels,  until  I  saw 
this  gentleman."  Pope,  who,  as  a  friend,  knew  him 
well,  describes  him  as  possessed  of  "  every  virtue 
under  Heaven," 


36  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

The   following  verses  were  written  by  Bishop 
Berkeley,  during  his  residence  in  Newport. 

"  On  the  prospect  of  planting  Arts  and  Learning  in 

America. 
"  The  muse,  disgusted  at  an  age  and  clime, 

Barren  of  every  glorious  theme, 
In  distant  lands  now  waits  a  better  time, 
Producing  subjects  worthy  fame  : 

"In  happy  climes,  where  from  the  genial  sun 
And  virgin  earth  fresh  scenes  ensue, 

The  force  of  art  by  nature  seems  outdone, 
And  fancied  beauties  by  the  true : 

"  In  happy  climes,  the  seat  of  innocence, 
Where  nature  guides  and  virtue  rules, 

Where  men  shall  not  impose  for  truth  and  sense 
The  pedantry  of  courts  and  schools  : 

"  There  shall  be  sung  another  golden  age, 

The  rise  of  empire  and  of  arts, 
The  good  and  great  inspiring  epic  rage, 

The  wisest  heads  and  noblest  hearts. 

"  Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay  j 
Such  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 

When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  the  clay 
By  future  ages  shall  be  sung." 

"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  : 

The/owr  first  acts  already  past, 
A.  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  ;• 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  37 

NOTE  D— p.  20. 

The  following  extract  is  from  the  letter  sent  by 
the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Boston,  to  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Cambridge,  when  Mr.  Condy 
was  to  be  ordained. 

"  To  the  Church  of  Christ  in   Cambridge,  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Appleton. 

11  Honored  and  beloved  in  the  Lord: 

"  This  is  to  request  you  to  send  your  Reverend  Elders 
and  Messengers  to  assist  in  the  ordination  of  our  elected 
Pastor,  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  February  next.  A 
request  of  the  like  tenor  with  this  we  have  made  to  the 
churches  in  Boston,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Webster  and  Gray,  and  Mr.  William  Hooper. 

"  Honored  and  beloved,  we  heartily  wish  you  all  spir- 
itual blessings  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  glorious  head  of  the 
Church.  We  are,  in  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Church, 
your  affectionate  brethren  in  the  Gospel. 

"SHEM  BROWNE,  Deacon. 

"JOHN  CALLENDER,* 

"JAMES  BOUND, 

"BENJ.  LANDON, 

"JOHN  PROCTOR." 

*  This  gentleman  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  Memoir. 


38  NOTES  TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  manuscript 
journal  of  Rev.  John  Comer,  A.  B.,  who  was  the 
predecessor  of  Rev.  John  Callender  in  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Newport. 

"January  31,  1725.  This  day  I  was  baptised  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Elisha  Callender,  and  was  admitted  into  full 
communion  with  the  Baptist  Church  in  Boston,  having 
before  waited  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Appleton,  of  Cambridge, 
and  discoursed  with  him  on  the  point  of  baptism,  together 
with  my  resolution — upon  which  he  signified  I  might, 
notwithstanding,  maintain  my  communion  in  his  church: 
by  which  I  discovered  the  candor  and  catholic  temper  of 
his  spirit." 

Mr.  Comer's  manuscript  journal,  two  volumes 
folio,  is  now  deposited  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Rhode- 
Island  Historical  Society.  It  is  a  curious  produc- 
tion, giving  an  account  of  all  the  remarkable  events 
with  which  he  became  acquainted,  interspersed 
with  prayers,  religious  reflections,  &c.  Mr.  Comer 
had  formed  the  design  of  writing  the  history  of  the 
American  Baptists,  and  had  collected  many  useful 
materials  for  this  purpose,  which  were  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  Edwards,  Backus,  and  Benedict  in  their 
histories.  For  an  account  of  this  excellent  man, 
we  refer  the  reader  to  Backus,  vol.  2,  p.  66,  111  ; 
Benedict,  vol.  1,  p.  497. 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  39 

NOTE  E. — p.  22 

Biographical  notice  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Clap. 
The  Rev.  Nathaniel  Clap,  minister  of  the  first 
Congregational  Church  in  Newport,  Rhode-Island, 
was  born  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  January, 
1668.  He  was  a  descendant  from  one  of  the  first 
planters  in  Massachusetts.  He  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College,  in  1690,  and  while  he  was  young 
his  praise  was  in  the  churches,  for  his  piety,  learn- 
ing, and  pulpit  talents.  He  began  to  preach  in 
Newport,  1695,  and  in  the  midst  of  many  dis- 
couragements, continued  his  labors  till  a  church 
was  formed,  of  which  he  was  ordained  pastor,  No- 
vember 3,  1720.  He  was  minister  in  Newport  near 
fifty  years,  and  continued  his  pastoral  care  over 
the  first  Congregational  Church  till  his  death. 
When  Mr.  Whitefield  arrived  at  Newport  from 
Charleston,  in  the  year  1740,  he  called  upon  Mr. 
Clap,  and  he  speaks  of  him  as  the  most  venerable 
man  he  ever  beheld.  "  He  looked,"  says  Mr. 
Whitefield,  "  like  a  good  old  puritan,  and  gave  me 
an  idea  of  what  stamp  those  men  were,  who  first 
settled  New-England.  His  countenance  was  very 
heavenly,  and  he  prayed  most  affectionately  for  a 
blessing  on  my  coming  to  Rhode-Island.  I  could 
not  but  think,  that  I  was  sitting  by  one  of  the 
patriarchs." —  Whftejield's  Journal. 

Dean  Berkeley  was  intimate  with  Mr.  Clap,  and 
often   spoke   of  his   good    deeds  and  exemplary 


40  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

character.  He  said,  "•  Before  I  saw  father  Clap,  I 
thought  the  Bishop  of  Rome  had  the  most  grave 
aspect  of  any  man  I  ever  saw,  but  really  the  min- 
ister of  Newport  has  the  most  venerable  appear- 
ance." Mr.  Clap  died  October  30,  1745,  in  the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 


NOTE  F— p.  23. 

Mary  Callender,  daughter  of  the  subject  of  this 
Memoir,  was  born  in  Newport,  Dec.  12,  1731.  She 
was  about  sixteen  years  of  age  when  her  father 
died  ;  and  soon  after  his  decease,  at  the  request  of 
his  friends,  Joseph  Jacob  and  wife,  she  became  an 
inmate  in  their  family.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  she 
became  a  member  of  the  first  Baptist  Church,  of 
which  her  father  had  been  pastor.  In  the  year 
1762,  she  united  with  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
in  the  37th  year  of  her  age  she  became  a  preacher 
in  that  denomination.  November  llth,  1778,  she 
was  married  in  Providence  to  Joseph  Mitchell,  a 
worthy  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  In 
1787,  she  removed  to  Nantucket.  She  quietly  de- 
parted this  life  June  26,  1810,  in  the  78th  year  of 
her  age.  A  short  account  of  her  life  has  been  pub- 
lished, written  by  herself,  with  selections  from 
some  of  her  writings.  She  sustained,  during  the 
whole  of  her  life,  a  most  exemplary  Christian  char- 
acter, and  was  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  Society 
of  Friends,  and  by  all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  her 
acquaintance. 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR.  41 

In  her  account  of  her  life,  Mary  Mitchell  fre- 
quently speaks  in  the  most  affectionate  terms  of 
her  parents.  In  page  9,  she  says  : 

"  My  father  was  much  beloved  and  respected  by  people 
of  all  ranks  that  were  acquainted  with  him ;  he  being  a 
person  of  an  enlarged  mind,  embraced  the  virtuous  of  every 
denomination,  and  lived  in  strict  friendship  with  many 
worthy  persons,  from  whom  he  differed  in  some  religious 
sentiments.  Among  this  number  was  Joseph  Jacob  and 
his  truly  virtuous  wife  ;  these  were  sensible  of  his  worth ; 
and  my  dear  father's  removal  by  death  was  justly  es- 
teemed by  many,  a  public  loss,  he  possessing  qualifica- 
tions for  much  usefulness.  My  dear  mother  was  a  vir- 
tuous woman,  a  pattern  of  patience,  humility  and  resig- 
nation to  the  dispensations  of  Providence.  She,  with 
my  dear  father,  experienced  many  seasons  of  adversity  ; 
she  survived  him  many  years,  and  died  in  sweet  com- 
posure of  mind,  and  no  doubt  is  now  at  rest  with  the 
Lord." 

The  following  account  of  Mary  Callender  is  ex- 
tracted from  a  letter  which  the  editor  has  received 
from  the  learned  Dr.  Benjamin  Waterhouse,  late 
Professor  in  Harvard  University,  (fee.  <&c. 

"  The  sensible  and  pious  Mary  Callender ',  who  be- 
came a  public  preacher  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  had  the 
meek  and  quiet  spirit  of  her  father.  Not  long  after  her 
father's  death,  this  offspring  of  a  regularly  ordained  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  united  herself  with  that  religious  So- 
ciety. In  Newport,  there  was  a  worthy,  opulent,  and  very 
respectable  member  of  that  denomination  of  Christians, 
6 


42  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

named  Joseph  Jacob,  advanced  in  life,  who  had  four  or 
five  neat  and  well  behaved  negro  domestics,  bound  to- 
gether by  duty,  respect  and  gratitude  ;  a  pleasant  picture 
of  patriarchal  government,  without  fear  and  without  re- 
proach. But  being  all  blacks,  yet  natives,  it  left  the 
master  and  his  wife  alone  in  the  parlor  and  garden  ;  when 
he  invited  Mary  Callender  to  become  their  parlor  com- 
panion, and  she  did  so  to  mutual  satisfaction,  exhibiting 
a  respectable  picture  of  father  and  daughter,  waited  on 
by  black  female  slaves,  who  wore  the  plain,  neat  garb  of 
Quakers.  The  family  was  singular,  and  every  thing 
very  decorous,  relatively  respectable,  and  marked  by 
humble  wisdom.  To  see  the  negro  women,  with  their 
black  hoods  and  blue  aprons,  walking  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance behind  their  master  to  meeting,  was  not  an  un- 
pleasant sight  in  those  days.  Friend  Jacob  himself  was 
somewhat  unique  in  his  habits  and  manners.  Easy  in  his 
circumstances,  and  intellectual  in  his  tastes,  he  filled  up 
his  liberal  leisure  in  watching  the  wind,  his  clock  and  his 
weather  glasses.  At  that  day,  he  was  the  only  person  on 
Rhode-Island  who  owned  a  thermometer.  When  very 
cold,  or  very  warm,  he  was  the  oracle  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  of  time-pieces ;  for  every  one  had  recourse  to  him  as 
the  prime  regulator ;  and  when  passing  along  to  meeting 
with  his  uniform  step,  people  in  his  way  consulted  their 
clocks  and  watches,  without  speaking  to  him. 

"  This  steady  follower  of  George  Fox,  though  a  grave 
and  rather  silent  man,  had,  it  is  presumed,  no  small  grati- 
fication in  being  if  not  Sir  Oracle,  at  least  Friend  Ora- 
cle. His  house  was  the  pattern  of  neatness,  order  and 
quiet,  and  a  very  proper  residence  for  the  nun-like  Mary 
Callender ;  and  in  this  pleasant  greenhouse  grew  up  and 
prospered  that  fair  lily  of  Quakerism,  who  sprang  origin- 


NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 


43 


ally  from  a  Baptist  stock.  She  was  not  a  cactus  grandi- 
Jlorus,  but  the  modest  lily  of  the  valley,  with  qualities  of 
the  sensitive  plant ;  and  yet  she  thought  it  her  duty  to 
proclaim,  in  the  most  public  parts  of  the  city  of  Newport, 
a  mission  from  heaven  !  I  myself  heard  her  in  the  open 
streets,  call  the  people  to  repentance— exclaiming,  "Re- 
pent— repent!  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand!" 
She  was  accompanied  by  a  grave  man  and  woman,  se- 
lected, if  I  mistake  not,  by  the  monthly  meeting  or  elders. 
But  she  never  raised  a  crowd  of  people  around  her.  They 
rather  shut  their  doors  and  windows,  and  considered  it  an 
hallucination,  than  a  commission  from  heaven.  They 
were  pained,  and  lamented  to  see  a  tall,  slender,  well- 
looking  woman,  of  middle  age  and  respectable  connec- 
tions, suffering  under  a  mistake.  Some  of  the  common 
people  remarked,  that  had  the  commission  come  from 
heaven,  the  Lord  would  have  given  her  a  stronger  voice 
and  a  bolder  manner.  I  myself  thought  it  a  natural  idea. 
Her  second  father  by  adoption,  the  wise  and  wary  Joseph 
Jacob,  had  died  a  few  years  before,  and  left  her  alone, 
with  no  other  guide  than  her  own  enthusiastic  feelings 
operating  on  a  feeble  frame,  and  one  would  have  supposed 
a  timid  disposition  ;  for  there  was  no  wildness  in  her 
manner,  or  any  thing  like  rant  in  her  utterance.  I  have 
conjectured  that  this  was  the  fine  feeling  of  her  pious 
father,  divested  of  his  correct  judgment  ;  who,  had  he 
lived,  might  have  said  to  her,  "Mary  !  be  not  righteous 
overmuch,  neither  be  thou  overwise ;  for  why  shouldst 
thou  destroy  thyself?" 

"  Does  this  character  of  the  daughter  throw  any  light  on 
that  of  the  father  ?  My  esteemed  friend,  Moses  Brown, 
that  chronicle  of  truth,  must  have  known  her  and  her 
friend  Jacob.  If  it  were  judicious  to  give  the  characters  £$. 


44  NOTES    TO    THE    MEMOIR. 

of  Milton's  two  daughters,  it  cannot  be  too  much  out  of 
the  way  to  mention  these  particulars  of  the  offspring  of 
the  Rev.  John  Callender.* 

"  Henry  Collins,  a  wealthy  merchant  and  a  man  of 
taste,  the  Lorenzo  de  Medicis  of  Rhode-Island,  caused  a 
painting  to  be  made  of  parson  Callender,  as  well  as  some 
other  divines,  as  Hitchcock,  Clap,  and  Dean  Berkeley.  I 
conjecture  that  the  portrait  you  mention  is  the  very  one 
that  I  often  admired  in  the  Collins  collection."! 

*  The  venerable  Moses  Brown  died  September  6,  1836,  aged  ninety- 
seven  years,  eleven  months  and  fourteen  days.  He  was  a  liberal  bene- 
factor of  Brown  University,  of  the  Seminary  belonging  to  the  Friends, 
erected  in  Providence  in  1818,  and  of  various  benevolent  institutions. 
He  was  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect,  of  sterling  integrity,  of  simple 
manners,  and  of  unfeigned  piety.  In  his  old  age  he  enjoyed  an  unusual 
share  of  health,  and  the  powers  of  his  mind  were  very  little  impaired. 
At  the  time  of  his  decease  he  was  one  of  the  Vice  Presidents  of  the 
Rhode-Island  Historical  Society. 

t  This  fine  original  portrait,  supposed  to  have  been  executed  by  Smi- 
t>ert,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Henry  Bull,  Esq.,  of  Newport. 


CALLENDER'S 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 


NOTE. — In  order  to  preserve  entire  the  original  form  of 
Mr.  Callender's  Historical  Discourse,  the  notes  of  the 
edition  are  all  of  them  placed  in  the  Appendix,  except  two 
or  three  which  are  intended  to  correct  errors,  into  which 
the  author  had  fallen  with  regard  to  dates,  &c.  The 
title  page  and  dedication  of  the  former  edition  are  also 
retained. 


AN 

HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 

ON  THE 

CIVIL    AND    RELIGIOUS    AFFAIRS 

OF  THE    COLONY  OF 

RHODE-ISLAND  AND  PROVIDENCE  PLANTATIONS, 

IN  NEW-ENGLAND,  IN  AMERICA, 

FROM  THE   FIRST  SETTLEMENT,  1638,  TO  THE 

END  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY. 

BY    JOHN    CALLENDER,  A.  M. 


JOSHUA,  xxii.  22.— The  LORD  God  of  Gods,  the  LORD  God  of  Gods,  he 
knoweth,  and  Israel  shall  know,  if  it  be  in  rebellion,  or  in  transgress- 
ion against  the  Lord. 

PSALMS,  cxlv.  4. — One  generation  shall  praise  thy  name  to  another,  and 
shall  declare  thy  mighty  acts. 


BOSTON: 

Printed  and  sold  by  S.  KNEELAND  and  T.  GREEN, 
in  Glueen-Street. — MDCCXXXIX. 


DEDICATION. 

TO  THE  HONORABLE 

WILLIAM   CODDINGTON,  ESQ,. 

Sir — It  is  not  barely  to  give  you  a  public  testi- 
mony of  my  gratitude  for  many  personal  favors, 
nor  yet  of  that  esteem  and  respect  which  all  men 
bear  you,  for  your  singular  equity  and  benevolence, 
not  only  in  private  life,  but  in  all  the  various 
offices,  in  which  you  have  served  and  adorned  your 
country ;  that  I  prefix  your  name  to  these  papers : 
but  because  an  attempt  to  recover  some  account 
of  this  happy  Island,  and  to  make  a  religious  im- 
provement of  the  merciful  providences  of  God 
towards  it,  is  justly  due  to  the  lineal  representative 
of  that  worthy  gentleman,  who  was  the  great  in- 
strument of  its  original  settlement. 

Your  honored  grandfather,  William  Coddington, 
Esq.,  was  chosen  in  England  to  be  an  Assistant  of 
the  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  A.  D.  1629, 
and  in  1630  came  over  to  New-England  with  the 

7 


48  DEDICATION. 

Governor  and  the  Charter,  <fec.7  after  which  he  was 
several  times  rechosen  to  that  honorable  and  im- 
portant office.  He  was  for  some  time  treasurer  of 
the  Colony.  He  was  with  the  chiefest  in  all  public 
charges,  "  and  a  principal  merchant  in  Boston," 
where  he  built  the  first  brick  house. 

In  the  year  1637,  when  the  contentions  ran  so 
high  in  the  country,  he  was  grieved  at  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Court  against  Mr.  Wheelwright 
and  others.  And  when  he  found  that  his  opposition 
to  those  measures  was  ineffectual,  he  entered  his 
protest,  "  that  his  dissent  might  appear  to  succeed- 
ing times;"  and  though  he  was  in  the  fairest  way 
to  be  great,  in  the  Massachusetts,  as  to  outward 
things,  yet  he  voluntarily  quitted  his  advantageous 
situation  at  Boston,  his  large  property  and  his  im- 
provements at  Braintree,  for  peace  sake,  and  that 
he  might  befriend,  protect,  and  assist  the  pious 
people,  who  were  meditating  a  removal  from  that 
Colony,  on  account  of  their  religious  differences. 

Here,  when  the  people  first  incorporated  them- 
selves a  body  politic  on  this  Island,  they  chose  him 
to  be  their  judge  or  chief  ruler,  and  continued  to 
elect  him  annually  to  be  their  Governor  for  seven 


DEDICATION.  49 

years  together,  till  the  Patent  took  place,  and  the 
Island  was  incorporated  with  Providence  Planta- 
tions. 

In  the  year  1647,  he  assisted  in  forming  the  body 
of  laws,  which  has  been  the  basis  of  our  constitu- 
tion and  government  ever  since;  and  the  next 
year  being  chosen  Governor  of  the  Colony,  de- 
clined the  office. 

In  1651,  he  had  a  commission  from  the  supreme 
authority  then  in  England,  to  be  Governor  of  the 
Island,  pursuant  to  a  power  reserved  in  the  Patent: 
but  the  people  being  jealous  "  the  commission  might 
affect  their  lands  and  liberties  as  secured  to  them 
by  the  Patent,"  he  readily  laid  it  down  on  the  first 
notice  from  England  that  he  might  do  so ;  and  for 
their  further  satisfaction  and  contentment,  he,  by 
a  writing  under  his  hand,  obliged  himself  to  make 
a  formal  surrender  of  all  right  and  title  to  any  of 
the  lands,  more  than  his  proportion  in  common 
with  the  other  inhabitants,  whenever  it  should  be 
demanded. 

After  that,  he  seems  to  have  retired  much  from 
public  business,  till  toward  the  latter  end  of  his 
days,  when  he  was  again  divers  times  prevailed 


52  DEDICATION. 

with  to  take  the  government  upon  him  ;  as  he  did 
particularly  1678,  when  he  died  November  1,  in 
the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age,  a  good  man, 
full  of  days.  Thus,  after  he  had  the  honor  to  be 
the  first  judge  and  Governor  of  this  Island,  "  after 
he  had  spent  much  of  his  estate  and  the  prime  of 
his  life  in  propagating  plantations,"  he  died  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony — in  promoting  the  welfare  and 
the  prosperity  of  the  little  commonwealth,  which 
he  had  in  a  manner  founded. 

If  there  was  any  opposition  at  any  time  to  any 
of  his  measures,  or  if  he  met  with  any  ungrateful 
returns  from  any  he  had  served,  it  was  no  more 
than  what  several  of  the  other  first  excellent  Gov- 
ernors of  the  other  New  English  colonies  met  with, 
from  a  people  made  froward  by  the  circumstances 
of  a  wilderness,  and  over-jealous  of  their  privileges. 
A  free  people  will  always  be  jealous  of  their  privi- 
leges, and  history  abounds  with  examples  of  the 
mistakes  and  ingratitude  occasioned  by  that 
jealousy. 

If  the  following  Discourse  has  done  any  justice 
to  the  memory  and  character  of  the  pious  people 
who  first  settled  this  Colony,  or  if  it  has  any  ten- 
dency to  promote  the  true  original  ends  of  this 


DEDICATION.  53 

Plantation,  I  am  sure  of  your  patronage.  And  as 
to  what  relates  to  some  articles,  different  from 
your  judgment  and  practice  in  religious  matters, 
the  generosity  and  candor  you  inherit  from  your 
great  ancestors,  will  easily  bear  with  me,  endeavor- 
ing to  vindicate  my  own  opinions  on  such  an  oc- 
casion. 

I  hope  there  are  few  or  no  errors  in  the  matters 
of  fact  related,  or  the  dates  that  are  assigned ;  to 
prevent  any  mistakes,  I  have  carefully  reviewed 
the  public  records,  and  my  other  materials ;  this 
review  has  brought  to  my  knowledge  or  remem- 
brance, many  things  that  were  not  mentioned  in 
the  pulpit,  which  however  it  seemed  ought  not  to 
be  omitted. 

I  designed  to  have  put  all  the  additions  and  en- 
largements, in  the  form  of  notes,  for,  my  own  ease, 
but  have  been  persuaded  to  weave  as  many  of 
them  as  were  proper  into  the  body  of  the  Discourse, 
as  what  is  generally  most  pleasing  to  the  reader. 
I  am  very  sensible,  several  things  will  be  thought 
too  minute  or  personal  by  strangers,  but  the  de- 
scendants of  the  persons  concerned,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Colony,  will  readily  pardon  me. 


52  DEDICATION. 

And  some  other  things  which  are  familiarly  known 
among  ourselves,  will  be  necessary  to  others. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  many  valuable 
manuscripts  of  some  of  the  first  settlers  here,  are 
so  soon  embezzled  and  lost.  And  it  is  much  to  be 
wished,  that  some  gentlemen  of  ingenuity  and 
leisure,  would  take  pains  to  collect  as  many  of 
these  old  papers  as  can  be  found  dispersed  about. 
I  am  apt  to  think,  that  these,  with  the  public 
records,  would  furnish  materials  for  a  just  history 
of  the  Colony. 

What  is  here  presented  to  your  view,  will  by  no 
means  supersede  such  a  design ;  I  rather  hope  it 
will  stimulate  gentlemen  in  every  part  of  the 
Colony,  to  make  a  search  after  such  papers,  and 
more  especially  now}  while  the  New-England 
Chronology  is  in  hand,  composing  by  a  gentleman, 
above  all  exceptions  universally  acknowledged  the 
best  versed  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  the 
most  capable  to  give  the  world  a  just  and  clear  idea 
of  all  our  civil  and  religious  affairs,  and  who  is  al- 
ready so  well  furnished  with  materials  from  every 
other  part  of  the  country. 


DEDICATION.  53 

That  the  Most  High  would  be  pleased  to  bless 
you  with  all  the  blessings  of  grace  and,  providence, 
together  with  your  pious  lady  and  numerous  off- 
spring, is  the  prayer  of 

Your  Honor's  most  obliged 

humble  servant, 

JOHN  CALLENDER. 
Newport,  on  Rhode-Island,  Oct.  27,  1738. 


AN  HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE,  <fcc. 


PSALMS,  LXXVI1.  10, 11,  12. 

I  will  remember  the  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the 
Most  High.  I  will  remember  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
surely  I  will  remember  thy  wonders  of  old,  I  will  medi- 
tate also  of  all  thy  work,  and  talk  of  thy  doings. 

As  it  is  now  more  than  a  century,  since  the 
lands  within  the  present  patent,  or  charter  of  this 
Colony,  began  to  be  settled  by  Englishmen,  and 
inhabited  by  Christians,  our  ancestors ;  and  as  this 
day  is  just  an  hundred  years  since  the  Indian  Sa- 
chems, Miantonomy*  and  the  ancient  Canonicus, 
his  uncle  and  guardian,  signed  the  grant  of  this 
Island,  to  Mr.  Coddington  and  his  friends  united 
with  him ;  and  as  Mr.  John  Clark,  the  founder 
under  God,  and  the  first  elder  of  this  Church,  and 
its  liberal  benefactor,  was  a  principal  instrument 
in  negotiating  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  the 

*The  name  of  this  Sachem  is  usually  spelt  in  the 
printed  books,  Miantonimoh,  but  in  all  the  manuscripts, 
Myantonomy,  or  Miantonome,  or  Miantonomu,  and  the 
name  is  so  pronounced  by  the  people  who  take  the  sound 
by  tradition,  and  not  from  the  books,  with  the  accent  on 
the  last  syllable  but  one. 
9 


58  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Island,  as  he  was  likewise  afterward,  in  obtaining 
and  maintaining  the  old  patent,  and  procuring  the 
present  charter ;  I  thought  it  would  be  but  proper 
to  defer  our  Lecture,  which  in  course  fell  out  on 
yesterday,  to  this  time  ;  and  now  I  propose  to  lay 
before  you,  such  an  account  as  I  have  been  able  to 
collect,  of  the  occasion  and  the  manner  of  our  first 
settlement,  together  with  a  short  view  of  the  civil 
and  religious  history,  and  the  present  state  of  the 
Colony.  And  then  to  entertain  you  with  such 
reflections  as  the  subject  will  suggest,  and  such 
remarks  as  may  serve  to  dispose  and  assist  us,  to 
a  religious  improvement  of  those  memorable  occur- 
rences. 

I  confess  the  account  I  have  been  able  to  collect 
is  very  lame  and  imperfect,  and  for  that  reason  I 
should  have  laid  aside  the  design,  if  I  had  not 
thought  it  in  reality  a  duty,  to  recollect  and  review 
so  much  as  we  can  of  the  merciful  providence  of 
God,  in  the  settling  and  preserving  this  Colony; 
and  that  we  ought  to  remember  the  years  of  the 
right  hand  of  the  Most  High,  the  works  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  wonders  of  old,  to  meditate  of  his 
work,  and  talk  of  his  doings. 

And  here,  in  order  to  lay  before  you  some  ac- 
count of  the  occasion  and  manner  of  our  first  set- 
tlement, and  the  conduct  of  Divine  Providence 
towards  us  ever  since,  it  may  be  proper,  previously 
to  mention  a  few  things  relating  to  the  settlement 
of  New-England  in  general. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  59 

And  that  we  may  take  things  from  the  begin- 
ning, be  pleased  to  observe  that  October  12,  1492,* 
this  part  of  the  world  since  called  America,  before 
that  wholly  unknown  to  the  rest,  was  first  discovered 
by  Christopher  Columbus,  a  Genoese,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  king  of  Spain.  The  Pope  soon  after, 
generously  bestowed  the  new  world  on  the  Span- 
iards; they  made  many  successful  voyages,  and 
many  great  conquests  and  settlements  in  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  new  found  world.  Their  success 
and  the  immense  riches  they  carried  home  to  Eu- 
rope, did,  in  process  of  time,  excite  other  nations  to 
put  in  for  a  share  with  them.  Among  the  rest  the 
English  (who  had  narrowly  missed  the  advantages 
of  the  first  discovery)  besides  their  enterprises  on 
the  Spaniards,  made  many  successive  attempts  to 
discover  and  settle  in  North  America. 

In  1578  or  1579,  there  was  a  patent  granted  by 
Queen  Elizabeth  for  six  years  to  Sir  H.  Gilbert,  to 

*  Where  several  writers  give  the  same  account,  'tis 
needless  to  quote  any  one  in  particular,  as  'tis  also,  where 
the  account  is  taken  from  a  comparison  of  many  authors, 
with  one  another.  However,  I  have  followed  the  dates 
in  the  New-England  Chronology,  where  the  most  mate- 
rial facts  are  collected,  and  placed  in  the  truest  light,  and 
the  dates  fixed  with  the  greatest  accuracy  and  exactness. 
The  reader  will  observe  many  expressions  marked  "  "  ; 
these  are  the  very  words  of  the  authorities  I  follow,  and 
which  I  choose  to  make  use  of  as  often  as  conveniently 
might  be. 


60  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

plant  and  inhabit  some  northern  parts  of  America, 
unpossessed  by  any  Prince  with  whom  she  had  any 
alliance. 

March  25,  1584,  Queen  Elizabeth  granted  to 
Sir  W.  Raleigh  a  patent  for  foreign  parts  not  pos- 
sessed by  any  Christian  Prince.  And  the  same 
year,  he  took  possession  of  the  country  to  the  west- 
ward of  Roanoke,  and  called  it  Virginia,  in  honor 
of  his  mistress.  He  sent  three  several  colonies  to 
settle  in  those  parts,  who  all  failed.  As  did  Capt. 
Gosnold,  in  a  like  attempt  to  settle  in  what  is  since 
called  New-England,  which  he  first  discovered  in 
1602.  And  several  other  attempts  met  with  the 
like  ill  success. 

April  10,  1606,  King  James  divided  Virginia  into 
two  colonies,  which  were  called  South  and  North, 
the  first  between  34  and  41  degrees  north,  and  the 
last  between  38  and  45,  and  they  were  not  to  settle 
within  an  hundred  miles  of  one  another.  By  1611, 
the  Southern  or  London  company,  had  made  an 
effectual  settlement;  while  the  Northern  or  Ply- 
mouth company  were  almost  discouraged  at  their 
repeated  disappointments.  However,  Judge  Pop- 
ham,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  and  others,  continued 
their  attempts  and  their  designs,  till  Divine  Provi- 
dence began  a  settlement  within  their  jurisdiction, 
without  their  knowledge  or  contrivance. 

It  is  acknowledged,  on  all  hands,  the  first  settle- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  61 

ments  of  New-England  were  a  consequence  of  the 
disputes  which  attended  the  Reformation  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  therefore  we  must  observe,  that  during 
this  time,  viz.  1517,  learning  having  revived  all 
over  Europe,  the  Reformation  was  begun  by  Lu- 
ther, and  others  in  Germany,  and  carried  on  in  sev- 
eral parts  of  Christendom,  particularly  in  England, 
where,  after  a  long  struggle,  it  was  was  finally  es- 
tablished, by  act  of  Parliament,  under  Queen 
Elizabeth,  who  began  to  reign  November  17, 1558. 

As  the  whole  Christian  religion  had  been  cor- 
rupted and  disfigured  by  the  inventions  and  im- 
positions of  Popery,  in  a  long  course  of  time,  it  is 
so  far  from  being  to  be  wondered  at,  that  it  could 
not  but  be  expected  that  many,  who  were  justly 
and  equally  offended,  at  the  horrid  corruptions  of 
Popery,  should  yet  be  unable  entirely  to  agree  in 
their  sentiments,  of  what  things  were  to  be  reformed, 
or  how  far  they  should  carry  the  Reformation  at 
the  first.  And  yet  this  was  every  where  a  great 
and  unhappy  remora  to  that  glorious  work,  and 
gave  their  enemies  a  very  considerable  advantage, 
which  they  well  knew  how,  and  failed  not  to  im- 
prove to  the  utmost. 

The  effects  of  these  divisions,  and  the  animosi- 
ties with  which  they  were  maintained,  were  felt  in 
England,  not  only  in  the  beginning  of  the  Refor- 
mation, but  after  it  was  established,  and  even  ever 
since  to  this  day.  Among  the  Reformers  in  Queen 


62  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Elizabeth's  reign  (many  of  whom  had  been  exiles  in 
Queen  Mary's  persecution,  and  so  had  more  opportu- 
nities to  see  and  converse  with  the  foreign  Protest- 
ants) there  were  many  who  sought  to  carry  the  Re- 
formation, farther  in  some  points  than  had  been  done 
in  King  Edward's  time.  They  sought  to  take  away 
every  thing  they  imagined  had  the  color  of  supers- 
tition, and  to  make  the  Bible  their  real  rule  in  wor- 
ship and  discipline,  as  well  as  in  faith.  These 
were  presently  called  Puritans,  as  pretending  to 
seek  a  purer  church  state  and  a  farther  reforma- 
tion than  the  other  party  thought  was  necessary 
or  expedient. 

Those  had  not  the  same  exceptions  to  many 
things  the  Puritans  scrupled ;  and  beside,  thought 
it  was  but  good  policy  to  make  as  few  and  as  little 
changes  and  alterations  as  possible,  especially  in 
the  ceremonies,  which  most  powerfully  affect  the 
vulgar,  in  order  to  draw  in  the  bulk  of  the  clergy 
and  the  nation  to  favor  the  other  alterations,  which 
all  of  them  esteemed  to  be  of  the  most  importance. 
And  the  Queen  zealously  espousing  this  party, 
turned  the  balance  in  their  favor ;  and  accordingly 
for  some  years  the  whole  nation,  in  effect,  came  to 
church,  though  the  times  were  far  from  being  set- 
tled. 

The  Puritans,  it  seems,  had  few  or  no  objections 
to  the  articles  of  faith,  but  they  chiefly  objected 
against  the  liturgy,  the  ceremonies,  and  the  con- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  63 

stitution  and  discipline.  But,  however,  they  were 
not  perfectly  agreed  among  themselves;  while  the 
much  larger  part  of  them,  fathers  of  those  since 
called  Presbyterians,  generally  strove  to  keep  their 
places  in  the  church,  without  conforming  to  some 
of  the  most  offensive  ceremonies,  and  by  voluntary 
agreement  among  themselves,  sought  to  remedy, 
and  supply  what  they  thought  was  amiss  or  want- 
ing, in  the  parliamentary  establishment ;  others  of 
them,  fathers  of  those  since  called  Independents 
and  Congregationalists,  separated  wholly  from  the 
public  worship,  in  the  parish  churches,  and  sought 
a  thorough  alteration  in  the  whole  form  and  con- 
stitution of  the  church,  and  to  lay  aside  the  liturgy 
and  all  the  ceremonies  together. 

Queen  Elizabeth  kept  a  watchful  and  jealous 
eye  over  them  all,  as  fearing,  and  being  determined 
against  all  farther  alterations  in  religious  matters. 
And  subscription  and  conformity,  being  at  times 
pressed  harder,  as  the  friends  to  the  Puritans  were 
out  of  power,  some  of  them,  especially  of  those 
called  Separatists,  had  been  driven  out  of  England, 
and  at  length  there  was  a  church  of  the  indepen- 
dent scheme,  formed  at  Amsterdam,  in  Holland.  In 
the  reign  of  King  James,  (whom  the  Puritans  expec- 
ted to  be  a  patron  to  them,  as  he  had  been  educated 
in  Scotland,  and  had  openly  censured  the  Church 
of  England,)  those  things  which  offended  them, 
were  carried  with  an  higher  hand.  In  the  years 
1608,  and  1609,  several  more  of  them  in  the  north 


64  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

of  England,  removed  to  Holland,  and  a  number  of 
them  settled  at  Leyden  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Mr.  John  Robinson,  (afterwards  the  father  of 
Plymouth  colony,)  in  hopes  to  enjoy  that  liberty 
of  their  consciences,  in  a  strange  land,  they  were 
denied  at  home. 

Here  they  continued  eleven  or  twelve  years,  till, 
for  many  reasons,  they  began  to  meditate  a  re- 
moval, and  chose  to  seek  an  asylum  somewhere  in 
North  America,  near  Hudson's  river.  They  had  a 
long  and  tedious  treaty  with  the  southern  or  Vir- 
ginia Company,  who  might  reasonably  expect 
greater  sobriety,  patience  and  industry,  from  a 
people  of  such  a  character,  and  in  such  circum- 
stances, and  who  had  such  views  and  designs  of 
their  own,  than  they  had  found  in  such  other  people 
as  they  could  prevail  on  to  transport  themselves 
into  a  wilderness.  However,  the  factions  and  dis- 
turbances in  the  Company,  and  other  causes,  de- 
layed the  affairs  for  some  time,  till  1619,  in  the 
fall,  they  obtained  a  Patent  for  the  land,  but  they 
could  not  obtain  a  legal  assurance  of  the  liberty  of 
their  consciences.  However,  they  determined  at 
length  to  remove,  depending  on  some  general 
promises  of  connivance,  if  they  behaved  themselves 
peaceably,  and  hoping  that  the  distance  and  re- 
moteness of  the  place,  as  well  as  the  public  service 
they  should  do  the  King  and  Kingdom,  would  pre- 
vent their  being  disturbed. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  65 

After  encountering  many  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements, from  the  nature  and  circumstances 
of  their  voyage,  and  from  the  treachery  of  some  of 
the  undertakers,  they  arrived  at  Cape  Cod,  on  the 
9th  of  November,  1620.  Here  they  found  their 
Patent  useless,  this  place  being  within  the  bounds 
of  the  New-England  or  Plymouth  Company ;  and 
yet  necessity  obliged  them  to  set  down  thereabout. 
They  did,  therefore,  two  days  after,  incorporate 
themselves  a  body  politic,  and  having  made  such  a 
search  of  the  adjacent  country  as  their  circum- 
stances would  allow,  at  that  time  of  the  year,  they 
began  their  settlement,  about  Christmas,  at  a  place 
called  by  the  Indians,  Patuxet ;  by  them  named 
New  Plymouth.  Infinite,  almost,  were  the  hard- 
ships and  distresses  of  the  ensuing  winter,  in  which 
near  half  the  Company  died  for  want  of  necessaries. 
However,  through  the  merciful  providence  of  God, 
they  maintained  their  ground,  and  through  many 
difficulties,  which  they  overcame  by  patience  and 
the  divine  blessing,  they  increased  to  three  hundred 
souls  in  nine  years  after,  when  they  obtained  a 
Patent  from  the  New-England  Company,  the  13th 
of  January,  1629—30. 

In  that  period,  there  had  been  many  successless 
attempts  to  make  settlements  in  New-England,  for 
the  sake  of  trade  and  husbandry  only,  as  if  Divine 
Providence  had  reserved  the  place  for  those  who 
soon  after  took  possession  of  it.  The  success  of 

9 


66  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

*    -i* V , 

the  Plymouth  planters  began  to  excite  the  Puri- 
tans, all  over  England,  to  meditate  a  removal  to 
those  parts  of  the  world,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  liberty 
of  worshipping  God  according  to  their  consciences. 
There  was  no  ground  at  all  left  them  to  hope  for 
any  condescension  or  indulgence  to  their  scruples, 
but  uniformity  was  pressed  with  harder  measures 
than  ever.  A  great  part  of  the  nation  was  alarmed 
with  the  apprehensions  of  Arminianism,  and  that 
even  Popery  itself  was  approaching ;  yea,  the  civil 
affairs,  and  the  peace  of  the  nation,  began  to  be 
embroiled  and  interrupted  by  the  false  politics  and 
bad  counsels  of  the  unhappy  Prince  on  the  throne ; 
so  that  New-England  began  to  be  looked  on  by 
them  as  a  place  of  refuge ;  and  it  is  said,  that  some 
who  proved  principal  actors  in  the  changes  and 
events  that  followed,  had  even  determined  to 
transport  themselves  here,  had  they  not  been  un- 
accountably restrained  by  authority.  This  is  cer- 
tain, the  same  principles  in  some  persons,  which 
had  rendered  their  stay  uneasy  at  home,  and  which 
at  first  refused  them  a  legal  toleration  in  the  wilds 
of  America,  made  their  leaving  the  Kingdom  as 
difficult  as  possible.  Whereas,  could  good  policy 
have  prevailed  over  bigotry,  it  would  have  ap- 
peared a  good  expedient  for  them,  thus  to  clear  the 
Kingdom  of  the  disaffected  and  nonconformists, 
and  with  them  make  such  an  effectual  plantation, 
as  promised  a  great  addition  to  the  trade  and  riches, 
and  power  of  the  Kingdom,  and  greatly  enlarged 
its  territory. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  67 

Mr.  White,  of  Dorchester,  the  father  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony,  encouraged  Mr.  R.  Conant,  who 
had,  on  disgust,  removed  from  Plymouth  to  Nan- 
tasket,  to  continue  in  the  country,  with  the  promise 
of  men,  and  all  things  necessary  for  another  plan- 
tation. Whereupon,  this  gentleman,  1625,  re- 
moved to  Cape  Ann,  and  the  next  year  to  Naum- 
keak,  since  called  Salem.  March  19,  1627 — 8,  the 
Council  for  New-England  signed  the  Massachu- 
setts Patent,  and  March  4,  1628 — 9,  the  King  con- 
firms it  by  Ca  harter  which  included  liberty  of 
conscience.  The  nonconformists,  so  called,  are 
busily  employed  about  their  intended  expedition. 
In  1628,  they  send  Mr.  Endicot,  with  some  people, 
to  begin  and  prepare  the  way  for  them,  and  the 
next  year  they  send  Mr.  Higginson  and  many  more; 
and,  1630,  Governor  Winthorp,  Deputy  Governor 
Dudley,  with  the  Assistants,  the  Charter,  and  fifteen 
hundred  people,  and  all  necessaries,  came  over  and 
made  effectual  settlements  at  Charlestown,  Water- 
town,  Dorchester,  Boston,  <&c.;  and  more  of  their 
friends  coming  over  to  them,  in  the  following  years, 
the  new  settlements  increased  and  prospered,  not- 
withstanding the  many  difficulties  and  hardships 
which  must  necessarily  attend  the  planting  such 
a  remote  wilderness. 

As  the  country  was  more  fully  discovered,  the 
lands  on  Connecticut  river  grew  so  famous  for  their 
fruitfulness,  and  convenience  to  keep  cattle,  that 
great  numbers  from  New-Town,  Dorchester,  (fee., 


68  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

removed  there,  under  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Hains, 
Mr.  Hopkins,  Mr.  Ludlow,  and  Mr.  Hooker,  (fee., 
and  through  inexpressible  hardships,  through 
famine,  and  weariness,  and  perils  of  the  enemy, 
they  at  length  settled  at  Hartford,  1635  and  1636, 
which  was  the  beginning  of  Connecticut  colony ; 
and,  in  1637,  New-Haven  colony  was  begun  by  a 
people  directly  from  England,  under  the  leading 
of  Mr.  Eaton,  and  Mr.  Davenport,  (fee.  Thus  the 
four  grand  colonies  of  New-England  were  begun  in 
a  few  years,  and  some  faint  attempts  likewise  made 
to  settle  in  the  eastward  parts,  in  the  province  of 
Maine,  (fee.,  for  the  sake  of  trade  and  fishery,  and 
by  some  of  the  people  who  afterwards  came  here. 
Which  brings  me  to  the  more  immediate  occasion 
of  the  settlement  of  this  Colony,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  brought  about  and  accomplished. 
It  is  allowed,  by  all  sides,  the  religious  differences 
among  the  first  settlers  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  gave  rise  to  this  Colony,  and  the  settling  of 
this  Island. 

Almost  all  the  first  settlers  of  New-England 
were  Puritans.  The  people  at  Plymouth  were 
generally  of  that  sort  called  Separatists,  and  those 
of  Boston  generally  had  lived  in  the  communion  of 
the  Church  of  England,  though  they  scrupled  con- 
forming to  some  of  the  ceremonies.  But  these 
being  come  to  so  great  a  distance  from  the  Bishops' 
power,  could  well  enough  agree  in  the  same  forms 
of  worship,  and  method  of  discipline  with  the  church 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  69 

at  Plymouth,  and  a  mixed  form  of  church  govern- 
ment was  generally  set  up.  Though  they  had 
seemed  well  enough  united,  by  the  common  zeal 
against  the  ceremonies,  yet  now  they  were  removed 
from  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  with  a  patent  which 
gave  them  liberty  of  conscience,  a  variety  of  opin- 
ions as  to  several  points,  before  not  so  much  re- 
garded, and  perhaps  not  thought  of,  now  began  to 
be  visible,  and  operate  with  considerable  effects. 
It  is  no  wonder  such  differences  in  opinion  arose 
among  them,  as  had  been  the  case  before  among 
the  Protestants  in  general.  It  was  the  avowed 
opinion  of  some  among  them  of  chiefest  note  and 
authority,  (Mr.  Hooker,)  "that  there  were  two  great 
reserves  for  inquiry  in  that  age  of  the  world :  first, 
wherein  the  spiritual  rule  of  our  Lord's  kingdom 
doth  consist,  and  after  what  manner  it  is  revealed, 
managed  and  maintained  in  the  souls  of  his  people; 
the  second,  after  what  order  the  government  of 
our  Lord's  kingdom  is  to  be  externally  managed 
and  maintained  in  his  church." — Magnolia  B.  3. 
p.  66. 

Notwithstanding  which,  the  chief  leaders,  and 
the  major  part  of  the  people,  soon  discovered  them- 
selves as  fond  of  uniformity,  and  as  loath  to  allow 
liberty  of  conscience  to  such  as  differed  from  them- 
selves, as  those  from  whose  power  they  had  fled. 
Notwithstanding  all  their  sufferings  and  complaints 
in  England,  they  seemed  incapable  of  mutual  for- 
bearance ;  perhaps  they  were  afraid  of  provoking 


70  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  higher  powers  at  home,  if  they  countenanced 
other  sects  ;  and  perhaps  those  who  differed  from 
them  took  the  more  freedom,  in  venting  and  pres- 
sing their  peculiar  opinions,  from  the  safety  and 
protection  they  expected,  under  a  charter  that  had 
granted  liberty  of  conscience. 

In  reality,  the  true  grounds  of  liberty  of  con- 
science were  not  then  known,  or  embraced  by  any 
sect  or  party  of  Christians ;  all  parties  seemed  to 
think  that  as  they  only  were  in  the  possession  of 
the  truth,  so  they  alone  had  a  right  to  restrain,  and 
crush  all  other  opinions,  which  they  respectively 
called  error  and  heresy,  where  they  were  the  most 
numerous  and  powerful ;  and  in  other  places  they 
pleaded  a  title  to  liberty  and  freedom  of  their  con- 
sciences. And  yet,  at  the  same  time,  all  would  dis- 
claim persecution  for  conscience  sake,  which  has 
something  in  it  so  unjust  and  absurd,  so  cruel  and 
impious,  that  all  men  are  ashamed  of  the  least  im- 
putation of  it.  A  pretence  of  the  public  peace,  the 
preservation  of  the  Church  of  Christ  from  infection, 
and  the  obstinacy  of  the  heretics,  are  always  made 
use  of,  to  excuse  and  justify  that,  which,  stripped  of 
all  disguises,  and  called  by  its  true  name,  the  light 
of  nature,  and  the  laws  of  Christ  Jesus  condemn 
and  forbid,  in  the  most  plain  and  solemn  manner. 
Mr.  R.  Williams  and  Mr.  J.  Clark,  two  fathers  of 
this  Colony,  appear  among  the  first  who  publicly 
avowed  that  Jesus  Christ  is  king  in  his  own  king- 
dom, and  that  no  others  had  authority  over  his 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  71 

subjects,  in  the  affairs  of  conscience  and  eternal 
salvation.  So  that  it  was  not  singular  or  peculiar 
in  those  people  at  the  Massachusetts,  to  think 
themselves  bound  in  conscience  to  use  the  sword 
of  the  civil  magistrate  to  open  the  understandings 
of  heretics,  or  cut  them  off  from  the  State,  that 
they  might  not  infect  the  church  or  injure  the 
public  peace.  These  were  not  the  only  people 
who  thought  they  were  doing  God  good  service, 
when  smiting  their  brethren  and  fellow-servants. 
All  other  Christian  sects  acted  generally,  as  if  they 
thought  this  was  the  very  best  service  they  could 
do  to  God,  and  the  most  effectual  way  to  promote 
the  gospel  of  peace,  and  prove  themselves  the  true 
and  genuine  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ — of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  declared,  his  kingdom  was  not  of 
this  world,  who  had  commanded  his  disciples  to  call 
no  man  master  on  earth,  who  had  forbidden  them 
to  exercise  lordship  over  each  other's  consciences, 
who  had  required  them  to  let  the  tares  grow  with 
the  wheat  till  the  harvest,  and  who  had,  in  fine, 
given  mutual  love,  peace,  long-suffering,  and  kind- 
ness, as  the  badge  and  mark  of  his  religion. 

Mr.  Roger  Williams,  a  minister,  who  came  over 
to  Salem,  1630,  had,  on  a  disgust,  removed  to 
Plymouth,  where  he  was  an  assistant  to  their  min- 
ister, Mr.  Smith,  for  two  years.  And  being  dis- 
gusted likewise  at  Plymouth,  returned  back  to  Sa- 
lem, where  he  was  chosen  by  the  people  to  succeed 
Mr.  Skelton,  in  1634.  The  magistrates  opposed 


72  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

his  settlement  there,  as  they  had  done  before. 
They  made  great  objections  to  his  principles,  and 
it  is  said  some  wordly  things  helped  to  increase 
the  animosities  that  soon  prevailed  against  him ; 
though  Mr.  Williams  appears,  by  the  whole  course 
and  tenor  of  his  life  and  conduct  here,  to  have  been 
one  of  the  most  disinterested  men  that  ever  lived, 
a  most  pious  and  heavenly  minded  soul.  He  was 
charged  with  holding  it  "  unlawful  for  an  unre- 
generate  man  to  pray,  or  a  regenerate  man  to  pray 
with  him ;"  "  that  it  was  unlawful  for  the  magis- 
trate to  meddle  with  the  breaches  of  the  first  table;'7 
and  that  he  insisted  on  an  unlimited  toleration,  or 
liberty  of  conscience ;  from  whence  they  inferred 
him  an  advocate  for  licentiousness,  which  the  good 
man's  soul  abhorred,  "  and  ever  disclaimed."  How- 
ever, on  these  accounts,  and  for  teaching  the  Patent 
was  sinful,  (in  what  sense  and  how  truly  is  very 
obvious,)  for  opposing  the  oath  of  fidelity,  (not  out 
of  disloyalty  to  the  King,  but  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  an  oath,  which  he  thought,  as  a  sacred 
thing,  ought  not  to  be  forced  on  all  men  promis- 
cuously, whether  in  a  state  of  grace  or  nature,) 
"  and  for  separating  from,  and  renouncing  com- 
munion with  all  the  churches  in  the  land,  and 
even  with  his  own,  for  not  joining  with  him  there- 
in;"— for  these  things,  he  was  at  length  banished 
the  Colony,  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  church 
and  commonwealth  ;  and,  as  he  says,  "  a  bull  of 
excommunication  was  sent  after  him  in  his  ab- 


sence." 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  73 

He  came  away  to  Secunke,  since  called  Reho* 
both,  where  he  procured  a  grant  of  lands,  from 
Ousamequin,  or  Massasoiet,  the  chief  Sachem  of 
Pokanokik.  But  being  desired  to  remove  from 
thence,  which  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  New- 
Plymouth,  "he  had  several  treaties  with  Myanto- 
nomy  and  Canonicus,  the  JVantygansick,  or  Narra- 
ganset  Sachems,  in  the  years  1634  and  1635,  who 
assured  him  he  should  not  want  for  land  for  a  set- 
tlement ;"  Divine  Providence  giving  him  wonder- 
fully great  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Sachems.  And 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  1634-5,*  he  came  over  the 
river  to  a  place  called  by  the  Indians  Mooshausick, 
and  by  him  named  Providence,  "  in  a  sense  of  God's 
merciful  providence  to  him  in  his  distress."  And 
several  of  his  friends  following  him,  they  planted 
there.  The  authority  and  power  of  Miantonomy 
awed  all  the  Indians  round,  to  assist  and  succor 
these  few  feeble  and  helpless  Englishmen,  thus  cast 
out  by  their  brethren,  in  a  strange  land.  However, 
we  must  (to  be  impartial)  own  that  their  being 
Englishmen,  was  a  real  security  and  protection  to 

*Here  is  an  error  of  one  year.  It  was  in  the  spring  of 
1635-6,  or  what  would  now  be  called  1636,  that  Roger 
Williams  came  over  Seekonk  River,  and  settled  at  Moo- 
shausick  or  Providence.  The  precise  day  or  month  can- 
not be  ascertained.  The  earliest  record  of  his  being  here 
is  under  date  of  July  26,  1636,  O.  S.  See  Knowles' 
Memoir  of  Roger  Williams,  p.  101-— 105.  Savage's  Win- 
throp,  vol.  1,  p.  193. — Editor. 

10 


74  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

them,  unless  the  Indians  had  designed  a  general 
war.  The  English  at  Massachusetts  employed  Mr. 
Williams  to  make  a  league  offensive  and  defensive 
with  the  Narraganset  Indians,  in  the  Pequot  war, 
which  followed  in  1637.  And  the  Indian  Sachems, 
in  one  of  their  confirmations  of  the  grants  of  lands 
to  him,*  express  their  gratitude,  "  for  the  many 
kindnesses  and  services  he  had  continually  done 
for  them,  both  with  their  friends  at  Massachusetts, 
as  also  at  Qunniticut,  and  Apaum  or  Plymouth." 
Mr.  Williams  also  maintained  a  loving  correspon- 
dence with  many  of  his  old  friends  to  the  last,  and 
was  esteemed  and  valued  by  many  of  them ;  though 
he  ever  opposed,  and  that  in  print,  once  and  again, 
what  he  called  the  bloody  tenent,  i.  e.  every  kind  and 
degree  of  persecution  for  conscience  sake.  The 
hardships  and  distresses  of  these  poor  exiles,  are 
hardly  to  be  conceived  by  the  present  generation, 
who,  through  the  divine  goodness,  have  never  seen 
any  thing  like  what  they  cheerfully  endured.  But 
Divine  Providence,  in  which  they  trusted,  sup- 
ported them,  and  provided  for  them  in  their  greatest 
straits,  and  wonderfully  blessed  their  honest  in- 
dustry, so  that  in  a  few  years  they  had  plenty  of 
all  things  necessary  to  their  subsistence  and  com- 
fort. 

*  The  said  writing  is  dated  Nanhygansick,  the  24th  of 
the  first  month,  commonly  called  March,  the  second  year 
of  our  Plantation,  or  planting  at  Mooshasick  or  Provi- 
dence. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  75 

The  banishment  of  Mr.  Williams,  and  the  volun- 
tary exile  of  many  of  his  adherents,  did  not  put  an 
end  to  the  unhappy  divisions  and  contentions  in  the 
Massachusetts.     Mr.  Hains,  the  Governor,  in  1635, 
did  with  great  difficulty  still  and  quiet  the  storm 
for  the  present,  in  the  beginning  of  his  administra- 
tion ;  but  Mr.,  afterwards  Sir  Henry  Vane,  jun., 
arriving   at  Boston  that   summer,   and  zealously 
falling  in  with  the  opinions  of  one  party,  he  was  by 
them  persuaded  to  tarry  there,  (though  designed 
for  Connecticut   river,)  and   was  the  next   year, 
1636,  chosen  Governor ;  and  then  the  animosities 
and  contentions  were  carried  to  a  very  great  height; 
one  side  reproaching  the  other,  as  Legalists  and 
under  a  covenant  of  works,  (fee.,  and  the  others 
calling   them  Familists,  Antinomians,  &c.     The 
next  year,  Mr.  Winthrop  being  rechosen  Governor, 
with  a  great  struggle,  he  strenuously  exerted  him- 
self to  crush  and  exterminate  the  opinions  he  dis- 
approved.    A  synod  was  called  for  that  end   at 
New-Town,  (since  named  Cambridge,)  on  the  30th 
of  August,  where  eighty  erroneous  opinions  were 
presented,  debated,  and  condemned ;  and  a  court 
held  on  the  2d  of  October  following,  at  the  same 
place,  banished  a  few  of  the  chief  persons,  among 
those  who  were  aspersed  with  those  errors;  and 
censured  several  that  had  been  the  most  active, 
not,  it  seems,  for  their  holding  those  opinions,  but 
for   their  pretended   seditious    carriage   and  be- 
havior ;  and  the  church  at  Boston  likewise  excom- 


76  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

municated  at  least  one  of  her  members,  not  for 
those  opinions,  but  for  denying  they  ever  held 
them,  and  the  behavior  which  these  heats  occa- 
sioned ;  and  some  of  these,  with  their  friends  and 
followers,  came  to  this  Island. 

Notwithstanding  such  a  formidable  number  of 
errors,  produced  at  the  synod,  that  which  these 
people  differed  in  from  the  others,  was  chiefly  this, 
as  Mr.  John  Clark  has  briefly  represented  it,  viz : 
"  Touching  the  covenants  and  in  point  of  evidenc- 
ing a  man's  good  estate.  Some  (says  he)  pressed 
hard  for  the  covenant  of  works,  and  for  sanctifi- 
cation  to  be  the  first  and  chief  evidence;  others 
(he  means  himself  and  those  who  came  here) 
pressed  as  hard  for  the  covenant  of  grace,  that  was 
established  on  better  promises,  and  for  the  evidence 
of  the  spirit,  as  that  which  is  a  more  sure,  con- 
stant, and  satisfactory  witness."  (Clark's  Narra- 
tive, Introd.}  This  account  is  agreeable  to  what 
there  is  in  those  books  wrote  on  the  other  side,  I 
have  had  the  opportunity  to  consult;  only  they 
must  be  allowed  to  express,  in  their  own  way,  their 
own  sentiments  of  the  opinions  of  the  other  side, 
and  they  add  such  shades  as  darken  and  disfigure 
the  opinions  of  the  opposite  party,  and  set  off  their 
own  to  the  best  advantage. 

Dr.  Mather  thus  describes  the  five  questions  de- 
bated between  the  synod  and  Mr.  Cotton,  (which 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


were  the  same  points  about  which  all  the  divisions 
first  began ;)  they  were  "  about  the  order  of  things 
in  our  union  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  about  the 
influence  of  our  faith  in  the  application  of  his 
righteousness,  about  the  use  of  our  sanctification 
in  evidencing  our  justification,  and  about  the  con- 
sideration of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  men,  yet 
under  a  covenant  of  works ;  briefly,  they  were  the 
points  whereon  depend  the  grounds  of  our  assur- 
ance for  blessedness  in  another  and  better  world. 
Mag.  B.  7,  p.  17. 

Mr.  Neal  says,  "  The  Commonwealth  was  almost 
torn  in  pieces  by  intestine  divisions,  occasioned  by 
the  spreading  Familistical  and  Antinomian  errors 
among  the  people."  And  from  the  writers  before 
him,  he  gives  the  original  of  the  controversy,  to 
this  purpose:  "  The  members  of  the  church  at  Bos- 
ton used  to  meet  once  a  week,  to  repeat  the  ser- 
mons they  heard  on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  to  debate 
on  the  doctrines  contained  in  them ;  those  meetings 
being  peculiar  to  the  men,  some  of  the  zealous 
women  thought  it  might  be  useful  to  them.  One 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,  a  gentlewoman  of  a  bold  and 
masculine  spirit,  and  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Cotton, 
set  up  one  at  her  house.  The  novelty  of  the  thing, 
and  the  fame  of  the  woman,  quickly  gained  her  a 
numerous  audience,  and  from  these  meetings  arose 
all  the  errors  that  soon  after  overspread  the  coun- 
try." He  says  she  taught  that  believers  in  Christ 


78  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

are  personally  united  to  the  spirit  of  God ;  that 
commands  to  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  belong  to  none  but  such  as  are  under 
the  covenant  of  works ;  that  sanctification  is  not  a 
good  evidence  of  a  good  estate.  She  likewise  set 
up  immediate  revelation  about  future  events,  to  be 
believed  as  equally  infallible  with  the  scriptures ; 
and  a  great  many  other  chimeras  and  fancies, 
which,  (says  he,)  under  a  pretence  of  exalting  the 
free  grace  of  God,  destroyed  the  practical  part  of 
religion,  "  and  opened  a  door  to  all  sorts  of  licen- 
tiousness*" Nea^s  Hist.  C.  5,  p.  166. 

I  shall  not  enter  into  the  merits  of  the  cause  ; 
there  is  neither  time  nor  occasion  for  it,  only,  I 
must  observe,  how  each  side  ascribed  to  the  others, 
consequences  they  imagined  followed  from  their 
opinions,  which  they  did  not  see  or  own.  And  par- 
ticularly the  people  who  came  here,  have  things 
laid  to  their  charge,  which  they  utterly  denied  and 
detested  equally  with  their  antagonists.  So  harshly 
did  their  adversaries  judge  of  them,  as  even  to  in- 
volve in  their  opinions,  or  the  consequences  of  them, 
a  denial  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the 
life  everlasting;  which  totally  subverts  and  de- 
stroys Christianity,  and  all  religion  at  once,  which 
necessarily  implies  a  future  state ;  when  yet  the 
whole  debate  supposed  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
and  the  certainty  of  a  future  state ;  and  the  main 
question  was  about  the  method  in  which  they  might 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  79 

best  obtain  an  assurance  of  their  interest  in,  and 
their  title  to,  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 
The  very  first  of  the  eighty  errors  to  be  tried  in 
the  synod,  doth  (as  I  remember)  charge  the  denial 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  a  consequence  of 
the  opinion,  that  the  faculties  of  the  soul  are  pas- 
sive or  quiescent  in  the  work  of  conversion  and  re- 
generation ;  when  yet  the  synod  themselves  unani- 
mously believed  particular  election  and  irresistible 
grace. 

"The  question  was,  by  what  evidence  must  a  man 
proceed  in  taking  to  himself  the  comforts  of  his  jus- 
tification. The  bigger  part  of  the  country  laid  the 
first  and  main  stress  of  our  comfortable  evidence, 
on  our  sanctification  ;  but  the  opinionists  (says  Dr. 
Mather)  were  for  another  sort  of  evidence,  as  their 
chief,  namely  the  spirit  of  God,  by  a  powerful  ap- 
plication of  a  promise,  begetting  in  us,  and  reveal- 
ing to  us,  a  powerful  assurance  of  our  being  justified." 
Mag.  B.  7.  p.  14. 

Now,  as  the  Doctor  adds,  (even  on  this  way  of 
stating  the  question,  or  expressing  the  sentiments  of 
those  called  opinionists,  which  they  would  be  far 
from  acquiescing  in,  as  expressing  their  full  and  true 
opinion,)  "  the  truth  might  easily  have  united  both 
these  opinions."  But  as  he  goes  on,  "they  carried  the 
matter  on  to  a  very  perilous  door,  opened  to  many 
errors  and  evils,  yea,  to  threaten  a  subversion  of  the 


80  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

peaceable  order  in  government."  But  they  deny 
and  disclaim  the  consequences  fixed  on  them,  and 
justify  their  own  opinion  and  conduct,  and  charge 
the  other  party  with  as  fatal  and  mischievous  con- 
sequences, and  a  conduct  arbitrary  and  oppressive. 

Besides  the  differences  about  those  points,  for 
which  these  people  were  charged  with  Antinomian- 
ism,  what  was  called  Familism  was,  perhaps,  not  a 
little  offensive.  Nay,  their  differences  in  opinion 
were  worked  up  to  almost  a  state  quarrel  at  the 
last,  as  Arminianism  had  been  in  Holland,  and 
Episcopacy  was  in  England  afterwards,  and  as  the 
Reformation  still  is  all  over  Europe.  The  public 
affairs  of  town  and  Colony  were  affected  by  these 
contentions,  and  the  Governor  and  Assistants  put  in 
and  out,  as  the  one  or  the  other  side  prevailed. 
The  whole  people  unhappily  run  into  factions  and 
parties,  in  such  a  manner,  as  if  contention  and  every 
evil  work  had  not  been  evidences  incontestible, 
that  the  wisdom  from  which  they  proceeded  could 
not  be  from  above.  But  so  it  is,  where  men  differ 
about  religion,  their  contentions  are  usually  the 
most  sharp,  and  carried  on  with  the  most  irreligious 
heat  and  animosity  :  even  though  they  differ  about 
the  smallest  matters,  or  when,  as  was  the  case 
here,  they  differ  from  each  other  but  in  a  very  little, 

A  great  part  of  the  body  of  the  people,  and  I  am 
apt  to  think,  at  the  first,  the  majority  of  the  town 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  81 

of  Boston,  were  of  the  same  side  the  question  with 
those  people  who  afterwards  came  here.  It  is  cer- 
tain, the  synod  and  the  court  were  both  held  at 
New-Town,  because  of  the  disaffection  of  the  people 
of  Boston.  The  deputies  of  the  town,  at  least  some 
of  them,  openly  espoused  that  party.  The  town, 
at  least  many  of  them,  petitioned  in  their  favor. 
And  Mr.  Cotton,  the  chief  oracle  then  of  both  town 
and  country,  was  confidently  believed  by  them  to 
be  of  the  opinion  they  contended  for.  To  which  I 
might  add  the  number  of  the  people  in  that  town, 
that  were  censured  at  the  court. 

Those  who  came  away,  were  most  of  them  long 
esteemed  as  brethren  of  the  church,  and  never 
censured  by  the  church  at  all ;  nay,  that  church 
did  long  retain  some  particularities,  as  to  the 
brethren's  power  in  church  affairs,  and  their  liberty 
to  exercise  their  gifts  in  private  or  family  meetings, 
and  as  to  the  subjects  of  infant  baptism.  It  is 
certain,  Mr.  Wheelwright,  minister  to  a  branch  of 
that  church,  at  a  place  since  called  Braintree, 
(where  the  town  had  some  lands,)  was  eager  and 
zealous  against  the  covenant  of  works ;  and  was 
banished  by  the  court  for  what  was  then  called  se- 
dition, by  the  same  rule  which  will  make  every  dis- 
sent from,  or  opposition  to,  a  majority  in  any  re- 
ligious affairs,  to  be  sedition,  and  an  iniquity  to  be 
punished  by  the  judge.  The  minor  part  must  al- 
ways be  seditious,  if  it  be  sedition  to  defend  their 

11 


82  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

own  religious  opinions,  and  endeavor  to  confute  the 
contrary.     This  maxim,  once  allowed,  must  chain 
men  down  under  errors  and  falsehoods  wherever 
they  prevail,  and  even  rivet  their  chains.     On  this 
foot,  what  will  become  of  the  glorious  martyrs  for 
the  gospel  in  the  first  ages  of  it,  and  the  holy 
apostles,  who  turned  the  world  upside  down,  who 
turned  men  from  darkness  to  light,  from  the  gods 
of  the  nations,  whom  they  called  vanities,  to  the 
living  and  true  God  ?     Nay,  what  shall  we  say  of 
our  blessed  Saviour  himself,  who  says  he  came  to 
send  division  on  earth  ?     How  shall  we  excuse  the 
Protestants,  nay,  how  shall  we  justify  the  Puritans 
themselves,  if  it  be  seditious  to  oppose  any  religious 
opinions  we  think  are  false  or.  erroneous,  when  the 
major  part  of  the  society  happen  to  think  other- 
wise? I  must  farther  add,  that  however  Mr.  Cotton, 
at  the  synod,  after  long  labor  with  him,  disowned 
many  of  the  opinions  charged  on  these  people,  yet 
he  would  not  condemn  all  the  said  errors  in  the 
gross,  as  the  rest  did,  and  there  is  some  reason  to 
believe  that  he  differed  from  the  other  ministers  to 
the  last,  at  least  in  the  manner  of  explaining  these 
most  abstruse  and  difficult  points ;  if  he  did  not 
continue  to  hold,  that  "union  to  Christ  was  before 
faith  in  him,  and  that  the  habit  of  faith  proceeded 
or  followed  from  our  justification,7'  which  it  is  said, 
he  once  seemed  to  hold  in  the  synod ;  and  which 
was  in  reality  the   root   or   fountain   of  all   the 
opinions  so  much  faulted  in  this  people.     And  how- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  83 

ever  Mr.  Cotton  has  in  print  disowned  them,  and 
they  are  by  others  charged  with  falsehood  and  ca- 
lumny, in  shrouding  themselves  under  the  authority 
of  his  great  name  ;  yet  they  who  should  be  owned 
to  know  their  own  opinions,  and  understand  their 
own  expressions  and  designs  best,  always  persisted 
in  it,  that  "  Mr.  Cotton  was  with  them,"  or  that 
they  meant  no  more  than  they  understood  him  to 

mean. 

-:-'•;  •    '•/.  A  & 

But  to  return.  The  affair  was  agitated  in  court 
for  three  days;  and,  some  changing  sides  in  the 
court,  the  majority  was  on  the  side  of  the  synod, 
and  took  measures  effectually  to  support  their  own 
opinions. .  Whereupon,  many  of  the  other  side  de- 
termined to  remove,  for  peace  sake,  and  to  enjoy 
the  freedom  of  their  consciences.  And  Mr.  John 
Clark,  "  who  made  the  proposal,  was  requested, 
with  some  others,  to  seek  out  a  place,  and,  there* 
upon,  by  reason  of  the  suffocating  heat  of  the  sum- 
mer before,  he  went  north,  to  be  somewhat  cooler, 
but  the  winter  following  proving  as  cold,  they  were 
forced  in  the  spring  to  make  towards  the  south. 
So,  having  sought  the  Lord  for  direction,  they 
agreed,  that  while  their  vessel  was  passing  about 
a  large  and  dangerous  Cape,  (Cape  Cod,)  they 
would  cross  over  by  land,  having  Long-Island  and 
Delaware  Bay  in  their  eye,  for  the  place  of  their 
residence.  At  Providence,  Mr.  R.  Williams  lov- 
ingly entertained  them,  and  being  consulted  about 


• 

•  .    . 

84  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

their  design,  readily  presented  two  places  before 
them  in  the  Narraganset  Bay,  the  one  on  the  main 
called .Sow-wames,  (the  neck  since  called  Phehe's 
Neck,  in  Barrington,*)  and  Aquetneck,  now  Rhode- 
Island."  And  inasmuch  as  they  were  determined 
to  go  out  of  every  other  jurisdiction,  Mr.  Williams 
and  Mr.  Clark,  attended  with  two  other  persons, 
went  to  Plymouth  to  inquire  how  the  case  stood ; 
they  were  lovingly  received,  and  answered,  that 
Sowames  was  the  garden  of  their  Patent.  But 
they  were  advised  to  settle  at  Aquetncck,  and 
promised  to  be  looked  on  as  free,  and  to  be  treated 
and  assisted  as  loving  neighbors.  (Mr.  J.  Clark's 
JVar.)  On  their  return,  the  7th  of  March,  1637-8, 
the  people,  to  the  number  of  eighteen,!  incorpo- 
rated themselves  a  body  politic,  and  chose  Mr. 
Coddington  their  leader,  to  be  the  judge  or  chief 

*  Perhaps  Sowames  is  properly  the  name  of  the  river, 
Vhere  the  two  Swansey  rivers  meet  and  run  together  for 
near  a  mile,  when  they  empty  themselves  in  the  Narra- 
ganset Bay,  or  of  a  small  Island,  where  those  two  rivers 
meet,  at  the  bottom  of  New  Meadow  Neck,  so  called. 

f  Their  names  are  as  follow.  William  Coddington,  John 
Clark,  William  Hutchinson,  John  Coggeshall,  William 
Aspinwall,  Samuel  Wilbore,  John  Porter,  John  Sanford, 
Edward  Hutchinson,  jun.,  Thomas  Savage,  William 
Dyre,  William  Freeborne,  Philip  Shearman,  John  Walker, 
Richard  Carder,  William  Baulston,  Edward  Hutchinson, 
sen.,  Henry  Bull. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  85 

magistrate.  After  the  same  manner,  Plymouth  and 
Connecticut  Colonies  were  forced  to  enter  into  a 
voluntary  agreement  or  covenant  at  the  first,  as  hav- 
ing no  legal  authority  amongst  them;  the  people 
here,  however,  immediately  sought  a  Patent,  and 
in  a  few  years  obtained  one. 

Mr.  R.  Williams  was  very  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing the  Island  of  the  Indian  sachems,  and  has 
left  this  account  in  perpetuam  rei  mcmoriam.  "  It 
was  not  price  or  money  that  could  have  purchased 
Rhode-Island,  but  it  was  obtained  by  love,  that 
love  and  favor  which  that  honored  gentleman,  Sir 
Henry  Vane,  and  myself,  had  with  the  great  sa- 
chem Myantonomy,  about  the  league  which  I  pro- 
cured, between  the  Massachusetts  English  and  the 
Narragansets  in  the  Pequot  War.  This  I  mention, 
that  as  the  truly  noble  Sir  Henry  Vane  hath  been 
so  great  an  instrument,  in  the  hand  of  God,  for  pro- 
curing this  Island  of  the  barbarians,  as  also  for  the 
procuring  and  confirming  the  Charter,  it  may  be 
with  all  thankful  acknowledgments  recorded,  and 
remembered  by  us,  and  ours  who  reap  the  sweet 
fruits  of  so  great  benefits,  and  such  unheard  of 
liberties  among  us."  (MS.  of  R.  W.)  And  in 
another  manuscript,  he  tells  us  the  Indians  were 
very  shy  and  jealous  of  selling  the  lands  to  any, 
and  chose  rather  to  make  a  grant  of  them  to  such 
as  they  affected,  but,  at  the  same  time,  expected 
such  gratuities  and  rewards  as  made  an  Indian  gift 


86  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

often  times  a  very  dear  bargain.  And  the  Colony, 
seventy  years  ago,  1666,  averred,  that  though  the 
favor  Mr.  Williams  had  with  Myantonomy  was  the 
great  means  of  procuring  the  grants  of  the  land, 
yet  the  purchase  had  been  dearer  than  of  any  lands 
in  New-England ;  the  reason  of  which  might  be, 
partly,  the  English  inhabited  between  two  power- 
ful nations,  the  Wampanoags  to  the  north  and  east, 
who  had  formerly  possessed  some  part  of  their 
grants,  before  they  had  surrendered  it  to  the  Nar- 
ragansets,  and  though  they  freely  owned  the  sub- 
mission, yet  it  was  thought  best  by  Mr.  Williams, 
to  make  them  easy  by  gratuities  to  the  sachem,  his 
counsellors  and  followers.  On  the  other  side,  the 
Narragansets  were  very  numerous,  and  the  natives 
inhabiting  any  spot  the  English  sat  down  upon,  or 
improved,  were  all  to  be  bought  "off  to  their  con- 
tent, and  often  times  were  to  be  paid  over  and  over 


again. 


On  the  24th  of  March,  1637-8,  this  day  an  hun- 
dred years,  the  Indian  sachems  signed  the  deed  or 
grant  of  the  Island  Aquetneck,  (fee.,  and  the  En- 
glish not  only  honestly  paid  the  mentioned  gra- 
tuities to  the  sachems,  but  many  more  to  the  in- 
habitants to  remove  off,  as  appears  by  the  receipts 
still  extant.  And  afterwards,  at  a  considerable  ex- 
pense, they  purchased  quit-claims  of  the  heirs  and 
successors  of  the  sachems;  besides,  they  were 
forced  to  buy,  over  again,  several  parts  of  the  first 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  87 

grant.  So  that  they  came  very  justly  by  the  soil. 
And  thus  they  describe  themselves,  twenty  years 
after,  in  an  address  to  the  supreme  authority  in 
England,  1659  :  "  This  poor  Colony  (say  they) 
mostly  consists  of  a  birth  and  breeding  of  the  Most 
High.  We  being  an  outcast  people,  formerly  from 
our  mother  nation,  in  the  Bishops'  days,  and  since 
from  the  rest  of  the  New-English  over  zealous 
Colonies.  Our  whole  frame,  being  much  like  the 
present  frame  and  constitution  of  our  dearest  mother 
England  ;  bearing  with  the  several  judgments  and 
consciences  of  each  other,  in  all  the  towns  of  the 
Colony ;  which  our  neighbor  Colonies  do  not ;  and 
which  is  the  only  cause  of  their  great  offence 
against  us." 

The  settlement  began  immediately  at  the  east- 
ward or  northward  end  of  the  Island,  (then  called 
Pocasset,*)  round  the  cove,  and  the  town  was  laid 
out  at  the  spring.  And  many  of  their  friends  fol- 
lowing them  that  summer,  their  number  was  so 

*  All  our  histories  call  the  main  land,  over  against  the 
easterly  end  of  the  Island,  where  is  now  Tiverton,  &c.r 
by  the  name  of  Pocasset,  and  in  the  Indian  grant  to  the 
first  settlers,  the  same  place  seems  to  be  called  Powa- 
casick.  But  it  is  as  evident  in  our  records,  that  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Island  is  called  by  the  same  name  ; 
perhaps  if  I  may  be  indulged  a  conjecture,  the  name 
properly  belonged  to  the  strait  in  the  river  or  bay,  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Island,  where  is  now  Rowland's  Ferry  ? 


88  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

considerably  increased  that,  the  next  spring,  some 
of  the  heads,  with  others,  came  to  the  southern  or 
western  end  of  the  Island.  The  Island  was  divided 
into  two  townships,  the  eastern  part  called  Ports- 
mouth, and  the  other  Newport;  and,  1644,  they 
named  the  Island  the  Isle  of  Rhodes,  or  Rhode- 
Island.  Thus  began  the  settlement  of  this  Island 
and  Colony,  and  through  the  good  hand  of  our  God 
upon  us,  we  have  continued  to  this  day.  God  has 
blessed  and  prospered  the  people  in  their  labors, 
and  preserved  to  them  their  privileges,  for  the  sake 
of  which  they  followed  him  into  the  wilderness. 

And  now,  having  seen  something  of  the  occasion 
and  manner  of  our  first  settlement,  let  us  take  a 
short  view  of  the  history,  and  present  state  of  the 
Colony. 

And  here,  in  the  first  place,  as  to  the  inhabiting 
the  other  lands,  and  erecting  the  other  towns  now 
within  our  bounds. — At  the  same  time  the  Island 

and  the  lands  on  both  sides  might  be  called  Pocasset,  till 
the  English  name  of  Portsmouth  for  the  easterly  end  of 
the  Island  prevailed,  when  the  Indian  name  Pocasset 
might  become  confined  to  the  main  land,  which  was  not 
settled  by  the  English  for  many  years  after.  It  is  certain, 
every  remarkable  strait,  or  fall  in  a  river,  had  a  name 
among  the  Indians,  as  well  as  every  point  of  land  in  the 
Bay.  A  knowledge  of  the  meaning  of  the  Indian  words, 
would  decide  all  such  disputes. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  89 

was  inhabited,  a  number  of  the  Providence  people, 
Mr.  Arnold,  (fee.,  sat  down  at  Patuxet,  a  place 
adjoining,  and  within  their  grant.  They  were  en- 
couraged by  the  meadows  on  the  river,  which  were 
every  where  an  inducement  to  people  to  settle 
themselves,  as  they  immediately  furnished  food  for 
their  cattle  in  the  winter. 

In  1642-3,  on  the  12th  of  January,  Shawomet,  or 
Mishawomet,  since  called  Warwick,  was  purchased 
of  Myantonomy ;  Pomham,  the  petty  sachem,  con- 
senting to  the  sale  or  grant,  though  he  afterwards 
denied  it.  The  grant  was  made  to  Randal  Holden, 
John  Wickes,  Samuel  Gorton,  John  Greene,  Francis 
Weston,  Richard  Waterman,  John  Warner,  Richard 
Carder,  Samson  Shotton,  Robert  Potter,  William 
Woodeal. 

Here  it  may  be  proper  to  take  some  notice  of  the 
religious  opinions  of  Mr.  Gorton,  whose  followers 
were  called  Gortonists,  or  Gortonians,  holding  some 
things  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  different  from 
all  the  other  people  in  New-England. 

He  came  to  Rhode-Island  in  June,  1638,  where 
he  tarried  till  1639-40  ;  then  he  was,  on  some  con- 
tentions, banished  the  Island.  Thence  he  went  to 
Providence,  where  many  of  the  people  growing 
uneasy  at  his  planting  and  building  at  Patuxet, 
and  complaining  to  the  Massachusetts  Government 
12 


90  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

in  1642,  he  was  summoned  to  appear  before  their 
court,  which  he  despised.     But,  however,  he  pur- 
chased this  tract  of  the  Indians,  and  removed  there 
with  his  friends.     But  new   complaints  soon  went 
to  Boston  from  some  of  the  English,  and  Pomham 
and  Socononoko,  petty  sachems  of  the  Indians,  who 
it  seems  were  willing  to  take  advantage  of  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Massachusetts    English,  to  revolt 
from  their  subjection  to  Myantonomy,  as  Massasoit 
had  done  before,  by  means  of  the  Plymouth  En- 
glish.    Hereupon,  Mr.  Gorton  and  his  friends  being 
summoned  to  court,  he  refused  to  obey,  as  out  of 
the  jurisdiction,  both  of  Boston  and  Plymouth,  who 
both  sought  to  stretch  their  bounds,  to  have  taken 
him  in.     The  government  at  length  sent  up  a  com- 
pany of  armed  men,  who,  after   a  fruitless  treaty, 
made  him  and  his  friends  prisoners,  except  a  few 
who  escaped  by  flight.     They  were  carried  to  Bos- 
ton, and  after  a  trial  in  their  court,  condemned  to 
be  confined  in  a  severe,  and  even  a  scandalous 
manner,  in  several  towns,   for  the  winter,  and  in 
the  spring  banished  the  Colony.     They  came  to 
Rhode-Island,  and  fearing  to  be  again  troubled, 
the  Massachusetts  seeking  a  Patent  of  some  of  the 
Narraganset  country,  they  procured  an  actual  and 
solemn  submission  of  the  sachems  to  King  Charles, 
on  the  19th  of  August,  1644 ;  and  Messrs.  Gorton, 
Greene,  and  Holden,   went    to  England  and  ob- 
tained an  order  to  be  suffered  peaceably  to  possess 
their  purchase.     And  the  lands  forementioned,  be- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  91 

ing  incorporated  in  the  Province1*  of  Providence 
Plantations,  they  returned  and  carried  on  their 
improvements,  naming  their  purchase  Warwick,  in 
honor  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  gave  them  his 
friendly  protection. 

What  Mr.  Gorton's  religious  opinions  really  were, 
is  now  as  hard  to  tell,  as  it  is  to  understand  his 
most  mysterious  dialect,  for  there  are  sufficient 
reasons  why  we  ought  not  and  cannot  believe,  he 
held  all  that  are  confidently  fathered  upon  him. 
For  it  is  certain,  that,  whatever  impious  opinions 
his  adversaries  imputed  to  him,  and  whatever  hor- 
rid consequences  they  drew  from  the  opinions  he 
owned,  he  ascribed  as  bad  to  them,  and  fixed  as 
dreadful  consequences  on  their  tenets;  and  at  the 
same  time,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  denies  and 
disavows  many  things  they  charge  him  with ;  above 
all,  when  he  is  charged  with  denying  a  future  state 
and  the  judgment  to  come,  both  in  theory  and  in 
practice,  he  peremptorily  and  vehemently  denies 
the  charge,  and  solemnly  appeals  to  God,  and  all 
that  knew  him,  of  the  integrity  of  his  heart  and  the 
purity  of  his  hands ;  and  avers,  that  he  always  joins 
eternity  with  religion,  as  most  essential.  And  that 
the  doctrine  of  the  general  Salvationists,  was  the 

*  They  sometimes  called  themselves  the  Colony,  some- 
times the  Province  of  Providence  Plantations,  and  some- 
times the  Colony  or  Province. 


92  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

thing  which  his  soul  hated.     (MS.  letter  in  ans.  to 
Mr.  Morton's  Memorial.) 

In  an  address  to  King  Charles  II.,  1679,  he  dis- 
owns the  Puritans,  and  most  unaccountably  says, 
he  sucked  in  his  peculiar  tenets  "  from  the  breasts 
of  his  mother,  the  church  of  England."  He  strenu- 
ously opposed  the  doctrines  of  the  people  called 
Quakers.  I  am  informed  that  he  and  his  followers 
maintained  a  religious  meeting,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  for  above  sixty  years,  and  that  their 
worship  consisted  of  prayers  to  God,  of  preaching, 
or  expounding  the  scriptures,  and  singing  of  psalms. 
He  lived  to  a  great  age.  He  was  of  a  good  family 
in  England,  and  says  he  made  use  of  the  learned 
languages  in  expounding  the  scriptures  to  his 
hearers. 

About  1642-3,  there  were  two  trading  houses  set 
up  in  the  Narraganset  country ;  one  by  Mr.  Wilcox 
and  Mr.  R.  Williams,  the  other  by  Mr.  Richard 
Smith,  and  some  few  plantations  made  near  them, 
on  particular  grants  or  purchases  of  the  Indians, 
but  not  very  many  till  1657  :  when  several  gentle- 
men on  the  Island  and  elsewhere,  made  a  con- 
siderable purchase,  called  the  Petaquamscut  pur- 
chase. And  the  same  year,  there  was  a  purchase 
of  the  Island  of  Canonicut,  as  the  smaller  Islands 
had  been  purchased  before. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  93 

In  1665,  Misquamicut  was  purchased  of  the  In- 
dians, and  it  was  granted  a  township  by  the  name 
of  Westerly,  1669.  In  1672,  Manisses,  called 
Block-Island,  was  made  a  township,  by  the  name 
of  New-Shoreham.  In  1674,  the  inhabitants  at 
Petaquamscut  and  parts  adjacent,  had  their  lands 
incorporated  a  township  by  the  name  of  Kingston. 
And,  in  1677,  the  town  of  East-Greenwich  was  in- 
corporated, and,  1678,  Canonicut  Island,  or  rather 
Q,uononoquot,  was  incorporated  a  township  by  the 
name  of  James-Town.  In  1722,  the  lands  properly 
called  Narraganset,  were  divided  into  the  two 
townships  of  North  and  South  Kingston.  In  1729, 
the  whole  Colony  was  divided  into  three  counties, 
for  the  ease  of  the  inhabitants.  And,  1730,  the 
town  of  Providence  was  divided  into  the  four  towns 
of  Providence,  Smithfield,  Glocester,  and  Scituate; 
the  whole  land  being  filled  with  inhabitants,  partly 
by  the  coming  in  of  some  few  from  other  places, 
but  chiefly  by  the  natural  increase  of  the  first 
settlers.*  In  the  foresaid  year  1730,  there  was  by 
the  King's  order,  an  exact  account  taken  of  the 
number  of  souls  in  the  Colony,!  and  they  were 

*In  1738,  the  town  of  Westerly  is  divided,  and  the 
easterly  part  of  it  erected  into  a  township,  by  the  name 
of  Charlestown,  which  may  be  to  the  honor  of  King 
Charles  II.,  who  granted  us  our  present  Charter. 

|  The  said  account  was  taken  before  Providence  town- 
ship was  divided.  The  whole  account  is  this : 


94  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

found  to  be  no  less  than  seventeen  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  thirty-five,  of  which  no  more  than 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-five  were  Indians,  and 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-eight  negroes. 
So  that  the  English  in  all  were  fifteen  thousand 
three  hundred  and  two. 

Some  of  the  principal  persons  who  came  at  first 
to  this  Island,  removed  again  in  a  little  time,  some 
to  Long-Island  for  larger  accommodations,  some 
to  Massachusetts  again,  where  three1*  of  those 
families  have  made  a  very  considerable  figure  ever 
since  to  this  day.  A  considerable  number,  like- 
wise, removed  to  the  other  towns  in  this  Colony, 
and  many  settled  in  the  parts  adjacent,  that  are 
within  the  Colony  of  Plymouth.  Nevertheless,  in 
1730,  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  Island  were  five 


Whites. 

Negroes. 

Indians. 

Newport, 

3843 

649 

148 

Providence, 

3707 

128 

81 

Portsmouth, 

643 

100 

70 

Warwick, 

1028 

77 

73 

Westerly, 

1620 

56 

250 

North-Kingston, 

1875 

165 

65 

South-Kingston, 

965 

333 

225 

East-Greenwich  , 

1149 

40 

34 

Jamestown, 

222 

80 

19 

New-Shoreham, 

250 

20 

20 

15302  1648  985 

*Hutchinson,  Dummer,  Savage. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  95 

thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  and  of  this 
town  four  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty,  who  are 
no  doubt  by  this  time  increased  to  five  thousand 
souls.  The  trade  and  business  of  the  town  at  the 
first,  was  but  very  little  and  inconsiderable,  con- 
sisting only  of  a  little  corn,  and  pork  and  tobacco, 
sent  to  Boston  for  a  few  European  and  other  goods 
they  could  not  subsist  without,  and  all  at  the  mercy 
of  the  traders  there,  too.*  At  present,  there  are 
above  one  hundred  sail  of  vessels  belonging  to  this 
town,  besides  what  belong  to  the  rest  of  the  Colony. 
God  grant,  that  as  we  increase  in  numbers  and 
riches,  we  may  not  increase  in  sin  and  wickedness ; 
but  that  we  may  rather  be  led,  by  the  divine  good- 
ness, to  reform  whatever  may  have  been  amiss  or 
wanting  among  us. 

As  to  the  forms  of  government  we  have  passed 
under,  it  must  be  observed,  the  government  has 
been  always  more  or  less  democratical.  At  the 

*  Perhaps  it  may  be  agreeable  to  some  persons  to  ob- 
serve, that  about  1660,  and  many  years  after,  provision 
pay  was  one  hundred  per  cent  beneath  sterling  money. 
In  1687,  the  prices  of  goods  set  to  pay  taxes  in,  were, 
wool  eight  pence  per  pound,  butter  four  pence,  Indian 
Corn  one  shilling  and  six  pence  per  bushel.  If  the  tax 
was  paid  in  money,  then  there  was  to  be  an  allowance  or 
abatement  of  one-sixth  part,  and  that  perhaps  will  nearly 
give  the  true  current  price  of  those  kinds  of  provisions,  at 
that  time. 


96  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

first  incorporation  on  the  Island,  the  people  chose 
a  Judge  to  do  justice  and  judgment,  and  preserve 
the  public  peace ;  and  towards  the  latter  end  of 
the  year,  on  the  second  day  of  the  eleventh  month, 
they  added  three  gentlemen  as  Assistants  to  him  in 
his  office.*  And  soon  after  appointed  all,  to  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King,  according  to  the 
statute.  In  1640,  they  voted  the  chief  magistrate 
should  be  called  Governor,  the  next  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor, and  four  gentlemen  chosen  out  of  the  two 
towns,  Assistants.  Their  names  were  W.  Cod- 
dington,  Governor;  W.  Brenton,  Deputy  Governor; 
N.  Easton,  J.  Coggeshall,  W.  Hutchinson,  J.  Porter, 
Assistants.  The  next  year,  R.  Harding  was  in  Mr. 
Easton's  place,  and  Mr.  W.  Baulston  in  the  room 
of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  (who  perhaps  removed,)  and 
the  next  year  Mr.  Easton  was  chosen  Assistant 
again,  and  those  sixt  gentlemen  held  their  offices 
till  the  patent  of  incorporation. 

At  Providence,  all  new  comers  promised  "  to  sub- 
mit themselves  in  active  or  passive  obedience  to 
all  such  orders  and  agreements  as  shall  be  made 
for  public  good  of  the  body,  in  an  orderly  way,  by 

*  The  three  elders  were  Nicholas  Easton,  John  Cogges- 
hall, and  William  Brenton. 

f  The  six  gentlemen  were  W.  Coddington,  Governor, 
W.  Brenton,  Deputy  Governor,  N.  Easton,  J.  Coggeshall, 
W.  Baulston,  and  J.  Porter,  Assistants. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  97 

major  consent  of  the  inhabitants,"*  but  this  being 
insufficient,  27th  day  5th  mo.7  1640,  they  did,  to 
the  number  of  near  forty  persons,  combine  in  a 
form  of  civil  government,  according  to  a  model 
drawn  up  by  some  of  themselves,  as  most  suitable 
to  promote  peace  and  order  in  their  present  circum- 
stances ;  which,  however,  left  them  in  a  very  feeble 
condition. 

But  all  the  inhabitants  in  the  Narraganset-Bay, 
being  without  a  patent  and  any  legal  authority, 
1643,  Mr.  R.  Williams  went  to  England  as  agent, 
and,  by  the  help  and  assistance  of  Sir  Henry  Vane, 
jun.,  obtained  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick  (appointed 
by  Parliament  Governor  and  Admiral  of  all  the 
Plantations)  and  his  council,  "  a  free  and  absolute 

*  The  first  twelve  persons  who  came  to  Mr.  Williams, 
and  therefore  had,  by  virtue  of  his  conveyance,  some  pre- 
rogative with  him,  in  the  divisions,  &c.,  of  the  land,  were 
William  Arnold,  John  Greene,  John  Throgmorton,  Thomas 
James,  William  Harris,  Thomas  Olney,  Richard  Water- 
man, Francis  Weston,  Ezekiel  Holliman,  Robert  Cole, 
Stukeley  Westcoat,  and  William  Carpenter.  Soon  after 
came  to  them  Chad  Browne,  Wm.  Fairfield,  J.  Warner, 
E.  Angel,f  J.  Windsor,  R.  Scott,  Wm.  Remolds,  Wm. 
Wickenden,  Gregory  Dexter,  &c.  &c.,  most  of  whose 
names  remain  in  a  numerous  posterity. 

t  Callender,  who  is  remarkable  for  his  accuracy,  here  mistakes  the 
Christian  name.  It  should  be  Thomas  Angel.  See  Backus,  vol.  1,  p. 
74,  note.— Editor. 

13 


98  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Charter  of  civil  incorporation,  by  the  name  of  the 
incorporation  of  Providence  Plantations  in  the 
Narraganset-Bay  in  New-England ;"  empowering 
them  "  to  rule  themselves,  and  such  as  should  in- 
habit within  their  bounds,  by  such  a  form  of  civil 
government  as  by  the  voluntary  agreement  of  all, 
or  the  greater  part,  shall  be  found  most  serviceable, 
in  their  estate  and  condition ;  and  to  make  suitable 
laws,  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England,  so  far  as 
the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  place  will  admit, 
<fec."  It  was  dated  17th  of  March,  19th  Charles, 
i.  e.  1643-4,  but  it  does  not  appear  how  long  it 
was  before  Mr.  Williams  brought  it  over.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  it  took  them  some  time 
to  agree  in  a  method. 

o 

In  1647,  May  19th,  a  General  Assembly  of  the 
Province  (as  then  called)  established  a  body  of 
very  good  and  wholesome  laws,  agreeable  to  the 
English  statute  book ;  and  erected  a  form  of  civil 
government  for  the  administration  of  the  laws, 
and  the  making  such  other,  as  should  be  found  ne- 
cessary. The  supreme  power  was  left  in  the  body 
of  the  people,  assembled  in  an  orderly  way ;  a 
court  of  Commissioners,  consisting  of  six  persons, 
chosen  by  each  of  the  four  towns  of  Providence, 
Portsmouth,  Newport,  and  Warwick,  had  a  legis- 
lative authority;  at  least  their  acts  were  to  be  in 
force,  unless  repealed  within  a  limited  time  by  the 
vote  of  the  major  part  of  the  freemen  of  the  Prov- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  99 

ince,  to  be  collected  at  their  respective  town  meet- 
ings appointed  for  that  end. 

A  President  and  four  Assistants  were  chosen 
yearly,  to  be  conservators  of  the  peace,  with  all 
civil  power,  and  by  a  special  commission  they  were 
judges  of  the  court  of  trials,  assisted  by  the  two 
wardens  or  justices  of  the  particular  town  in  which 
the  court  sat  from  time  to  time. 

Every  town  chose  a  Council  of  six  persons,  to 
manage  their  town  affairs,  and  their  town  court 
had  the  trial  of  small  cases,  but  with  an  appeal  to 
the  court  of  the  President  and  Assistants. 

This  form  of  government  subsisted  till  1651, 
when  there  were  some  obstructions  to  it,  by  a  com- 
mission granted  from  the  Council  of  State,  to  the 
principal  inhabitant  of  the  Island,  to  govern  the 
Island  with  a  Council  chosen  by  the  people,  and 
approved  by  himself.  But  the  people,  thinking  it 
"  a  violation  or  encroachment  on  their  liberties  and 
purchases,  as  granted  and  secured  by  Charter,'7 
immediately  despatched  Mr.  R.  Williams  and  Mr. 
J.  Clark  to  England,  as  their  agents;  and  they 
easily  procured  an  order  from  the  Council  of  State 
to  vacate  or  suspend  the  commission.  This  order 
is  dated  2d  of  October,  1652,  but  by  reason  of  some 
misunderstandings  between  the  four  towns,  it  was 
a  year  or  two  before  they  returned  to  their  old 
plan,  which  then  lasted  to  the  present  Charter. 


\ 

100  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

In  1663,  July  8,  Charles  II.  granted  an  ample 
Charter,  whereby  the  Province  was  made  "  a  body 
corporate  and  politic,  in  fact  and  name,  by  the 
name  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  English 
Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Planta- 
tions in  New-England  in  America."  This  Charter 
we  enjoy  to  this  day,  through  the  merciful  provi- 
dence of  God.  And  as  every  one  knows  the  form 
of  government  established  in  it,  I  need  say  but  lit- 
tle about  it.  The  Governor,  the  Deputy  Governor, 
and  ten  Assistants  chosen  yearly  by  the  freemen, 
on  the  first  Wednesday  in  May,  have  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  in  their  hands ;  and  to- 
gether with  thirty-six  Deputies,*  chosen  half  yearly 
by  the  several  towns,  make  up  the  General  As- 
sembly ;  which  is  the  highest  Court  in  the  Colony, 
and  our  Legislature :  empowered  to  make  laws  as 
to  them  shall  seem  meet,  for  the  good  and  welfare 
of  the  said  Company — "  so  as  such  laws  be  not 
contrary  and  repugnant  unto,  but  as  near  as  may 
be,  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  England,  considering 
the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  place  and  people 
there." 

This  Assembly  meets  twice  a  year  by  Charter, 
on  election  day,  and  the  last  Wednesday  of  October. 

*  The  town  of  Charlestown  being  erected  since  this 
was  prepared  for  the  press,  the  number  of  Deputies  is  now 
thirty-eight. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  101 

The  first,  by  law,  is  held  at  Newport,  and  the  last 
at  Providence  and  South-Kingston  alternately. 
The  Governor  has  no  negative  voice,  and  the  ma- 
jor vote  of  the  whole  Assembly  in  one  House  de- 
termines in  the  choice  of  civil  or  military  officers  ; 
but  in  the  passing  laws  the  Assembly  sits  in  two 
Houses. 

It  would  be  too  tedious  to  give  a  particular  ac- 
count of  all  the  repeated  attempts  and  stratagems 
made  use  of,  to  wrest  the  jurisdiction  and  propriety 
of  a  considerable  part  of  the  lands  within  our  Pa- 
tent from  the  Colony. 

Therefore  I  proceed  to  say, 

When  Colonel  Dudley  was  appointed  President 
of  the  Massachusetts,  the  Narraganset  country, 
called  then  King's  Province,  was  included  in  his 
commission.  In  1685,  October  6,  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto  was  issued  out  against  the  Colony,  which 
was  brought  here  June  26, 1686,  by  Ed.  Randolph, 
Esq.,  whereupon  the  free  inhabitants,  especially  of 
the  chief  towns,  met  at  Newport  on  the  29th,  and 
gave  in  their  opinion  to  the  General  Assembly, 
and  left  "  the  further  proceeding  to  the  judicious 
determination  of  the  Assembly."  The  Assembly, 
upon  serious  consideration,  published  and  declared 
that  they  determined  not  to  "  stand  suit  with  His 
Majesty,  but  to  proceed,  by  humble  address  to  His 


102  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Majesty  to  continne  their  privileges  and  liberties 
according  to  the  Charter;"  and  they  accordingly 
sent  home  an  address  to  the  King,  who  by  his  an- 
swer promised  them  protection  and  favor.  How- 
ever, the  Colony  was  put  under  the  government  of 
Sir  Ed.  Andross,  and  "  suffered  with  others,  several 
hardships  and  severe  impositions." 

The  reasons  why  the  Assembly  chose  not  to 
stand  suit  with  the  King,  were  partly  "  their  poverty 
and  inability  to  bear  the  expense  of  such  a  law- 
suit in  England,  and  partly  the  example  of  the 
many  Corporations  in  England,  which  had  in  the 
like  case  surrendered  their  Charters;"  and  perhaps 
the  secret  hope  they  should  find  more  favor  with 
the  King,  by  this  way  of  proceeding,  was  the  prin- 
cipal motive. 

January  12,  1686-7.  Sir  Edmund  Andross's 
commission  to  be  Governor  of  this  Colony,  with 
the  rest  of  New-England,  was  published  here,  and 
the  Colony  made  one  county,  and  governed  by  civil 
officers  under  him. 

After  the  revolution  in  England,  there  was  a 
General  Assembly  of  the  freemen  of  the  Colony  at 
Newport,  May  1,  1689,  who  agreed  "  that  since  Sir 
Ed.  Andross  was  seized  and  confined  with  others 
of  his  Council  (at  Boston)  and  his  authority  si- 
lenced and  deposed,  it  was  their  duty  to  lay  hold 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


103 


of  their  former  Charter  privileges ;  and  avowedly 
professing  all  allegiance  to  the  crown  of  England, 
they  replaced  all  the  general  officers  that  had  been 
displaced  three  years  before.  But  some  of  the  gen- 
tlemen afterwards  declining  to  act  by  this  authority, 
a  General  Assembly,  called  February  20  following, 
elected  others  in  their  room.  And  there  having 
been  no  judgment  against  the  Charter,  the  govern- 
ment allowed  of  the  resuming  it,  and  through  the 
divine  goodness,  and  the  clemency,  justice,  and 
prudence  of  our  Princes,  it  has  been  continued 
ever  since.  God  grant,  we  may  never  forfeit  nor 
lose  our  precious  and  invaluable  liberties  and  privi- 
leges ;  and  that  we  may  ever  use  them  with  pru- 
dence and  discretion,  with  gratitude  to  God,  the 
governor  of  the  world;  and  with  loyalty  to  the 
crown ! 

It  is  now  more  than  time  for  me  to  lay  before 
you,  some  account  of  our  religious  affairs. 

It  is  a  pity  we  cannot  entirely  confute  all  the 
opprobrious  things  which  some  have  written  of 
some  of  the  inhabitants.  I  am  satisfied  a  great 
many  of  them  were  wholly  groundless,  many  others 
very  much  aggravated  and  misrepresented,  and 
some  things  made  to  be  reproaches  which  in  reality 
were  praiseworthy. 

I  take  it  to  have  been  no  dishonor  to  the  Colony, 
that  Christians,  of  every  denomination,  were  suf- 


104  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

fered  to  lead  quiet  and  peaceable  lives,  without 
any  fines  or  punishments  for  their  speculative 
opinions,  or  for  using  those  external  forms  of  wor- 
ship they  believed  God  had  appointed,  and  would 
accept.  Bigots  may  call  this  confusion  and  dis- 
order, and  it  may  be  so,  according  to  their  poor 
worldly  notions  of  religion,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  But  the  pretended  order  of  human  au- 
thority, assuming  the  place  and  prerogatives  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  trampling  on  the  consciences  of 
his  subjects,  is,  as  Mr.  R.  Williams  most  justly 
calls  it,  "  monstrous  disorder." 

Though  it  be  very  certain,  that  a  public  worship 
of  God  is  very  necessary,  even  to  civilize  mankind, 
who  would  be  likely  to  lose  all  sense  of  religion 
without  it;  yet  it  will  not  follow,  that  the  civil 
magistrate,  as  such,  has  authority  to  appoint  the 
rites  of  worship,  and  constrain  all  his  subjects  to 
use  them,  much  less  to  punish  them  for  using  any 
other.  What  has  been  forever  the  consequences 
of  his  pretending  to  such  authority,  and  using  his 
power  to  support  it  ?  What  glory  doth  it  bring  to 
God,  and  what  good  can  it  do  to  men,  to  force 
them  to  attend  a  worship  they  disapprove?  It  can 
only  make  them  hypocrites,  and  God  abhors  such 
worshippers. 

Notwithstanding  our  constitution  left  every  one 
to  his  own  liberty,  and  his  conscience ;  and  not- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  105 

withstanding  the  variety  of  opinions  that  were  en- 
tertained, and  notwithstanding  some  may  have  con- 
tracted too  great  an  indifference  to  any  social  wor- 
ship, yet  I  am  well  assured  there  scarce  ever  was  a 
time,  the  hundred  years  past,  in  which  there  was 
not  a  weekly  public  worship  of  God,  attended  by 
Christians,  on  this  Island  and  in  the  other  first 
towns  of  the  Colony. 

It  is  no  ways  unlikely,  some  odd  and  whimsical 
opinions  may  have  been  broached ;  the  liberty  en- 
joyed here,  would  tempt  persons  distressed  for  their 
opinions  in  the  neighboring  governments,  to  retire 
to  this  Colony  as  an  asylum.  It  is  no  ways  un- 
likely, that  some  persons  of  a  very  different  genius 
and  spirit  from  the  first  settlers,  might  intrude 
themselves,  and  use  this  liberty  as  an  occasion  to 
the  flesh ;  but  the  first  set  of  men  who  came  here, 
were  a  pious  generation,  men  of  virtue  and  godli- 
ness, notwithstanding  their  tincture  of  enthusiasm, 
which  was  not  peculiar  to  them ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing their  peculiar  opinions  of  justification,  and  the 
nature  and  rights  of  the  Christian  church.  They 
had  not  so  many  great  and  wise  men  among  them, 
perhaps,  as  were  in  some  of  the  other  Colonies ; 
but  their  whole  number  was  very  small,  in  com- 
parison with  the  other  Colonies.  Nevertheless, 
they  had  some  very  considerable  men,  and  of  su- 
perior merit.  It  is  true,  likewise,  their  form  of 
government  was  too  feeble ;  their  first  Patent  left 
14 


106  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

them  without  sufficient  authority  in  their  civil 
officers,  to  check  any  popular  humors ;  but  yet, 
they  did,  and  that  as  early  as  the  Massachusetts 
Colony,  form  a  body  of  good  laws,  by  which  all 
vice,  and  every  immorality,  was  discouraged  or 
punished.  And  throughout  the  whole  history  of 
the  Island  and  Colony,  there  is  manifestly  an  aim 
and  endeavor  to  prevent  or  suppress  all  disorders 
and  immoralities,  and  to  promote  universal  peace, 
virtue,  godliness,  and  charity. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  defend  all  the  opinions  that 
were  entertained  by  any  of  them ;  much  less,  all 
the  extravagant  notions  that  were  unjustly  ascribed 
to  some  of  them  ;  nor  yet  to  justify  every  word  or 
action  that  might  be  the  effect  of  heated  zeal,  or 
raised  indignation  and  resentment.  That  man, 
who  will  go  about  to  justify  or  condemn  a  party,  in 
the  gross,  and  without  distinction,  shall  never  be 
approved  or  imitated  by  me ;  much  less  can  it  be 
expected,  I  should  defend  all  the  opinions  of  so 
many  different  religious  parties,  as  were  here 
united  in  civil  peace.  However,  I  dare  say  it  after 
Mr.  J.  Clark,  that  "  notwithstanding  the  different 
consciences  and  understandings  among  them,  they 
agreed  to  maintain  civil  justice  and  judgments ; 
neither  were  there  such  outrages  committed  among 
them,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country  were  fre- 
quently seen."  (Clark's  Nar.  Introd.)  And  I 
bear  them  witness,  they  had  a  zeal  for  God :  If  it 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  107 

were  not  according  to  knowledge  in  ever  article, 
yet  they  lay  open  to  instruction,  desirous  to  find 
out  and  discover  the  whole  mind  and  will  of  God ; 
which  cannot  so  truly  be  said  of  all  places,  where 
yet  men  are  not  more  infallible.  If  there  were 
any  of  them,  who  made  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a 
good  conscience,  perhaps  it  would  be  as  easy,  as  it 
would  be  invidious,  to  find  parallels  enough  in  other 
places,  to  shew  there  are  other  dangerous  rocks, 
besides  liberty  of  conscience.  It  is  an  unaccount- 
able humor  that  has  prevailed  among  too  many 
Christian  sects,  to  make  religion  and  the  gospel 
consist  in  their  own  peculiar  and  distinguishing 
tenets,  which  would  almost  tempt  an  impartial 
man  to  think  it  ought  rather  to  consist  in  those 
things,  wherein  they  are  most  generally  agreed, 
and  conclude  in  the  words  of  the  excellent  Dr. 
Cotton  Mather  :  "  The  period  hastens  for  a  new 
reformation,  wherein  it  is  likely  none  of  our  very 
best  parties  will  be,  in  all  things,  the  standard  of 
what  shall  prevail  in  the  world,  but  our  holy  Lord 
will  form  a  new  people  of  those  good  men  that  shall 
unite  in  the  articles  of  their  goodness,  and  sweetly 
bear  with  one  another  in  their  lesser  differences." 
(Good.  Men  United,  p.  26-7. 

It  must  be  a  mean,  contracted  way  of  thinking, 
to  confine  the  favor  of  God  and  the  power  of  godli- 
ness, to  one  set  of  speculative  opinions,  or  any  par- 
ticular external  forms  of  worship.  How  hard  must 


108  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

it  be,  to  imagine  all  other  Christians  but  ourselves 
must  be  formal  and  hypocritical,  and  destitute  of 
the  grace  of  God,  because  their  education  or  ca- 
pacity differs  from  ours,  or  that  God  has  given 
them  more  or  less  light  than  to  us,  though  we  can- 
not deny,  they  give  the  proper  evidence  of  their 
fearing  God,  by  their  working  righteousness  ;  and 
shew  their  love  to  him,  by  keeping  what  they  under- 
stand he  has  commanded ;  and  though  their  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus  purifies  their  hearts,  and  works  by 
love,  and  overcomes  the  world.  It  would  be  hard 
to  shew,  why  liberty  of  conscience,  mutual  forbear- 
ance and  good  will,  wrhy  brotherly  kindness  and 
charity,  is  not  as  good  a  center  of  unity,  as  a  con- 
strained uniformity  in  external  ceremonies,  or  a 
forced  subscription  to  ambiguous  articles.  Ex- 
perience has  dearly  convinced  the  world,  that 
unanimity  in  judgment  and  affection  cannot  be 
secured  by  penal  laws.  Who  can  tell,  why  the 
unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace,  is  not 
enough  for  Christians  to  aim  at  ?  And  who  can 
assign  a  reason,  why  they  may  not  love  one  another, 
though  abounding  in  their  own  several  senses? 
And  why,  if  they  live  in  peace,  the  God  of  love  and 
peace  may  not  be  with  them  ? 

Indulgence  to  tender  consciences,  might  be  a  re- 
proach to  the  Colony,  an  hundred  years  ago,  but  a 
better  way  of  thinking  prevails  in  the  Protestant 
part  of  the  Christian  church  at  present.  It  is  now 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  109 

a  glory  to  the  Colony,  to  have  avowed  such  senti- 
ments so  long  ago,  while  blindness  in  this  article 
happened  in  other  places,  and  to  have  led  the  way 
as  an  example  to  others,  and  to  have  first  put  the 
theory  into  practice. 

Liberty  of  conscience  is  more  fully  established 
and  enjoyed  now,  in  the  other  New-English 
Colonies ;  and  our  mother  Kingdom  grants  a  legal 
toleration  to  all  peaceable  and  conscientious  dis- 
senters from  the  parliamentary  establishment. 
Greater  light  breaking  into  the  world  and  the 
church,  and  especially  all  parties  by  turns  expe- 
riencing and  complaining  aloud  of  the  hardships  of 
constraint,  they  are  come  to  allow  as  reasonable  to 
all  others,  what  they  want  and  challenge  for  them- 
selves. And  there  is  no  other  bottom  but  this  to 
rest  upon,  to  leave  others  the  liberty  we  should  de- 
sire ourselves,  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  them  free.  This  is  doing  as  we  would  be 
done  by,  the  grand  rule  of  justice  and  equity;  this 
is  leaving  the  government  of  the  church  to  Jesus 
Christ,  the  King  and  head  over  all  things,  and 
suffering  his  subjects  to  obey  and  serve  him. 

But  to  take  things  in  their  order,  Mr.  R.  Williams 
is  said,  in  a  few  years  after  his  settling  at  Provi- 
dence, to  have  embraced  the  opinions  of  the  people 
called  (by  way  of  reproach)  Anabaptists,  in  respect 
to  the  subject  and  mode  of  baptism ;  and  to  have 


110  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

formed  a  church  there,  in  that  way,  with  the  help 
of  one  Mr.  Ezekiel  Holliman,*  and  that  after  a 
while  he  renounced  these  opinions  likewise,  and 
turned  seeker,  i.  e.  to  wait  for  new  apostles  to  re- 
store Christianity.  He  believed  the  Christian  re- 
ligion to  have  been  so  corrupted  and  disfigured  in 
what  he  called  the  "  apostacy,  as  that  there  was 
no  ministry  of  an  ordinary  vocation  left  in  the 
church,  but  prophecy,"  and  that  there  was  need  of 
a  special  commission,  to  restore  the  modes  of  posi- 
tive worship,  according  to  the  original  institution. 
It  does  not  appear  to  me,  that  he  had  any  doubt  of 
the  true  mode,  and  proper  subjects  of  baptism,  but 

*  Since  this  was  transcribed  for  the  press,  I  find  some 
reasons  to  suspect,  that  Mr.  Williams  did  not  form  a 
Church  of  the  Anabaptists,  and  that  he  never  joined  with 
the  Baptist  Church  there.  Only,  that  he  allowed  them  to 
be  nearest  the  scripture  rule,  and  true  primitive  practice, 
as  to  the  mode  and  subject  of  baptism.  But  that  he  him- 
self waited  for  new  apostles,  &c.  The  most  ancient  in- 
habitants now  alive,  some  of  them  above  eighty  years  old, 
who  personally  knew  Mr.  Williams,  and  were  well  acquain- 
ted with  many  of  the  original  settlers,  never  heard  that 
Mr.  Williams  formed  the  Baptist  Church  there,  but  al- 
ways understood  that  Mr.  Browne,  Mr.  Wickenden  or 
Wiginton,  Mr.  Dexter,  Mr.  Olney,  Mr.  Tillinghast,  &c., 
were  the  first  founders  of  that  Church. f 

f  "  I  have  one  of  the  Century  Sermons  of  Mr.  Callender,  with  a  dele, 
upon  this  note,  in  his  own  hand  writing.''  See  manuscript  materials  for 
a  history  of  the  Baptists,  by  the  Rev.  Morgan  Edwards,  in  the  cabinet 
of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society. — Editor. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  Ill 

that  no  man  had  any  authority  to  revive  the  prac- 
tice of  the  sacred  ordinances,  without  a  new  and 
immediate  commission.  It  is  also  said,  (JVeale,) 
"That  his  church  hereupon  crumbled  to  pieces, 
every  one  following  his  own  fancy,  and  the  worship 
of  God  came  to  be  generally  neglected."  But  I 
believe  this  to  be  a  mistake  in  fact,  for  it  certainly 
appears,  there  was  a  flourishing  church  of  the 
Baptists  there,  a  few  years  after  the  time  of  the 
supposed  breaking  to  pieces  ;  and  it  is  known  by 
the  names  of  the  members,  as  well  as  by  tradition, 
they  were  some  of  the  first  settlers  at  Providence ; 
however,  it  is  possible  some  of  his  followers  might 
embrace  his  new  opinions.  Mr.  Williams  used  to 
uphold  a  public  worship,  sometimes,  though  not 
weekly,  as  many  now  alive  remember,  and  he  used 
to  go  once  a  month,  for  many  years,  to  Mr.  Smith's 
in  the  Narraganset,  for  the  same  end. 

There  was  no  reason  to  lay  aside  the  use  of  the 
sacred  institutions  of  Jesus  Christ,  because  they 
had  been  perverted,  for  surely  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  Christ  must  of  necessity  have  an  inherent 
right  to  revive,  or  rectify,  any  of  his  ordinances 
that  have  been  misused.  The  Protestants  in 
general  have  done  so,  by  both  sacraments,  which 
they  have  all  of  them  rescujed  from  some  or  other 
of  the  corruptions  of  Popery.  And  why  they  may 
not  be  as  well  rescued  from  every  corruption,  a& 
from  some,  and  why  Christians  may  not  revive  the 


112  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

true  form  of  administering  baptism,  as  well  as  the 
supper,  is  hard  to  tell,  unless  we  make  a  charm  of 
the  institution.  So  long  as  we  have  the  New  Tes- 
tament, wherein  the  original  commission  and  in- 
structions are  contained,  we  can  want  no  immediate 
warrant  to  obey  the  general  laws  of  Christ,  any 
more  than  a  new  revelation,  and  new  miracles,  to 
justify  our  believing  the  old  facts  and  doctrines  of 
the  gospel.  The  Bible  contains  the  religion  of 
Christians,  and  the  word  of  God  is  a  sufficient  rule 
of  faith  and  worship.  Had  Mr.  Williams  adhered 
to  this  maxim,  the  maxim  of  the  Protestants,  and 
more  especially  of  the  Puritans,  he  might  have 
continued  an  Anabaptist  all  his  days,  as  it  is  said 
he  was  more  inclinable  to  them  in  his  latter  time. 

Bishop  Sanderson  says,  (  Veneer  on  the  thirty- 
nine  articles,  p.  655,)  that  "  the  Rev.  Archbishop 
Whitgift,  and  the  learned  Hooker,  men  of  great 
judgment,  and  famous  in  their  times,  did  long  since 
foresee  and  declare  their  fear,  that  if  ever  Puri- 
tanism should  prevail  among  us,  it  would  soon 
draw  in  Anabaptism  after  it. — This  Cartwright 
and  the  Disciplinarians  denied,  and  were  offended 
at. — But  these  good  men  judged  right ;  they  con- 
sidered, only  as  prudent  men,  that  Anabaptism  had 
its  rise  from  the  same  principles  the  Puritans  held, 
and  its  growth  from  the  same  course  they  took ; 
together  with  the  natural  tendency  of  their  prin- 
ciples and  practices  toward  it ;  especially  that  ONE 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  113 

PRINCIPLE,  as  it  was  then  by  them  misunderstood, 
that  the  scripture  was  adequata  agendorum  regula, 
so  as  nothing  might  be  lawfully  done,  without  ex- 
press warrant,  either  from  some  command  or  ex- 
ample therein  contained;  which  clue,  if  followed 
as  far  as  it  would  go,  would  certainly  in  time  carry 
them  as  far  as  the  Anabaptists  had  then  gone." 

This  I  beg  leave  to  look  on  as  a  most  glorious 
concession  of  the  most  able  adversaries.  One 
party  contend,  that  the  scripture  is  the  adequate 
rule  of  worship,  and  for  the  necessity  of  some  com- 
mand or  example  there ;  the  other  party  say  this 
leads  to  Anabaptism.  It  seems  vey  remarkable, 
that  the  Puritans,  at  least  some  of  the  Puritans, 
put  the  baptism  of  infants,  and  the  administering 
baptism  by  sprinkling,  on  a  different  foot  from 
many  of  the  other  party.  It  was  one  grand  reason 
of  the  Plymouth  people's  discontent  in  Holland, 
that  the  Dutch  would  not  reform  the  custom  of 
baptising  indifferently  the  children  of  all  persons 
that  had  been  themselves  baptised  in  infancy. 
And  it  was  once  a  great  complaint  against  New- 
England,  that  the  children  only  of  visible  church 
members  were  admitted  to  baptism.  Nor  did  the 
general  way  of  baptising  the  grand  children  of  the 
covenant,  or  the  infants  of  such  as  do  what  is 
called  "owning  the  covenant,"  (a  phrase  and  way 
peculiar  perhaps  to  New-England,)  take  place, 
without  a  very  great  and  long  struggle :  perhaps 

15 


114  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

it  does  not  yet  universally  prevail.  When  the  first 
principles  and  practice  of  New-England  are  in- 
quired into,  and  compared  together,  and  with  those 
that  prevailed  forty  years  after ;  it  will  be  found 
no  great  wonder,  if  a  person  (and  there  have  been 
such  persons)  who  heard  the  unanswerable  argu- 
ments with  which  some  Pse  do-baptists  prove  the 
infants  of  those  who  are  not  members  of  some 
visible  church,  are  not  to  be  baptised ;  and  the 
like  powerful  arguments,  with  which  others  prove 
that  other  infants  have  an  equal  right  and  claim 
with  the  infants  of  church  members ;  I  say,  it  would 
be  no  wonder,  if  such  a  person  should  believe  them 
both,  and  conclude  in  the  words  of  the  late  ex- 
cellent Dr.  C.  Mather,  on  a  like  occasion,  "  that 
regeneration  is  the  thing,  without  which,  a  title 
unto  sacraments  is  not  to  be  pretended ;  that  real 
regeneration  is  that  which,  before  God,  renders 
men  capable  of  claiming  sacraments ;  and  visible 
or  expressed  regeneration,  is  that  which,  before 
men,  enables  them  to  make  such  a  claim."  Comp. 
for  Comm.  p.  31.) 

But  to  return.  About  the  year  1653  or  54,  there 
was  a  division  in  the  Baptist  Church,  at  Provi- 
dence, about  the  right  of  laying  on  of  hands,  which 
some  pleaded  for  as  essentially  necessary  to  church 
communion,  and  the  others  would  leave  indifferent. 
Hereupon  they  walked  in  two  churches,  one  under 
Mr.  C.  Browne,  Mr.  Wickenden,  <fcc.,  the  other 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  115 

under  Mr.  Thomas  Olney  ;*  but  laying  on  of  hands 
at  length  generally  obtained. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  the  principles  of  a  too 
rigid  separation,  planted  by  Mr.  Williams,  have 
taken  a  deep  root,  while  some  other  of  his  darling 
opinions  are  almost  withered  away.  That  church 
which  was  distinguished  by  holding  laying  on  of 
hands  necessary  to  all  baptised  persons,  came  in 
time,  generally  to  hold  universal  redemption. 

This  Church  shot  out  into  divers  branches,  as 
the  members  increased,  and  the  distance  of  their 
habitations  made  it  inconvenient  to  attend  the 
public  worship  in  the  town ;  several  meetings  were 
thereupon  fixed  at  different  places,  for  their  ease 
and  accommodation  ;  and  about  the  time  the  large 
township  of  Providence  became  divided  into  four 
towns,  these  chapels  of  ease  began  to  be  considered 
as  distinct  churches,  though  all  are  yet  in  a  union 
of  counsels  and  interests.  And  there  is  a  strict 
Association  of  all  the  Baptist  Churches  in  New- 
England,  that  hold  the  doctrine  of  laying  on  of 
hands,  in  that  sense,  maintained  by  yearly  meet- 
ings of  the  elders  and  brethren,  at  several  places, 

*This  last  continued  till  about  twenty  years  since, 
when  becoming  destitute  of  an  elder,  the  members  were 
united  with  other  churches.  At  present,  there  is  some 
prospect  of  their  re-establishment  in  church  order. 


116  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

from  time  to  time,  where  the  affairs  of  all  the 
Churches  are  considered. 

The  people  who  came  to  Rhode-Island,  who 
were  Puritans  of  the  highest  form,  had  desired  and 
depended  on  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Wheelwright,  a 
famous  Congregational  minister  aforementioned. 
But  he  chose  to  go  to  Long-Island,  where  he  con- 
tinued some  years.  In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  John 
Clark,  who  was  a  man  of  letters,  carried  on  a  pub- 
lic worship,  (as  Mr.  Brewster  did  at  Plymouth,)  at 
the  first  coming,  till  they  procured  Mr.  Lenthal,  of 
Weymouth,  who  was  admitted  a  freeman  here, 
August  6,  1640.  And  August  20,  Mr.  Lenthal  was 
by  vote  called  to  keep  a  public  school  for  the  learn- 
ing of  youth,  and  for  his  encouragement  there  was 
granted  to  him  and  his  heirs  one  hundred  acres  of 
land,  and  four  more  for  an  house  lot ;  it  was  also 
voted,  "  that  one  hundred  acres  should  be  laid  forth, 
and  appropriated  for  a  school,  for  encouragement 
of  the  poorer  sort,  to  train  up  their  youth  in  learn- 
ing, and  Mr.  Robert  Lenthal,  while  he  continues  to 
teach  school,  is  to  have  the  benefit  thereof."  But 
this  gentleman  did  not  tarry  here  very  long :  I  find 
him  gone  to  England  the  next  year  but  one ;  but 
there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  persons  of  their 
zeal  should  immediately  fall  into  a  total  neglect  of 
a  social  worship.  One  of  their  first  cares,  both  at 
Portsmouth  and  at  Newport,  was  to  build  a  Meet- 
ing House,  which  I  suppose  was  designed  for  public 
worship. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  117 

It  is  said  that,  in  1644,  Mr.  John  Clark  and  some 
others  formed  a  Church  on  the  scheme  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Baptists.  It  is  certain  that  in  1648 
there  were  fifteen  members  in  full  communion. * 
And  it  is  this  Church,  of  which  we  are,  by  Divine 
Providence,  the  successors,  though  with  some  little 
variation  in  the  points  which  their  adversaries  had 
objected  to  them,  in  the  other  Colony.  And  thus 
all  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  New-England  have 
meliorated  their  opinions,  and  ways  of  speaking  of 
some  points,  since  that  age  of  dispute,  contention 
and  temptation.  However,  I  have  good  reason  to 
think,  the  first  founders  of  this  church  would  have 
heartily  joined  in  that  explanation,  which  was  ac- 
cepted from  Mr.  Cotton,  by  the  synod,  and  which 
is  said  "  to  make  an  happy  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter,"  and  I  suppose  every  one  of  the  present 
members  would  readily  subscribe  it,  viz.  "  That 
we  are  not  married  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with- 
out faith,  giving  an  actual  consent  of  the  soul  to 
it;  that  effectual  calling,  and  the  soul's  appre- 
hending by  faith,  is  in  the  order  of  nature,  before 
God's  act  of  justification  on  the  soul;  and  that  in 
the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  the  evi- 
dence of  our  good  estate  before  God,  the  qualifica- 

*The  names  of  the  males  were,  John  Clark,  Mark 
Lukar,  Nathanael  West,  Wm.  Vahan,  Thomas  Clark, 
Joseph  Clark,  John  Peckham,  John  Thorndon,  William 
Weeden,  and  Samuel  Hubbard. 


118  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

tions  of  inherent  graces,  and  the  fruits  thereof, 
proving  the  sincerity  of  our  faith,  must  ever  be  co- 
existent, concurrent,  and  co-apparent,  or  else  the 
conceived  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  either  a  delu- 
sion or  doubtful  T  (Magnal  b.  7,  p.  17.)  In  this 
Church  there  were  several  persons,  able  to  speak 
to  the  edification  of  the  rest ;  and  I  have  been  in- 
formed by  tradition,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the 
inhabitants  used  to  attend  this  worship,  though  the 
members  in  church  fellowship  were  always  but 
few. 

In  1652  (during  Mr.  Clark's  absence  in  England) 
some  of  the  brethren  embraced  the  opinion  of  lay- 
ing on  of  hands,  as  necessary  to  all  baptised  per- 
sons, and  in  the  year  1654  or  1656,  the  opinion  it 
was  necessary  to  church  communion  and  fellow- 
ship, together  with  their  opinions  of  the  doctrines 
of  grace  and  free-will,  occasioned  some  of  them  to 
separate,  and  form  a  Church  by  themselves,  under 
the  leading  of  Mr.  Wrn.  Vahan ;  this  Church  con- 
tinues to  this  day,  and  is  numerous ;  at  present 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Messrs.  D.  Wightman 
and  N.  Eyres. 

In  1656  or  1657,  some  of  the  people  called 
Quakers  came  to  this  Colony  and  Island;  and 
being  persecuted  and  abused  in  the  other  Colonies, 
that,  together  with  the  opinions  and  circumstances 
of  the  people  here,  gave  them  a  very  large  harvest; 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  119 

many,  and  some  of  the  Baptist  Church,  embraced 
their  doctrines  and  particular  opinions,  to  which 
many  of  their  posterity,  and  others,  still  adhere. 

About  1665,  a  number  of  the  members  of  the 
Church  under  Mr.  J.  Clark,  removed  to  the  new 
plantation  at  Westerly,  among  whom  Mr.  John 
Crandal  was  a  preacher  and  elder.  They  after- 
wards did  generally  embrace  the  Seventh-Day 
Sabbath,  and  their  successors  are  now  a  very  large 
and  flourishing  Church,  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Messrs.  J.  and  J.  Maxon,  and  Mr.  William  Hiscox. 

In  1671,  some  of  the  members  of  Mr.  Clark's 
Church,  who  had  been  in  the  observation  of  the 
Seventh-Day  Sabbath  for  some  years,  thought  it 
proper  and  necessary  to  draw  off  by  themselves ; 
and  they  erected  a  Church,  under  the  leading  of 
Mr.  William  Hiscox.  It  is  under  the  roof  of  their 
successors  we  are  now  assembled.*  Mr.  J.  Cran- 
dal, elder  of  this  Church,  died  the  12th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1737. 

In  1695,  several  ministers  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  came  and  preached  here  to  some  who  had 
desired  it.  The  next  year  there  was  a 'Meeting 

*  While  our  Church  is  erecting  a  new  and  more  con- 
venient Meeting  House,  we  are  kindly  favored  with  the 
use  of  this,  belonging  to  the  Sabbatarian  Church. 


120  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

House  erected,  in  which  the  public  worship  of  God 
was  maintained  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nathanael  Clap. 
In  1720,  there  was  a  Church  in  the  Congregational 
scheme  gathered,  and  he  was  ordained  the  pastor, 
and  is  still  alive,  laboring  in  the  word  and  doctrine. 
In  1728,  there  was  another  Church  formed  out  of 
this  ;  the  present  pastor  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Sear- 
ing. 

About  1700,  the  worship  of  God,  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  began  to 
be  set  up  here,  by  the  Society  for  propagating  the 
gospel  in  foreign  parts.  Mr.  Lockyer  was  the  first 
Missionary,  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  James 
Honyman,  at  present  the  most  ancient  Missionary 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  all  America. 

So  that  there  are  at  this  time,  seven  worshipping 
Assemblies,  Churches  or  Societies,  in  this  town, 
besides  a  large  one  of  the  people  called  Quakers, 
at  Portsmouth,  the  other  part  of  the  Island. 

I  am  not  able  to  assign  the  exact  date,  when 
every  Church  or  meeting  began,  or  every  Meeting 
House  was  built,  in  all  the  several  towns  of  the 
Colony.  But  there  are  now  in  the  other  eleven 
towns  no  less  than  twenty-five  distinct  Societies  or 
worshipping  Assemblies  of  Christians ;  besides 
several  places  where  there  are  occasional  meetings, 
in  some  part  of  the  year,  or  at  certain  seasons,  as 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  121 

is  the  custom  in  the  other  Colonies,  among  the  new 
or  scattered  settlements. 

There  are  in  the  nine  towns  on  the  main  land, 
eight  Churches  of  the  people  called  Baptists,  one 
in  every  town,  except  Greenwich,  where  there  is, 
however,  a  Meeting  House,  in  which  there  is  a 
meeting  once  a  month.* 

Of  the  people  called  Quakers,  there  are  seven 
Meeting  Houses  on  the  main  land,  and  one  at 
James-Town  on  Conanicut  Island  ;  and  a  constant 
meeting  at  Westerly,  though  no  Meeting  House 
yet  erected. 

There  are  four  Episcopal  Churches  on  the  main, 
one  at  Providence,  to  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  John 
Checkley  is  appointed,  and  one  at  North-Kingston, 
of  which  the  Rev.  James  M'cSparran,  D.  D.,  is  the 
present  rector ;  besides  one  at  Westerly,  and  one 
on  the  edge  of  Warwick,  adjoining  to  East-Green- 
wich, which  are  occasionally  supplied  by  the  Mis- 
sionaries at  other  towns. 

*  The  names  of  the  elders  of  these  Churches  are,  at 
Providence,  Mr.  T.  Windsor,  and  Tho.  Burlingham ;  at 
Smithfield,  Mr.  Josias  Cooke ;  at  Scituate,  Mr.  S.  Fisk  ; 
at  Glocester,  Mr.  Ed.  Mitchel ;  at  Warwick,  Mr.  Manasseh 
Martyn  and  Mr.  Francis  Bates ;  at  N.  Kingston,  Mr.  R. 
Sweet  and  Mr.  B.  Herrington ;  at  S.  Kingston,  Mr. 
Daniel  E \rerit. 

16 


122  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

There  are  three  Presbyterian  or  Congregational 
Churches,  at  Providence,  South-Kingston  and 
Westerly ;  each  of  them  supplied  at  present  with 
a  pastor,  viz.  the  Rev.  Mr.  Josiah  Cotton,  at  Provi- 
dence ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Torrey,  at  South- 
Kingston ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joseph  Park,  at 
Westerly.  And  at  New-Shoreham  or  Block-Island 
there  is  a  Meeting  House,  which  is  at  present  sup- 
plied with  a  preacher. 

Thus,  notwithstanding  all  the  liberty  and  in- 
dulgence here  allowed,  and  notwithstanding  the 
inhabitants  have  been  represented  as  living  with- 
out a  public  worship,  and  as  ungospelized  plan- 
tations ;  we  see  there  is  some  form  of  godliness 
every  where  maintained.  God  grant  the  power 
may  always  accompany  the  form,  and  that  all  that 
name  the  name  of  Christ  may  depart  from  iniquity ; 
may  Christ  Jesus  walk  in  the  midst  of  his  golden 
candlesticks,  and  hold  the  stars  in  his  right  hand ; 
and  may  he  heal  all  divisions  among  his  disciples ; 
may  he  unite  the  hearts  of  all  that  love  him,  to 
love  one  another ;  may  he  grant  them  to  be  all 
like-minded,  and  may  pure  religion,  and  undefiled 
before  God  and  the  Father,  thrive  and  flourish 
among  us  ! 

It  remains  now  that  I  say  a  few  words  relating 
to  the  state  of  the  Indians,  within  the  bounds  of 
this  Colony,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  English 
in  regard  to  them. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  123 

In  general,  all  the  New-English  Colonies  were 
at  the  first  but  one  interest,  in  relation  to  the  In- 
dians, and  though  the  other  four  called  themselves 
the  united  Colonies,  there  was  a  commission  from 
this  Colony  to  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Clark,  to 
enter  into  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with 
them. 

A  few  years,  three  or  four,  before  the  English 
came  to  Plymouth,  the  Indians  had  been  dread- 
fully wasted  away  by  devouring  sickness,  from 
Narraganset  to  Penobscut.  So  that  the  living 
sufficed  not  to  bury  the  dead,  and  the  ground  was 
covered  with  their  bones  in  many  places.  This 
wonderfully  made  room  for  the  English  at  Plymouth 
and  Massachusetts,  and  those  Colonies  protected 
the  rest. 

In  the  year  1637,  the  English  with  united  forces 
subdued  the  Pequots,  who  had  attacked  their 
brethren  in  Connecticut ;  the  Narragansets,  who 
bordered  on  the  Pequot's  land,  consented  and  as- 
sisted in  their  destruction,  through  a  desire  of  re- 
venge, which  is  remarkable  in  all  the  savages, 
though  their  old  sachem  desired  to  have  preserved 
peace. 

The  Nanhygansicks,  or  Narragansets,  inhabited 
the  lands,  or  governed  over  all  the  Indians  within 
the  bounds  of  this  Colony.  They  were  a  nume- 


124  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

rous,  a  rich,  and  powerful  people  :  and  though 
they  are,  by  some,  said  to  have  been  less  fierce 
and  warlike  than  the  Pequots,  yet  it  appears  they 
had  lately,  before  the  English  came,  not  only  in- 
creased their  numbers,  by  receiving  many  who 
had  fled  to  them  from  the  devouring  sickness  or 
plague  in  the  other  parts  of  the  land ;  but  they 
had  enlarged  their  territories,  and  that  both  on  the 
eastern  and  western  boundaries.  They  were 
reckoned  five  thousand  fighting  men.  (MS.  of  Mr. 
JR.  W.  in  evidence?)  And  Mr.  Williams  says,  they 
were  so  populous,  that  a  traveller  would  meet  with 
a  dozen  Indian  towns  in  twenty  miles. 

In  the  midst  of  this  mighty  and  haughty  people, 
the  little  handful  of  helpless  English  ventured  to 
sit  down ;  though  not  without  taking  all  possible 
precautions,  on  the  one  hand,  to  give  them  no  just 
offence,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  keep  themselves 
in  the  best  posture  of  defence  their  circumstances 
would  admit  of.  But  the  conquest  and  utter  de- 
struction of  the  Pequots,  had  for  the  present  en- 
deared Englishmen  to  the  Narragansets.  And  the 
conduct  and  valor  they  had  shewn,  and  the  won- 
derful success  of  their  expedition,  had  made  them 
a  terror  to  all  the  Indian  nations  round  about. 

Mr.  Williams  at  first  "  made  a  league  of  peace- 
able neighborhood  with  all  the  sachems  and  natives 
round  about;"  in  this,  Rhode-Island  was  included. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  125 

And,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1640,  Mr.  Coddington,  with 
the  rest  of  his  Assistants,  had  a  particular  treaty 
of  peace  and  amity  with  Myantonomy  and  the  rest 
of  the  sachems.  Nevertheless,  the  next  year  there 
was  a  misunderstanding,  and  some  hostilities,  oc- 
casioned, I  think,  by  some  of  the  Indians  (if  not 
Myantonomy  himself)  kindling  fire  in  Mr.  Easton's 
land,  Lord's  Day,  April  4,  1641,  whereby  an  house 
of  his  was  burnt.  But  whether  it  was  designedly, 
or  only  through  carelessness,  does  not  plainly  ap- 
pear in  the  records.  However,  it  alarmed  the 
people,  and  among  other  measures,  they  fitted  out 
an  armed  boat,  to  ply  round  the  Island,  to  keep  off 
the  Indians  from  landing ;  and  it  seems,  in  some 
scuffle  on  that  account,  two  Englishmen  were 
wounded,  and  one  Indian  slain ;  though  the  orders 
to  the  soldiers  were  as  mild  and  prudent  as  could 
be  given.  They  likewise  appointed  garrison  houses, 
to  which  the  people  were  to  repair  on  an  alarm. 
Among  which,  I  find  one  was  Mr.  Lenthal's,  the 
minister.  But  the  rupture  lasted  not  long,  before 
peace  was  restored. 

In  1643,  Myantonomy,  the  great  sachem  of  the 
Narragansets,  was  taken  prisoner  by  Uncas,  sa- 
chem of  the  Moheags,  and  some  tirne  after  slain, 
and  as  some  of  the  English  say,  after  quarter  and 
promise  of  life  given.  This  excited  his  subjects  to 
revenge  his  death,  but  the  terror  of  the  English  at 
the  Massachusetts  kept  them  quiet.  And  so  it  is 


126  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

said,  that  seven  years  after,  there  were  some  com- 
motions stilled  by  the  same  terror,  and  so  likewise 
in  1653,  cfcc.  <fcc. 

In  1652,  when  the  Council  of  State  confirmed 
their  Patent,  the  people  were  put  on  some  enter- 
prises against  the  Dutch  at  New- York,  or  New- 
Netherlands,  and  the  next  year  the  Island  sent 
some  men  to  the  assistance  of  their  countrymen, 
settled  at  Long-Island,  which  gave  great  offence 
to  the  towns  on  the  main,  and  in  the  two  Dutch 
wars,  in  King  Charles  2d's  time,  the  Colony  and 
Island  were  put  to  considerable  expense  and  trouble 
to  put  and  keep  themselves  in  a  posture  of  defence. 

In  1675,  Philip,  King  of  the  Wampanoags,  began 
a  war  against  Plymouth  Colony  in  June,  which 
soon  spread  almost  throughout  all  New-England. 
Tradition  says,*  "  He  was  forced  on  by  the  fury  of 
his  young  men,  sore  against  his  own  judgment  and 
inclination ;  and  that  though  he  foresaw,  and  fore- 

*  All  the  histories  from  Mr.  Hubbard  and  Dr.  Mather, 
make  Philip  to  be  the  spring  and  mover  of  the  war  ;  but 
there  is  a  constant  tradition  among  the  posterity  of  the 
people,  who  lived  next  to  him,  and  were  familiarly  con- 
versant with  him,  as  also  with  the  Indians  who  survived 
the  war,  that  both  Philip  and  his  chief  old  men  were  ut- 
terly averse  to  the  war,  and  they  shew  the  spot  (Kikemuit 
spring,  in  a  farm  belonging  to  Stephen  Paine,  Esq.,  in 
Bristol)  where  Philip  received  the  news  of  the  first  En- 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  127 

told  the  English  would  in  time  by  their  industry, 
root  out  all  the  Indians,  yet  he  was  against  making 
war  with  them,  as  what  he  thought  would  only 
hurry  on  and  increase  the  destruction  of  his  people;" 
and  the  event  proved  he  judged  right.  The  Pow- 
aws  had  foretold  Philip,  no  Englishman  should 
ever  kill  him,  which  accordingly  proved  true ;  he 
was  shot  dead  by  an  Indian.* 

glishmen  that  were  killed,  with  grief  and  sorrow,  and 
wept  at  the  news ;  and  that  a  day  or  two  before  the  first 
outrages,  he  had  protected  an  Englishman  the  Indians 
had  captivated,  rescued  him  from  them,  and  privately 
sent  him  home  safe. 

*  I  have  heard  from  some  old  people,  who  were  fa- 
miliarly acquainted  with  the  Indians,  both  before  and 
after  the  war,  that  the  Powaws  had  likewise  given  out 
another  ambiguous  oracle,  which  did  very  much  spirit 
on  the  Indians  to  war  at  first,  and  afterwards  as  much  dis- 
couraged them,  viz.  that  they  promised  the  Indians  would 
be  successful,  if  the  English  fired  the  first  gun.  It  is 
certain  the  Indians  long  delayed,  and  designedly  avoided 
firing  on  the  English,  and  seemed  to  use  all  possible  means 
to  provoke  the  English  to  fire  first,  by  rifling  their  housesr 
abusing  their  cattle,  threatening  and  insulting  their  per- 
sons, &c.  And  the  histories  carry  it,  that  an  English- 
man fired  the  first  gun,  at  Metapoiset  garrison,  some  days 
before  any  English  were  slain.  But  those  ancient  people, 
since  dead,  told  me,  that  by  a  mistake,  occasioned  through 
the  hurry  and  trepidation  which  usually  attends  the  be- 
ginning of  any  considerable  enterprise,  an  Indian  fired  the 


128  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

When  Philip  could  no  longer  resist  the  impor- 
tunity of  his  warriors,  he,  like  a  wise  man,  took  the 
most  proper  measures  to  make  their  enterprise  ef- 
fectual, especially  by  an  early  endeavor  to  per- 
suade the  other  Indian  nations  into  the  war,  that 
with  united  forces  they  might  fall  on  the  English 
every  where  at  once;  and  particularly  he  en- 
deavored to  persuade  the  Narragansets,  who  had 
several  pretensions  to  quarrel  with  the  English, 
and  who  were  then  reputed  four  thousand*  fighting 

first  gun,  (whether  on  Pocasset  side,  where  there  was  a 
skirmish  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  that  is  not  mentioned 
by  Mr.  Hubbard,  &c.,  I  cannot  now  say,)  and  that  the 
news  of  this,  when  known  among  the  Indians,  was  a  fatal 
wound  to  their  courage,  they  saying  the  Englishman's 
God  would  now  subdue  them,  which  contributed  not  a 
little  to  their  after  destruction.  This  I  always  looked  on 
as  a  very  remarkable  passage,  but  the  authors  before  men- 
tioned, and  Col.  Church,  who  had  by  far  the  best  means 
to  be  informed  in  all  circumstances  relating  to  the  be- 
ginning and  progress  of  the  war  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
being  wholly  silent  about  it;  and  the  few  ancient  people 
who  are  now  alive,  that  were  actors  in  the  war,  not  re- 
taining any  perfect  tradition  of  the  matter,  the  reader  may 
entertain  the  story  as  he  pleases  ;  I  dare  not  warrant  the 
truth  of  it,  but  only  that  I  certainly  heard  the  story  from 
some  ancient  people  of  Swansey,  since  deceased. 

*Mr.  Hubbard  says,  page  13:  "  The  Narhagansets 
promised  to  rise  with  four  thousand  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  1676,"  and  in  a  postscript,  says,  "  Concerning  the 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  129 

men.  But  whether  the  war  began  too  soon  for 
them,  or  the  first  beginnings  discouraged  them,  or 
that  they  did  not  intend  to  make  war  at  all ;  they 
renewed  their  league  of  peace  and  war  with  the 
united  Colonies,  in  July,  a  month  after  Philip  had 
began  hostilities  at  Swansey. 

However,  when  he  was  driven  out  of  his  country, 
they  were  charged  to  have  received  and  entertained 
his  people.  Whereupon  the  united  Colonies  sent 
an  army  of  a  thousand  men,  under  Jos.  Winslow, 
Esq.  He  arrived  with  the  Massachusetts  and 
Plymouth  forces,  the  12th  of  December,  at  Major 

Narhagansets,  this  is  further  to  be  added  here,  that  Mr. 
Thomas  Stanton  and  his  son  Robert,  who  have  a  long 
time  lived  amongst  them,  and  are  best  acquainted  with 
their  language  and  manners  of  any  in  New-England,  do 
affirm  that,  to  their  knowledge,  the  Narhaganset  sachems, 
before  the  late  troubles,  had  two  thousand  fighting  men 
under  them,  and  nine  hundred  arms."  These  accounts 
are  perhaps  both  true,  for  the  first  might  mean  to  contain 
all  the  Indians  in  the  bounds  of  this  Colony,  who  being 
under  the  authority  of  the  great  Narhaganset  sachem, 
were  often  called  by  this  general  name ;  and  were  per- 
haps four  thousand  fighting  men.  Mr.  Stanton  might 
mean  only  those  properly  or  precisely  called  Narraganset 
Indians,  in  distinction  from  the  Indians  at  Providence  and 
the  Indians  at  Warwick,  who  joined  in  the  war  under 
Pomham,  &c.,  and  from  the  Nyhantic  Indians,  under 
Ninigret,  who  did  not  join  in  the  war ;  though  these  were 

17 


130  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

Smith's,  in  North-Kingston ;  on  the  18th,  the  Con- 
necticut men  being  arrived,  the  army  marched  the 
next  day  near  eighteen  miles  to  a  sort  of  fort, 
(19th  of  December,)  which  the  Indians  had  raised 
on  an  Island  of  upland,  in  the  midst  of  a  most 
hideous  swamp.  Their  Indian  guide  led  them  to 
the  only  place  where  it  could  be  attacked ;  the 
English  fell  on  with  too  much  courage  and  eager- 
ness, which  proved  fatal  to  some  of  their  valiant 
Captains.  However,  their  victory  was  complete ; 
the  fort  was  taken,  and  it  is  said  seven  hundred 
fighting  men,  and  twenty  chief  Captains  of  the 
enemy  were  slain  that  day,  besides  women  and 
children ;  and  three  hundred  more  died  of  their 


always,  and  to  this  day  are,  frequently  included  in  the 
general  name  of  Narhaganset  Indians.  What  seems  to 
confirm  this,  is  what  Mr.  Hubbard  adds,  viz.  "Yet  are 
they  so  broken  and  scattered  at  this  day,  that  there  is 
none  of  them  left  on  this  side  the  country,  unless  some 
few,  not  exceeding  seventy  in  number,  that  have  sheltered 
themselves  under  the  inhabitants  of  Rhode-Island,  as  a 
merchant  of  that  place,  worthy  of  credit,  lately  affirmed 
to  the  writer  hereof."  Those  sheltered  at  the  Island 
were  either  prisoners  of  war,  or  such  as  had  voluntarily 
surrendered  themselves  to  the  English  for  protection,  on 
promise  of  life.  But  it  is  well  known,  that  Ninigret's 
men  alone  vastly  exceeded  that  number ;  besides  there 
were  divers  prisoners  at  Providence.  And  that  side  of 
the  country  was  much  fuller  of  Indians,  in  the  memory 
of  very  many  now  alive. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  131 

wounds  afterwards,  besides  the  vast  numbers  who 
perished  through  cold  and  hunger.  The  loss  to 
the  English  was  of  about  eighty  men;  six  Captains 
slain,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  wounded, 
many  of  them  by  their  own  friends.  Towards 
night,  they  set  fire  to  the  fort,  and  retreated  to 
their  head  quarters,  through  the  cold  and  snow. 
Some  thought,  if  they  had  kept  possession  of  the 
fort,  where  was  the  Indian  provisions,  they  might 
have  saved  many  of  their  own  wounded  men,  and 
that  the  Indians  must  all  have  perished,  through 
cold  and  hunger,  or  surrendered  at  discretion,  the 
next  morning.  Others  thought  it  a  merciful  provi- 
dence, they  retreated  so  soon,  notwithstanding  the 
fatigue  of  such  a  retreat.  But  however  that  be, 
which  cannot  so  well  be  judged  of  now,*  the 

*  Mr.  Hubbard  represents  the  burning  the  fort  as  ne- 
cessary to  dislodge  the  Indians,  and  after  that  the  retreat 
must  be  also  necessary.  However,  he  mentions  their 
want  of  provisions,  by  means  of  their  vessels  being  frozen 
in  at  Cape  Cod.  He  says  there  was  a  great  quantity  of 
provisions  burned  in  the  four  or  five  hundred  wigwams  in 
the  fort.  And  he  several  times  laments  the  misery  of 
the  wounded  men,  in  marching  near  eighteen  miles 
through  the  cold  arid  snow  that  night,  before  their  wounds 
could  be  dressed.  But  Col.  Church,  who  was  present 
and  wounded  in  the  action,  tells  us,  he  vehemently  op- 
posed the  firing  the  fort ;  that  the  General  was  surprised 
into  it,  and  he  condemns  it  as  a  very  imprudent  and  un- 
fortunate conduct.  He  says,  "  The  fort  was  full  of  corn 


132  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

wounded  and  starving  Indians,  on  their  retreat,  re- 
turned, put  out  their  fires,  and  sheltered  themselves, 
and  found  some  refreshment  among  the  ashes  of 
the  best  and  strongest  fortification  the  Indians  were 
ever  masters  of  in  this  country.  This  was  the 
greatest  action  ever  performed  by  the  New-English 
Colonies,  against  the  Indians  ;  if  we  regard  either 
the  numbers  of  men  on  each  side,  or  the  conse- 
quences of  the  action.  Beside  that,  the  Indians 
had  now  the  use  of  guns,  as  well  as  they ;  and  were 
as  expert  in  the  use  of  them,  as  any  men  in  the 
world.  The  Indians  were  soon  pursued  with 
famine  and  sickness,  so  that  after  they  submitted 
the  next  year,  they  were  never  formidable  again. 
These  Narragansets  do  now  in  a  manner  cease  to 
be  a  people,  the  few,  if  any,  remaining  in  the  Colony, 

and  other  provisions,  sufficient  to  support  the  whole  army 
till  the  spring,  and  there  was  no  other  provisions  to  be 
depended  on ;  there  was  good  warm  lodging  for  the 
wounded  men,  not  elsewhere  to  be  had."  He  supposes 
every  one  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  that 
night's  march,  deeply  laments  the  misery  of  the  whole 
army,  especially  of  the  wounded  and  dying  men.  He 
adds,  "  That  it  mercifully  came  to  pass,  that  Capt.  An- 
drew Belcher  arrived  that  very  night  at  Mr.  Smith's,  from 
Boston,  loaden  with  provisions  for  the  army,  who  must 
otherwise  have  perished  for  want."  (Church,  p.  16,  17.) 
Tradition  is  on  the  same  side,  and  supposes  had  the  army 
kept  possession  of  the  fort,  it  must  have  in  a  manner 
finished  the  war. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  133 

being  either  scattered  about  where  the  English 
will  employ  them,  or  sheltered  under  the  successors 
of  Ninigret,  a  sachem  that  refused  to  join  in^the 
war,  and  so  has  preserved  his  lands  to  his  posterity; 
and  there  are  a  few  Indians  now  living  round  him, 
on  his  lands,  or  belonging  to  his  tribe. 

As  to  the  part  this  Colony  had  in  that  war,  it 
must  be  observed  that  though  the  Colony  was  not, 
as  they  ought  to  have  been,  consulted,  yet  they 
not  only  afforded  shelter  and  protection  to  the 
flying  English,  who  deserted  from  many  of  the 
neighboring  plantations,  in  Plymouth  Colony,  and 
were  received  kindly  by  the  inhabitants,  and  re- 
lieved, and  allowed  to  plant  the  next  year  on  their 
commons,  for  their  support ;  but  they  likewise  fur- 
nished some  of  the  forces  with  provisions  and 
transports :  and  some  of  their  principal  gentlemen, 
as  Major  Sanford,  and  Capt.  Goulding,  were  in  the 
action  at  Mount  Hope,  as  volunteers  in  Captain 
Church's  Company,  when  King  Philip  was  slain. * 

*  In  the  Colony's  answer  to  the  King's  letter,  1679,  in- 
quiring the  value  of  Mount  Hope  Neck,  which  was  beg- 
ged of  the  King,  by  Johny  Crowne,  the  poet,  they  say, 
that  "  a  Rhode-Island  Indian,  under  a  Rhode-Island  Cap- 
tain, a  volunteer,  with  a  Plymouth  Captain,  killed  King 
Philip."  His  name  was  Alderman,  and  Col.  Church  says 
he  deserted  the  year  before,  from  Weetamore,  squaw  sa- 
chem of  Pocasset,  and  came  over  to  Rhode-Island  with  his 
family,  and  gave  good  intelligence  to  the  English  at  that 
time,  which  was  ill  improved  or  neglected. 


134  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

The  Indians  never  landed  on  the  Island,  in  the 
war  time,  armed  boats  being  kept  plying  round,  to 
break  their  canoes,  and  prevent  their  making  any 
attempts.  But  our  settlements  on  the  main  suf- 
fered very  much,  both  at  Petaquamscut,  and  at 
Warwick,  and  at  Providence ;  where  the  Indians 
burnt  all  the  ungarrisoned  and  deserted  houses. 
And  the  inhabitants  made  heavy  complaints,  that 
when  the  army  of  the  united  Colonies  returned 
home,  they  did  not  leave  a  sufficient  number  of 
forces  to  protect  our  plantations,  which  were  now, 
in  a  very  peculiar  manner,  exposed  to  an  exaspe- 
rated and  desperate  enemy.* 

*I  know  this  was  attempted  to  be  excused,  by  the 
agents  of  a  neighboring  Colony,  before  the  King  j  and 
they  had  the  face  to  assert,  that  "the  Colony  would 
never  yield  any  joint  assistance  against  the  common 
enemy,  no,  not  so  much  as  in  their  own  towns,  on  the 
main,  nor  garrison  their  own  towns  of  Providence  and 
Warwick,  and  so  that  the  blame  ought  to  lie  on  this 
governmentj  if  they  suffered  spoil,  while  the  army  was 
pursuing  the  routed  enemy."  But  the  printed  histories 
confute  this  answer  in  part ;  the  Providence  Company, 
under  Capt.  Andrew  Edmonds,  was  very  helpful,  and 
successful  too,  against  the  common  enemy,  and  that  even 
out  of  our  own  bounds.  (See  Hubbard's  Narrative  of  the 
Troubles  with  the  Indians,  p.  28.)  (See  also  Col.  Church's 
History.)  I  could  give  several  reasons,  why  the  Colony 
did  not  act  more  jointly,  and  why  it  ought  not  to  be 
charged  to  their  fault,  that  they  did  not.  But  perhaps  it 
would  be  no  service  to  any  body  now  to  mention  them. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  135 

As  King  Philip  had  no  fortified  places,  and  no 
magazines,  when  the  foreign  succor  and  assistance, 
which  he  depended  upon,  failed  him,  when  the 
Narragansets  were  in  his  own  condition,  and  the 
Mohawks  refused  to  assist  him,  his  people  lost  all 
hope,  and  courage,  and  conduct ;  being  beaten  off 
from  their  planting  and  fishing,  and  pursued  by 
famine  and  sickness,  and  divers  parties  of  the 

However,  I  must  say,  it  was  not  owing  only  to  the  re- 
ligious principles  of  the  gentlemen  then  at  the  head  of 
our  administration.  It  is  true,  the  Governor  and  the 
Deputy  Governor,  that  year,  were  both  of  the  people 
called  Quakers,  but  there  are  military  commissions  still 
in  being  under  their  hands  and  seals,  to  Mr.  B.  Arnold, 
jun.,  and  others,  to  go  in  an  armed  sloop  to  visit  the  gar- 
risons at  Providence,  &c.  It  was  but  reasonable  the 
united  Colonies  should  have  left  a  sufficient  guard,  at  least, 
at  their  own  head  quarters,  and  some  other  places,  while 
the  Island,  the  only  part  of  the  Colony  able  to  contribute 
to  the  charge  of  the  wars,  was  at  so  great  an  expense  in 
supporting  and  defending  the  distressed  English,  who  fled 
to  them  from  all  the  adjacent  parts.  On  account  of  these 
and  some  other  like  aspersions,  the  forementioned  Deputy 
Governor,  in  order  that  things  might  not  be  otherwise  re- 
sented against  us  than  they  were,  gave  an  affidavit  or  evi- 
dence on  solemn  engagement,  that  "  he  never  was  against 
giving  forth  any  commissions  to  any,  that  might  have 
been  for  the  security  of  the  King's  interest  in  this  Colony.'r 
This,  with  some  commissions  actually  signed  by  him,  is 
among  a  large  number  of  ancient  manuscripts  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Honorable  William  Coddington,  Esq. 


136  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

English,  who  had  their  courage  raised  in  proportion 
as  the  other  side  were  discouraged,  they  were 
forced  to  surrender  almost  at  discretion,  and  beg 
peace  on  any  terms.  Philip  himself  being  slain, 
and  most  of  the  chief  captains,  the  war  wholly 
ceased  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  with  those 
nations  who  first  began  the  war. 

Ever  since  that  peace,  this  Colony  has  had  little 
or  nothing  to  do  with  the  other  Indian  wars,  but 
only  to  assist  the  other  Colonies,  when  properly 
consulted  and  applied  to.  The  Colony  bore  its 
part  cheerfully  in  the  several  expeditions  against 
the  French  at  Port-Royal,  and  Canada.  And  di- 
vine Providence  remarkably  succeeded  and  smiled 
on  the  defence  and  protection  of  our  sea-coasts, 
which  were  very  much  exposed  all  the  two  long 
French  wars. 

The  necessary  defence  of  the  inhabitants,  was 
never  neglected  in  the  time  of  war,  and,  since  the 
peace,  the  Colony,  though  so  small  as  it  is,  hath 
rebuilt  an  handsome  Fort  on  an  Island  that  com- 
mands the  harbor  of  Newport,  and,  1733,  furnished 
it  with  a  number  of  fine  guns,  at  their  own  expense. 
Besides,  the  Colony  always  keeps  a  certain  number 
of  smaller  carriage  guns  and  small  arms,  with  all 
necessaries  and  appurtenances  in  good  order,  ready 
to  put  on  board  one  or  more  vessels,  as  occasion 
may  require,  on  the  very  first  notice  of  any  enemy 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE,  137 

on  the  coasts.  Arid  though  a  large  proportion  of 
the  inhabitants  are  not  free  in  their  consciences  to 
learn  war,  yet  the  military  exercises  are  kept  up 
as  in  other  places,  and  the  success  which  formerly 
attended  the  enterprises  of  our  forces,  will,  while 
the  memory  thereof  remains,  keep  up  a  military 
spirit  in  the  body  of  the  people. 

The  Narragansets,  as  I  observed,  were  the  most 
populous  nation  among  the  Indians,  but  all  at- 
tempts to  civilize  or  christianize  them  were  utterly 
ineffectual.  Their  sachems  would  not  suffer  the 
gospel  to  be  preached  to  their  subjects,  and  their 
subjects  obstinately  adhered  to  the  traditions  and 
customs  of  their  forefathers.  It  seems  hard  that 
New-England  should  be  complained  of  and  re- 
proached as  particularly  negligent  of  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Indians,  and  harder  still  we  should  be 
reproached  for  neglecting  the  methods  used  by  the 
French  to  make  proselytes  of  their  Indians,  and 
most  unhappy  that  such  complaints  are  made  by 
writers  that  seem  otherwise  well  acquainted  with 
plantation  affairs,  and  are  deservedly  of  great  note 
and  character.  It  is  happy,  however,  these  re- 
proaches are  not  well  grounded.  New-England, 
nay,  the  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  Colonies 
alone,  have  had  more  real  success  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Indians,  not  only  than  all  the  larger 
English  Colonies  to  the  southward,  but  than  all 
the  other  Christian  nations  that  have  settled 
18 


138  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

throughout  the  whole  Continent  of  America.     The 
sectaries  of  New-England  could  never  be  contented 
with  such  sort  of  converts  as  the  Roman  Catholic 
Missionaries  boasted  of  in  many  places ;  they  had 
no   satisfaction   in    the   religion   of   the   nominal 
Christians  in  Europe,  and  thought  it  would  be  no 
advantage  to  make  such  Christians  among  the  In- 
dians, as  knew  no  more  of  the  gospel  than  to  make 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  or  who  desired  baptism  only, 
for  the  sake  of  the  new  shirt  with  which  their  con- 
version was  to  be  rewarded.     And  there  was  very 
great  opposition  to  the  making  them  real  Christians. 
Their  sachems  or  princes  generally,  their  powaws 
or  priests  always,  opposed  all  their  power  and  all 
their  arts  to  prevent  the  growth  of  the  gospel,  as 
what  they  imagined  would  put  an  end  to  their  au- 
thority, especially  that  of  their  priests ;  and  the 
customs  of  the  people,  their  way  of  life,  and  their 
national   vices,   made  it  a  most  difficult  task  to 
gospelize  such  people,  as  must  be  first  civilized  or 
humanized.      The  New-English  wonder  to  hear 
themselves  reproached,  for  not  intermarrying  with 
such  barbarians,  of  a  complexion  so  different ;  they 
never  had  the  temptations  to  the  unnatural  mix- 
ture, as  some  foreign  plantations  had,  nor  do  they 
know  other  English  plantations  used  to  do  so. 

As  to  this  Colony  in  particular ;  at  first,  the 
Narragansets  made  it  a  public  interest,  to  oppose 
the  propagation  of  the  Christian  religion,  And 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  139 

though  Mr.  Williams  made  some  laudable  attempts 
to  instruct  them,  yet  he  was  much  discouraged,  not 
only  by  want  of  a  lawful  warrant,  or  an  immediate 
commission  to  be  an  apostle  to  them,  but  especially 
by  (as  he  thought)  the  insuperable  difficulty  of 
preaching  Christianity  to  them,  in  their  own  lan- 
guage with  any  propriety,  without  inspiration. 
After  the  war,  they  were  soon  reduced  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  laboring  poor,  without  property, 
hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water ;  and  there 
is  no  more  reason  to  expect  religion  should,  by  hu- 
man means,  thrive  among  such  people,  than  among 
the  lazy  and  abandoned  poor  in  London.  The 
few  that  have  lived  much  together,  on  Ninigret's 
lands,  have  had  several  offers  of  the  gospel,  as 
the  Narragansets  had  before ;  and  at  present  the 
Congregational  minister  at  Westerly  is  a  mis- 
sionary to  them,  and  encouraged  by  an  exhibition 
from  the  Scotch  Society  for  propagating  Christian 
knowledge,  by  means  of  an  estate,  mortified  to 
them  for  this  end,  by  the  late  Dr.  Daniel  Williams, 
of  London.  However,  it  must  be  owned  we  have 
been  too  soon  discouraged,  and  too  negligent  in 
this  affair.  Perhaps  it  is  one  of  the  worst  effects 
of  the  variety  of  religious  opinions  among  the  En- 
glish, that  it  has  been  some  hindrance  to  this  good 
work,  and  even  furnished  the  Indians  sometimes 
with  an  excuse  or  pretence  to  waive  any  offers  to 
instruct  them.  If  the  manners  of  any  have  like- 
wise prejudiced  any  Indians,  it  is  most  lamentable. 


140  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

The  vices  of  Christians  have  been  an  insurmount- 
able obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  all 
the  other  parts  of  the  world,  as  there  are  too  many 
evidences.  May  these  reflections,  however,  stir  us 
up  to  adorn  our  holy  religion,  and  to  be  careful 
that  we  give  none  offence  to  any  that  are  without : 
And  may  it  dispose  all  persons  to  contribute  all  in 
their  power,  to  further  the  conversion  of  these 
people  to  the  Christian  religion.  They  demand 
our  compassion,  and  our  prayers  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  that  God  would  remove  the  veil  from  their 
eyes,  and  all  prejudices  from  their  hearts  ;  that  he 
would  convert  and  save  them. 

Mr.  R.  Williams,  at  first,  gave  a  promising 
character  of  the  morals  of  these  people ;  but  on 
longer  acquaintance  and  more  experience,  he  seems 
to  have  altered  his  opinion  of  them  ;  as  appears  by 
some  expressions  in  a  manuscript  of  his,  yet  re- 
maining. "  The  distinction  of  drunken,  and  sober, 
honest  sachems,  is  (says  he)  both  lamentable  and 
ridiculous  ;  lamentable,  that  all  Pagans  are  given 
to  drunkenness;  and  ridiculous,  that  those  (of 
whom  he  was  speaking)  are  excepted.  It  is  (says 
he)  notoriously  known,  what  consciences  all  Pagans 
make  of  lying,  stealing,  whoring,  murdering,"  cfcc. 
25th  6th  m.  1658. 

After  this  account  of  their  morals,  I  should  think 
it  hardly  worth  while  to  inquire  what  was  their 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  141 

faith  and  worship  that  had  so  little  effect  on  their 
conversation,  if  we  had  not  just  heard  what  a 
scandal  to  Christianity  the  lives  of  too  many 
Christians  are.  However,  the  faith  of  this  people 
and  their  idolatrous  worship,  was  much  like  the 
other  Indian  nations.  They  believed  in  one  great 
and  good  god,  who  lived  somewhere  at  a  great 
distance  in  the  south-west,  and  that  the  spirits  of 
good  men  do  after  death  reside  with  him.  But, 
the  government  of  the  world,  they  seemed  to  think, 
left  in  the  hands  of  an  evil  god,  the  devil,  to  whom, 
with  many  inferior  and  subordinate  deities,  they 
paid  their  chief  worship,  at  their  nicommors,  or 
devilish  feasts,  as  Mr.  Williams  calls  them. 

The  Indians  in  this  part  of  America,  appear  to 
have  been  some  of  the  least  improved  of  the  human 
species,  without  any  learning  or  knowledge  in  any 
of  the  politer  arts  of  life,  even  without  iron  and  the 
improvements  which  depend  on  that.  The  strange 
destruction  of  this  people,  now  since  the  wars 
ceased,  and  within  memory,  is  very  remarkable. 
Their  insuperable  aversion  to  the  English  industry, 
and  way  of  life,  the  alteration  from  the  Indian 
method  of  living,  their  laziness,  and  their  universal 
love  of  strong  drink,  have  swept  them  away,  in  a 
wonderful  manner.  So  that  there  are  now  above 
twenty  English  to  one  Indian  in  the  Colony.  Their 
few  miserable  remainders  are  left,  as  monuments 
of  the  anger  of  a  righteous  God,  and  for  our  warn- 


142  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ing  and  instruction.  While  the  contentions,  and 
mutual  animosities  of  the  Indians  in  general,  and 
their  cursed  thirst  of  revenge,  made  them  a  prey 
to  the  weak,  and  small  number  of  English,  we 
should  learn  not  to  bite  and  devour  one  another, 
lest  we  be  devoured  one  of  another,  or  of  the  judg- 
ments of  God.  While  we  have  seen  their  iniquities 
prove  their  ruin,  we  should  learn  to  break  off  from 
our  sins  by  righteousness,  and  especially  abstain 
from,  and  watch  against  the  sins,  which  have  been 
so  evidently  both  the  procuring  causes  and  the 
means  of  their  destruction.  When  God  was  con- 
ducting the  Israelites  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
driving  out  the  inhabitants,  to  make  room  for  them, 
he  was  pleased  to  warn  and  require  them,  not  to 
defile  themselves  with  the  abominations  of  those 
nations,  lest  as  the  land  then  spued  out  its  inhabi- 
tants, so  it  should  spue  out  them  likewise,  when 
they  in  like  manner  defiled  it.  Though  it  would 
be  ridiculous  to  compare  ourselves  to  the  Israelites, 
and  the  Indians  to  the  Canaanites,  in  many  in- 
stances, yet  in  this  respect  it  may  be  proper  to 
argue,  that  if  we  indianize  in  our  manners  and 
vices,  they  will  in  time  draw  down  the  like,  or  as 
heavy  judgments  of  God,  upon  us,  as  those  with 
which  he  hath  destroyed  our  predecessors.  God 
grant  that  the  people,  who  have  been  overthrown 
in  the  wilderness  may  be  ensamples  to  us,  to  pre- 
vent our  lusting  after  any  evils,  lest  we  be  destroy- 
ed likewise  of  the  destrover ! 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  143 

And  this  brings  me  now,  at  last,  to  the  remarks 
I  promised  at  the  beginning.  And 

1.  The  first  is,  the  wonderful  and  unsearchable 
providence  of  God,  in  the  whole  affair  of  driving 
out  the  natives,  and  planting  Colonies  of  Europe- 
ans, and  churches  of  Christians,  in  the  place  of 
heathenism  and  barbarity. 

I  pretend  not  to  have  known  the  mind  of  the 
Lord,  or  to  have  been  his  counsellor,  or  to  be  able  to 
comprehend  the  ways  of  divine  Providence.  God's 
judgments  are  a  great  deep,  but  we  must  be  wil- 
fully blind,  if  we  cannot  see  that  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  hath  wrought  this. 

The  discovery  and  the  conquest  of  America, 
with  the  amazing  desolations  wrought  therein,  ap- 
pear a  more  remarkable  event  than  any  other  in 
all  prophane  history,  since  the  universal  deluge, 
A  new  world,  as  it  was  justly  called,  discovered  to 
the  other,  or  rather  to  Europe,  and  all  its  riches 
and  glory  overturned,  and  given  away  to  another 
people,  and  the  aboriginal  natives,  by  famine,  sword 
and  pestilence,  destroyed  and  wasted  away  by  mil- 
lions throughout  all  America !  Who  can  tell  how, 
or  how  long  it  had  been  inhabited,  and  by  what  a 
series  of  iniquity,  it  was  ripe  for  such  a  fearful  deso- 
lation, such  an  utter  destruction !  If  we  believe  a 
Providence  (and  'tis  impossible  we  can  believe 


144  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

none)  we  must  needs  think  it  concerned,  in  the 
preservation,  and  the  punishment  of  kingdoms 
and  nations,  and  that  these  parts  of  the  world, 
though  separated,  hid  and  unknown  to  the  rest,  are 
yet  as  near  the  omnipresence  of  God,  and  as  much 
under  his  government  as  any  other.  And  there- 
fore we  should  take  notice  of  the  wonderful  provi- 
dence of  God  in  this  great  affair.  How  should  we 
learn  to  submit  our  little  personal  affairs  to  the 
Divine  Providence,  when  we  see  that  nations,  be- 
fore Him,  are  but  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance  1 
And  how  justly  may  we  say,  great  and  marvellous 
are  thy  works,  O  Lord  God  Almighty ;  true  and 
faithful  are  thy  ways,  and  righteous  are  thy  judg- 
ments, thou  King  of  Saints ;  who  shall  not  fear 
thee,  and  glorify  thy  name,  for  thou  only  art  holy  : 
Let  all  nations  come  and  worship  before  thee,  for 
thy  judgments  are  made  manifest.  The  Most  High 
ruleth  in  the  kingdoms  of  men,  and  giveth  them  to 
whomsoever  he  pleaseth. 

Again,  the  settlement  of  New-England  in  par- 
ticular was  evidently  providential,  in  many  re- 
spects. I  have  mentioned  often  the  prevailing 
motive  with  the  people,  who  came  first  to  plant  and 
inhabit  in  this  wilderness  ;  but  the  difficulties  and 
discouragements  in  their  way  were  really  many 
and  very  great,  so  that  whoever  reflects  the  least 
upon  them,  "  must  wonder  so  many  were  carried 
out  from  a  flourishing  State,  to  a  wilderness  so  far 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  145 

distant;  for  (as  one  of  them,  Mr.  Shepherd,  of 
Cambridge — his  life  in  the  Magnalia — says)  they 
were  not  all  of  them  rash  and  weak  spirited  per- 
sons; inconsiderate  of  what  they  left  behind,  and 
were  going  to.  It  was  not  gain  or  riches  they 
aimed  at.  When  we  look  back  (says  he)  and  con- 
sider what  a  strange  poise  of  spirit  God  had  laid 
on  many  of  our  hearts,  we  cannot  but  wonder  at 
ourselves,  that  so  many,  and  some  so  weak  and 
tender,  with  such  cheerfulness  and  constant  reso- 
lution, against  so  many  persuasions  of  friends,  and 
discouragements  from  the  ill  reports  of  the  country, 
and  the  straits,  and  wants,  and  trials  of  God's  peo- 
ple in  it,  yet  should  leave  our  accommodations  and 
comforts,  forsake  our  dearest  relations,  overlook  all 
the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  vast  sea,  and  all 
this  to  go  into  a  wilderness,  where  we  could  forecast 
nothing  but  care  and  temptations,  only  in  hopes  to 
enjoy  Christ  in  his  ordinances,  and  the  fellowship 
of  his  people.'7 

Moreover,  as  these  people  came  not  here  for 
plunder,  which  drew  over  the  Spaniards  to  the 
southward,  neither  did  they  settle  themselves  by 
force  or  by  their  own  might ;  but  God  was  pleased 
to  make  ready  a  place  prepared  as  an  asylum  for 
them :  And  since  he  has  wonderfully  driven  out 
and  consumed  the  natives  by  his  devouring  judg- 
ments, their  sins  have  proved  their  punishment ; 
and  their  detestable  vices  have  drawn  on  those 

19 


146  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

mortal  sicknesses,  which  have  wasted  away  all 
within  the  English  pale,  but  a  few  who  remain  em- 
braced Christianity,  or  who,  by  submitting  to  the 
English  power,  remain  the  memorials  of  these  won- 
derful events.  It  is  true,  the  Indian  jealousy  and 
revenge  prevented  a  union  among  their  several 
clans  at  first,  and  made  them  instrumental  in  the 
destruction  of  one  another,  and  the  English  had 
great  advantages  in  their  arms;  but  still  the  In- 
dians vastly  out-numbered  them ;  were  more  able 
to  endure  fatigue  and  hardships,  hunger  and  travel; 
and  were  perfectly  acquainted  with  their  own 
country.  However,  a  remarkable  interposition  of 
Providence  was  visible  in  some  of  the  earliest,  and 
other  the  most  important  enterprises  against  them; 
and  it  would  be  unjust  not  to  give  to  God  the 
glory  due  to  his  name :  The  Lord  is  King  forever, 
and  the  Heathen  are  perished  out  of  the  land! 
As,  therefore,  God  hath  planted  this  people,  and 
not  their  own  skill  or  power,  so  neither  let  them 
imagine  it  was  for  their  merits  and  deserts.  We 
know  not  the  secret  and  future  designs  of  Provi- 
dence. Only  let  us  remember,  that  He  who 
chastiseth  the  Heathen,  will  also  correct  those  who 
are  called  by  his  name,  if  they  turn  to  folly. 

Again,  it  is  remarkable  how  Divine  Providence 
was  pleased  to  supply  their  wants  in  a  wilderness, 
among  a  people  that  never  took  care  for  the  mor- 
row ;  and  to  support  them  under  the  distresses 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  147 

they  were  tried  with.  At  Plymouth  and  Charles- 
town,  many  died  at  first,  for  want  of  necessaries 
and  conveniences ;  but,  afterwards,  it  was  many 
years  before  any  sickness  prevailed  amongst  the 
planters.  And  though  they  have  often  since  been 
visited  with  sore  calamities,  and  wasting  sicknesses, 
yet  their  numbers  have  continually  increased  to  a 
very  great  degree;  while  the  natives  have  been 
wasted  away  by  the  same  diseases,  and  some  other 
infectious  distempers,  from  which  the  English  have 
been  providentially  delivered.*  I  cannot  help  ob- 
serving, here,  the  very  great  age  to  which  many  of 
the  first  settlers  of  this  Colony  lived.  Many  of 
them,  through  all  the  difficulties  and  hardships  of 
a  new  plantation,  lived  here  near  and  some  above 
forty  years,  and  some  above  sixty.t  Remarkable 

*  Thus  I  am  informed  by  a  worthy  gentleman,  that  an 
Indian,  coming  in  from  sea,  sick  of  an  uncommon  fever, 
infected  his  acquaintance,  and  they  propagated  the  dis- 
ease to  others,  and  a  very  great  mortality  ensued  among 
the  Indians,  in  Narhaganset ;  while  the  English  were 
preserved  from  the  infection. 

f  Many  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  Colony,  lived 
through  all  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  their  new  settle- 
ment, above  forty  years.  Particularly  Mr.  Wm.  Arnold, 
Mr.  J.  Greene,  &c.,  who  came  up  the  first  year  with  Mr. 
Williams  ;  Mr.  Harris,  Mr.  Olney,  &c.,  who  came  soon  af- 
ter. Mr.  Williams  himself  lived  tilt  about  1682,  when  he 
was  buried  with  all  the  solemnity  the  Colony  was  able  to 


148  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

was  the  care  of  Divine  Providence  in  preserving 
them  from  famine  in  a  new  country,  where  it  was 
some  time  before  they  could  be  enabled  to  provide 

shew.  Gov.  Arnold,  who  came  up  a  man  grown,  the  first 
winter,  died  a  few  months  before  Gov.  Coddington  in 
1678.  At  Warwick,  Mr.  Weekes  was  slain  by  the  In- 
dians, 1675,  a  very  ancient  man  ;  and  Mr.  Gorton,  Mr. 
Holden,  &c.,  survived  the  war,  and  some  of  them,  many 
years.  Particularly  Major  J.  Greene,  who  came  a  youth 
to  Providence  in  1634-5,*  and  was  a  Commissioner  for 
Providence  the  first  Assembly  after  the  Patent  in  1647 ; 
was  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Colony,  1700,  as  he  had 
been  many  times  before.  Here  at  Newport,  several  of 
those  who  incorporated  themselves,  1637-8,  and  of  those 
who  came  to  them  the  summer  following,  survived  the 
Indian  war.  Mr.  John  Clark  lived  to  the  20th  of  April, 
1676.  Gov.  Brenton  died  in  1674,  Mr.  N.  Easton,  who 
came,  1638,  from  Hampton,  where  he  built  the  first  En- 
glish house,  as  he  did  also  in  1639  in  Newport,  lived  to 
1675,  when  he  died  a  very  ancient  man.  His  son,  Mr. 
John  Easton,  who,  as  his  father,  was  divers  times  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Colony,  died  1705,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year. 
Mr.  H.  Bull,  one  of  the  eighteen  that  incorporated  them- 
selves at  the  first,  was  Governor  of  the  Colony  after  the 
Revolution.  Mr.  Ed.  Thurston,  who  was  Assistant, 
1675,  and  many  times  Deputy  for  Newport,  died  1706-7, 
aged  ninety  years.  Many  such  instances  might  be  given. 
And  many  of  the  second  generation,  such,  I  mean,  as  were 
born  within  the  first  twenty  or  twenty-five  years,  reached 

x  This  date  should  be  1635-G.  or  as  we  should  now  write  163G.     See 
p  73,  note.— Editor. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  149 

for  their  comfortable  subsistence.  God  was  pleased 
to  bless  their  provision,  and  satisfy  his  poor  with 
food.* 

to  fourscore,  and  some  to  ninety  years.  If  we  consider 
the  long  lives  of  so  many  of  the  first  comers,  notwith- 
standing the  hardships  and  distresses  they  underwent,  and 
the  change  of  climate,  diet,  &c.,  and  to  this  add  the  great 
age  of  many  of  their  children,  we  cannot  call  the  country 
unhealthy,  or  the  inhabitants  short  lived.  The  proportion 
of  ancient  people  above  seventy  years  of  age,  to  the  whole 
number  of  the  present  inhabitants,  compared  with  the 
like  proportion  in  other  countries,  which  have  been  fully 
settled  and  inhabited  above  a  thousand  years,  can  be  no 
good  rule  to  judge  by.  Eighty  years  ago,  the  whole 
number  of  the  inhabitants,  and  consequently  of  the  births 
here,  was  very  small,  perhaps  there  were  fewer  than  two 
hundred  families  in  the  whole  Colony.  And  the  number 
of  inhabitants  in  this  town  has  vastly  increased  the  last 
thirty  years.  Let  me  further  add,  that  the  foresaid  rule 
will  not  be  applicable  to  this  Colony  a  great  while  hence, 
if  ever  ;  because  so  many  of  the  natives  die  in  the  West- 
India  Islands.  It  is  certain,  a  very  great  proportion  who 
die  between  sixteen  and  thirty-six,  are  lost  at  sea,  or  die 
in  those  Islands,  or  bring  home  from  thence  those  diseases 
which  soon  prove  fatal  to  them  here ;  though  it  is  noto- 
rious how  conducive  to  the  recovery  of  health,  a  voyage 
from  those  Islands  to  the  northern  plantations  is  generally 
found,  so  that  we  have  almost  always  some  or  other  of 
their  inhabitants  here  for  that  end. 

*  January  22,  1639,  it  was  found  that  there  were  but  one 
hundred  and  eight  bushels  of  corn  to  supply  ninety-six 


150  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

II.  We  must  remark,  (however  it  will  sound  in 
the  ears  of  many)  that  this  Colony  was  a  settle- 
ment and  plantation  for  religion  and  conscience 
sake.  The  first  comers  came  on  this  account ; 
their  brethren  may  have  said  many  hard  things  of 
them,  in  their  haste ;  but  it  is  certain  the  first 
planters  of  this  Colony,  and  Island,  fled  not  from 
religion,  order,  or  good  government,  but  to  have 
liberty  to  worship  God,  and  enjoy  their  own  relig- 
ious opinions  and  belief.  They  left  England  for  the 
same  reasons,  and  with  the  same  views  as  the  rest ; 
and  they  left  the  Massachusetts,  as  they  thought, 
on  the  like  account,  and  came  here  to  pursue  and 
effect  the  ends  of  their  first  removal  into  America. 

I  know  well  what  account  the  New  English  his- 
torians give  of  that  set  of  men ;  but  we  must  re- 
member they  were  parties,  and  wrote  by  way  of 
apology,  or  to  vindicate  themselves  from  the  charge 
of  persecution,  or  error  and  heresy,  both  alike 
odious.  Now  if  it  be  considered  what  account  con- 
tending parties  usually  give  of  each  other,  and  in 
what  a  light,  and  with  what  colors  they  usually  re- 
persons  :  which,  at  the  proportion  of  one  bushel  and  half 
a  peck  to  each,  was  not  more  than  sufficient  to  supply 
them  for  six  weeks,  and  yet  it  was  then  more  than  so 
many  months  to  harvest.  But  there  was  plenty  of  fish, 
and  fowl,  and  venison  ;  and,  soon  after,  even  to  this  day, 
all  the  necessaries  of  life  have  been  plentiful. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  151 

present  their  adversaries,  no  one  will  charge  me 
with  any  design  to  reflect  on  those  gentlemen,  whose 
memory  is  so  highly  regarded  in  the  other  New- 
English  Colonies,  if  I  beg  leave  to  question  and 
suspect  the  ill  character  they  have  fastened  on 
those  poor  people,  some  of  whom  have  expressed  a 
deep  resentment  of  the  injury  and  wrong  that  was 
done  them  by  the  historians  of  the  other  party. 
Whoever  considers  the  character  those  writers  give 
of  all  other  sects  and  parties  of  Christians,  and  the 
character  some  other  parties  give  of  them,  will  be 
apt  to  think  that  both  sides  are  to  be  read  with 
allowance  for  their  respective  prejudices.  I  say, 
whoever  considers  the  character  the  contending 
parties  of  Christians  almost  forever  give,  not  only 
of  each  other's  tenets  or  opinions,  but  of  their  con- 
duct, especially  in  so  far  as  relates  to  the  support 
or  spreading  their  opinions ;  not  only  the  Papists 
of  the  Protestants,  but  the  Protestants  of  one 
another,  particularly  the  Lutherans  of  the  Cal- 
vinists :  (Hornbeck;  Summ.)  Whoever  considers 
how  common  it  is  for  personal  reflections  to  mix 
with  solemn  debates,  on  the  highest  and  most  awful 
doctrines,  as  well  as  the  least  and  most  indifferent: 
I  say,  whoever  considers  these  things,  will  readily 
acknowledge  we  are  not  to  take  the  character  of 
any  sect  or  person,  barely  from  the  description  of 
known  adversaries  ;  especially  when  the  description 
doth  itself  imply  many  circumstances,  which  carry 
the  strongest  grounds  of  suspicion  with  them. 


. 

152  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE, 

If  there  be  any  thing  in  that  observation,  "  that 
the  nature  and  import  of  the  questions,  about  which 
the  difference  began,  and  the  zeal  wherewith  they 
were  handled,  intimate  something  of  the  holy  tem- 
per prevailing  among  the  body  of  the  people;" 
(Magnolia)  I  desire  it  may  be  considered,  that 
those  persons  were  in  repute  with  the  very  best, 
for  holiness  and  zeal,  before  this  unhappy  conten- 
tion. Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
points  about  which  they  were  charged  with  error, 
are  of  such  a  nature,  as  that  a  person's  sentiments 
may  be  easily  mistaken  and  misrepresented.  It 
was  long  before  the  Church  at  Boston  could  have 
any  evidence  of  their  holding  those  opinions,  which 
that  Church  condemned ;  the  witnesses  at  the  last 
were  parties,  and  transported  with  zeal.  It  is 
not  doubted  there  was  some  difference  in  their 
opinions,  at  least  in  their  expressions ;  but  there  is 
much  ground  to  doubt,  whether  any  of  them  held 
all  the  opinions  condemned  in  the  synod,  and  that 
few  of  them  held  many  of  those  harsh  consequences 
which  their  adversaries  drew  from  their  tenets. 
Besides,  much  the  greater  number  were  never  cen- 
sured at  all,  but  (as  I  observed  before)  considered 
as  brethren,  long  after  their  coming  here. 

We  cannot  reasonably  suppose  that  they  directly 
forgot  or  neglected  the  sole  end  of  their  removal, 
but  as  they  followed  that  church  order  they  judged 
most  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God,  and  professed 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  153 

those  opinions  and  articles  of  belief  they  thought 
God  had  revealed,  so  we  must  charitably  judge,  the 
life  of  religion  and  the  love  and  fear  of  God  did  not 
go  out  and  vanish  away,  on  their  leaving  all,  for 
his  namesake  and  the  gospel,  i.  e.  the  liberty  to 
worship  Him  according  to  their  consciences.  And 
yet  all  the  other  Colonies  will  be  obliged  to  own, 
that  the  trials  and  temptations  of  a  wilderness  had 
some  unhappy  effects  on  many  who  had  shewn 
great  zeal  about  religion. 

-"*/  ..*'  f    c  ,••'",.*''•.'  •  • '' 

However,  while  we  are  contemplating  the  oc- 
casion of  our  settlement,  and  the  ends  and  views 
of  our  pious  ancestors,  when  we  find  that  religion 
and  conscience  began  the  Colony,  it  is  natural,  it  is 
necessary  to  reflect  and  consider  how  these  ends 
are  answered  by  their  posterity  at  present.  Our 
fathers  bore  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day;  and 
though  Providence  gave  them  a  pleasant  and 
fruitful  land,*  the  garden  of  New-England,  yet 

*Mr.  Neale  justly  observes,  (p.  595,)  this  Island,  which 
is  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  long,  and  about  four  or 
five  miles  broad,  (though  of  unequal  breadth,)  is  de- 
servedly esteemed  the  Paradise  of  New-England,  for  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  soil,  and  the  temperateness  of  the 
climate  ;  that  though  it  be  not  above  sixty-five  miles 
south  of  Boston,  is  a  coat  warmer  in  winter,  and  being 
surrounded  by  the  ocean  is  not  so  much  affected  in  sum- 
mer with  the  hot  land  breezes,  as  the  towns  on  the  con- 
tinent." Let  me  add,  we  have,  all  summer,  a  south  or 
20 


154  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  subduing  and  cultivating  a  wilderness,  was  a 
tedious  and  a  laborious  business,  and  necessarily 
attended  with  many  hardships,  straits  and  diffi- 
culties. Their  posterity  possess  the  fruit  of  their 
labor,  and  should  think  themselves  obliged  to  fulfil 
the  pious  ends  of  our  plantation.  God  justly  ex- 
pects that  we  fear  the  Lord  our  God,  and  love 
him,  and  walk  in  his  ways,  and  serve  him  with  all 
our  heart.  It  seems  that  pure  religion  and  true 
godliness  is  what  we,  in  a  most  peculiar  manner, 
owe  to  God,  as  the  very  quit-rents  of  our  lands, 
and  an  acknowledgment  of  the  merciful  provi- 
dences in  our  first  settlement ;  as  well  as  for  the 
constant  favors  of  God  to  us  ever  since. 

The  posterity  of  a  people,  who  were  guided  by 

southwesterly  sea  breeze,  almost  every  day,  which  rises 
about  10  A.  M.,  and  wonderfully  cools  the  air.  And  by 
reason  of  southeasterly  sea  breezes,  in  the  spring,  the 
summer  does  not  come  on  so  quick  as  at  Boston,  though 
the  winter  usually  breaks  up  sooner. — Here  let  me  be 
permitted  to  offer  a  correction  of  a  vulgar  error,  about  the 
reason  of  the  cold  of  New-England  winters,  which  is  so 
very  much  greater  than  in  the  European  countries  in  the 
same  latitudes.  The  Lakes  usually  bear  the  blame  of 
our  cold  northwest  winds,  but  by  a  map  of  the  country  of 
the  five  nations,  and  of  the  Lakes,  &c.,  published  at  New- 
York  by  authority,  and  said  to  be  taken  from  a  map  of 
Louisiana,  done  by  Mr.  De  Lisle  in  1718,  it  appears  that 
all  the  Lakes,  except  the  Lake  Champlain,  are  considerably 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  155 

the  providence  of  God  to  this  happy  Island,  as  a 
safe  retreat  from  the  stormy  winds,  as  a  place  of 
freedom  to  practise  every  branch  of  religion  in, 
must  be  inexcusable,  if  they  degenerate  and  forget 
the  God  of  their  fathers.  The  very  instrument  of 
our  original  incorporation,  obliges  us  to  "serve  God 
and  Jesus  Christ,  and  obey  all  his  holy  laws."  Ir- 
religion,  then,  and  profaneness  and  immorality, 
must  be  a  peculiar  reproach  to  such  a  people.  Our 
fathers  will  rise  up  in  judgment  against,  and  con- 
demn their  degenerate  offspring,  and  the  God  of 
our  fathers  will  cast  us  off  forever,  if  we  do  not 
practise  that  sobriety,  righteousness  and  godliness, 
which  his  gospel  requires,  and  we  are  under  so 
many  peculiar  obligations  to  observe.  Nay,  it  will 

to  the  westward  of  the  northwest  point,  from  this  town. 
The  chief  of  these  vast  Lakes  are  northwest  from  Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland,  and  Virginia.  All  the  great  Lakes 
are  west  from  Albany,  as  the  Council  of  New- York  seem 
to  assert ;  and  Albany  is,  as  I  suppose,  nearer  west  from 
Boston  than  north-west.  Besides,  it  is  credibly  reported 
by  intelligent  persons,  most  conversant  in  those  regions, 
that  at  the  most  eastern  of  the  Lakes,  the  winds  are 
usually  easterly  in  those  months  when  we  are  frozen  with 
north-west  winds.  Perhaps  as  our  distance  from  the 
equator  occasions  the  long  draft  of  winds  from  north-west, 
so  the  vast  body  of  lands,  uncultivated,  and  covered  with 
a  perpetual  forest,  which  breaks  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
prevents  their  reflection  from  the  earth,  is  what  occasions 
those  winds  to  be  so  very  cold  here. 


156  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

be  more  tolerable  for  the  Pequots,  the  Wampa- 
noags,  the  Narragansets,  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
than  for  such  of  us  as  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  true,  the  Indian  nations 
did  obstinately  refuse  the  gospel,  but  they  knew 
not  what  they  did ;  they  did  it  ignorantly,  and  in 
unbelief,  while  we  have  known  our  master's  will ; 
and  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  them  much  will  be 
required.  As  we  have  been,  as  it  were,  lifted  up 
to  Heaven  with  privileges,  our  fall  will  be  so  much 
the  greater  in  the  bottomless  pit,  unless  we  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life. 

If  our  neighbors  observe  the  manners  of  the  in- 
habitants are  reformed  in  any  instances,  formerly 
grievous  to  them,  let  us  endeavor  to  reform  what- 
ever is  still  really  amiss  among  us,  and  put  away 
the  evil  of  our  doings,  that  the  Lord  God  may 
dwell  among  us.  May  we  be  noted  only,  and  ever, 
for  the  general  discharge  of  all  public  and  private 
virtues,  for  the  impartial  administration  of  justice, 
and  the  steady  execution  of  good  and  wholesome 
laws,  and  for  leading  quiet  and  peaceable  lives,  in 
all  godliness  and  honesty. 

It  is  an  old  and  common  observation,  that  the 
stature  and  complexion*  of  human  creatures,  as 

*  In  like  manner  some  diseases  are  peculiar  to  every 
country ;  perhaps  we  may  this  way  account  for  what  has 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  157 

well  as  of  plants  and  animals,  yea,  and  the  genius 
and  dispositions  of  a  people,  are  very  much  in- 
fluenced by  the  soil  and  climate ;  by  the  situation, 
the  nature  and  circumstances  of  the  place  they  in- 
habit. Thus,  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  parts 
of  Italy,  of  Germany,  dfrc.,  are  characterised  from 
their  respective  countries ;  and  thus  it  was  observed 
of  the  Carthagenians.  The  peculiar  genius  and 
dispositions  of  a  people  must  arise  from  hence,  or 
the  form  of  government  and  laws  they  live  under, 
or  the  genius  of  the  present  chief  commanders. 
The  Narragansets,  who  inhabited  this  tract  of  land 
before  us,  were  not  remarkable  among  the  Indians 
for  many  vices  peculiar  to  them,*  only  that  in  pro- 
portion to  their  greater  populousness,  they  ex- 
ceeded in  the  vices  common  to  all  the  Indian  na- 
tions. Idleness  and  intemperance  are  every  where 
branded  as  Indian  vices;  and  they  were  com- 
plained of,  as  shamefully  negligent  in  the  education 
of  their  children,  and  that  they  had  in  a  manner 

been,  in  vain,  attempted  to  be  accounted  for  so  many 
other  ways,  viz.  the  defective  teeth  so  common  in  New- 
England.  Mr.  R.  Williams  says,  that  when  he  first 
came  here,  the  Indians  were  vastly  subject  to  the  tooth- 
ach,  and  that  their  very  stoutest  men  complained  more  of 
that  pain,  than  their  women  of  the  pains  of  travail. 

*Mr.  Hubbard  says,  p.  3:  "  The  Narhagansets  were 
always  more  civil  and  courteous  to  the  English,  than  any 
of  the  other  Indians." 


158  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

no  family  government  at  all.  Though  the  face  of 
the  country  is  greatly  changed  by  English  industry, 
and  an  almost  immense  labor  and  expense,  yet  a 
plentiful  country  will  always  afford  its  inhabitants 
inducements  and  temptations  to  abuse  the  divine 
goodness,  and  to  turn  the  grace  of  God  into  wan- 
tonness. If,  instead  of  having  been  able  to  teach 
the  Indians  Christian  virtues,  we  should  learn  and 
imitate  the  Indian  vices,  how  unhappy,  how  re- 
proachful, how  lamentable  would  it  be  ?  Surely, 
we  must  think  God  expects  more  from  us,  with  all 
our  advantages  of  knowledge,  with  the  gospel,  the 
word  of  God ;  which  is  able  to  make  us  wise  to 
salvation,  through  faith  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 
We  have  not  only  the  light  of  reason,  brightened 
and  improved,  but  revelation,  to  be  as  a  guide  to 
us.  Let  us  make  the  scriptures,  then,  as  a  light  to 
our  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  our  path. 

And  in  fine,  let  every  sect  and  party  of  Christians 
among  us,  be  followers  of  God  as  dear  children. 
Let  us  be  careful  to  build  only  gold,  silver,  precious 
stones,  on  the  rock  of  ages,  the  true  foundation  of 
our  faith  and  hope.  Let  us  walk  worthy  of  God 
to  all  well  pleasing,  and  adorn  the  Christian  re- 
ligion in  general,  in  the  sight  of  the  Heathen ;  and 
recommend  our  distinguishing  opinions  to  one 
another,  by  a  more  exemplary  behavior,  and 
so  induce  others  to  glorify  God  our  Heavenly 
Father. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  159 

III.  Liberty  of  conscience  was  the  basis  of  this 
Colony.  Our  fathers  thought  it  just  and  necessary 
to  allow  each  other  mutually  to  worship  God  as 
their  consciences  were  respectively  persuaded. 
They  thought  no  man  had  power  over  the  spirit  of 
God,  and  that  the  duty  of  the  magistrate  was  to 
leave  every  one  to  follow  the  light  of  his  conscience. 
They  were  willing  to  exhibit  to  the  world,  an  in- 
stance that  liberty  of  conscience  was  consistent 
with  the  public  peace,  and  the  flourishing  of  a  civil 
Commonwealth,  as  well  as  that  Christianity  could 
subsist  without  compulsion,  and  that  bearing  each 
other's  burdens  was  the  way  to  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ. 

I  do  not  know  there  was  ever  before,  since  the 
world  came  into  the  Church,  such  an  instance,  as- 
the  settlement  of  this  Colony  and  Island.  In  other 
States,  the  civil  magistrate  had  forever  a  public 
driving  in  the  particular  schemes  of  faith,  and 
modes  of  worship ;  at  least,  by  negative  discourage- 
ments, by  annexing  the  rewards  of  honor  and  profit 
to  his  own  opinions ;  and  generally,  the  subject 
was  bound  by  penal  laws,  to  believe  that  set  of 
doctrines,  and  to  worship  God  in  that  manner,  the 
magistrate  pleased  to  prescribe.  Christian  magis- 
trates would  unaccountably  assume  to  themselves 
the  same  authority  in  religious  affairs,  which  any 
of  the  Kings  of  Judah,  or  Israel,  exercised,  either 
by  usurpation,  or  by  the  immediate  will  and  in- 


160  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

spiration  of  God,  and  a  great  deal  more  too.  As 
if  the  becoming  Christian  gave  the  magistrate  any 
new  right  or  authority  over  his  subjects,  or  over 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  and  as  if  that  because  they 
submitted  personally  to  the  authority  arid  govern- 
ment of  Christ  in  his  word,  that  therefore  they 
might  clothe  themselves  with  his  authority ;  or 
rather,  take  his  sceptre  out  of  his  hand,  and  lord  it 
over  God's  heritage.  It  is  lamentable  that  pagans 
and  infidels  allow  more  liberty  to  Christians,  than 
they  were  wont  to  allow  to  one  another.  It  is 
evident,  the  civil  magistrate,  as  such,  can  have  no 
authority  to  decree  articles  of  faith,  and  to  deter- 
mine modes  of  worship,  and  to  interpret  the  laws 
of  Christ  for  his  subjects,  but  what  must  belong  to 
all  magistrates ;  but  no  magistrate  can  have  more 
authority  over  conscience,  than  what  is  necessary 
to  preserve  the  public  peace,  and  that  can  be  only 
to  prevent  one  sect  from  oppressing  another,  and 
to  keep  the  peace  between  them.  Nothing  can  be 
more  evidently  proved,  than  "  the  right  of  private 
judgment  for  every  man,  in  the  affairs  of  his  own 
salvation,"  and  that  both  from  the  plainest  princi- 
ples of  reason,  and  the  plainest  declarations  of  the 
scripture.  This  is  the  foundation  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, of  the  Christian  religion,  of  all  religion,  which 
necessarily  implies  choice  and  judgment.  But  I 
need  not  labor  a  point,  that  has  been  so  often 
demonstrated  so  many  ways.  Indeed,  as  every 
man  believes  his  own  opinions  the  best,  because 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  161 

the  truest,  and  ought  charitably  to  wish  all  others 
of  the  same  opinion,  it  must  seem  reasonable  the 
magistrate  should  have  a  public  leading  in  religious 
affairs,  but  as  he  almost  forever  exceeds  the  due 
bounds,  and  as  error  prevails  ten  times  more  than 
truth  in  the  world,  the  interest  of  truth  and  the 
right  of  private  judgment  seem  better  secured,  by 
a  universal  toleration  that  shall  suppress  all  pro- 
faneness  and  immorality,  and  preserve  every  partly 
in  the  free  and  undisturbed  liberty  of  their  con- 
sciences, while  they  continue  quiet  and  dutiful  sub- 
jects to  the  State. 

Our  fathers  established  a  mutual  liberty  of  con- 
science, when  they  first  incorporated  themselves  : 
this  they  confirmed  under  their  first  Patent,  and, 
at  the  Restoration,  they  petitioned  King  Charles  II. 
(  Charter)  "  That  they  might  be  permitted  to  hold 
forth  a  lively  experiment,  that  a  most  flourishing 
civil  State  may  stand,  and  best  be  maintained,  and 
that  among  English  subjects,  with  a  full  liberty  in 
religious  concernments,  and  that  true  piety,  rightly 
grounded  on  gospel  principles,  will  give  the  best 
and  the  greatest  security  to  sovereignty,  and  will 
lay  in  the  hearts  of  men  the  strongest  obligations 
to  true  loyalty.'7  And  the  King  was  pleased  to 
make  them  a  grant,  by  which  "  every  person  may 
ever  freely  and  fully  have  and  enjoy  his  own  judg- 
ment or  conscience  in  matters  of  religious  concern- 
ment, behaving  himself  peaceably  and  quietly,  and 
21 


162  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

not  using  this  liberty  for  licentiousness  and  pro- 
faneness,  nor  to  the  civil  injury  or  outward  dis- 
turbance of  others."  This  happy  privilege  we  en- 
joy to  this  day,  through  the  divine  goodness ;  and 
the  experiment  has  fully  answered,  and  even  be- 
yond what  might  have  been  expected  from  the 
first  attempt.  The  civil  State  has  flourished,  as 
well  as  if  secured  by  ever  so  many  penal  laws, 
and  an  inquisition  to  put  them  in  execution.  Our 
civil  officers  have  been  chosen  out  of  every  re- 
ligious society,*  and  the  public  peace  has  been  as 
well  preserved,  and  the  public  councils  as  well 
conducted,  as  we  could  have  expected,  had  we 
been  assisted  by  ever  so  many  religious  tests. 

All  profaneness  and  immorality  are  punished  by 
the  laws  made  to  suppress  them ;  and  while  these 
laws  are  well  executed,  speculative  opinions  or 


*  It  has  been  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  gentlemen  of 
almost  every  religious  persuasion  among  us,  sitting  on  the 
same  bench  of  magistrates  together.  And  we  may  al- 
ways expect  to  see  it,  while  that  principle  prevails,  that 
the  surest  way  to  preserve  and  enjoy  our  Charter  privi- 
leges, is  so  to  divide  the  posts  of  honor,  trust  and  profit 
among  all  persuasions  indifferently  j  and,  in  general,  to 
prefer  those  gentlemen,  of  whatever  religious  opinions 
they  are,  that  are  otherwise  best  qualified  to  serve  the 
public,  and  adorn  their  stations,  and  to  surfer  no  one  re- 
ligious sect  to  monopolize  the  places  of  power  and  au- 
thority. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  163 

modes  of  worship  can  never  disturb  or  injure  the 
peace  of  a  State  that  allows  all  its  subjects  an 
equal  liberty  of  conscience.  Indeed,  it  is  not  va- 
riety of  opinions,  or  separation  in  worship,  that 
makes  disorders  and  confusions  in  government.  It 
is  the  unjust,  unnatural,  and  absurd  attempt  to 
force  all  to  be  of  one  opinion,  or  to  feign  and  dis- 
semble that  they  are ;  or  the  cruel  and  impious 
punishing  those,  who  cannot  change  their  opinions 
without  light  or  reason,  and  will  not  dissemble 
against  all  reason  and  conscience.  It  is  the  wicked 
attempt  to  force  men  to  worship  God  in  a  way  they 
believe  He  hath  neither  commanded  nor  will  ac- 
cept; and  the  restraining  them  from  worshipping 
Him  in  a  method  they  think  He  has  instituted  and 
made  necessary  for  them,  and  in  which  alone  they 
can  be  sincere  worshippers,  and  accepted  of  God; 
in  which  alone,  they  can  find  comfort  and  peace  of 
conscience,  and  approve  themselves  before  God ; 
in  which  alone,  they  can  be  honest  men  and  good 
Christians.  Persecution  will  ever  occasion  con- 
fusion and  disorder,  or  if  every  tongue  is  forced  to 
confess,  and  every  knee  to  bow  to  the  power  of  the 
sword :  this  itself  is  the  greatest  of  all  disorders, 
and  the  worst  of  confusions  in  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ  Jesus. 

Liberty  of  conscience  was  never  more  fully  en- 
joyed in  any  place,  than  here;  and  this  Colony, 
with  some  since  formed  on  the  same  model,  have 


164  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

proved  that  the  terrible  fears  that  barbarity  would 
break  in,  where  no  particular  forms  of  worship  or 
discipline  are  established  by  the  civil  power,  are 
really  vain  and  groundless  ;*  and  that  Christianity 
can  subsist  without  a  national  Church,  or  visible 
Head,  and  without  being  incorporated  into  the 
State.  It  subsisted  so  for  the  first  three  hundred 
years ;  yea,  in  opposition  and  defiance  to  all  the 
powers  of  hell  and  earth.  And  it  is  amazing  to 
hear  those  who  plead  for  penal  laws,  and  the 
magistrate's  right  and  duty  to  govern  the  Church 
of  Christ,  to  hear  such  persons  call  those  early 
times  the  golden  age  of  Christianity. 

However,  as  the  best  things,  the  wisest  institu- 
tions are  subject  to  some  inconveniences,  while 
some  good  may  accidentally  follow  the  very  worst 
things  in  the  world,  it  may  be  worth  our  while  to 
consider,  whether  some  inconveniences  do  not 
naturally,  or  have  not  in  fact,  followed  or  attended 
our  constitution.  The  Popish  Inquisition  itself, 
which  is  such  an  open  tyranny  over  conscience, 
and  such  an  absolute  destruction  of  the  essentials 
of  Christianity  and  all  true  religion,  yet  keeps  up 

*  I  am  aware  some  such  charges  of  ignorance  and  bar- 
barity have  been  formerly  insinuated,  and  that  the  people 
lived  in  a  state  of  anarchy  ;  but  I  hope!  have  said  enough 
to  shew  the  groundlessness  of  such  reports,  which  were 
the  effects  of  prejudice  and  misinformation. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  165 

the  face  and  shew  of  the  greatest  decorum,  order 
and  harmony  imaginable.     It  ought  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  if  an  unlimited  toleration  of  every  doctrine 
or  form  of  Christian  worship,  though  never  so  just  in 
itself,  and  so  useful  and  beneficial  in  many  respects, 
yet  in  some  other  respects  may  be  attended  with  or 
productive  of  some  inconveniences.    We  know  some 
followed  on  the  gospel  itself.    It  cannot  be  wondered 
at,  if  some  should  make  an  ill  use  of  this  liberty; 
yea,  if  this  liberty  itself  should  be  unhappily  a 
snare  to  some  men.     Have  never  any,  in  no  parts 
of  the  Colony,  appeared  lost  and  bewildered  in  a 
variety  of  opinions  round  them?     At  least,  is  it 
not  likely  there  should  be  some  persons  so  weak 
and  unstable  ?     Have  never  any  pretended  to  think 
it  needless  or  endless  to  search  after  truth,  among 
so  many  pretenders  to  it  ?     And  have  not  some,  in 
the  heat  and  hurry  of  dispute  about  the  circumstan- 
tials of  Christianity,  the  circumstances  of  order, 
time,  and  place,  grown  cold  or  negligent  about  the 
vitals  and  essentials  of  the  gospel  covenant  ?  Hath 
not  too  much  zeal  about  outward  things,  too  often 
occasioned   censoriousness  and    uncharitableness, 
and  starved  the  life  of  religion  ?     Is  there  no  foun- 
dation for  that  character  that  has  been  given  of  too 
many  among  us,  that  "  they  have  a  thorough  in- 
difference for  all  that  is    sacred,   being  equally 
careless  of  outward  worship,  and  of  inward  princi- 
ples, whether  of  faith  or  practice."     And  "that 
they  have  worn  off  a  serious  sense  of  all  religion." 


166  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

It  would  be  no  wonder  if  some  or  all  these  evil  eon- 
sequences  should  have  followed,  in  some  degree ; 
they  have  often  done  so  in  other  places,  even  where 
there  was  not  the  like  fair  occasion.  The  tempter 
always  suits  his  temptations  to  the  circumstances 
of  those  he  assaults.  But  these  things  will  be  no 
good  objection  against  liberty  of  conscience,  be- 
cause infinitely  greater  evils  necessarily  follow  on 
persecution  for  conscience  sake. 

Nevertheless,  our  own  experience,  or  the  obser- 
vations and  reproaches  of  others,  will  dispose  us  to 
be  peculiarly  careful  against  all  these  evils,  and 
some  others,  that  our  constitution  may  be  pecu- 
liarly liable  and  exposed  to.  Here  in  a  particular 
manner,  let  us  be  exhorted, 

1.  To  prevent  our  religious  differences  from  be- 
ing ever  carried  into  our  civil  affairs.     Let  them 
never  make  factions  in  government. 

2.  Let  us  study  for  peace,  and  to  promote  mutual 
love  among  Christians  of  every  denomination.  We 
should  love  all  of  Christ  we  see  in  them,  and  as 
far  as  possible  speak  the  same  things.     On  the  one 
hand,  we  should  take  heed  that  charity  and  mutual 
forbearance  do  not  sink  into  lukewarmness  and  in- 
difference to  the  truth  of  the  divine  institutions ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  should  maintain  our 
own  opinions,  and  manage  the  defence  of  them, 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  167 

when  need  requires  it,  with  a  Christian  spirit  of 
candor  and  moderation.  Especially  let  us  be 
warned  by  our  own  history,  to  take  heed  of  im- 
puting to  others,  the  consequences  we  think  follow 
from  their  opinions ;  if,  on  the  account  of  those  con- 
sequences, we  cannot  embrace  their  opinions,  yet 
let  us  remember  every  man's  opinion  must  be  taken 
from  his  own  understanding  and  judgment,  and  not 
from  the  understanding  and  judgment  of  other 
men. 

It  is  no  pleasure  to  any  real  Christian  to  see  his 
brethren,  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  divided 
as  they  are  through  the  world,  in  their  opinions  of 
various  articles  of  his  religion  ;  and  much  less,  to 
see  them  so  divided  in  their  affections.  Indeed, 
considering  the  finite  capacity,  and  the  corruption 
of  human  nature,  we  ought  to  expect  a  variety  of 
opinions  in  religion,  as  well  as  in  every  thing  else. 
But  as  the  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christ  make  this, 
though  unjustly,  a  reproach  to  Christianity,  and  as 
many  weak  persons  are  carried  away  with  the 
errors  of  the  wicked,  every  sincere  Christian  can- 
not help  wishing  that  every  stumbling  block  and 
rock  of  offence  was  removed  out  of  the  way,  and 
that  all  Christians  walked  in  the  truth  with  one 
consent  of  heart  and  voice.  It  is  a  grief  to  a 
Christian,  as  it  is  a  scandal  to  the  whole  world,  to 
see  Christians  (so  called)  full  of  envy  and  malice, 
hating  and  reviling  one  another,  and  smiting  with 


168  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

the  fist  of  wickedness.  This,  when  all  is  said  and 
done,  is  a  more  full  and  just  argument,  that  such 
have  no  part  in  Christ,  than  any  supposed  ortho- 
doxy of  opinion  can  be  of  their  interest  in  Him. 
For  by  this  (says  he)  shall  all  men  know  that  ye 
are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  another. 
It  is  a  glorious  sight  to  see  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
live  in  love  and  peace,  and  "  sweetly  bear  with  one 
another  in  their  lesser  differences  ;"  to  see  every 
one  keeping  the  ordinances,  as  he  thinks  Christ 
has  commanded  him,  and  at  the  same  time  care- 
fully abstaining  from  all  evil,  and  the  appearances 
of  evil,  and  practicing  whatsoever  things  are  true, 
honest,  just,  and  pure ;  whatsoever  things  are  lovely 
and  of  good  report. 

When  we  have  freedom  to  search  the  scripture, 
and  liberty  to  believe,  and  profess  what  we  find 
there  revealed,  how  unhappy  would  it  be,  if  any 
should  neglect  their  privilege,  and  be  fools  and  slow 
of  heart  to  improve  the  opportunity  they  enjoy? 
How  unhappy  would  it  be,  if  any  should  neglect 
the  worship  of  God  and  the  institutions  of  Christ 
Jesus,  because  they  are  not  enforced  by  human 
penal  laws  1  Let  us  be  all  able  ever  to  give  an 
answer  to  every  one  that  asks  us  a  reason  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  us,  with  meekness  and  fear  ;  and  let 
us  lay  aside  all  wrath,  anger,  malice,  bigotry  and 
censoriousness,  and  endeavor  to  pay  a  universal 
and  constant  regard  to  the  will  of  God,  revealed  in 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  169 

his  word.  Let  us  be  united  to  Christ  Jesus  by  a 
true  and  living  faith,  and  let  every  man  take  heed 
how  he  buildeth  :  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay, 
than  that  which  is  laid,  viz.  the  Prophets  and 
Apostles,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  great  cor- 
ner stone.  Now  if  any  man  build  on  this  founda- 
tion, gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  wood,  hay,  stubble; 
every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest.  For 
the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  re- 
vealed by  fire,  and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's 
work,  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  shall 
be  burnt,  he  shall  suffer  loss ;  but  he  himself  shall 
be  saved ;  yet  so,  as  by  fire. 

3.  Above  all  things,  let  us  unite  in  the  practice 
of  piety  and  holiness.  Let  us  do  justly,  and  love 
mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  God ;  let  us  deny 
all  ungodliness,  and  every  worldly  lust,  and  live 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  and  perfect  holi- 
ness in  the  fear  of  God.  These  things  we  may  do 
without  any  offence  to  any  party  of  Christians.  If 
we  be  'followers  of  that  which  is  good,  who  are  they 
that  will  harm  us,  or  be  offended  at  us,  on  that  ac- 
count. Each  party  requires  all  men  to  be  redemed 
from  a  vain  conversation;  every  party  owns  the 
necessity,  if  they  differ  in  the  nature  of  the  obli- 
gation, of  these  duties:  Let  us  then  unite  in  the 
practice  of  them,  and  have  our  conversation  as  be- 
cometh  the  gospel,  which  we  in  common  profess. 
How  unhappy,  how  inexcusable,  would  it  be,  if 
22 


.  * 

• 
170  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

liberty  of  conscience  should  degenerate  into  li- 
centiousness, and  open  a  door  for  a  flood  of  im- 
moralities ?  If,  while  we  plead  a  right  to  think 
and  judge  for  ourselves,  and  reject  all  mere  human 
authority  in  matters  of  faith  and  worship,  we  should 
neglect  the  sacred  laws  of  God,  and  the  unalterable 
and  eternal  duties  of  morality  ?  It  is  certainly  a 
reproach  to  Christians,  that  they  can  be  so  zeal- 
ously affected  about  the  things  which  are  peculiar 
and  distinguishing  to  each  sect  respectively,  and 
yet  be  so  cold  and  negligent  of  those  wherein  they 
all  agree.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  those  doc- 
trines and  duties  which  all  agree  in,  are  the  most 
important  and  essential.  Let  us  then  be  truly 
concerned  to  glorify  and  serve  God,  by  a  true  and 
spiritual  worship,  and  the  virtues  of  a  good  life,  and 
to  imitate  the  example  which  the  great  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith  hath  set  us.  Let  us  hold  fast 
the  form  of  sound  words  we  have  received,  and  not 
make  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience. 

IV.  I  hope  I  shall  be  excused,  if  on  this  occa- 
sion I  exhort  the  members  of  this  Church  in  par- 
ticular, to  review  the  merciful  providences  of  God, 
which  have  hitherto  preserved  this  vine,  which  we 
trust  his  own  right  hand  hath  planted.  We  may 
sing  of  judgment  and  of  mercy,  in  many  sore  losses 
and  bereavements,  in  some  uncomfortable  conten- 
tions, and  in  a  total  failure  of  elders,  for  many 
years  together.  Nevertheless,  the  burning  bush 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  171 

has  not  been  consumed ;  the  Church  has  still  sub- 
sisted, and  been  resettled  again  in  peace  and  kcom- 
fort.  Various  are  the  storms  in  which  this  Church 
has  been  tossed ;  but,  through  them  all,  God  has 
preserved  us.  May  we,  and  our  successors,  be  as 
a  name  and  a  praise  to  Him,  throughout  all  gene- 
rations !  Let  us  pray  the  Father  of  lights,  and 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  to  revive  and  prosper  his 
work  in  the  midst  of  these  years.  May  He  unite 
our  hearts  to  love  Him  more,  and  serve  Him  better; 
and  to  love  one  another,  and  strive  together  to 
promote  his  glory,  and  our  mutual  edification  and 
growth  in  grace.  May  he  that  ministereth  seed  to 
the  sower,  both  minister  bread  for  your  food  and 
multiply  the  seed  sown,  and  increase  the  fruits  of 
your  righteousness. 

As  this  was  the  first  Society  settled  in  church 
order  on  this  Island,  as  it  is  the  eldest,  (though 
nearly  the  least,)  let  us  strive  to  go  before  all  others 
in  the  primitive  simplicity,  love,  integrity,  and 
public  spiritedness. 

Let  us  consider,  whether  we  make  good  the 
ground  of  those  pious  and  excellent  Christians,  who 
first  formed  this  Church  ;  and  whether  the  succes- 
sors of  men  so  holy  and  so  zealous,  are  not  obliged 
in  a  singular  manner  to  imitate  them,  wherein  they 
followed  Christ.  We  have  professed  a  subjection 
to  the  gospel  of  Christ;  let  our  lights  shine  before 


172  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

men,  let  us  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour 
in  all  things ;  and  let  us  hold  the  beginning  of  our 
confidence  steadfast  to  the  end7  and  let  us  consider 
one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love  and  to  good 
works :  In  fine,  let  us  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith 
and  order  of  the  gospel,  once  delivered  to  the  saints; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  maintain  the  unity  of  the 
spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace.  Him  that  is  weak  in 
the  faith  receive,  but  not  to  doubtful  disputations. 
And  the  God  of  patience  and  consolation  grant  us 
to  be  like  minded  one  towards  another,  according 
to  Christ  Jesus. 

V.  Is  it  not  proper  to  remark  the  very  great  al- 
teration which  Xhe  merciful  providence  of  God  has 
made,  in  the  outward  circumstances  and  accommo- 
dations of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Island  and  Colony, 
since  their  first  settlement  here  ? 

We  have  reason  to  think,  the  very  first  settlers 
did  not  come  here  empty  handed;*  but  as  their 
stock,  on  which  they  lived,  was  by  degrees  con- 
sumed, the  produce  of  wild  lands  was  able  to  go 
but  a  little  way  in  purchasing  a  new  supply  of 
many  comforts  of  life ;  and  they  were  obliged  to 
make  an  hard  shift  with  such  things  as  the  present 
generation  perhaps  may  too  much  despise.  I  do 

*  Vid.  Mr.  Cotton's  way  of  Congregational  Churches 
cleared,  p.  61. 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  173 

not  well  know  how  to  describe  the  difference  in 
some  articles,  in  suitable  and  grave  expressions  : 
the  mention  of  some  instances  would  perhaps  sur- 
prise many.  Let  us  then  be  thankful  to  God,  who 
has  blessed  the  labors  of  our  hands  ;  and  let  us  not 
wax  fat  and  kick  against  God,  now  we  have  eaten, 
and  are  full  of  the  mercies  of  the  Lord. 

Nay,  would  it  be  unuseful  or  improper  to  think 
of  the  outward  accommodations  which  the  present 
English  inhabitants  enjoy,  above  the  aboriginal 
natives,  and  their  miserable  remainders  among  us? 
Doubtless,  it  would  excite  our  gratitude  to  God, 
who  has  made  us  to  differ,  and  to  say  with  David, 
blessed  be  thou,  Lord  God  of  Israel,  our  father,  for 
ever  and  ever.  Thine,  O  Lord,  is  the  greatness, 
and  the  power,  and  the  victory,  and  the  majesty, 
for  all  that  is  in  the  heaven,  or  in  the  earth,  is 
thine.  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  O  Lord,  and  thou 
art  exalted  as  head  above  all.  Both  riches  and 
honor  come  of  thee,  and  thou  reignest  over  all ; 
and  in  thine  hand  is  power  and  might,  and  in  thine 
hand  it  is  to  make  great,  and  to  give  strength  unto 
all.  Now,  therefore,  our  God, .we  thank  thee,  and 
praise  thy  glorious  name ! 

VI.  Lastly.  As  the  pious  people  who  first  planted 
this  Island  and  Colony,  were  so  concerned  about 
the  best  way  of  evidencing  a  man's  good  estate, 
methinks  there  is  no  more  proper  remark  for  us  to 


174  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

finish  with,  than  the  duty,  the  wisdom,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  every  one,  to  get  into  a  good  estate  as  to 
God  and  the  future  world,  and  to  seek  after  suf- 
ficient and  satisfactory  evidence  thereof. 

I  mean  not  to  revive  the  old  dispute  ;  I  am  well 
satisfied,  the  difference  may  be  compromised  with 
great  ease  and  justice  ;  but  to  persuade  each  of  us 
to  think  of  this  article  with  seriousness,  and  suit- 
able concern.  What  will  it  signify,  which  of  those 
ways  is  the  most  satisfactory,  if  we  ourselves  have 
no  grounds  for  satisfaction,  in  either  of  them  ?  And 
what  can  excuse  us  neglecting  to  work  out  our  sal- 
vation, and  make  our  calling  and  election  sure, 
when  God  is  working  in  us  to  will,  and  to  do,  of 
his  good  pleasure  ?  Alas  !  how  very  common  is  it 
for  persons,  who  live  under  the  gospel,  to  be  very 
careless  and  unconcerned  in  this  matter  ?  for  many 
who  call  themselves  Christians,  to  presume  they 
are  something,  when  indeed  they  are  nothing  ?  and 
cry  peace,  peace  to  themselves,  when  they  are  in 
the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  the  bonds  of  iniquity, 
and  have  no  lot  or  part  in  the  Christian  salvation  ] 

A  man's  good  estate  consists  in  his  being  recon- 
ciled to  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  de- 
livered for  our  offences,  and  raised  again  for  our 
justification.  Let  us  aim  to  have  both  the  testi- 
mony of  our  own  consciences  and  the  spirit  of  God 
witnessing  together  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE.  175 

children  of  God,  and  heirs,  with  Christ,  to  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light.  And  may  He  that 
is  able,  keep  us  from  falling,  and  present  us  fault- 
less before  his  presence  with  exceeding  joy. 

To  conclude,  should  not  this  solemnity  put  us  in 
mind  of  our  mortal,  transitory  condition,  and  so  stir 
us  up  the  more  to  give  diligence  to  make  our  call- 
ing and  election  sure.  The  generations  of  men  are 
passing  away  continually.  Not  one  person,  that 
we  know  of,  is  now  alive,  of  all  those  who  began 
this  settlement,  and  but  few  remain  of  the  second 
generation.  Death  is  daily  prey  ing  upon  us.  Should 
we  not  then  be  the  more  quickened  in  the  securing 
our  eternal  welfare  1  Should  we  not  do  with  our 
might,  what  our  hands  find  to  do,  before  the  night 
of  death  overtakes  us  ? 

Let  us  remember  we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims 
here,  as  were  all  our  fathers ;  and  let  us  seek  after 
a  city  which  is  to  come,  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  And  let  us  be 
followers  of  those  who  through  faith  and  patience 
inherit  the  promises. 

Let  this  occasion,  an  occasion  we  can  never  ex- 
pect again,  excite  us  to  number  our  days  aright, 
so  as  to  apply  our  hearts  to  true  wisdom.  May  we 
so  prepare  for  death  and  judgment,  and  the  eternal 
world,  as  that  an  entrance  may  be  at  last  ad* 


176  HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 

ministered  to  us  into  the  everlasting  Kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ :  Which  God 
of  his  infinite  mercy  grant  through  Him :  To  whom 
with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  all  honor, 
glory  and  power,  both  now  and  ever.  AMEN. 


NOTE. — The  Editor  has  taken  the  liberty  to  substitute  for  the  orthog- 
raphy of  the  original  text,  the  more  familiar  and  intelligible  orthography 
of  the  present  day,  and  likewise  to  correct  the  punctuation,  when  ne- 
cessary to  render  obvious  the  meaning  of  the  author. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I.— [p.  54.] 

REV.  THOMAS  PRINCE,  A.  M.,  the  author  of  the 
work  alluded  to,  page  54,  was  Pastor  of  the  Old 
South  Church  in  Boston.  He  was  born  at  Sand- 
wich, Massachusetts,  May  15, 1687,  and  was  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard  College,  in  1707.  He  visited  En- 
gland, in  1709,  and  for  several  years  preached  at 
Combs  in  Suffolk,  where  he  was  earnestly  solicited 
to  remain ;  but  his  attachment  to  his  native  land 
induced  him  to  return,  in  1717.  He  was  ordained 
as  colleague  with  Dr.  Sewall,  his  classmate,  Octo- 
ber 1,  1718.  He  died,  October  22,  1758,  aged 
seventy^one.  He  was  eminent  as  a  preacher,  and 
distinguished  for  his  intellectual  attainments  and 
Christian  virtues.  In  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Chauncey, 
no  one  in  New-England  had  more  learning,  except 
Cotton  Mather.  Besides  many  other  works,  he 
published  a  Chronological  History  of  New-England, 
in  the  form  of  annals,  12  mo.  1736,  and  three  num- 
bers of  the  second  volume,  in  1755.  The  value  of 
this  book  was  not  sufficiently  appreciated  at  the 

23 


178  APPENDIX. 

time  of  its  publication.  Mr.  Callender,  who,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  learned  Dr.  Eliot,  was  one  of  the  first 
men  of  that  generation,  thus  expresses  his  com- 
mendation of  this  book,  in  a  letter,  dated  Newport, 
April  4,  1739. 

"It  gives  me  great  concern,  that  Mr.  Prince's  Chro- 
nology has  been  so  ill  received.  I  look  on  it  as  an  honor 
to  the  country  as  well  as  to  the  author,  and  doubt  not 
but  posterity  will  do  him  justice.  But  that,  you  will  say, 
is  too  late.  Some  of  the  very  best  books  have  had  the 
same  fate  in  other  places  and  other  ages.  I  need  not  tell 
you  of  Milton,  Raleigh,  &c.  I  wish,  for  his  sake,  he 
had  taken  less  pains  to  serve  an  ungrateful  and  injudicious 
age,  lest  it  should  discourage  his  going  on  with  his  de- 
sign. I  hope  it  will  not,  and  hope  you  will  encourage 
him,  for,  sooner  or  later,  the  country  will  see  the  ad- 
vantage of  his  work  and  their  obligations  to  him." 


No.  II.— [p.  59.] 
Ante- Columbian  Discoveries. 

An  Icelandic  historian,  Torfaeus,  has  claimed 
for  his  ancestors  the  glory  of  having  discovered  the 
new  world.*  A  learned  work  has  recently  been 

*  Torfaei  Historia  Vinlandiae  Antiques,  Hafniae,  1705.  See  Wheaton's 
History  of  the  Northmen,  p.  22-28.  Belknap's  Am.  Biog.  1.  47-58. 
Examen  critique  de  1'  Histoire,  &c.,  par  Alexandre  de  Humbolt. 


APPENDIX.  179 

published  by  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  An- 
tiquaries, at  Copenhagen,  giving  an  account  of  the 
voyages  made  to  America  by  the  Scandinavian 
Northmen,  during  the  tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth, 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  The  ac- 
counts of  these  early  voyages  are  published  from 
authentic  manuscripts,  which  date  back  as  far  as 
the  tenth  century.  The  work  is  entitled  "Antiqui- 
tates  Americans  sive  Scriptores  Septentrionales  Re- 
rum  Ante-Columbianarum  in  America.  Hafnice, 
1837."  It  is  published  in  the  original  Icelandic, 
and  is  accompanied  by  a  Danish,  and  also  by  a 
complete  Latin  translation.  It  is  a  work  of  vast 
labor  and  research,  and  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting and  valuable  publications  relative  to  the 
history  of  our  country,  which  has  issued  from  the 
press.  From  this  work,  it  appears  that  the  ancient 
Northmen  explored  a  great  extent  of  the  eastern 
coasts  of  North  America ;  repeatedly  visited  many 
places  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode-Island ;  fought 
and  traded  with  the  natives ;  and  attempted  to 
establish  colonies.  The  most  northerly  region  was 
called  Helluland,  (Slateland  ;)  further  south  Mark- 
land,  (Woodland  ;)  and  further  south  still,  Vlnland, 
(Vineland,)  which  is  supposed  to  have  extended  as 
far  as  Massachusetts  and  Rhode-Island.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  the  learned  and  indefatigable  editor  of 
the  Antiquitates  Americana,  Professor  C.  C.  Rafn, 
and  his  erudite  associate,  Professor  Finn  Mag- 
nussen,  that  the  celebrated  inscription  on  the 


180  APPENDIX. 

Dighton  Rock  was  designed  as  an  evidence  of  the 
occupancy  of  the  country  by  the  Northmen.  This 
learned  and  interesting  work  deserves  to  be  thor- 
oughly studied  by  every  American  scholar  who 
feels  interested  in*his  country's  history. 

That  Columbus  made  a  voyage  to  the  north  of 
Europe,  in  1477,  is  evident  from  the  following  pas- 
sage, extracted  by  his  son  from  one  of  his  letters. 

"  In  the  year  1477,  in  February,  I  navigated  one  hun- 
dred leagues  beyond  Thule,  the  southern  part  of  which 
is  seventy-three  degrees  distant  from  the  equator,  and  not 
sixty-three,  as  some  pretend  ;  neither  is  it  included  with- 
in the  line  which  includes  the  west  of  Ptolemy,  but  is 
much  more  westerly.  The  English,  principally  those  of 
Bristol,  go  with  their  merchandise  to  this  Island,  which 
is  as  large  as  England.  When  I  was  there,  the  sea  was 
not  frozen,  and  the  tides  were  so  great  as  to  rise  and  fall 
twenty-six  fathoms." — Hist,  del  Almirante,  C.  4.  Vid. 
Irving's  Columbus,  vol.  1,  p.  44. 

The  Island  above  mentioned  as  Thule,  is  gene- 
rally, and,  we  think  with  justice,  believed  to  have 
been  Iceland.  It  appears  from  the  correspondence 
of  Columbus  with  the  learned  Paulo  Toscanelli,  of 
Florence,  which  took  place  in  1474,  that  he  had 
expressed  his  intention  of  seeking  a  western  route 
to  India.  We  think  it  highly  probable,  however, 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  previous  discoveries  of 


APPENDIX.  181 

the  Scandinavian  Northmen,  obtained  on  his  visit 
to  Iceland,  might  have  imparted  to  him  a  power- 
ful influence  in  his  great  enterprise, 

That  America  was  discovered  by  the  Northmen, 
before  the  time  of  Columbus,  has  long  been  the 
opinion  of  many  learned  men  in  our  country.  The 
following  extract  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Franklin  to  Mr.  Mather,  dated  London,  July  7, 
1773. 

"  You  have,"  says  he,  "  made  the  most  of  your  argu- 
ment, to  prove  that  America  was  known  to  the  ancients. 
There  is  another  discovery  of  it,  claimed  by  the  Nor- 
wegians, which  you  have  not  mentioned,  unless  it  be 
under  the  words  'of  old  viewed  and  observed,'  p.  7. 
About  twenty-five  years  since,  Professor  Kalm,  a  learned 
Swede,  was  with  us  in  Pennsylvania.  He  contended 
that  America  was  discovered  by  their  northern  people, 
long  before  the  time  of  Columbus  j  which  I  doubting,  he 
drew  up  and  gave  me,  some  time  after,  a  note  of  these  dis- 
coveries, which  I  send  you  enclosed." — Frank.  Works, 
vol.  6,  p.  77.  See  also  Forster's  Hist,  of  Discoveries  in 
the  North.  Robertson's  Hist,  of  America. 

The  learned  Dr.  Stiles,  in  his  Election  Sermon, 

published  in  the  year  1783,  speaks  of  "  the  certain 

colonization"  of  America  "  from  Norway,  A.  D. 

1001,  as  well  as  the  certain  christianizing  of  Green- 

,  land  in  the  ninth  century."     As  President  Stiles 


182  APPENDIX. 

was  intimate  with  Dr.  Franklin,  he  had  probably 
seen  the  work  of  Torfseus,  and  the  above  account 
by  Professor  Kalm. 

The  curious  reader  will  be  pleased  to  see  the 
whole  passage  in  which  Dr.  Stiles,  expresses  his 
views  with  regard  to  the  peopling  of  America. 

"I rather  consider  the  American  Indians  as  Canaanites 
of  the  expulsion  of  Joshua :  some  of  which  in  Phoenician 
ships  coasted  the  Mediterranean  to  its  mouth,  as  appears 
from  an  inscription  which  they  left  there.  Procopius, 
who  was  born  in  Palestine,  a  master  of  the  Phoenician 
and  other  oriental  languages,  and  the  historiographer  of 
the  great  Belisarius,  tells  us,  that  at  Tangier  he  saw  and 
read  an  inscription  upon  two  marble  pillars  there,  in  the 
ancient  Phoenician  (not  the  then  modern  Punic)  letter, 
"  We  are  they  who  have  fled  from  the  face  of  Joshua  the 
robber,  the  son  of  Nun."*  Bochart  and  Selden  conjecture 
the  very  Punic  itself.  Plato,  JElian,  and  Diodorus  Siculus 
narrate  voyages  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  thirty  days  west 
from  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  to  the  Island  of  Atlas.  This 
inscription  examined  by  Procopius,  suggests  that  the  Ca- 
naanites, in  coasting  along  from  Tangier,  might  soon  get 
into  the  trade  winds,  and  be  undesignedly  wafted  across 
the  Atlantic,  land  in  the  tropical  regions,  and  commence 
the  settlements  of  Mexico  and  Peru.  Another  branch  of 


*  Ibi  ex  albis  lapidibus  constant  COLUMNS  DUJE  prope  magnum  fontem 
erectae,  Phoenicios  habentes  characteres  insculptos,  qui  Phoenicum  lin- 
gua sic  sonant:  NOS  n  SUMUSQUI  PUGERUNT  A  FACIE  JOSHUJE  PR./EDONIS 
FILII  NUN.— Evag.  hist.  ecc.  1.  4,  c.  18.  Procop.  Vandalic.  1.  2. 


APPENDIX.  183 

the  Canaanitish  expulsions  might  take  the  resolution  of 
the  ten  tribes,  and  travel  north-eastward  to  where  never 
man  dwelt,  become  the  Tchuschi  and  Tungusi  Tartars 
about  Kamschatka  and  Tscukotskoinoss  in  the  north-east 
of  Asia :  thence,  by  water,  passing  over  from  island  to 
island  through  the  northern  Archipelago  to  America,  be- 
come the  scattered  Sachemdoms  of  these  northern  regions. 
It  is  now  known  that  Asia  is  separated  by  water  from 
America,  as  certainly  appears  from  the  Baron  Dulfeldt's 
voyage  round  the  north  of  Europe  into  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
A.  D.  1769.  Amidst  all  the  variety  of  national  dialects, 
there  reigns  a  similitude  in  their  language,  as  there  is  also 
in  complexion  and  beardless  features,  from  Greenland  to 
Del  Fuego,  and  from  the  Antilles  to  Otaheite,  which  shew 
them  to  be  one  people. 

"  A  few  scattered  accounts,  collected  and  combined  to- 
gether, may  lead  us  to  two  certain  conclusions,  1.  That 
all  the  American  Indians  are  one  kind  of  people.  2.  That 
they  are  the  same  as  the  people  in  the  north-east  of  Asia. 

"  An  Asiatic  territory,  three  thousand  miles  long  and 
fifteen  hundred  wide,  above  the  40th  degree  of  latitude, 
to  the  Hyperborean  ocean,  contains  only  one  million  of 
souls  settled  as  our  Indians  ;  as  appears  from  the  numera- 
tions and  estimates  collected  by  M.  Muller,  and  other 
Russian  Academicians  in  1769.  The  Koreki,  Jakuhti 
and  Tungusii  living  on  the  eastern  part  of  this  territory 
next  to  America,  are  naturally  almost  beardless,  like  the 
Samoieds  in  Siberia,  the  Ostiacs  and  Calmuks,  as  well  as 
the  American  Indians:  all  these  having  also  the  same 
custom  of  plucking  out  the  few  hairs  of  very  thin  beards. 


184  APPENDIX. 

They  have  more  similar  usages  and  fewer  dissimilar  ones, 
than  the  Arabians  of  the  Koreish  tribe,  and  Jews  who 
sprang  from  Abraham  :  or  than  those  that  subsist  among 
the  European  nations,  who  sprang  from  one  ancestor ;  or 
those  Asiatic  nations,  which  sprang  from  Shem.     The 
portrait   painter,    Mr.   Smibert,   who    accompanied    Dr. 
Berkeley,  then  Dean  of  Derry,  and  afterward  Bishop  of 
Cloyne,  from  Italy  to  America  in  1728,  was  employed  by 
the  grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  while  at  Florence,  to  paint 
two  or  three  Siberian  Tartars,  presented  to  the  Duke  by 
the  Czar  of  Russia.     This  Mr.  Smibert,  upon  his  landing 
at  Narraganset  Bay  with  Dr.  Berkeley,  instantly  recog- 
nized the  Indians  here  to  be  the  same  people  as  the  Si- 
berian Tartars  whose  pictures  he  had  taken.     Moravian 
Indians,  from  Greenland  and  South- America,  have  met 
those  in  our  latitude  at  Bethlehem,  and  have  been  clearly 
perceived  to  be  the  same  people.      The  Kamschatdale 
Tartars  have  been  carried  over  from  Asia  to  America,  and 
compared  with  our  Indians,  and  found  to  be  the  same 
people.     These  Asiatic  Tartars,  from  whom  the  Ameri- 
can aboriginals  derived,  are  distinct  from,  and  far  less  nu- 
merous than,  the  Mongul  and  other  Tartars  which,  for 
ages,  under  Tamerlane  and  other  chieftains,  have  deluged 
and  over-ran  the  southern  ancient  Asiatic  empires.     At- 
tending to  the  rational  arid  just  deductions,  from  these 
and  other  disconnected  data  combined  together,  we  may 
perceive,  that  all  the  Americans  are  one  people — that  they 
came  hither  certainly  from  the  north-east  of  Asia ;  probably 
also  from  the  Mediterranean;  and,  if  so,  that  they  are  Ca- 
naanites,  though  arriving  hither  by  different  routes.     The 
ocean  current  from  the  north  of  Asia  might  waft  the 
beardless  Samoieds  or  Tchuschi  from  the  mouth  of  Jene- 


APPENDIX.  185 

sea  or  the  Oby,  around  Nova  Zembla  to  Greenland,  and 
thence  to  Labrador,  many  ages^  after  the  refugees  from 
Joshua  might  have  colonized  the  tropical  regions.  Thus 
Providence  might  have  ordered  three  divisions  of  the  same 
people  from  different  parts  of  the  world,  and  perhaps  in 
very  distant  ages,  to  meet  together  on  this  continent,  or 
'our  Island,'  as  the  six  nations  call  it,  to  settle  different 
parts  of  it,  many  ages  before  the  present  accession  of 
Japhet,  or  the  former  visitation  of  Madoc,  1001,  or  the 
certain  colonization  from  Norway,  A.  D.  1001,  as  well 
as  the  certain  christianizing  of  Greenland  in  the  ninth 
century ;  not  to  mention  the  visit  of  still  greater  antiquity 
by  the  Phoenicians,  who  charged  the  Dighton  rock  and 
other  rocks  in  Narraganset  Bay  with  Punic  inscriptions,  re- 
maining to  this  day.  Which  last  I  myself  have  repeatedly 
seen  and  taken  off  at  large,  as  did  Professor  Sewall." — 
President  Stiles's  Election  Sermon,  preached  before  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  at  Hart- 
ford, May  8,  1783,  p.  10-13. 

In  confirmation  of  Dr.  Stiles'  views,  it  may*  be 
remarked  that  the  aborigines  of  our  country  re- 
semble the  Asiatics,  especially  the  Tartars,  more 
than  the  inhabitants  of  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
They  have  the  same  prominency  of  the  cheek 
bones — their  faces  are  broad  at  the  forehead  and 
narrowing  to  the  chin.  Both  the  Indians  and  the 
Tartars  are  accustomed  to  shave  the  head,  and  to 
leave  only  one  tuft  of  hair  to  grow  on  the  back  of 
the  skull.  Both  also  worship  the  sun  as  a  deity. 
We  find  that  the  aborigines  were  here  when  the 
24 


186  APPENDIX. 

Scandinavian  Northmen  first  landed  on  our  shores ; 
but  the  narratives  of  their  voyages  give  no  infor- 
mation concerning  their  origin. 

As  President  Stiles  was  for  more  than  twenty 
years  a  resident  and  a  distinguished  ornament  of 
Rhode-Island,  a  short  biographical  notice  of  him 
is  here  subjoined. 


EZRA  STILES,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  was  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Stiles,  of  North-Haven,  Connecticut, 
and  was  born  December  10,  1727.  He  graduated 
at  Yale  College  in  1746,  with  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  most  accomplished  scholars  it  had 
ever  produced.  In  1749,  he  was  chosen  one  of  its 
tutors,  and  in  that  station  he  remained  six  years. 
He  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  second  Congrega- 
tional Church,  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  the  22d  of  Octo- 
ber, 1755,  and  continued  the  able,  devoted,  and 
highly  esteemed  minister  of  that  Church,  till  he 
was  elected  President  of  Yale  College,  in  1777. 
He  presided  over  that  institution,  with  distinguished 
ability,  till  his  death,  May  12,  1795,  in  the  sixty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  President  Stiles  was  one 
of  the  most  learned  men  that  our  country  has  ever 
produced.  As  a  scholar,  he  was  familiar  with  every 
department  of  learning.  He  had  a  profound  and 
critical  knowledge  of  the  Latin,  Greek,  French  and 


APPENDIX.  187 

Hebrew   languages;    in  the  Samaritan,  Chaldee, 
Syriac  and  Arabic  he  had  made  considerable  pro- 
gress ;  and  he  had  bestowed  some  attention  on  the 
Persic  and  Coptic.     He  had  a  passion  for  history, 
and  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  rabbinical 
writings   and   with   those   of  the   fathers   of  the 
Christian  Church.     Dr.  Stiles  maintained  an  ex- 
tensive literary  correspondence  with  many  eminent 
persons  in  remote  quarters  of  the  globe ;  and  his 
name  was  enrolled  as  a  member  of  several  learned 
societies  in  his  own  and  in  foreign  countries.     As 
a  preacher,  he  was  impressive  and  eloquent ;  and 
the  excellence  of  his  sermons  was  enhanced  by  the 
energy  of  his  delivery,  and  by  the  unction  which 
pervaded  them.     His  catholic  spirit  embraced  good 
men  of  every  nation,  sect,  and  party.     In  the  cause 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  he  was  enthusiastic. 
In  his  discourse  on    Christian  Union,    he    says, 
"  There  ought  to  be  no  restrictions  on  the  con- 
science of  an  honest  and  sober  believer  of  revela- 
tion.    The  right  of  conscience  and  of  private  judg- 
ment is  unalienable  ;  and  it  is  truly  the  interest  of 
all  mankind  to  unite  themselves  into  one  body,  for 
the  liberty,  free  exercise  and  unmolested  enjoy- 
ment of  this  right,  especially  in  religion.     Not  all 
the  difference  of  sentiment,  not  all  the  erroneous 
opinions  that  have  yet  been  started,  afford  just  um- 
brage for  its  extinction,  abridgement  or  embarrass- 
ment." p.  28. 


188  APPENDIX. 

The  following  appropriate  remarks  are  from  the 
pen  of  Chancellor  Kent,  one  of  Dr.  Stiles'  pupils. 

"  President  Stiles's  zeal  for  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
was  kindled  at  the  altar  of  the  English  and  New-England 
Puritans,  and  it  was  animating  and  vivid.     A  more  con- 
stant and  devoted  friend  to  the  Revolution  and  Indepen- 
dence of  this  country,  never  existed.     He  had  anticipated 
it  as  early  as  the  year  1760,  and  his  whole  soul  was  en- 
listed in  favor  of  every  measure  which  led  on  gradually  to 
the  formation  and  establishment  of  the  American  Union. 
The  frequent  appeals  he  was  accustomed  to  make  to  the 
heads  and  hearts  of  his  pupils,  concerning  the  slippery 
paths  of  youth ;  the   grave  duties  of  life ;  the  responsi- 
bilities of  man ;  and  the  perils,  and  hopes,  and  honors, 
and  destiny  of  our  country,  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  heard  them  ;  and  especially  when  he  came  to 
touch,  as  he  often  did,  with  '  a  master's  hand  and  prophet's 
fire'  on  the  bright  vision  of  the  future  prosperity  and 
splendor  of  the  United  States.     Take  him  for  all  in  all, 
this  extraordinary  man  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  purest 
and  best  gifted  men  of  his  age.     In  addition  to  his  other 
eminent  attainments,  he  was  clothed  with  humility,  with 
tenderness  of  heart,  with  disinterested  kindness,  and  with 
the  most  artless  simplicity.     He  was  distinguished  for 
the  dignity  of  his  deportment,  the  politeness  of  his  address, 
and  the  urbanity  of  his  manners.     Though  he  was  un- 
compromising in  his  belief  and  vindication  of  the  great 
fundamental  doctrines   of  the  Protestant  faith,  he  was 
nevertheless  of  the  most  catholic  and  charitable  temper, 
resulting  equally  from  the  benevolence  of  his  disposition 


APPENDIX.  189 

and  the  spirit  of  the  gospel." — Kent's  Address  delivered  at 
New-Haven,  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  1831. 
See  Holmes's  Life  of  President  Stiles. 


No.  III.— [p.  59.] 
Voyage  of  Verrazzano  to  America. 

January  17,  1524,  Giovanni  Verrazzano,  a 
Florentine,  in  the  service  of  Francis  I.,  King  of 
France,  sailed  from  a  desert  rock  near  the  Island 
of  Madeira,  in  the  ship  Dolphin,  to  make  discovery 
of  new  countries.  He  steered  a  westerly  course, 
and,  after  encountering  a  violent  tempest  on  the 
24th  of  February,  he  arrived,  about  the  middle  of 
March,  on  the  American  coast,  in  latitude  thirty- 
four  degrees  north,  probably  near  that  part  of  North 
Carolina  on  which  Wilmington  now  stands.  He 
pursued  his  voyage  northwesterly  to  the  shores  of 
New-Jersey.  The  harbor  of  New- York  attracted 
his  notice  for  its  convenience  and  pleasantness. 
Afterwards,  pursuing  his  course  eastward,  he  passed 
Block-Island,  which  struck  him  by  its  resemblance 
to  the  Island  of  Rhodes.  Fifteen  leagues  more 
brought  him  to  the  spacious  haven  of  Newport, 
where  he  remained  for  more  than  fifteen  days. 
The  natives  "  were  the  most  beautiful  and  well  be- 
haved people  he  had  met  with  in  all  his  voyage." 
On  the  6th  of  May,  leaving  the  waters  of  Rhode- 


190  APPENDIX. 

Island,  the  intrepid  navigator  sailed  along  the  coast 
of  New-England  to  Nova  Scotia,  till  within  nearly 
the  fiftieth  degree  of  northern  latitude.  See  an 
able  article  in  the  North  American  Review,  vol. 
45,  p.  293.  "  The,  Life  and  Voyages  of  Ferrazzano" 
by  George  W.  Greene,  Esq.,  U.  S.  Consul  at  Rome. 
II  Capitano  Giovanni  da  Verrazzano  Fiorentino 
di  Normandia  alia  Serenissima  Corona  d'  Francia. 
Diepa  a  di  8  d'Luglio  1524.  Lettera  di  Ferdinando 
Carli  a  suo  Padre  a  Firenze.  These  letters  have 
been  copied  by  Mr.  Greene,  and  presented  to  the 
Rhode-Island  Historical  Society.  Hakluyt's  Voy- 
ages, vol.  2,  p.  295-300. 


No.  IV.— [p.  79.] 

ROGER  WILLIAMS*  was  the  first  person  in  modern 
Christendom  to  maintain  the  doctrine  of  religious 
liberty  and  unlimited  toleration.  His  "  Bloody 
Tenent  of  Persecution  for  cause  of  conscience,  dis- 
cussed between  Truth  and  Peace,"  <fec.  (fee.,  was 

*  For  an  able  and  interesting  delineation  of  the  life  and  character  of 
this  extraordinary  man,  whose  name  deserves  to  be  enrolled  with  the 
legislators  of  ancient  times,  or  with  the  statesmen  of  modern  Europe,  see 
a  "  Memoir  of  Roger  Williams,"  by  the  Rev.  Professor  Knowles,  of  the 
Theological  Institution  at  Newton,  Massachusetts;  see  also "  What- 
cheer,  or  Roger  Williams  in  Banishment."  A  Poem,  by  the  Hon.  Job 
Durfee,  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island. 


APPENDIX.  191 

published  in  London  in  1644.  It  is  a  small  quarto, 
of  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  pages.  In  this 
work  he  maintains  the  absolute  right  of  every  man, 
to  a  "  full  liberty  in  religious  concernments,"  sup- 
ported by  the  most  luminous  and  powerful  reason- 
ing. Here  are  disclosed  principles,  which  have  ex- 
cited admiration  in  the  writings  of  Jeremy  Taylor, 
Milton,  Locke  and  Furneau.  A  reply  was  written 
by  Mr.  Cotton,  an  eminent  clergyman  in  Boston, 
and  printed  in  London  in  1647.  Mr.  Williams 
published  a  rejoinder,  entitled  "  The  Bloody  Ten- 
ent,  yet  more  Bloody  by  Mr.  Cotton's  endeavor  to 
wash  it  white  in  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb.  Of  whose 
precious  Blood,  spilt  in  the  Blood  of  his  servants  ; 
and  of  the  blood  of  millions  spilt  in  former  and  later 
wars  for  conscience  sake,  that  most  Bloody  Tenent 
of  Persecution  for  cause  of  conscience,  upon  a 
second  trial,  is  found  now  more  apparently  and 
more  notoriously  guilty.  In  this  rejoinder  to  Mr. 
Cotton,  are  principally,  I.  The  Nature  of  Persecu- 
tion. II.  The  Power  of  the  civil  Sword  in  Spirituals, 
examined.  III.  The  Parliament's  permission  of 
Dissenting  Consciences,  justified.  Also  (as  a  Tes- 
timony to  Mr.  Clark's  Narrative)  is  added  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Endicot,  Governor  of  the  Massachusetts,  in 
N.  E.  By  R.  Williams,  of  Providence  in  New- 
England.  London,  printed  for  Giles  Calvert,  and 
are  to  be  sold  at  the  black-spread-Eagle  at  the 
West-end  of  Pauls,  1652."  It  is  a  quarto  volume 
of  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  pages.  The 


192  APPENDIX. 

same  clear,  enlarged  and  consistent  views  of  re- 
ligious freedom  are  maintained  in  this  last  work,  as 
in  his  preceding,  with  additional  arguments,  evinc- 
ing an  acute,  vigorous,  and  fearless  mind,  imbued 
with  various  erudition  and  undissembled  piety. 

In  an  appendix  is  the  following  address  : 

"  To  the  Clergy  of  the  four  great  Parties,  professing  the 
name  of  Christ  Jesus,  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland, 
viz.  the  Popish,  Prelatical,  Presbyterian,  and  Inde- 
pendent. 

WORTHY  SIRS — I  have  pleaded  the  cause  of  your  several 
and  respective  consciences,  against  the  bloody  doctrine  of 
persecution,  in  my  former  labors,  and  in  this  my  present 
rejoinder  to  Mr.  Cotton. 

And  yet  I  must  pray  leave  without  offence  to  say,  I 
have  impartially  opposed  and  charged  your  consciences 
also,  so  far  as  guilty  of  that  bloody  doctrine  of  persecuting 
each  other  for  your  consciences. 

You  four  have  torn  the  seamless  coat  of  the  Son  of 
God  into  four  pieces,  and,  to  say  nothing  of  former  times 
and  tearings,  you  four  have  torn  the  three  nations  into 
thousands  of  pieces  and  distractions. 

The  two  former  of  you,  the  Popish  and  Protestant  Pre- 
latical, are  brethren :  so  are  the  latter,  the  Presbyterian 
and  Independent.  But,  oh,  how  rara  est,  &c  ?  What 
concord,  what  love,  what  pity,  hath  ever  yet  appeared 


APPENDIX.  193 

amongst  you,  when  the  providence  of  the  Most  High  and 
only  wise  hath  granted  you  your  patents  of  mutual  and 
successive  dominion  and  precedency  ? 

Just  like  two  men,  whom  I  have  known  break  out  to 
blows  and  wrestling,  so  have  the  Protestant  Bishops  fought 
and  wrestled  with  the  Popish,  and  the  Popish  with  the 
Protestant!  The  Presbyterian  with  the  Independent, 
and  the  Independent  with  the  Presbyterian !  And  our 
chronicles  and  experiences  have  told  this  nation,  and  the 
world,  how  he  whose  turn  it  is  to  be  brought  under,  hath 
ever  felt  an  heavy  wrathful  hand  of  an  unbrotherly  and 
unchristian  persecutor. 

Meanwhile,  what  outcries  for  a  sword,  a  sword  at  any 
price,  on  any  terms,  wherewith  to  take  final  revenges  on 
such  their  blasphemous  and  heretical  adversaries  and  cor- 
rivals  ? 

Hence  is  it,  that  the  magistrate  hath  been  so  courted, 
his  person  adored  and  deified,  and  his  religion  magnified 
and  exalted. 

Amongst  the  people,  some  have  thought  and  said,  how 
hath  the  shining  of  the  magistrate's  money  and  sword 
out-shined  the  nobility  of  his  person,  or  the  Christianity 
of  his  conscience  ?  For  when  the  person  changes  and  re- 
ligion too,  how  grossly  notorious  have  been  the  Clergy's 
changes  also  ?  For  instance,  how  have  they  pernified, 
tacked  and  turned  about,  (as  the  wind  hath  blown,)  from 
Popery  to  Protestantism,  from  Protestantism  to  Popery, 
and  from  Popery  to  Protestantism  again,  and  this  within 


25 


194  APPENDIX. 

the  compass  of  about  a  dozen  years  j  as  the  purse  and 
sword-bearers  were  changed,  whatever  the  persons  of 
those  Princes  (male  or  female,  men  or  children,  or  their 
consciences,  Popish  or  Protestant)  were. 

Yea,  how  justly  in  the  late  King's  book  (if  his)  are  the 
Clergy  of  England  charged  with  horrible  breach  of  vows 
and  oaths  of  canonical  obedience  to  their  fathers  the 
Bishops,  against  whom,  in  the  turn  of  the  times  and  the 
sword-bearers,  they  turned  to  the  Scotch  Presbyters,  their 
fathers'  dreadful  enemies  and  persecutors  ? 

Now  as  to  the  persecuting  each  of  other,  I  confess  the 
wolf,  (the  persecutor,)  devours  the  goat,  the  swine,  yea 
the  very  fox,  and  other  creatures,  as  well  as  the  inoffen- 
sive sheep  and  lamb.  Yet,  as  the  Lord  Jesus  made  use 
of  that  excellent  fable  or  similitude  of  a  wolf  getting  on 
a  sheep's-skin,  so  may  I  not  unseasonably  make  use  of 
that  of  the  wolf  and  the  poor  lamb  coming  down  to 
drink  upon  the  same  brook  and  stream  together.  The 
wolf,  cruel  and  strong,  drinks  above  and  aloft :  the  lamb, 
innocent  and  weak,  drinks  upon  the  stream  below.  The 
wolf  questions  and  quarrels  the  lamb  for  corrupting  and 
defiling  the  waters.  The  lamb,  not  daring  to  plead  how 
easily  the  wolf,  drinking  higher,  might  transfer  defile- 
ment downward,  but  pleads  improbability  and  impossi- 
bility, that  the  waters  descending  could  convey  defile- 
ment upwards.  This  is  the  controversy,  this  the  plea. 
But  who  shall  judge  ?  Be  the  lamb  never  so  innocent, 
his  plea  never  so  just,  his  adversary  the  wolf  will  be  his 
judge,  and  being  so  cruel  and  so  strong,  soon  tears  the 
lamb  in  pieces. 


APPENDIX.  195 

Thus  the  cruet  beast,  armed  with  the  power  of  the 
Kings,  (Revel.  17)  sits  judge  in  his  own  quarrels  against 
the  lamb,  about  the  drinking  at  the  waters.  And  thus, 
saith  Mr.  Cotton,  the  judgment  ought  to  pass  upon  the 
heretic,  not  for  matter  of  conscience,  but  for  sinning 
against  his  conscience. 

Object.  Methinks  I  hear  the  great  charge  against  the 
Independent  party  to  be  the  great  pleaders  for  liberty  of 
conscience,  &c. 

Answer.  Oh  the  horrible  deceit  of  the  hearts  of  the 
sons  of  men  !  And  what  excellent  physic  can  we  prescribe 
to  others,  till  our  soul,  as  Job  said,  come  to  be  in  their 
soul's  cases  ?  What  need  have  we  to  be  more  vile  (with 
Job)  before  God,  to  walk  in  holy  sense  of  self-insufficiency, 
to  cry  for  the  blessed  leadings  of  the  holy  spirit  of  God, 
to  guide  and  lead  our  heads  and  hearts  uprightly  ? 

For,  to  draw  the  curtain  and  let  in  the  light  a  little,  do 
not  all  persecutors  themselves  zealously  plead  for  freedom, 
for  liberty,  for  mercy  to  men's  consciences,  when  them- 
selves are  in  the  grates,  and  pits,  and  under  hatches  ? 

Doth  not  Gesner  tell  us  of  a  gentleman  in  Germany, 
who,  fitting  his  pitfall  for  wild  beasts,  found  in  the  morn- 
ing a  woman,  a  wolf,  and  a  fox  in  three  several  corners,  as 
full  of  fear,  and  as  quiet,  and  desirous  of  liberty,  one  as 
well  as  another  ? 

Thus  bloody  Gardiner  and  Bonner,  (prisoners  during 
King  Edward's  days,)  yea,  and  that  bloody  Q,ueen  Mary 


196  APPENDIX. 

herself,  all  plead  the  freedom  of  their  consciences.  What 
most  humble  supplications,  and  indeed  unanswerable  ar- 
guments for  liberty  of  conscience,  have  the  Papists,  when 
in  restraint,  presented,  and  especially  in  King  James's 
time  ?  Yea,  what  excellent  subscriptions  to  this  soul- 
freedom  are  interwoven  in  many  passages  of  the  late 
King's  book,  if  his  ?  Yea,  and  one  of  his  chaplains,  so 
called,  Doctor  Jer.  Taylor,  what  an  everlasting  monu- 
mental testimony  did  he  publish  to  this  truth,  in  that  his 
excellent  discourse,  of  the  liberty  of  prophecying  ?  Yea, 
the  formerly  non-conforming  Presbyterian  and  Indepen- 
dent, Scotch  and  English,  old  and  new,  what  most  humble 
and  pious  addresses  have  they  made  before  the  whole 
world,  to  Princes  and  Parliaments,  for  just  mercy,  in  true 
petitions  of  right,  to  their  consciences  ?  But,  let  this 
present  discourse,  and  Mr.  Cotton's  fig-leaf  evasions  and 
distinctions ;  let  the  practices  of  the  Massachusetts  in 
New-England,  in  twenty  years  persecution ;  and  this  last 
of  Mr.  Clarke,  Obadiah  Holmes,  and  others,  be  examined. 
Yea,  let  the  Independent  minister's  late  proposals  be 
weighed  with  the  double  weight  of  God's  sanctuary,  and 
it  will  appear  what  mercy  the  poor  souls  of  all  men,  and 
Jesus  Christ  in  any  of  them,  may  expect  from  the  very  In- 
dependent's Clergy  themselves. 

Object.  But  doth  not  their  proposals  provide  a  liberty 
to  such  as  fear  God,  viz.  that  they  may  freely  preach 
without  an  ordination !  and  that  such  as  are  not  free  to 
the  public  assemblies,  may  have  liberty  to  meet  in  private. 

Answer.  It  may  so  please  the  father  of  lights  to  shew 
them  that  their  lines  and  models,  and  New-England's 


APPENDIX.  197 

copy  also,  after  which  they  write  and  pencil,  are  but 
more  and  more  refined  images,  whereby  to  worship  the 
invisible  God  :  and  that  still,  as  before,  the  wolf  (the  per- 
secutor) must  judge  of  the  lamb's  drinking ! 

For  instance,  New  England's  laws,  lately  published  in 
Mr.  Clark's  Narrative,  tell  us  how  free  it  shall  be  for 
people  to  gather  themselves  into  church-estate  ;  how  free 
to  choose  their  own  ministers  ;  how  free  to  enjoy  all  the 
ordinances  of  Christ  Jesus,  &c.  But  yet,  provided,  so 
and  so,  upon  the  point,  that  the  civil  state  must  judge  of 
the  spiritual,  to  wit :  whether  persons  be  fit  for  church- 
estate,  whether  the  gathering  be  right,  whether  the  peo- 
ple's choice  be  right,  doctrines  right,  and  what  is  this  in 
truth,  but  to  swear  that  blasphemous  oath  of  supremacy 
again,  to  the  Kings,  and  Queens,  and  Magistrates  of  this 
and  other  nations,  instead  of  the  Pope,  &c.  ? 

Into  these  prisons  and  cages,  do  those  otherwise  worthy 
and  excellent  men,  the  Independents,  put  all  the  children 
of  God,  and  all  the  children  of  men  in  the  whole  world, 
and  then  bid  them  fly  and  walk  at  liberty,  (to  wit,  within 
the  conjured  circle,)  so  far  as  they  please. 

To  particularize  briefly  :  when  they  have  in  their  six 
several  circuits,  ejected,  according  to  their  proposals,  it 
may  be  hundreds,  it  may  be  thousands,  if  impartial  of 
Episcopal  and  Presbyterian  Ministers,  and  that  without 
and  against  their  people's  consent,  to  the  present  distress- 
ing of  thousands,  and  enraging,  through  such  soul-op- 
pressions, the  whole  nation !  Then,  say  they,  it  shall  be 
free  for  all  that  be  able,  &c.,  to  be  preachers,  though  not 


198  APPENDIX. 

"*.  ,    *ll 

ordained,  &c.  But,  provided,  that  two  ministers'  hands, 
at  least,  which  upon  the  point,  is  instead  of  an  ordination, 
be  to  their  approbation,  &c.  Upon  this  lock,  any  shall  be 
free  to  preach  Christ  Jesus,  upon  this  point  of  the  compass, 
as  I  may  in  humble  reverence,  and  with  sorrow  speak  it, 
the  spirit  of  God  shall  be  free  to  breathe  and  operate  in  the 
souls  of  men  !  By  this  plummet,  and  line,  rule,  and  square, 
and,  seeming,  golden  reed,  and  metewand,  the  sanctuary 
must  be  built  and  measured,  (fee. 

But  further,  if  any  shall  be  of  tender  consciences,  and 
that  the  common  size  will  not  serve  their  foot,  if  they  shall 
think  the  Independent's  foundations  too  weak,  or  it  may 
be  too  strong  for  their  weak  belief,  if  they  cannot  bow 
down  to  their  golden  image,  though  of  the  finest  and 
latest  edition  and  fashion ;  why  God  forbid  they  should 
be  forced  to  church  as  others,  they  shall  enjoy  their 
liberty,  and  meet  apart  in  private.  But,  provided  they 
acquaint  the  civil  magistrate,  that  is,  as  it  may  fall  out, 
(who  knows  how  soon?)  and  too  often  hath  fallen  out,  the 
poor  sheep  and  deer  of  Christ  must  take  license  of  and 
betray  themselves  unto  the  paws  and  jaws  of  their  lion- 
like  persecutors. 

Hear  O  Heavens,  give  ear  O  Earth!  What  is  this  but 
like  the  treacherous  Dutchmen,  who  capitulate  of  leagues 
of  peace  and  amity  with  their  neighbor  English,  and  in 
the  midst  of  State  compliments,  some  say  out  of  malicious 
wrath,  others  say  it  was  out  of  drunken  intoxications  at 
the  best,  thunder  out  broadsides  of  fire  and  smoke  of  per- 
secution ? 


APPENDIX.  199 

Object.  Some  possibly  may  say,  Your  just  suffering 
from  the  Independents  in  New-England  makes  you  speak 
revenges  against  them  in  old. 

Answer.  What  I  have  suffered  in  my  estate,  body,  name, 
spirit,  I  hope  through  help  from  Christ,  and  for  his  sake  I 
have  desired  to  bear  with  a  spirit  of  patience  and  of  re- 
spect and  love,  even  to  my  persecutors.  As  to  particulars, 
I  have  and  must,  if  God  so  will,  further  debate  them  with 
my  truly  honored  and  beloved  adversary,  Mr.  Cotton. 

But  as  to  you,  worthy  Sirs,  men  of  learning  and  men 
of  personal  holiness,  many  of  you,  I  truly  desire  to  be  far 
from  envying  your  honors,  pleasures,  and  revenues,  from 
whence  the  two  former  Popish  and  Prelatical  are  ejected, 
unto  which  the  two  later  Presbyterian  and  Independent 
are  advanced.  Nor  would  I  move  a  tongue  or  pen  that 
any  of  you  now  possessed,  should  be  removed  or  dis- 
turbed, until  your  consciences  by  the  holy  spirit  of  God, 
or  the  consciences  of  the  people,  to  whom  you  serve  or 
minister,  shall  be  otherwise,  than  as  you  are  yet,  per- 
suaded. 

Much  rather  would  I  make  another  humble  plea,  and 
that  I  believe  with  all  the  reason  and  justice  in  the  world, 
that  such  who  are  ejected,  undone,  impoverished,  might 
some  way  from  the  State  or  you  receive  relief  and  succor: 
considering,  that  the  very  nation's  constitution  hath  oc- 
casioned parents  to  train  up,  and  persons  to  give  them- 
selves to  studies,  though  in  truth  but  in  a  way  of  trade 
and  bargaining  before  God,  yet,  it  is  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  nation,  who  ought  therefore  to  share  also 


200  APPENDIX. 

in  the  fault  of  such  priests  and  ministers  who  in  all 
changes  are  ejected. 

I  end  with  humble  begging  to  the  Father  of  Spirits,  to 
persuade  and  possess  yours  with  a  true  sense  of  three  par- 
ticulars. 

First,  Of  the  yokes  of  soul-oppression,  which  lie  upon 
the  necks  of  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  three  nations, 
and  of  the  whole  world ;  as  if  Cham's  curse  from  Noah 
were  upon  them,  servants  of  servants  as  they  are,  and 
that  in  the  matters  of  the  soul's  affection  unto  God,  which 
call  for  the  purest  liberty.  I  confess  the  world  lies  in 
wickedness,  and  loveth  darkness  more  than  light  j  but 
why  should  you  help  on  those  yokes,  and  force  them  to 
receive  a  doctrine,  to  pray,  to  give  thanks,  &c.,  without 
an  heart  ?  Yea,  and,  in  the  many  changes  and  cases  in- 
cident, against  their  heart  and  soul's  consent  ? 

Secondly,  Of  the  bloodiness  of  that  most  bloody  doc- 
trine of  persecution  for  cause  of  conscience,  with  all  the 
winding  stairs  and  back  doors  of  it,  &c.  Some  professors, 
true  and  false,  sheep  and  goats,  are  daily  found  to  differ 
in  their  apprehensions,  persuasions,  professions,  and  that 
to  bonds  and  death. 

What  now,  shall  these  be  wracked,  their  souls,  their 
bodies,  their  purses,  &c  ?  Yea,  if  they  refuse,  deny,  op- 
pose the  doctrine  of  Christ  Jesus,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
why  should  you  call  for  fire  from  Heaven,  which  suits 
not  with  Christ  Jesus,  his  spirit  or  ends?  Why  should 
you  compel  them  to  come  in,  with  any  other  sword  but 


APPENDIX.  201 

that  of  the  spirit  of  God,  who  alone  persuaded  Japhet  to 
come  into  the  tents  of  Shem,  and  can  in  his  holy  season 
prevail  with  Shem  to  come  into  the  tents  of  Japhet  ? 

Thirdly,  Of  that  bias  of  self-love  which  hails  and  sways 
our  minds  to  hold  so  fast  this  bloody  Tenent.  You  know 
it  is  the  spirit  of  love  from  Christ  Jesus,  that  turns  our 
feet  from  the  tradition  of  fathers,  &c.  That  sets  the 
heart  and  tongue,  and  pen  and  hands  too,  as  Paul's,  day 
and  night  to  work,  rather  than  the  progress  and  purity 
and  simplicity  of  the  crown  of  Christ  Jesus  should  be  de- 
based or  hindered. 

This  spirit  will  cause  you  to  leave  with  joy,  benefices, 
and  bishopricks,  worlds  and  lives  for  his  sake ;  the  heights 
and  depths,  lengths  and  breadths,  of  whose  love  you 
know  doth  infinitely  pass  your  most  knowing  compre- 
hensions and  imaginations.  There  is  but  little  of  this 
spirit  extant,  I  fear  will  not  be,  until  we  see  Christ  Jesus 
slain  in  the  slaughter  of  the  witnesses.  Then  Joseph 
will  go  boldly  unto  Pilate  for  the  slaughtered  body  of 
most  precious  Saviour :  and  Nicodemus  will  go  by  day 
to  buy  and  bestow  his  sweetest  spices  on  his  infinitely 
sweeter  souls  beloved.  The  full  breathings  of  that 
heavenly  spirit,  unfeignedly  and  heartily  wisheth  you, 
Your  most  unworthy  countryman, 

R.  WILLIAMS." 


26 


202  APPENDIX. 

No.  V.— [p.  73.] 
Rev.  William  Blackstone. 

About  the  time  that  Roger  Williams  came  to 
Providence,  Rev.  William  Blackstone  settled  in 
Cumberland,  near  the  river  which  bears  his  name, 
about  three  miles  above  Pawtucket.  He  was  a 
man  of  learning,  and  had  received  Episcopal  ordi- 
nation in  England.  He  appears  •  to  have  left  his 
native  country,  on  account  of  his  nonconformity, 
and  he  sought  an  asylum  for  the  enjoyment  of  re- 
ligious freedom  in  the  wilds  of  New-England.  The 
precise  time  of  his  arrival  in  this  country  is  un- 
known. It  appears  from  Johnson's  History,  p.  20, 
that  he  was  here  in  1628 ;  but  not  agreeing  with 
Mr.  Endicot  and  others  on  ecclesiastical  affairs,  he 
devoted  himself  to  agriculture.  When  the  first 
planters  of  Massachusetts  arrived,  in  the  year 
1630,  they  found  him  already  quietly  seated  on 
the  peninsula  of  Shawmut,  now  the  city  of  Boston. 
His  cottage  was  near  a  spring,  on  the  south  end  of 
the  peninsula.  Gov.  Hopkins,  in  his  "  History  of 
Providence,"*  says,  that  Mr.  Blackstone  had  been 
at  Boston  "  so  long"  (when  Governor  Winthrop 
and  his  company  came)  "  as  to  have  raised  apple 
trees  and  planted  an  orchard."  "  Having  escaped 
the  power  of  the  Lords  Bishops  in  England,  and 

*  His  account  of  Providence  was  first   published  in  the   Providence 
Gazette,  in  1765. 


APPENDIX.  203 

soon  becoming  discontented  with  the  power  of  the 
Lords  Brethren  here,"  he  sold  his  lands  on  the  pen- 
insula, in  the  year  1635,  and  made  a  removal  about 
the  year  1636.  The  place  to  which  he  removed, 
was  about  six  miles  north  of  Mr.  Williams.  His 
house  was  situated  near  the  east  bank  of  the  river 
which  perpetuates  his  name,  a  few  rods  eastward 
of  a  knoll,  which  he  called  "  Study  Hill"  It  was 
surrounded  by  a  park,  which  was  his  favorite  walk. 
His  house  he  named  "  Study  Hall"  Here,  also,  he 
planted  an  orchard,  the  first  that  ever  bore  apples 
in  Rhode-Island.  "  Many  of  the  trees  which  he 
planted,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago,'7 
says  Governor  Hopkins,  in  1765,  "  are  still  pretty 
thrifty  fruit-bearing  trees.  He  had  the  first  of  that 
>sort  called  yellow  sweetings,  that  were  ever  in  the 
world,  perhaps  the  richest  and  most  delicious  apple 
of  the  whole  kind."  Mr.  Blackstone  used  fre- 
quently to  preach  in  Providence  and  other  places 
adjacent.  He  was  a  man  of  talent,  and  though 
somewhat  eccentric,  sustained  the  character  of  an 
exemplary  Christian.  He  died,  May  26,  1675, 
having  lived  in  New-England,  about  fifty  years. 
His  death  occurred  at  a  critical  period,  a  few 
weeks  before  the  commencement  of  Philip's  War. 
His  estate  was  desolated,  and  his  house  and  library 
laid  in  ashes,  by  the  ruthless  natives.  He  lies 
buried  about  two  rods  east  of  his  favorite  Study 
Hill,  where  two  rude  stones  designate  the  place  of 
his  interment.  His  family  here  is  extinct ;  but  his 


204  APPENDIX. 

name  will  be  found  on  the  first  list  of  freemen  of 
Massachusetts,  1630,  and  it  is  identified  with  the 
beautiful  stream  which  flows  through  the  valley  of 
the  Blackstone. 


No.  VI.— [p.  74] 

Deed  of  the  chief  Sachems  of  Narragansett  to  Roger 
Williams. 

At  Nanhiggansick,  the  24th  of  the  first  month  com- 
monly called  March,  in  the  second  year  of  our  plantation, 
or  planting  at  Mooshausick,  or  Providence :  Memorandum, 
that  we  Caunannicus  and  Miantinomu,  the  two  chief  sa- 
chems of  Nanhiggansick,  having  two  years  since  sold 
unto  Roger  Williams  the  lands  and  meadows  upon  the 
two  fresh  rivers  called  Mooshausick  and  Wanaskatucket,* 
do  now  by  these  presents  establish  and  confirm  the  bounds 
of  those  lands,  from  the  rivers  and  fields  of  Pautuckett, 
the  great  hill  of  Neoterconkenittf  on  the  north-west,  and 
the  town  of  Mashapauge  on  the  west.  As  also,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  many  kindnesses  and  services  he  hath 
continually  done  for  us,  both  for  our  friends  of  Massachu- 
setts, as  also  at  Quininkticutt  and  Apaum,  or  Plymouth  ; 

*  The  first  of  these  rivers  falls  into  the  cove  above  Weybosset  bridge 
from  the  north,  the  other  from  the  west. 

\  Neoterconkernitt  is  three  miles  from  Weybosset  bridge,  Mashapauge 
is  about  twe  miles  south  of  Neoterconkenitt. 


APPENDIX.  205 

we  do  freely  give  unto  him  all  that  land  from  those  rivers 
reaching  to  Pautuxett  river,  as  also  the  grass  and  meadows 
upon  Pautuxett  river.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  here- 
unto set  our  hands. 


«rT~\. 


The  mark  of  Caunannicus. 


The  mark  of  Miantinomu. 

In  presence  of 
The  mark  >4  of  Seatagh. 
The  mark  *  of  Assotemewett. 

1639.  Memorandum,  3d  month,  9th  day  this  was  all 
again  confirmed  by  Miantinomu.  He  acknowledged  this 
his  act  and  hand  [illegible]  up  the  stream  of  Pautuckett 
and  Pautuxett  without  limits  we  might  have  for  our  use 
of  cattle. 

Witness  hereof, 
ROGER  WILLIAMS, 
BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 

[Providence  Records.] 

This  deed  is  dated  two  years  after  the  settlement 
of  Mr.  Williams  and  his  associates  at  Providence, 
and  bears  date  the  same  day  and  year,  with  the 
deed  of  Aquetneck  or  the  Island  of  Rhode-Island. 
Previous  to  his  banishment,  he  had  cultivated  an 
acquaintance  with  the  natives,  learned  their  lan- 
guage, and  entered  into  negotiations  for  lands 


206  APPENDIX. 

with  the  sachems  Canonicus  and  Ousamequin,  pro- 
vided he  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  settling 
among  them.  He  had  made  large  presents  to  these 
chiefs,  "  and  therefore,"  says  he,  in  one  of  his  letters, 
"  when  I  came,  I  was  welcome  to  Ousamequin  and 
to  the  old  prince  Canonicus,  who  was  most  shy  of 
all  English  to  his  last  breath." 


No.  VII.— [p.  74.] 

Deed  of  Roger   Williams  to  his  twelve  original  as- 
sociates. 

PROVIDENCE,  8th  of  the  8th  month,  1638, 

(so  called,) 

Memorandum,  that  I,  Roger  Williams,  having  for- 
merly purchased  of  Caunannicus  and  Miantinomu,  this 
our  situation,  or  plantation,  of  New-Providence,  viz.  the 
two  fresh  rivers,  Wanasquatuckett  and  Mooshausick,  and 
the  ground  and  meadows  thereupon :  in  consideration  of 
thirty  pounds  received  from  the  inhabitants  of  said  place, 
do  freely  and  fully  pass,  grant  and  make  over  equal  right 
and  power  of  enjoying  and  disposing  of  the  same  grounds 
and  lands  unto  my  loving  friends  and  neighbors,  Stukely 
Wescott,  William  Arnold,  Thomas  James,  Robert  Cole, 
John  Greene,  John  Throckmorton,  William  Harris, 
William  Carpenter,  Thomas  OIney,  Francis  Weston, 
Richard  Waterman,  Ezekiel  Holliman,  and  such  others 
as  the  major  part  of  us  shall  admit  into  the  same  fellow- 


APPENDIX.  207 

ship  of  vote  with  us  : — As  also  I  do  freely  make  and  pass 
over  equal  right  and  power  of  enjoying  and  disposing  of 
the  lands  and  grounds  reaching  from  the  aforesaid  rivers 
unto  the  great  river  Pautuxett,  with  the  grass  and  meadows 
thereupon,  which  was  so  lately  given  and  granted  by  the 
aforesaid  Sachems  to  me.  Witness  my  hand, 

ROGER  WILLIAMS. 
[Providence  Records.] 

Every  inhabitant  who  was  received,  signed  the 
following  covenant : 

"  We  whose  names  are  here  under-written,  being  de- 
sirous to  inhabit  in  the  town  of  Providence,  do  promise 
to  submit  ourselves,  in  active  or  passive  obedience,  to  all 
such  orders  or  agreements  as  shall  be  made  for  public  good 
of  the  body,  in  an  orderly  way,  by  the  major  consent  of 
the  present  inhabitants,  masters  of  families,  incorporated 
together  into  a  township,  and  such  others  whom  they 
shall  admit  unto  the  same,  only  in  civil  things.''1 


No.  VIII.— [p.  74.] 

Deposition  of  Roger  Williams. 

Narragansett,  18  June,  1682,  Ut.  Vul. 

I  testify  as  in  the  presence  of  the  all  making  and  all 

seeing  God,  that  about  fifty  years  since,  I  coming  into 

this  Narragansett  country,  I  found  a  great  contest  between 

three  sachems,  two  (to  wit,  Cononicus  and  Miantonomy) 


208  APPENDIX. 

were  against  Ousamaquin  on  Plymouth  side,  I  was  forced 
to  travel  between  them  three,  to  pacify,  to  satisfy  all  their, 
and  their  dependents'  spirits  of  my  honest  intentions  to 
live  peaceably  by  them.  I  testify  that  it  was  the  general 
and  constant  declaration  that  Cononicus  his  father  had 
three  sons,  whereof  Cononicus  was  the  heir,  and  his 
youngest  brother's  son  Miantonomy  (because  of  his  youth) 
was  his  Marshal  and  Executioner,  and  did  nothing  with- 
out his  uncle  Cononicus'  consent.  And  therefore  I  de- 
clare to  posterity  that  were  it  not  for  the  favor  that  God 
gave  me  with  Cononicus,  none  of  these  parts,  no,  not 
Rhode-Island  had  been  purchased  or  obtained,  for  I  never 
got  any  thing  out  of  Cononicus  but  by  gift.  I  also  profess 
that  being  inquisitive  of  what  root  the  title  or  denomina- 
tion Nahiganset  should  come,  I  heard  that  Nahiganset 
was  so  named  from  a  little  Island  between  Puttisquom- 
scut  and  Musquomacuk  on  the  sea  and  fresh  water  side. 
I  went  on  purpose  to  see  it,  and  about  the  place  called 
Sugar-loaf  Hill,  I  saw  it,  and  was  within  a  pole  of  it,  but 
could  not  learn  why  it  was  called  Nahiganset.  I  had 
learnt  that  the  Massachusetts  was  called  so  from  the  Blue 
Hills,  a  little  Island  thereabout :  and  Cononicus'  father  and 
ancestors  living  in  those  southern  parts,  transferred  and 
brought  their  authority  and  name  into  those  northern  parts 
all  along  by  the  sea  side,  as  appears  by  the  great  destruc- 
tion of  wood  all  along  near  the  sea  side  :  and  I  desire  pos- 
terity to  see  the  gracious  hand  of  the  Most  High,  (in 
whose  hands  is  all  hearts,)  that  when  the  hearts  of  my 
countrymen  and  friends  and  brethren  failed  me,  his  in- 
finite wisdom  and  merits  stirred  up  the  barbarous  heart  of 
Cononicus  to  love  me  as  his  son  to  his  last  gasp,  by 
which  means  I  had  not  only  Miantonomy  and  all  the 


APPENDIX.  209 

Cowesit  sachems  my  friends,  but  Ousamaquin  also,  who 
because  of  my  great  friendship  with  him  at  Plymouth  and 
the  authority  of  Cononicus,  consented  freely  (being  also 
well  gratified  by  me)  to  the  Governor  Winthrop's  and  my 
enjoyment  of  Prudence,  yea  of  Providence  itself,  and  all 
the  other  lands  I  procured  of  Cononicus  which  were  upon 
the  point,  and  in  eifect  whatsoever  I  desired  of  him.  And 
I  never  denied  him  nor  Miantonomy  whatever  they  de- 
sired of  me  as  to  goods  or  gifts,  or  use  of  my  boats  or 
pinnace  and  the  travels  of  my  own  person  day  and  night, 
which  though  men  know  not  nor  care  to  know,  yet  the 
all-seeing  eye  hath  seen  it  and  his  all-powerful  hand  hath 
helped  me.  Blessed  be  his  holy  name  to  eternity. 

R.  WILLIAMS. 

September  28,  1704,  I  then  being  present  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Coddington,  there,  being  presented  with 
this  written  paper  which  I  attest  upon  oath  to  be  my  fa- 
ther's own  hand  writing. 

JOSEPH  WILLIAMS,  Assistant. 

February  11,  1705.  True  copy  of  the  orignal  placed  to 
record  and  examined  by  me. 

WESTON  CLARKE,  Recorder. 

[Colony  Records,] 


27 


210  APPENDIX. 

No.  IX.— [p.  83.] 
Biographical  notice  of  Rev.  John  Clarke. 

Dr.  JOHN  CLARKE,  the  founder  and  first  Pastor 
of  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Newport,  was  born 
October  8, 1609.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  John  Harges,  Esq.,  of  Bedfordshire,  England. 
In  a  power  of  attorney  he  signed,  May  12,  1656, 
to  receive  a  legacy  given  by  his  wife's  father  out  of 
the  manor  of  Wreslingworth  in  Bedfordshire,  he 
styles  himself,  John  Clarke,  Physician,  of  London. 
It  is  not  certainly  known  where  Mr.  Clarke  was 
born,  but  tradition  makes  him  a  native  of  Bedford- 
shire. His  writings  evince  him  to  have  been  a 
learned  man.  In  his  will  he  bequeaths  to  his  dear 
friend,  Richard  Bailey,  his  Hebrew  and  Greek 
books  ;  also  a  Concordance  and  Lexicon,  written 
by  himself,  the  fruit  of  several  years  study.  He 
published  in  London,  in  1652,  a  book,  entitled,  "111 
News  from  New-England,  or  a  narrative  of  New- 
England's  persecution  ;  wherein  it  is  declared,  that 
while  Old  England  is  becoming  New,  New-England 
is  becoming  Old,  c£c.  cfec.,"  in  which  he  introduced 
the  substance  of  a  tract,  issued  the  preceding  year, 
called  "  A  Brief  Discourse  touching  New-England, 
and  particularly  Rhode-Island ;  as  also  a  faithful 
and  true  relation  of  the  prosecution  of  Obadiah 
Holmes,  John  Crandall  and  John  Clarke,  merely 
for  conscience  towards  God;  by  the  principal  mem- 


APPENDIX. 


bers  of  the  Church  or  Commonwealth  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts in  New-England,  which  rules  over  that 
part  of  the  world."  This  tract  was  probably 
written  by  the  same  hand. 

In  1651,  he  was  sent  to  England  with  Roger 
Williams  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Colony 
of  Rhode-Island.  Mr.  Clarke  remained  in  England, 
as  agent  for  the  Colony,  till  he  procured  the  Charter 
of  1663.  After  his  return,  he  was  elected  three 
years,  successively,  Deputy-Governor.  But  all  his 
exertions  to  promote  the  civil  prosperity  of  Rhode- 
Island,  did  not  induce  him  to  neglect  the  affairs  of 
religion.  He  continued  the  esteemed  pastor  of  the 
first  Baptist  Church  in  Newport,  till  his  death. 
Having  no  children,  he  gave  most  of  his  property 
to  charitable  purposes  ;  the  income  of  which  was 
to  be  given  to  the  poor,  and  to  be  employed  for  the 
interests  of  learning  and  religion.  He  died,  April 
20,  1676,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  resign- 
ing his  soul  to  his  merciful  Redeemer,  and  through 
faith  in  him  he  enjoyed  the  hope  of  a  resurrection 
to  eternal  life.  He  left  behind  a  writing  which 
evinces  his  sentiments  to  have  been  those  of  the 
Particular  Baptists.  He  was  a  faithful  and  useful 
minister,  courteous  and  amiable  in  all  the  relations 
of  life,  and  an  ornament  to  his  profession  and  to 
the  several  offices  which  he  sustained.  His  memory 
is  deserving  of  lasting  honor  for  his  efforts  towards 
establishing  the  first  government  in  the  world, 


212  APPENDIX. 

which  gave  to  all  equal  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
To  no  man,  except  Roger  Williams,  is  Rhode- 
Island  more  indebted  than  to  him.  He  was  the 
original  projector  of  the  settlement  on  the  Island, 
and  one  of  its  ablest  legislators.  No  character  in 
New-England  is  of  purer  fame  than  John  Clarke. 


-"  all  his  study  bent 


To  worship  God  aright,  and  know  his  works 

Not  hid,  nor  those  things  last  which  might  preserve 

Freedom  arid  Peace  to  men." — Milton,  P.  L.  11.  577. 

From  his  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Joseph  and 
Carew,  are  descended  the  large  family  in  Rhode- 
Island  bearing  the  name  of  Clarke. 


No.  X.— [p.  84.] 

The  following  is  the  form  of  civil  compact  agreed 
to  by  the  first  settlers  on  the  Island  of  Rhode- 
Island. 

"  We  whose  names  are  underwritten  do  here  solemnly, 
in  the  presence  of  JEHOVAH,  incorporate  ourselves  into  a 
body  politic,  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 


APPENDIX.  213 

most  absolute  laws  of  his,  given  us  in  his  holy  word  of 
truth  to  be  guided  and  judged  thereby." — Exod.  24.  3,  4. 
//.  Chron.  11.  3.  //.  Kings,  11.  17. 

The  first  act  passed  under  this  form  is  dated  3d 
month  13th  day,  1638,  and  is  in  these  words. 

"  It  is  ordered  that  hone  shall  be  received  as  inhabitants 
or  freemen,  to  build  or  plant  upon  the  Island,  but  such  as 
shall  be  received  in  by  the  consent  of  the  body,  and  do 
submit  to  the  government  that  is  or  shall  be  established 
according  to  the  word  of  God." 

This  form  continued  till  the  12th  of  March,  1640. 
On  the  16th  of  March,  1641,  at  a  General  Court 
of  Election, 

"  It  was  ordered  and  unanimously  agreed  upon,  that 
the  government  which  this  body  politic  doth  attend  unto 
in  this  Island  and  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  in  favor  of  our 
Prince  is  a  DEMOCRACY  or  popular  government,  (that 
is  to  say)  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  body  of  freemen,  or- 
derly assembled,  or  major  part  of  them,  to  make  or  con- 
stitute just  laws  by  which  they  will  be  regulated,  and  to 
depute  from  among  themselves  such  ministers  as  shall  see 
them  faithfully  executed  between  man  and  man. 

"  It  was  further  ordered  by  the  authority  of  this  present 
Court,  that  no  one  be  accounted  a  delinquent  for  DOC- 
TRINE, provided  it  be  not  directly  repugnant  to  the 
government  or  laws  established." 


214  APPENDIX; 

And  on  the  17th  September  following  (1641) 
they  passed  this  act. 

"  It  is  ordered  that  that  law  of  the  last  Court,  made  con- 
cerning liberty  of  conscience  in  point  of  doctrine,  is  per- 
petuated." 


No.  XI.— [p.  86.] 

Indian  Deed  of  the  Island  of  Aquetneck  or  Aqued- 
neck* 

The  24th  of  the  1st  month  called  March  in  the  year 

(so  commonly  called)  1637-8. 

Memorandum,  that  we  Cannonicus  and  Miantunnomu, 
the  two  chief  sachems  of  the  Nanhiggansets  by  virtue  of 
our  general  command  of  this  Bay  •  as  also  the  particular 
subjecting  of  the  dead  sachem  of  Aquedneck  and  Kitacka- 
muckqut  themselves  and  lands  unto  us,  have  sold  unto 
Mr.  Coddington  and  his  friends  united  unto  him,  the  great 
Island  of  Aquedneck,  lying  from  hence  eastward  in  this 
Bay,  as  also  the  marsh  or  grass  upon  Q'uinunnugat  and 
the  rest  of  the  Islands  in  the  Bay,  (excepting  Chibachu- 
weca,  formerly  sold  unto  Mr.  Winthrope,  the  now  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  Williams  of  Providence)  as 
also  the  rivers  and  coves  about  Kitackamuckqut  and  from 


*  This  word  is  also  spelled  Aquethnick,  Aquidneck,  and  Aquithrieck  : 
the  middle  syllable  was  probably  guttural. 


APPENDIX.  215 

'thence  to  Paupasquash  for  the  full  payment  of  forty 
fathom  of  white  beads  to  be  equally  divided  between  us. 
In  witness  whereof  we  have  here  subscribed. 

Item.  That  by  giving  by  Mkntunnomu's  hand  ten 
coats  and  twenty  hoes  to  the  present  inhabitants,  they 
shall  remove  themselves  from  off  the  Island  before  next 
x winter.  Witness  our  hands. 


The  mark  of        JL.       Cannonicus. 


The  mark  of         .'Miantunnomu, 

* 

In  the  presence  of 
The  mark  M  of  Yotursh, 
ROGER  WILLIAMS, 
RANDAL  HOLDEN, 

The  mark  X  of  Assotimuit, 
The  mark  X  of  Mishammoh, 
Cannonicus  his  son. 

This  witnesseth,  that  I,  Wanamataunemet,  the  present 
sachem  inhabitant  of  the  Island,  have  received  five  fathom 
of  wampum,  and  do  consent  to  the  contents. 
Witness  my  hand, 

The  mark  of  Wanamataunemet, 


1 


In  the  presence  of 
RANDAL  HOLDEN. 


216  APPENDIX. 

Memorandum.  That  I  Ousamequin,  freely  consent 
that  Mr.  William  Coddington  and  his  friends  united  unto 
him,  shall  make  use  of  any  grass  or  trees  on  the  main 
land  on  Powakasick  side,  and  do  promise  loving  and  just 
carriage  of  myself  and  all  my  men  to  the  said  Mr.  Cod- 
dington, and  English  his  friends  united  to  him,  having 
received  of  Mr.  Coddington  five  fathom  of  wampum  as 
gratuity  from  himself  and  the  rest. 

The  mark  ><j  of  Ousamequin. 
Dated  the  6th  day  of  the  5th  month  1638. 

Witness, 

ROGER  WILLIAMS, 
RANDAL  HOLDEN. 

A  true  copy  pr.  me, 

FRA.  BRINLEY,  Recorder. 

A  true  copy  pr.  me, 
WILLIAM  LYTHERLAND,  Recorder. 

The  llth  day  of  May,  1639.  Received  by  me  Mian- 
tunnomu  (as  a  gratuity)  of  Mr.  Coddington  and  his  friends 
united,  for  my  pains  and  travel  in  removing  of  the  natives 
off  the  Island  of  Aquedneck,  ten  fathom  of  v/ampum  peage 
and  one  broad  cloth  coat. 


1 


Mian  tonnomu. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  entered  and  recorded  by 
JOHN  SANFORD,  Recorder. 


APPENDIX.  217 

Dated  May  14th,  1639.  Received  of  William  Cod- 
din»ton  and  his  friends  united  unto  him,  in  full  satisfac- 
tion for  ground  broken  up  or  any  other  title  or  claim 
whatsoever  formerly  had  of  the  Island  of  Aquedneck,  the 
full  sum  of  five  fathom  of  wampum  peage  _and  a  coat. 

Weshaganasett  M  his  mark. 
Witness, 

Miantonnomu  his  mark, 

HUGH  DURDAL, 

Thomas  Sabery  ><!  his  mark. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  entered  and  recorded  by  me, 
JOHN  SANFORD,  Recorder. 

June  20th,  1639.  Received  of  Mr.  William  Codding- 
ton  and  of  his  friends  united  to  him  in  full  satisfac- 
tion of  ground  broken  up  or  any  other  title  or  claim  what- 
soever formerly  had  of  the  Island  of  Aquedneck,  the  full 
sum  of  five  fathom  of  wampum  peage. 

Wonimenatony  kj  his  mark. 
Witness, 

WM.  COWLING, 
RICHARD  SAWELL. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  entered  and  recorded  by  me, 
JOHN  SANFORD,  Recorder. 

The  22d  November,  1639.  Received  by  me  Mian- 
tunnomu,  of  Mr.  William  Coddington  and  his  friends 

28 


218  APPENDIX. 

united,  twenty  and  three  coats  and  thirteen  hoes  to  dis- 
tribute to  the  Indians  that  did  inhabit  of  the  Island  of 
Aquedneck,  in  full  of  all  promises,  debts  and  demands  for 
the  said  Island,  as  also  two  tarkepes. 


Mian 


tunnomu. 


Can  l5»^»»»>nonicus. 


Witness, 

AMOMPOUCKE, 
WAMPAMINAGIUITT. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  entered  and  recorded  by 
JOHN  SANFORD,  Recorder. 

[Colony  Records.] 

The  other  seventeen  joint  purchasers  of  Aquet- 
neck,  whose  names  are  mentioned  p.  84,  note,  ex- 
pressed their  dissatisfaction  that  the  Indian  title 
to  the  Island  of  Rhode-Island  stood  in  the  name  of 
Wm.  Coddington,  and  to  pacify  them  he  executed 
an  instrument  of  the  following  tenor,  giving  them 
an  equal  share  with  himself. 

Boston  in  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New-England. — 
Whereas,  there  was  an  agreement  of  eighteen  persons  to 
make  purchase  of  some  place  to  the  southward  for  a  plan- 


APPENDIX.  219 

tation,  whither  they  resolved  to  remove,  for  which  end 
some  of  them  were  sent  out  to  view  a  place  for  them- 
selves and  such  others  as  they  should  take  into  the  liberty 
of  freemen  and  purchasers  with  them,  and,  upon  their 
view  was  purchased  Rhode-Island,  with  some  small 
neighboring  Islands  and  privileges  of  grass  and  wood  of 
the  Islands  in  the  Bay  and  main  adjoining  ;  and  whereas, 
the  sale  of  the  said  purchase  from  the  Indians  hath  ever 
since  lain  in  the  hands  of  William  Coddington,  Esq., 
which  being  a  great  trouble  to  the  aforesaid  purchasers 
and  freemen,  I,  the  said  William  Coddington,  Esq.,  do  by 
this  writing  promise  to  deliver  the  said  deeds  of  the  pur- 
chase, together  with  what  records  are  in  my  hands  be- 
longing to  the  said  purchasers  and  freemen,  into  the  hands 
of  such  as  the  major  part  of  the  purchasers  and  freemen 
shall  appoint  to  receive  them  ;  and  do  hereby  declare  that 
1,  the  said  William  Coddington,  Esq.,  have  no  more  in  the 
purchase  of  right  than  any  other  of  the  purchasers  or  free- 
men received,  or  shall  be  received  in  by  them,  but  only 
for  my  own  proportion.  In  witness  hereof,  I  have  put  to 
my  hand  this  14th  of  April,  1652. 

WILLIAM  CODDINGTON. 

Signed  in  the  presence  of 
ROBERT  KNIGHT, 
GEORGE  MUNING. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  entered  and  recorded  the 
7th  of  April,  1673,  by  me, 

JOHN  SANFORD,  Recorder. 
.  [Colony  Records.] 


tl  tf 


220  APPENDIX. 

^**t  -  -^ 

W     ,  -t- 

No.  XII.— [p.  86.] 
Deposition  of  William  Coddington. 

William  Coddington,  Esq.,  aged  about  seventy-six 
years  old,  testifyeth  upon  his  engagement  that  when  he 
was  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony, 
he  was  one  of  the  persons  that  made  a  peace  with  Co- 
nonicus  and  Miantonomy  in  the  Colony's  behalf  with  all 
the  Narragansett  Indians,  and  by  order  from  the  authority 
of  the  Massachusetts  a  little  before  they  made  war  with 
the  Pequod  Indians.  Not  long  after,  this  deponent  went 
from  Boston  to  find  a  plantation  to  settle  upon,  came  to 
Aquedneck,  now  called  Rhode-Island,  where  was  a  sa- 
chem called  Wonnumetonomey,  and  this  deponent  went 
to  buy  the  Island  of  him ;  but  his  answer  was  that  Co- 
nonicus  and  Miantonomy  were  the  chief  sachems,  and  he 
could  not  sell  the  land,  whereupon  this  deponent  with 
some  others  went  from  Aquedneck  Island  into  the  Narra- 
gansett to  the  said  sachems,  Conomcus  and  Miantonomy, 
and  bought  the  Island  of  them,  they  having  as  I  under- 
stood the  chief  command  both  of  the  Narragansett  and 
Aquedneck  Island,  and  farther  saith  not.  Taken  upon 
engagement  in  Newport  on  Rhode-Island  the  27th  day  of 
September  1677  before  P.  Sanford  Assistant. 

The  above  is  a  true  copy  of  the  original,  placed  to 
record,  examined  by  me  February  11,  1705. 

WESTON  CLARKE,  Recorder. 

[Colony  Records.] 


APPENDIX.  221 

No.  XIII.— [p.  89.] 

For  an  able  and  an  impartial  account  of  Gorton 
and  his  religious  opinions,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
vol.  2  of  the  Collections  of  the  Rhode-Island  His- 
torical Society,  by  the  Hon.  William  R.  Staples. 
We  are  gratified  to  learn  that  this  gentleman  is 
preparing  for  publication,  a  History  of  Providence. 

1 :    :••"•'.'',      ,       [P- 92']  .'  ;    ; 

For  an  early  History  of  Narragansett,  see  vol.  3 
of  the  Collections  of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical 
Society,  by  Elisha  R.  Potter,  Esq.  This  work  will 
supply  valuable  materials  for  the  future  historian 
of  Rhode-Island. 


No.  XIV.— [p.  98.] 
The  first  Patent  of  Rhode-Island. 

Whereas,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  Lords  and  Commons 
now  assembled  in  Parliament,  bearing  date  the  2d  day  of 
November,  Anno.  Dom.  1643,  Robert,  Earl  of  Warwick, 
is  constituted  and  ordained  Governor  in  chief  and  Lord 
High  Admiral  of  all  those  Islands  and  other  Plantations, 
inhabited  and  planted  by  or  belonging  to  any  his  Majesty 
the  King  of  England's  subjects,  or  which  hereafter  may 
be  inhabited  and  planted  by  or  belonging  to  them,  within 
the  bounds  and  upon  the  coast  of  America.  And  where- 
as, the  said  Lords  and  Commons  have  thought  fit,  and 


222  APPENDIX. 

thereby  ordained  that  Philip,  Earl  of  Pembroke ;  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Manchester;  William,  Viscount  Say  and 
Seal  ;  Philip,  Lord  Wharton ;  John,  Lord  Roberts  ;  Mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Peers  ;  Sir  Gilbert  Gerard,  Baronet ; 
Sir  Arthur  Haselrige,  Baronet  ;  Sir  Henry  Vane,  Jr., 
Knight;  Sir  Benjamin  Rudyerd,  Knight;  John  Pym, 
Oliver  Cromwell,  Dennis  Bond,  Miles  Corbet,  Cornelius 
Holland,  Samuel  Vassall,  John  Rolle  and  William  Spur- 
stowe,  Esq'rs,  Members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  should 
be  Commissioners,  to  join  in  aid  and  assistance  with  the 
said  Earl.  And  whereas,  for  the  better  governing  and  pre- 
serving of  the  said  Plantations,  it  is  thereby  ordained,  that 
the  aforesaid  Governor  and  Commissioners,  or  the  greater 
number  of  them,  should  have  power  and  authority  from 
time  to  time,  to  nominate,  appoint  and  constitute,  all 
such  subordinate  governors,  councils,  commanders,  officers 
and  agents,  as  they  should  judge  to  be  best  affected,  and 
most  fit  and  serviceable  to  govern  the  said  Islands  and 
Plantations,  and  to  provide  for,  order  and  dispose  all  things 
which  they  should  from  time  to  time  find  most  fit  and  ad- 
vantageous for  the  said  Plantation,  and  for  the  better  se- 
curity of  the  owners  and  inhabitants  thereof;  to  assign, 
ratify  and  confirm  so  much  of  their  aforementioned  au- 
thority and  power,  and  in  such  manner  and  to  such  per- 
sons as  they  should  judge  to  be  fit  for  the  better  govern- 
ing and  preserving  of  the  said  Plantations  and  islands 
from  open  violence,  prejudice,  dis- 
tur^ance  anc^  distractions.  And 
whereas  there  is  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
continent  of  America  aforesaid,  called 
1  ^  ky  the  name  of  the  Narragansett  Bay, 
bordering  north  and  north-east  on  the 


APPENDIX.  223 

Patent  of  Massachusetts,  east  and  south-east  on  Plym- 
outh Patent,  south  on  the  Ocean,  and  on  the  west  and 
North-west,  inhabited  by  Indians  called  Narrogunneucks, 
alias  Narragansetts ;  the  whole  tract  extending  about 
twenty  and  five  English  miles  unto  the  Pequot  river  and 
country.  And  whereas  divers  well  affected  and  indus- 
trious English  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Providence, 
Portsmouth  and  Newport,  in  the  tract  aforesaid,  have  ad- 
ventured to  make  a  nearer  neighborhood  and  society  to  and 
with  that  great  body  of  the  Narragansetts,  which  may  in 
time,  by  the  blessing  of  GOD  upon  their  endeavors,  lay  a 
surer  foundation  of  happiness  to  all  America ;  and  have 
also  purchased,  and  are  purchasing  of  and  amongst  the  said 
natives,  some  other  places,  which  may  be  convenient  both 
for  plantation,  and  also  for  the  building  of  ships,  supply 
of  pipe-staves  and  other  merchandize.  And  whereas,  the 
said  English  have  represented  their  desires  to  the  said 
Earl  and  Commissioners,  to  have  their  hopeful  beginning 
approved  and  confirmed  by  granting  unto  them  a  free 
charter  of  civil  incorporation  and  government,  that  they 
may  order  and  govern  their  Plantations  in  such  manner 
as  to  maintain  justice  and  peace,  both  amongst  themselves 
and  towards  all  men,  with  whom  they  shall  have  to  do. 

Ill  due  consideration  of  the  premises,  the  said  Robert, 
Earl  of  Warwick,  Governor  in  chief  and  Lord  High  Ad- 
miral of  the  said  Plantations,  and  the  greater  number  of 
the  said  Commissioners,  whose  names  and  seals  are  here 
under  written  and  subjoined,  out  of  a  desire  to  encourage 
the  good  beginnings  of  the  said  Plantations,  do,  by  the 
authority  of  the  aforesaid  ordinance  of  Lords  and  Com- 
mons, give,  grant  and  confirm  unto  the  aforesaid  inhabi- 


224  APPENDIX. 

tants  of  the  towns  of  Providence,  Portsmouth  and  New- 
port, a  free  and  absolute  Charter  of  Civil  Incorporation  to 
be  known  by  the  name  of  Incorporation  of  Providence 
Plantations,  in  the  Narragansett  Bay  in  New-England  ; 
together  with  full  power  and  authority  to  govern  and  rule 
themselves  and  such  others  as  shall  hereafter  inhabit  with- 
in any  part  of  the  said  tract  of  land,  by  such  a  form  of 
civil  government  as  by  voluntary  consent  of  all  or  the 
greatest  part  of  them,  shall  be  found  most  serviceable  in 
their  estates  and  condition ;  and  to  that  end,  to  make  and 
ordain  such  civil  laws  and  constitutions,  and  to  inflict 
such  punishments  upon  transgressors,  and  for  execution 
thereof  so  to  place  and  displace  officers  of  justice,  as  they 
or  the  greatest  part  of  them,  shall  by  free  consent  agree 
unto. 

Provided,  nevertheless  ;  that  the  said  laws,  constitutions 
and  punishments,  for  the  civil  government  of  the  said 
plantation,  be  conformable  to  the  laws  of  England,  so  far 
as  the  nature  and  constitution  of  that  place  will  admit  ; 
and  always  reserving  to  the  said  Earl  and  Commissioners, 
and  their  successors,  power  and  authority  so  to  dispose  the 
General  Government  of  that,  as  it  stands  in  reference  to 
the  rest  of  the  plantations  in  America,  as  they  shall  com- 
missionate  from  time  to  time,  most  conducing  to  the 
general  good  of  the  said  Plantation,  the  honor  of  his 
Majesty,  and  the  service  of  this  State. 

And  the  said  Earl  and  Commissioners  do  further  au- 
thorize the  aforesaid  inhabitants,  and  for  the  better  transact- 
ing of  their  public  affairs,  to  make  arid  use  a  public  seal, 
as  the  known  seal  of  Providence  Plantations,  in  the  Nar- 
ragansett Bay  in  New-England. 


APPENDIX.  225 

In  testimony  whereof,  the  said  Robert.  Earl  of  Warwick, 
and  Commissioners,  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and 
seals,  the  seventeenth  day  of  March,  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord,  King  Charles, 
and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  GOD,  1643. 

PEMBROKE,  [L.  S,] 

SAY  AND  SEAL,  [L.  S.] 

PHILIP  WHARTON,  [L.  S.] 

ARTHUR  HASELRIGE,      [L.  S.] 
COR.  HOLLAND,  [L.  S.] 

H.  VANE,  [L.  S.] 

SAM.  VASSAL,  [L.  S.] 

JOHN  ROLLE,  [L.  S.] 

MILES  CORBET,  [L.  S.] 

RHODE-ISLAND,  ss. 

The  aforegoing  Charter  or  Patent  is  a  true  copy  of  the 
original  entered  and  compared,  April  10th,  1721. 

Per  RICHARD  WARD,  Recorder. 

[Colony  Records.] 

All  the  printed  copies  of  the  first  Charter  which 
the  editor  has  seen,  differ  in  several  forms  of  ex- 
pression, from  the  one  on  the  Colony  Records,  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  from  which  the 
above  copy  is  taken.  This  is  one  special  reason  for 
its  publication  here,  although  it  has  been  introduced 
into  the  two  preceding  volumes  of  the  Collections 
of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society.  The  editor 
would  here  correct  a  slight  error  which  has  dropped 
29 


226  APPENDIX. 

from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Savage,  in  his  admirable 
edition  of  Winthrop,  vol.  2,  p.  193.  He  says,  speak- 
ing of  the  first  Charter,  "  Callender  erroneously 
gives  the  date  17th  of  March."  The  reader  will 
perceive,  by  a  reference  to  the  above  copy,  that 
Callender  is  correct.  The  copies  generally  have 
the  date  14th  of  March. 


No.  XV.— [p.  98.] 

Mr.  Williams  landed  at  Boston,  September  17, 
1644.*  He  brought  with  him  the  following  letter 
from  several  noblemen  and  other  members  of  the 
British  Parliament,  addressed  "  To  the  Right  Wor- 
shipful the  Governor  and  Assistants,  and  the  rest  of 
our  worthy  friends  in  the  plantation  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  in  New-England." 

"  Oar  much  honored  Friends  : 

Taking  notice,  some  of  us  of  long  time,  of  Mr.  Roger 
Williams  his  good  affections  and  conscience,  and  of  his 
sufferings  by  our  common  enemies  and  oppressors  of  God's 
people  the  prelates,  as  also  of  his  great  industry  and  travail 
in  his  printed  Indian  labors  in  your  parts,f  (the  like  where- 

*  See  Savage's  Winthrop,  vol.  2,  p.  193. 

t  His  Key  to  the  Indian  language  here  alluded  to,  was  published  in 
London,  1643.  The  first  volume  of  the  Collections  of  the  Rhode-Island 
Historical  Society  contains  an  edition  of  this  work. 


APPENDIX.  227 

of  we  have  not  seen  extant  from  any  part  of  America,)  and 
in  which  respect  it  hath  pleased  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment to  grant  unto  him,  and  friends  with  him,  a  free  and 
absolute  Charter  of  civil  government  for  those  parts  of  his 
abode  j  and  withal  sorrowfully  resenting,  that  amongst 
good  men  (our  friends)  driven  to  the  ends  of  the  world, 
exercised  with  the  trials  of  a  wilderness,  and  who  mu- 
tually give  good  testimony,  each  of  the  other,  (as  we  ob- 
serve you  do  of  him,  and  he  abundantly  of  you,)  there 
should  be  such  a  distance ;  we  thought  it  fit,  upon  divers 
considerations,  to  profess  our  great  desires  of  both  your 
utmost  endeavors  of  nearer  closing  and  of  ready  expressing 
those  good  affections,  (which  we  perceive  you  bear  to 
each  other)  in  effectual  performance  of  all  friendly  offices. 
The  rather  because  of  those  bad  neighbors  you  .are  likely 
to  find  in  Virginia,  and  the  unfriendly  visits  from  the  west 
of  England  and  of  Ireland  :  That  howsoever  it  may  please 
the  Most  High  to  shake  our  foundations,  yet  the  report  of 
your  peaceable  and  prosperous  plantations  may  be  some 
refreshment  to 

Your  true  and  faithful  friends, 

NORTHUMBERLAND,  P.  WHARTON, 

ROB.  HARLEY,  THOS.   BARRINGTON, 

WM.  MASHAM,  OL.   ST.  JOHN, 

JOHN  GURDON,  ISAAC  PENNINGTON, 

COR.  HOLLAND,  GIL.  PYKERING, 

J.  BLAKISTON,  MILES  CORBET." 


228  APPENDIX. 

No.  XVI.— [p.  98.] 
Laws  of  Rhode- Island,  1647. 

The  first  election  under  the  Charter  from  the 
Earl  of  Warwick,  dfrc.,  was  held  at  Portsmouth, 
May  19th.  1647.  The  General  Assembly  then 
erected  an  institution  of  civil  government,  and  es- 
tablished a  code  of  laws,  which  is  introduced  with 
the  following  words. 

"  For  the  Province  of  Providence, 
"Forasmuch  as  we  have  received  from  our  Noble 
Lords  and  Honored  Governors,  and  that  by  virtue  of  an 
Ordinance  of  the  Parliament  of  England,  a  free  and  ab- 
solute Charter  of  civil  incorporation,  &c.  We  do  jointly 
agree  to  incorporate  ourselves,  and  so  to  remain  a  body 
politic  by  the  authority  thereof.  And  therefore  do  de- 
clare to  own  ourselves  and  one  another  to  be  members  of 
the  same  body,  and  to  have  right  to  the  freedom  and 
privileges  thereof,  by  subscribing  our  names  to  these 
words  following,  viz. 

"  We  whose  names  are  here  underwritten,  do  engage 
ourselves,  to  the  utmost  of  our  estates  and  strength,  to 
maintain  the  authority,  and  to  enjoy  the  liberty  granted 
to  us  by  our  Charter,  in  the  extent  of  it  according  to  the 
letter,  and  to  maintain  each  other,  by  the  same  authority, 
in  his  lawful  right  and  liberty. 

And  now  sith  our  Charter  gives  us  power  to  govern 
ourselves,  and  such  other  as  come  among  us,  and  by  such 


APPENDIX.  229 

a  form  of  civil  government  as  by  the  voluntary  consent, 
&c.,  shall  be  found  most  suitable  to  our  estate  and  con- 
dition. It  is  agreeed  by  this  present  Assembly,  thus  in- 
corporate, and  by  this  present  act  declared,  that  the  form 
of  government  established  in  Providence  Plantations  is 
DEMOCRATICAL,*  that  is  to  say,  a  government  held 
by  the  free  and  voluntary  consent  of  all,  or  the  greater 
part  of  the  free  inhabitants. 

"  And  now  to  the  end  that  we  may  give  each  to  other 
(notwithstanding  our  different  consciences  touching  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  whereof  upon  the  point  we  all  make 
mention)  as  good  and  hopeful  assurance  as  we  are  able, 
touching  each  man's  peaceable  and  quiet  enjoyment  of 
his  lawful  right  and  liberty,  we  do  agree  unto,  and  by 
the  authority  abovesaid  enact,  establish  and  confirm  these 
orders  following." 

Among  others, 

"  That  no  person  in  this  Colony  shall  be  taken  or  im- 
prisoned, or  be  disseised  of  his  lands  or  liberties,  or  be 
exiled  or  any  otherwise  molested  or  destroyed,  but  by  the 
lawful  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  some  known  law,  and 
according  to  the  letter  of  it,  ratified  and  confirmed  by  the 
major  part  of  the  General  Assembly,  lawfully  met,  and 
orderly  managed." 

This  excellent  code  concludes  with  these  memo- 
rable words. 

"  These  are  the  laws  that  concern  all  men,  and  these 

*  This  word  is  recorded  in  large  capitals. 


230  APPENDIX. 

are  the  penalties  for  the  transgressions  thereof,  which,  by 
common  consent,  are  ratified  and  established  throughout 
the  whole  Colony.  And  otherwise  than  thus,  what  is 
herein  forbidden,  all  men  may  walk  as  their  consciences 
persuade  them,  every  one  in  the  name  of  his  God.  AND 

LET  THE  SAINTS  OF  THE  MOST  HlGH  WALK  IN  THIS  COLONY 
WITHOUT  MOLESTATION,  IN  THE  NAME  OF  JEHOVAH  THEIR 

GOD,  FOR  EVER  AND  EVER." — Colony  Records. 

An  eminet  American  historian*  justly  observes, 

"  The  annals  of  Rhode-Island,  if  written  in  the  spirit  of 
philosophy,  would  exhibit  the  forms  of  society  under  a 
peculiar  aspect.  Had  the  territory  of  the  State  corres- 
ponded to  the  importance  and  singularity  of  the  principles 
of  its  early  existence,  the  world  would  have  been  filled 
with  wonder  at  the  phenomena  of  its  early  history." 


No.  XVII.— [p.  99.] 

Letter  from  O.  Cromwell  to  Rhode-Island,  when  Dr. 

John  Clarke  was  agent  of  the  Colony,  in 

England. 

To  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  the  President,  Assist- 
ants, and  Inhabitants  of  Rhode-Island,  together  with  the 

*  See  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  1,  p.  380;  a  work 
distinguished  for  research,  skilful  and  luminous  arrangement,  and  graph- 
ical description. 


APPENDIX.  231 

rest  of  the  Providence  Plantations,  in  the  Narragansett 

bay  in  New-England. 

GENTLEMEN, 

Your  agent  here  hath  represented  unto  us,  some  particu- 
lars concerning  your  government,  which  you  judge  neces- 
sary to  be  settled  by  us  here.  But  by  reason  of  the  other 
great  and  weighty  affairs  of  this  Commonwealth,  we  have 
been  necessitated  to  defer  the  consideration  of  them  to  a 
further  opportunity ;  for  the  mean  time  we  were  willing 
to  let  you  know,  that  you  are  to  proceed  in  your  govern- 
ment according  to  the  tenor  of  your  Charter,  formerly 
granted  on  that  behalf;  taking  care  of  the  peace  and 
safety  of  those  plantations,  that  neither  through  any  in- 
testine commotions,  or  foreign  invasions,  there  do  arise 
any  detriment,  or  dishonor  to  this  Commonwealth,  or 
yourselves,  as  far  as  you,  by  your  care  and  diligence,  can 
prevent.  And  as  for  the  things  which  are  before  us,  they 
shall,  as  soon  as  the  other  occasions  will  permit,  receive  a 
just  and  fitting  determination.  And  so  we  bid  you  fare- 
well, and  rest 

Your  very  loving  friend 

OLIVER  P. 

29  March,  1655.  [Colony  Records.} 


No.  XVIII. 

From  the  General  Assembly  to  the  Commissioners 

of  the  United  Colonies. 
Honored  Gentlemen, 

There  hath  been  presented  to  our  view,  by  our  honored 


232  APPENDIX. 

President,  a  letter  bearing  date  September  25th  last,  sub- 
scribed by  the  Honored  Gentlemen  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies,  concerning  a  company  of  people  (lately 
arrived  in  these  parts  of  the  world)  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  Quakers ;  who  are  generally  conceived  per- 
nicious, either  intentionally,  or  at  leastwise  in  effect,  even 
to  the  corrupting  of  good  manners,  and  disturbing  the 
common  peace  and  societies  of  the  places  where  they  arise 
or  resort  unto,  &c. 

Now  whereas  freedom  of  different  consciences,  to  be 
protected  from  inforcements,  was  the  principal  ground  of 
our  Charter,  both  with  respect  to  our  humble  suit  for  it, 
as  also  to  the  true  intent  of  the  honorable  and  renowned 
Parliament  of  England  in  granting  of  the  same  unto  us  ; 
which  freedom  we  still  prize  as  the  greatest  happiness  that 
men  can  possess  in  this  world ;  therefore  we  shall,  for 
the  preservation  of  our  civil  peace  and  order,  the  more 
seriously  take  notice  that  those  people,  and  any  other 
that  are  here,  or  shall  come  amongst  us,  be  impartially 
required,  and  to  our  utmost  constrained,  to  perform  all 
duties  requisite  towards  the  maintaining  the  right  of 
his  Highness,  and  the  government  of  that  most  renewed 
Commonwealth  of  England,  in  this  Colony;  which  is  most 
happily  included  under  the  same  dominions,  and  we  so 
graciously  taken  into  protection  thereof.  And  in  case  they 
the  said  people  called  Quakers  which  are  here,  or  shall 
arise  or  come  among  us,  do  refuse  to  submit  to  the  doing 
all  duties  aforesaid,  as  training,  watching,  and  such  other 
engagements  as  are  upon  members  of  civil  societies,  for 
the  preservation  of  the  same  in  justice  and  peace ;  then 
we  determine,  yea  and  we  resolve  (however)  to  take  and 


APPENDIX.  233 

make  use  of  the  first  opportunity  to  inform  our  agent  re- 
siding in  England,  that  he  may  humbly  present  the  mat- 
ter (as  touching  the  considerations  premised,  concerning 
the  aforenamed  people  called  Quakers)  unto  the  supreme 
authority  of  England,  humbly  craving  their  advice  and 
order,  how  to  carry  ourselves  in  any  further  respect  to- 
wards those  people  (  *)  that  therewithal  there  may  be 
no  damage,  or  infringement  of  that  chief  principle  in  our 
Charter,  concerning  freedom  of  consciences.  And  we 
also  are  so  much  the  more  encouraged  to  make  our  ad- 
dresses unto  the  Lord  Protector  his  Highness  and  govern- 
ment aforesaid,  for  that  we  understand  there  are,  or  have 
been,  many  of  the  aforesaid  people  suffered  to  live  in 
England,  yea,  even  in  the  heart  of  the  nation.  And  thus 
with  our  truly  thankful  acknowledgments  of  the  honor- 
able care  of  the  honored  gentlemen  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies,  for  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  whole 
country,  as  is  expressed  in  their  most  friendly  letter,  we 
shall  at  present  take  leave  and  rest, 

Yours  most  affectionately,  desirous  of  your  honor  and 
welfare. 

JOHN  SANFORD,  Clerk  of  the  Assembly. 
PORTSMOUTH,  March  13th,  1657-58. 

From  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony  of  Providence 
Plantations. 

To  the  much  honored  John  Endicot,  Gov.  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts. To  be  also  imparted  to  the  Hond.  Corns,  of 
the  United  Colonies  at  their  next  meeting,  These. 

[Colony  Records.] 

*  Obliterated, 

30 


234  APPENDIX. 

No.  XIX.— [p.  99.] 
Letter  of  Commissioners  to  JoJin  Clarke. 

Worthy  Sir  and  trusty  friend,  Mr.  Clarke. 

We  have  found  not  only  your  ability  and  diligence,  but 
also  your  love  and  care  to  be  such  concerning  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of  this  Colony,  since  you  have  been  in- 
trusted with  the  more  public  affairs  thereof,  surpassing 
that  no  small  benefit,  which  formerly  we  had  of  your 
presence  here  at  home,  that  we  in  all  straits  and  incum- 
brances  are  emboldened  to  repair  to  you,  for  your  further 
and  continued  counsel,  care  and  help,  finding  that  your 
solid  and  Christian  demeanor  hath  gotten  no  small  interest 
in  the  hearts  of  our  superiors,  those  noble  and  worthy 
senators  with  whom  you  have  had  to  do  on  our  behalf, 
as  it  hath  constantly  appeared  in  your  addresses  made 
unto  them,  which  we  have  by  good  and  comfortable  proof 
found,  having  plentiful  experience  thereof. 

The  last  year  we  have  laden  you  with  much  employ- 
ment, which  we  were  then  put  upon  by  reason  of  some 
too  refractory  among  ourselves,  wherein  we  appealed  unto 
you  for  your  advice,  for  the  more  public  manifestation  of 
it  with  respect  to  our  superiors.  But  our  intelligence  it 
seems  fell  short  in  that  great  loss  of  the  ship,  which  is 
conceived  here  to  be  cast  away.  We  have  now  a  new 
occasion,  given  by  an  old  spirit,  with  respect  to  the  Col- 
onies about  us,  who  seem  to  be  offended  with  us,  because 
of  a  sort  of  people  called  by  the  name  of  Quakers,  who 
are  come  amongst  us,  and  have  raised  up  divers  who 
seem  at  present  to  be  of  their  spirit,  whereat  the  Colonies 
about  us  seem  to  be  offended  with  us,  being  the  said  peo- 


APPENDIX.  235 

pie  have  their  liberty  amongst  us,  as  entertained  into  our 
houses,  or  into  any  of  our  assemblies.  And  for  the  present, 
we  have  found  no  just  cause  to  charge  them  with  the 
breach  of  the  civil  peace,  only  they  are  constantly  going 
forth  amongst  them  about  us,  and  vex  and  trouble  them 
in  point  of  their  religion  and  spiritual  state,  though  they 
return  with  many  a  foul  scar  in  their  bodies  for  the  same. 
And  the  offences  our  neighbors  take  against  us,  is  be- 
cause we  take  not  some  course  against  the  said  people, 
either  to  expel  them  from  among  us,  or  take  such  courses 
against  them  as  themselves  do,  who  are  in  fear  lest  their 
religion  should  be  corrupted  by  them.  Concerning  which 
displeasure  that  they  seem  to  take,  it  was  expressed  to  us 
in  a  solemn  letter,  written  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies  at  their  sitting,  as  though  they  would 
bring  us  in  to  act  according  to  their  scantling,  or  else 
take  some  course  to  do  us  greater  displeasure.  A  copy  of 
which  letter  we  have  herewith  sent  unto  you,  wherein 
you  may  perceive  how  they  express  themselves.  As  also 
we  have  herewith  sent  our  present  answer  unto  them  to 
give  you  what  light  we  may  in  this  matter.  There  is 
one  clause  in  their  letter  which  plainly  implies  a  threat, 
though  covertly  expressed,  as  their  manner  is,  which  we 
gather  to  be  this,  that  as  themselves  (as  we  conceive) 
have  been  much  awed,  in  point  of  their  continued  subjec- 
tion to  the  State  of  England,  lest,  in  case  they  should 
decline,  England  might  prohibit  all  trade  with  them,  both 
in  point  of  exportation  and  importation  of  any  com- 
modities, which  were  an  host  sufficiently  prevalent  to 
subdue  New-England,  as  not  being  able  to  subsist ;  even 
so  they  seem  secretly  to  threaten  us,  by  cutting  us  off 
from  all  commerce  and  trade  with  them,  and  thereby  to 


236  APPENDIX. 

disable  us  of  any  comfortable  subsistence,  being  that  the 
concourse  of  shipping,  and  so  of  all  kind  of  commodities, 
is  universally  conversant  amongst  themselves;  as  also 
knowing  that  ourselves  are  not  in  a  capacity  to  send  out 
shipping  of  ourselves,  which  is  in  great  measure  occasioned 
by  their  oppressing  of  us,  as  yourself  well  knows  ;  as  in 
many  other  respects,  so  in  this  for  one,  that  we  cannot 
have  any  thing  from  them  for  the  supply  of  our  neces- 
sities, but  in  effect  they  make  the  prices,  both  of  our  com- 
modities and  their  own  also,  because  we  have  not  En- 
glish coin,  but  only  that  which  passeth  among  these  bar- 
barians, and  such  commodities  as  are  raised  by  the  labor 
of  our  hands,  as  corn,  cattle,  tobacco  and  the  like,  to 
make  payment  in,  which  they  will  have  at  their  own  rate, 
or  else  not  deal  with  us,  whereby  (though  they  gain  ex- 
traordinarily by  us)  yet  for  the  safeguard  of  their  religion 
may  seem  to  neglect  themselves  in  that  respect,  for  what 
will  not  men  do  for  their  God. 

Sir,  this  is  our  earnest  and  present  request  unto  you  in 
this  matter,  that  as  you  may  perceive  in  our  answer  to 
the  United  Colonies,  that  we  fly,  as  to  our  refuge  in  all 
civil  respects,  to  his  Highness  and  honorable  Council,  as 
not  being  subject  to  any  others  in  matters  of  our  civil 
State,  so  may  it  please  you  to  have  an  eye  and  ear  open 
in  case  our  adversaries  should  seek  to  undermine  us  in 
our  privileges  granted  unto  us,  and  to  plead  our  case  in 
such  sort  as  we  may  not  be  compelled  to  exercise  any 
civil  power  over  men's  consciences,  so  long  as  human  or- 
ders, in  point  of  civility,  are  not  corrupted  and  violated, 
which  our  neighbors  about  us  do  frequently  practice, 
whereof  many  of  us  have  large  experience,  and  do  judge 
it  to  be  no  less  than  a  point  of  absolute  cruelty. 


APPENDIX.  237 

Sir,  the  humble  respects  and  acknowledgments  of  this 
Court  and  Colony,  with  our  continued  and  unwearied  de- 
sires and  wishes  after  the  comfortable,  honorable  and 
prosperous  proceedings  of  his  highness  and  honorable 
Council,  in  all  their  so  weighty  affairs,  departs  not  out  of 
our  hearts,  night  or  day,  which  we  could  humbly  wish 
(if  it  might  not  be  too  much  boldness)  were  presented. 

Sir,  we  have  not  been  unmindful  of  your  great  care 
and  kindness  of  those  our  worthy  friends  and  gentlemen 
in  that  supply  of  powder  and  shot,  and  being  a  barrel  of 
furs  was  returned  in  that  ship,  whereof  Mr.  Garrat  had 
the  command,  wherein  was  betwixt  twenty  and  thirty 
pounds  worth  of  goods  shipped,  the  Colony  hath  taken 
order  for  the  recruiting  of  that  loss,  which  we  cannot 
possibly  get  in  readiness  to  send  by  this  ship,  but  our  in- 
tent is,  God  willing,  to  send  by  the  next  opportunity. 
And  so  with  our  hearty  love  and  respects  to  yourself,  we 
take  our  leave. 

Subscribed, 

JOHN  S  ANFORD,  Clerk  of  the  Assembly. 
From  a  Court  of  Commissioners  held  in  Warwick,  this 

present  November  the  5th,  1658. 

[Colony  Records.] 

The  persecution  of  the  Quakers  commenced  in 
1656,  and  continued  till  September,  1661,  when  an 
order  was  received  from  King  Charles  II.  requiring 
that  neither  capital  nor  corporal  punishment  should 
be  inflicted  on  the  Quakers,  but  that  offenders 
should  be  sent  to  England.  For  an  account  of 


• 

238  APPENDIX. 

these  persecutions  and  of  the  acts  passed  against 
the  Quakers,  see  Neal's  History  of  New-England, 
vol.  1,  311.  Hutchinson,  vol.  1,  197.  Hazard, 
vol.  1,  630-632.  Bancroft,  vol.  1,  451-458.  See 
also  the  Quaker  accounts,  by  Besse,  Gould,  and 
Sewell. 

The  letter  of  the  Commissioners  to  John  Clarke, 
and  the  preceding  document,  reflect  great  credit 
upon  the  early  settlers  of  Rhode-Island,  and  show 
how  far  they  were  in  advance  of  the  other  Colonies 
and  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  The  principles 
of  religious  freedom,  which  they  clearly  and  con- 
sistently maintained,  are  now  the  rule  of  action 
adopted  by  all  Christian  sects. 

Many  of  the  most  respectable  persons  in  the 
Colony  embraced  the  sentiments  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  among  whom  was  Governor  Coddington, 
who  died  a  member  of  that  denomination.  Their 
Yearly  Meeting,  until  his  death,  in  1678,  was  held 
at  his  house.  The  first  meeting  house  of  the 
Friends  was  erected  at  Newport,  in  the  year  1700. 
The  Yearly  Meeting  for  New-England  was  then 
established  at  that  place  where  it  has  ever  since 
been  held. 


APPENDIX.  239 

No.  XX.— [p.  99.] 

Commission  to  John  Clarke,  when  in  England  as 
Agent  for  Rhode-Island. 

Whereas  we  the  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations,  in 
New-England,  having  a  free  Charter  of  incorporation 
given  and  granted  unto  us,  in  the  name  of  King  and 
Parliament  of  England,  &c.,  bearing  date  An.  Dom.  one 
thousand  six  hundred  forty-three,  by  virtue  of  which 
Charter  this  Colony  hath  been  distinguished  from  the 
other  Colonies  in  New-England,  and  have  ever  since,  and 
at  this  time,  maintained  government  and  order  in  the 
same  Colony  by  administering  judgment  and  justice,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  in  our  said  Charter  prescribed  :  And 
further,  whereas  there  have  been  sundry  obstructions 
emerging,  whereby  this  Colony  have  been  put  to  trouble 
and  charge  for  the  preservation  and  keeping  inviolate 
those  privileges  and  immunities,  to  us  granted  in  the  fore- 
said  free  Charter,  which  said  obstructions  arise  from  the 
claims  and  encroachments  of  neighbors  about  us  to  and 
upon  some  parts  of  the  tract  of  land,  mentioned  in  our 
Charter  to  be  within  the  bounds  of  this  Colony. 

These  are  therefore  to  declare  and  make  manifest  unto 
all  that  may  have  occasion  to  peruse  and  consider  of  these 
presents,  that  this  present  and  principal  Court  of  this 
Colony,  sitting  and  transacting  in  the  name  of  his  most 
gracious  and  royal  Majesty  Charles  the  second  by  the 
grace  of  God  the  most  mighty  and  potent  King  of  En- 
gland, Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  and  all  the  dominions 
and  territories  thereunto  belonging,  &c.  Do  by  these 
presents  make,  ordain  and  constitute,  desire,  authorize 


240  APPENDIX. 

and  appoint,  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  friend,  Mr.  John 
Clarke,  physician,  one  of  the  members  of  this  Colony,  late 
inhabitant  of  Rhode-Island,  in  the  same  Colony,  and  now 
residing  in  Westminster,  our  undoubted  agent  and  at- 
torney, to  all  intents  and  purposes,  lawfully  tending  unto 
the  preservation  of  all  and  singular  the  privileges,  liberties, 
boundaries  and  immunities  of  this  Colony,  as  according  un- 
to the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  all  contained  in  our  said 
Charter,  against  all  unlawful  usurpations,  intrusions  and 
claims,  of  any  person  or  persons,  on  any  pretences,  or  by 
any  combination  whatsoever,  not  doubting  but  the  same 
gracious  hand  of  Providence,  which  moved  the  most  po- 
tent and  royal  power  abovesaid  to  give  and  grant  us  the 
abovesaid  free  Charter,  will  also  still  continue  to  preserve 
us,  in  our  just  rights  and  privileges,  by  the  gracious  favor 
of  the  power  and  royal  Majesty  abovesaid,  whereunto  we 
acknowledge  all  humble  submission  and  loyal  subjec- 
tion, &c. 

Given  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign 
Lord,  Charles  the  second,  King  of  England,  Scotland, 
France  and  Ireland,  &c.,  at  the  General  Court  holden 
for  the  colony  of  Providence  Plantations,  at  Warwick, 
the  18th  day  of  October  An:  Dom.  1660. 

To  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  friend  and  agent,  Mr. 
John  Clarke  of  Rhode-Island,  Physician,  now  residing 
in  London  or  Westminster. 

Ordered  to  be  subscribed  by  the  General  Recorder,  with 
the  seal  of  the  Colony  annexed. 

[Colony  Records.] 


APPENDIX.  241 

No.  XXI.— [p.  100.] 

The  Charter  granted  by  King  Charles  //,  July  8, 

1663.  ~ 

CHARLES  THE  SECOND,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  En- 
gland, Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  &c.,  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come, 
greeting :  Whereas,  we  have  been  informed,  by  the  hum- 
ble petition  of  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  subject,  John 
Clarke,  on  the  behalf  of  Benjamin  Arnold,  William  Bren- 
ton,  William  Coddington,  Nicholas  Easton,  William  Boul- 
ston,  John  Porter,  John  Smith,  Samuel  Gorton,  John 
Weeks,  Roger  Williams,  Thomas  Olney,  Gregory  Dexter, 
John  Coggeshall,  Joseph  Clarke,  Randall  Holden,  John 
Greene,  John  Roome.  Samuel  Wildbore,  William  Field, 
James  Barker,  Richard  Tew,  Thomas  Harris,  and  William 
Dyre,  and  the  rest  of  the  purchasers  and  free  inhabitants 
of  our  Island  called  Rhode-Island,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Colony  of  Providence  Plantations,  in  the  Narragansett  Bay, 
in  New-England,  in  America,  that  they,  pursuing,  with 
peaceable  and  loyal  minds,  their  sober,  serious  and  re- 
ligious intentions,  of  godly  edifying  themselves,  and  one 
another,  in  the  holy  Christian  faith  and  worship,  as  they 
were  persuaded  ;  together  with  the  gaining  over  and  con- 
version of  the  poor  ignorant  Indian  natives,  in  those  parts 
of  America,  to  the  sincere  profession  and  obedience  of  the 
same  faith  and  worship,  did,  not  only  by  the  consent  and 
good  encouragement  of  our  royal  progenitors,  transport 
themselves  out  of  this  kingdom  of  England  into  America ; 
but  also,  since  their  arrival  there,  after  their  first  settle- 
ment amongst  other  our  subjects  in  those  parts,  for  the 

31 


242  APPENDIX. 

avoiding  of  discord,  and  those  many  evils  which  were 
likely  to  ensue  upon  some  of  those  our  subjects  not  being 
able  to  bear,  in  these  remote  parts,  their  different  appre- 
hensions in  religious  concernments,  and  in  pursuance  of 
the  aforesaid  ends,  did  once  again  leave  their  desirable 
stations  and  habitations,  and  with  excessive  labor  and 
travel,  hazard  and  charge,  did  transplant  themselves  into 
the  midst  of  the  Indian  natives,  who,  as  we  are  informed, 
are  the  most  potent  princes  and  people  of  all  that  country; 
where,  by  the  good  Providence  of  God,  from  whom  the 
Plantations  have  taken  their  name,  upon  their  labor  and 
industry,  they  have  not  only  been  preserved  to  admiration, 
but  have  increased  and  prospered,  and  are  seized  and  pos- 
sessed, by  purchase  and  consent  of  the  said  natives,  to 
their  full  content,  of  such  lands,  islands,  risers,  harbors 
and  roads,  as  are  very  convenient,  both  for  plantations, 
and  also  for  building  of  ships,  supply  of  pipe-staves,  and 
other  merchandise  •  and  which  lie  very  commodious,  in 
many  respects,  for  commerce,  and  to  accommodate  our 
southern  plantations,  and  may  much  advance  the  trade  of 
this  our  realm,  and  greatly  enlarge  the  territories  thereof; 
they  having,  by  near  neighborhood  to,  and  friendly  society 
with,  the  great  body  of  the  Narragansett  Indians,  given 
them  encouragement,  of  their  own  accord,  to  subject 
themselves,  their  people  and  lands,  unto  us ;  whereby,  as 
is  hoped,  there  may,  in  time,  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
their  endeavors,  be  laid  a  sure  foundation  of  happiness  to 
all  America:  And  whereas,  in  their  humble  address,  they 
have  freely  declared,  that  it  is  much  on  their  hearts  (if 
they  may  be  permitted)  to  hold  forth  a  lively  experiment, 
that  a  most  flourishing  civil  state  may  stand  and  best  be 
maintained,  and  that  among  our  English  subjects,  with  a 


APPENDIX.  243 

full  liberty  in  religious  concernments  ;  and  that  true  piety, 
rightly  grounded  upon  gospel  principles,  will  give  the 
best  and  greatest  security  to  sovereignty,  and  will  lay  in 
the  hearts  of  men  the  strongest  obligations  to  true  loyalty: 
Now  know  ye,  that  we,  being  willing  to  encourage  the 
hopeful  undertaking  of  our  said  loyal  and  loving  subjects, 
and  to  secure  them  in  the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of 
all  their  civil  and  religious  rights,  appertaining  to  them, 
as  our  loving  subjects ;  and  to  preserve  unto  them  that 
liberty,  in  the  true  Christian  faith  and  worship  of  God, 
which  they  have  sought  with  so  much  travel,  and  with 
peaceable  minds,  and  loyal  subjection  to  our  royal  pro- 
genitors and  ourselves,  to  enjoy ;  and  because   some  of 
the  people  and  inhabitants  of  the  same  Colony  cannot,  in 
their  private  opinions,  conform  to  the  public  exercise  of 
religion,  according  to  the  liturgy,  forms  and  ceremonies 
of  the  Church  of  England,  or  take  or  subscribe  the  oaths 
and  articles  made  and  established  in  that  behalf ;  and  for 
that  the  same,  by  reason  of  the  remote  distances  of  those 
places,  will  (as  we  hope)  be  no  breach  of  the  unity  and 
uniformity  established  in   this  nation :    Have    therefore 
thought  fit,  and  do  hereby  publish,  grant,  ordain  and  de- 
clare, That  our  royal  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  no  person 
within  the  said  Colony,  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be  any 
wise  molested,  punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in  question, 
for  any  differences  in  opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  and 
do  not  actually  disturb  the  civil  peace  of  our  said  Colony; 
but  that  all  and  every  person  and  persons  may,  from  time 
to  time,  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  freely  and  fully  have 
and  enjoy  his  and  their  own  judgments  and  consciences, 
in  matters  of  religious  concernments,  throughout  the  tract 
of  land  hereafter  mentioned,  they  behaving  themselves 


244  APPENDIX. 

peaceably  and  quietly,  and  not  using  this  liberty  to  li- 
centiousness and  profaneness,  nor  to  the  civil  injury  or 
outward  disturbance  of  others ;  any  law,  statute,  or  clause 
therein  contained,  or  to  be  contained,  usage  or  custom  of 
this  realm,  to  the  contrary  hereof,  in  any  wise,  notwith- 
standing.    And  that  they  may  be  in  the  better  capacity 
to  defend  themselves,  in  their  just  rights  and  liberties, 
against  all  the  enemies  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  others, 
in  all  respects,   we  have  further  thought  fit,  and  at  the 
humble  petition  of  the  persons  aforesaid  are  graciously 
pleased  to  declare,   That  they  shall  have  and  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  our  late  act  of  indemnity  and  free  pardon,  as 
the  rest  of  our  subjects  in  other  our  dominions  and  terri- 
tories have  ;  and  to  create  and  make  them  a  body  politic 
or  corporate,  with  the  powers  and  privileges  hereinafter 
mentioned.     And  accordingly  our  will  and  pleasure  is, 
and  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere 
motion,  we  have  ordained,  constituted  and  declared,  and 
by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  or- 
dain, constitute  and  declare,  That  they,  the  said  William 
Brenton,  William  Coddington,  Nicholas  Easton,  Benedict 
Arnold,  William  Boulston,  John  Porter,  Samuel  Gorton, 
John  Smith,  John  Weeks,  Roger  Williams,  Thomas  Olney, 
Gregory  Dexter,  John  Coggeshall,  Joseph  Clarke,  Ran- 
dall Holden,  John  Greene,  John  Roome,  William  Dyre, 
Samuel  Wildbore,  Richard  Tew,  William  Field,  Thomas 
Harris,  James  Barker, Rainsborrow, Wil- 
liams, and  John  Nickson,  and  all  such  others  as  now  are, 
or  hereafter  shall  be,  admitted  and  made  free  of  the  com- 
pany and  society  of  our  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations, 
in  the  Narragansett  Bay,  in  New-England,  shall  be,  from 
time  to  time,  and  forever  hereafter,  a  body  corporate  and 


APPENDIX.  245 

politic,  in  fact  and  name,  by  the  name  of  The  Governor 
and  Company  of  the  English  Colony  of  Rhode-Island 
and  Providence  Plantations,  in  New-England,  in  Ameri- 
ca; and  that,  by  the  same  name,  they  and  their  successors 
shall  and  may  have  perpetual  succession,  and  shall  and 
may  be  persons  able  and  capable,  in  the  law,  to  sue  and 
be  sued,  to  plead  and  be  impleaded,  to  answer  and  be 
answered  unto,  to  defend  and  to  be  defended,  in  all  and  sin- 
gular suits,  causes,  quarrels,  matters,  actions  and  things, 
of  what  kind  or  nature  soever  ;  and  also  to  have,  take, 
possess,  acquire  and  purchase,  lands,  tenements  or  here- 
ditaments, or  any  goods  or  chattels,  and  the  same  to  lease, 
grant,  demise,  aliene,  bargain,  sell  and  dispose  of,  at  their 
own  will  and  pleasure,  as  other  our  liege  people,  of  this 
our  realm  of  England,  or  any  corporation  or  body  politic 
within  the  same,  may  lawfully  do.  And  further,  that 
they  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their  succes- 
sors, shall  and  may,  forever  hereafter,  have  a  common 
seal,  to  serve  and  use  for  all  matters,  causes,  things  and 
affairs,  whatsoever,  of  them  and  their  successors ;  and 
the  same  seal  to  alter,  change,  break,  and  make  new,  from 
time  to  time,  at  their  will  and  pleasure,  as  they  shall  think 
fit.  And  further,  we  will  and  ordain,  and  by  these 
presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  declare  and 
appoint,  that,  for  the  better  ordering  and  managing  of  the 
affairs  and  business  of  the  said  Company,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, there  shall  be  one  Governor,  one  Deputy-Gov- 
ernor, and  ten  Assistants,  to  be,  from  time  to  time,  con- 
stituted, elected  and  chosen,  out  of  the  freemen  of  the 
said  Company,  for  the  time  being,  in  such  manner  and 
form  as  is  hereafter  in  these  presents  expressed ;  which 
said  officers  shall  apply  themselves  to  take  care  for  the 


246  APPENDIX. 

best  disposing  and  ordering  of  the  general  business  and 
affairs  of  and  concerning  the  lands  and  hereditaments 
hereinafter  mentioned  to  be  granted,  and  the  plantation 
thereof,  and  the  government  of  the  people  there.  And, 
for  the  better  execution  of  our  royal  pleasure  herein,  we 
do,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  assign,  name,  con- 
stitute and  appoint  the  aforesaid  Benedict  Arnold  to  be 
the  first  and  present  Governor  of  the  said  Company,  and 
the  said  William  Brenton  to  be  the  Deputy-Governor,  and 
the  said  William  Boulston,  John  Porter,  Roger  Williams, 
Thomas  Olney,  John  Smith,  John  Greene,  John  Cogges- 
hall,  James  Barker,  William  Field,  and  Joseph  Clarke, 
to  be  the  ten  present  Assistants  of  the  said  Company,  to 
continue  in  the  said  several  offices,  respectively,  until  the 
first  Wednesday  which  shall  be  in  the  month  of  May 
now  next  coming.  And  further,  we  will,  and  by  these 
presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do  ordain  and 
grant,  that  the  Governor  of  the  said  Company,  for  the 
time  being,  or,  in  his  absence,  by  occasion  of  sickness,  or 
otherwise,  by  his  leave  and  permission,  the  Deputy-Gov- 
ernor, for  the  time  being,  shall  and  may,  from  time  to 
time,  upon  all  occasions,  give  order  for  the  assembling  of 
the  said  Company,  and  calling  them  together,  to  consult 
and  advise  of  the  business  and  affairs  of  the  said  Company. 
And  that  forever  hereafter,  twice  in  every  year,  that  is  to 
say,  on  every  first  Wednesday  in  the  month  of  May,  arid 
on  every  last  Wednesday  in  October,  or  oftener,  in  case 
it  shall  be  requisite,  the  Assistants,  and  such  of  the  free- 
men of  the  said  Company,  not  exceeding  six  persons  for 
Newport,  four  persons  for  each  of  the  respective  towns  of 
Providence,  Portsmouth  and  ,  Warwick,  and  two  persons 
for  each  other  place,  town  or  city,  who  shall  be,  from  time 


APPENDIX.  247 

to  time,  thereunto  elected  or  deputed  by  the  major  part 
of  the  freemen  of  the  respective  towns  or  places  for  which 
they  shall  be  so  elected  or  deputed,  shall  have  a  general 
meeting  or  assembly,  then  and  there  to  consult,  advise 
and  determine,  in  and  about  the  affairs  and  business  of  the 
said  Company  and  Plantations.  And  further,  we  do,  of 
our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion, 
give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Governor  and  Company  of 
the  English  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  in  New-England,  in  America,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, that  the  Governor,  or,  in  his  absence,  or  by  his 
permission,  the  Deputy-Governor  of  the  said  Company, 
for  the  time  being,  the  Assistants,  and  such  of  the  free- 
men of  the  said  Company  as  shall  be  so  as  aforesaid  elected 
or  deputed,  or  so  many  of  them  as  shall  be  present  at  such 
meeting  or  assembly,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  called  the 
General  Assembly ;  and  that  they,  or  the  greatest  part  of 
them  then  present,  whereof  the  Governor  or  Deputy-Gov- 
ernor, and  six  of  the  Assistants,  at  least  to  be  seven,  shall 
have,  and  have  hereby  given  and  granted  unto  them,  full 
power  and  authority,  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times 
hereafter,  to  appoint,  alter  and  change,  such  days,  times 
and  places  of  meeting  and  General  Assembly,  as  they 
shall  think  fit ;  and  to  choose,  nominate  and  appoint,  such 
and  so  many  other  persons  as  they  shall  think  fit,  and 
shall  be  willing  to  accept  the  same,  to  be  free  of  the  said 
Company  and  body  politic,  and  them  into  the  same  to 
admit ;  and  to  elect  and  constitute  such  offices  and  officersr 
and  to  grant  such  needful  commissions,  as  they  shall  think 
fit  and  requisite,  for  the  ordering,  managing  and  despatch- 
ing of  the  affairs  of  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and 
their  successors ;  and,  from  time  to  time,  to  make,  ordainr 


248  APPENDIX. 

constitute  or  repeal,  such  laws,  statutes,  orders  and  ordi- 
nances, forms  and  ceremonies  of  government  and  magis- 
tracy, as  to  them  shall  seem  meet,  for  the  good  and  wel- 
fare of  the  said  Company,  and  for  the  government  and 
ordering  of  the  lands  and  hereditaments,  hereinafter  men- 
tioned to  be  granted,  and  of  the  people  that  do,  or  at  any 
time  hereafter  shall,  inhabit  or  be  within  the  same  ;  so  as 
such  laws,  ordinances  and  constitutions,  so  made,  be  not 
contrary  and  repugnant  unto,  but,  as  near  as  may  be, 
agreeable  to  the  laws  of  this  our  realm  of  England,  con- 
sidering the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  place  and  peo- 
ple there  ;  and  also  to  appoint,  order  and  direct,  erect  and 
settle,  such  places  arid  courts  of  jurisdiction,  for  the  hear- 
ing and  determining  of  all  actions,  cases,  matters  and 
things,  happening  within  the  said  Colony  and  Plantation, 
and  which  shall  be  in  dispute,  and  depending  there,  as 
they  shall  think  fit ;  and  also  to  distinguish  and  set  forth 
the  several  names  and  titles,  duties,  powers  and  limits,  of 
each  court,  office  and  officer,  superior  and  inferior ;  and 
also  to  contrive  and  appoint  such  forms  of  oaths  and  at- 
testations, not  repugnant,  but,  as  near  as  may  be,  agreeable, 
as  aforesaid,  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  this  our  realm,  as 
are  convenient  and  requisite,  with  respect  to  the  due  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  and  due  execution  and  discharge 
of  all  offices  and  places  of  trust  by  the  persons  that  shall 
be  therein  concerned  ;  and  also  to  regulate  and  order  the 
way  and  manner  of  all  elections  to  offices  and  places  of 
trust,  and  to  prescribe,  limit  and  distinguish  the  numbers 
and  bounds  of  all  places,  towns  or  cities,  within  the  limits 
and  bounds  hereinafter  mentioned,  and  not  herein  par- 
ticularly named,  who  have,  or  shall  have,  the  power  of 
electing  and  sending  of  freemen  to  the  said  General  As- 


APPENDIX.  249 

sembly  ;  and  also  to  order,  direct  and  authorize  the  im- 
posing of  lawful  and  reasonable  fines,  mulcts,  imprison- 
ments, and  executing  other  punishments,  pecuniary  and 
corporal,  upon  offenders  and  delinquents,  according  to  the 
course  of  other  corporations  within  this  our  kingdom  of 
England;  and  again  to  alter,  revoke,  annul  or  pardon, 
under  their  common  seal,  or  otherwise,  such  fines,  mulcts, 
imprisonments,  sentences,  judgments  and  condemnations, 
as  shall  be  thought  fit ;  and  to  direct,  rule,  order  and  dis- 
pose of,  all  other  matters  arid  things,  arid  particularly  that 
which  relates  to  the  making  of  purchases  of  the  native 
Indians,  as  to  them  shall  seem  meet ;  whereby  our  said 
people  and  inhabitants,  in  the  said  Plantations,  may  be  so 
religiously,  peaceably  and  civilly  governed,  as  that,  by 
their  good  life  and  orderly  conversation,  they  may  win 
and  invite  the  native  Indians  of  the  country  to  the  knowl- 
edge and  obedience  of  the  only  true  God,  and  Saviour  of 
mankind;  willing,  commanding  and  requiring,  and  by 
these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ordaining 
and  appointing,  that  all  such  laws,  statutes,  orders  and  or- 
dinances, instructions,  impositions  and  directions,  as  shall 
be  so  made  by  the  Governor,  Deputy-Governor,  Assistants 
and  freemen,  or  such  number  of  them  as  aforesaid,  and 
published  in  writing,  under  their  common  seal,  shall  be 
carefully  and  duly  observed,  kept,  performed  and  put  in 
execution,  according  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
the  same.  And  these  our  letters  patent,  or  the  duplicate 
or  exemplification  thereof,  shall  be  to  all  and  every  such 
officers,  superior  and  inferior,  from  time  to  time,  for  the 
putting  of  the  same  orders,  laws,  statutes,  ordinances,  in- 
structions and  directions,  in  due  execution,  against  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  a  sufficient  warrant  and  dis- 

32 


250  APPENDIX. 

charge.  And  further,  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  we 
do  hereby,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  establish  and 
ordain,  that  yearly,  once  in  the  year,  forever  hereafter, 
namely,  the  aforesaid  Wednesday  in  May,  and  at  the 
town  of  Newport,  or  elsewhere,  if  urgent  occasion  do  re- 
quire, the  Governor,  Deputy-Governor  and  Assistants  of 
the  said  Company,  and  other  officers  of  the  said  Company, 
or  such  of  them  as  the  General  Assembly  shall  think  fit, 
shall  be,  in  the  said  General  Court  or  Assembly  to  be 
held  from  that  day  or  time,  newly  chosen  for  the  year  en- 
suing, by  such  greater  part  of  the  said  Company,  for  the 
time  being,  as  shall  be  then  and  there  present ;  and  if  it 
shall  happen  that  the  present  Governor,  Deputy-Governor 
and  Assistants,  by  these  presents  appointed,  or  any  such 
as  shall  hereafter  be  newly  chosen  into  their  rooms,  or 
any  of  them,  or  any  other  the  officers  of  the  said  Com- 
pany, shall  die  or  be  removed  from  his  or  their  several 
offices  or  places,  before  the  said  general  day  of  election, 
(whom  we  do  hereby  declare,  for  any  misdemeanor  or  de- 
fault, to  be  removable  by  the  Governor,  Assistants  and 
Company,  or  such  greater  part  of  them,  in  any  of  the  said 
public  courts,  to  be  assembled  as  aforesaid,)  that  then,  and 
in  every  such  case,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for 
the  said  Governor,  Deputy-Governor,  Assistants  and  Com- 
pany aforesaid,  or  such  greater  part  of  them,  so  to  be  as- 
sembled as  is  aforesaid,  in  any  their  assemblies,  to  pro- 
ceed to  a  new  election  of  one  or  more  of  their  Company, 
in  the  room  or  place,  rooms  or  places,  of  such  officer  or 
officers,  so  dying  or  removed,  according  to  their  discretions; 
and  immediately  upon  and  after  such  election  or  elections 
made  of  such  Governor,  Deputy-Governor,  Assistant  or 
Assistants,  or  any  other  officer  of  the  said  Company,  in 


APPENDIX.  251 

manner  and  form  aforesaid,  the  authority,  office  and  power, 
before  given  to  the  former  Governor,  Deputy-Governor, 
and  other  officer  and  officers,  so  removed,  in  whose  stead 
and  place  new  shall  be  chosen,  shall,  as  to  him  and  them, 
and  every  of  them,  respectively,  cease  and  determine  : 
Provided  always,  and  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  that  as 
well  such  as  are  by  these  presents  appointed  to  be  the 
present  Governor,  Deputy-Governor  and  Assistants,  of  the 
said  Company,  as  those  that  shall  succeed  them,  and  all 
other  officers  to  be  appointed  and  chosen  as  aforesaid, 
shall,  before  the  undertaking  the  execution  of  the  said 
offices  and  places  respectively,  give  their  solemn  engage- 
ment, by  oath,  or  otherwise,  for  the  due  and  faithful  per- 
formance of  their  duties  in  their  several  offices  and  places, 
before  such  person  or  persons  as  are  by  these  presents 
hereafter  appointed  to  take  and  receive  the  same,  that  is 
to  say :  the  said  Benedict  Arnold,  who  is  hereinbefore 
nominated  and  appointed  the  present  Governor  of  the  said 
Company,  shall  give  the  aforesaid  engagement  before 
William  Brenton,  or  any  two  of  the  said  Assistants  of  the 
said  Company ;  unto  whorri  we  do  by  these  presents  give 
full  power  and  authority  to  require  and  receive  the  same ; 
and  the  said  William  Brenton,  who  is  hereby  before 
nominated  and  appointed  the  present  Deputy-Governor  of 
the  said  Company,  shall  give  the  aforesaid  engagement 
before  the  said  Benedict  Arnold,  or  any  two  of  the  As- 
sistants of  the  said  Company  j  unto  whom  we  do  by  these 
presents  give  full  power  and  authority  to  require  and  re- 
ceive the  same ;  and  the  said  William  Boulston,  John 
Porter,  Roger  Williams,  Thomas  Olney,  John  Smith, 
John  Greene,  John  Coggeshall,  James  Barker,  William 
Field,  and  Joseph  Clarke,  who  are  hereinbefore  nominated 


252  APPENDIX. 

and  appointed  the  present  Assistants  of  the  said  Company, 
shall  give  the  said  engagement  to  their  officers  and  places 
respectively  belonging,  before  the  said  Benedict  Arnold 
and  William  Brenton,  or  one  of  them  j  to  whom  respec- 
tively we  do  hereby  give  full  power  and  authority  to  re- 
quire, administer  or  receive  the  same :  and  further,  our 
will  and  pleasure  is,  that  all  and  every  other  future  Gov- 
ernor or  Deputy-Governor,  to  be  elected  and  chosen  by 
virtue  of  these  presents,  shall  give  the  said  engagement 
before  two  or  more  of  the  said  Assistants  of  the  said  Com- 
pany for  the  time  being ;  unto  whom  we  do  by  these 
presents  give  full  power  and  authority  to  require,  admin- 
ister or  receive  the  same ;  and  the  said  Assistants,  and 
every  of  them,  and  all  and  every  other  officer  or  officers 
to  be  hereafter  elected  and  chosen  by  virtue  of  these 
presents,  from  time  to  time,  shall  give  the  like  engage- 
ments, to  their  offices  and  places  respectively  belonging, 
before  the  Governor  or  Deputy-Governor  for  the  time  be- 
ing ;  unto  which  said  Governor,  or  Deputy-Governor,  we 
do  by  these  presents  give  full  power  and  authority  to  re- 
quire, administer  or  receive  the  same  accordingly.  And 
we  do  likewise,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  give  and 
grant  unto  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their 
successors,  by  these  presents,  that,  for  the  more  peaceable 
and  orderly  government  of  the  said  Plantations,  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Governor,  Deputy-Governor, 
Assistants,  and  all  other  officers  and  ministers  of  the  said 
Company,  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and  exercise 
of  government,  in  the  said  Plantations,  to  use,  exercise, 
and  put  in  execution,  such  methods,  rules,  orders  and  di- 
rections, not  being  contrary  or  repugnant  to  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  this  our  realm,  as  have  been  heretofore  given, 


APPENDIX.  253 

used  and  accustomed,  in  such  cases  respectively,  to  be 
put  in  practice,  until  at  the  next,  or  some  other  General 
Assembly,  special  provision  shall  be  made  and  ordained  in 
the  cases  aforesaid.  And  we  do  further,  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Governor 
and  Company,  and  their  successors,  by  these  presents, 
that  it  shall  arid  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  Gov- 
ernor, or  in  his  absence,  the  Deputy-Governor,  and  major 
part  of  the  said  Assistants,  for  the  time  being,  at  any  time 
when  the  said  General  Assembly  is  not  sitting,  to  nomi- 
nate, appoint  and  constitute,  such  and  so  many  com- 
manders, governors  and  military  officers,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  requisite,  for  the  leading,  conducting  and  training 
up  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  Plantations  in  martial  affairs, 
and  for  the  defence  and  safeguard  of  the  said  Plantations; 
and  that  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  all  and 
every  such  commander,  governor  and  military  officer,  that 
shall  be  so  as  aforesaid,  or  by  the  Governor,  or,  in  his  ab- 
sence, the  Deputy-Governor,  and  six  of  the  said  Assistants, 
and  major  part  of  the  freemen  of  the  said  Company  present 
at  any  General  Assemblies,  nominated,  appointed  and  con- 
stituted, according  to  the  tenor  of  his  and  their  respective 
commissions  and  directions,  to  assemble,  exercise  in  arms, 
martial  array,  and  put  in  warlike  posture,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  said  Colony,  for  their  special  defence  and  safety  ; 
and  to  lead  arid  conduct  the  said  inhabitants,  and  to  en- 
counter, expulse,  expel  and  resist,  by  force  of  arms,  as 
well  by  sea  as  by  land,  and  also  to  kill,  slay  and  destroy, 
by  all  fitting  ways,  enterprises  and  means  whatsoever,  all 
and  every  such  person  or  persons  as  shall,  at  any  time 
hereafter,  attempt  or  enterprise  the  destruction,  invasion, 
detriment  or  annoyance  of  the  said  inhabitants  or  Planta- 


254  APPENDIX. 

tions  ;  and  to  use  and  exercise  the  law  martial  in  such 
cases  only  as  occasion  shall  necessarily  require ;  and  to 
take  or  surprise,  by  all  ways  and  means  whatsoever,  all 
and  every  such  person  and  persons,  with  their  ship  or 
ships,  armor,  ammunition,  or  other  goods  of  such  persons 
as  shall,  in  hostile  manner,  invade  or  attempt  the  defeat- 
ing of  the  said  Plantation,  or  the  hurt  of  the  said  Com- 
pany and  inhabitants ;  and,  upon  just  causes,  to  invade 
and  destroy  the  native  Indians,  or  other  enemies  of  the 
said  Colony.  Nevertheless,  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and 
we  do  hereby  declare  to  the  rest  of  our  Colonies  in  New- 
England,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  this  our  Colony 
of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  in  America, 
in  New-England,  to  invade  the  natives  inhabiting  within 
the  bounds  and  limits  of  their  said  Colonies,  without  the 
knowledge  and  consent  of  the  said  other  Colonies.  And 
it  is  hereby  declared,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  or  for 
the  rest  of  the  Colonies  to  invade  or  molest  the  native  In- 
dians, or  any  other  inhabitants,  inhabiting  within  the 
bounds  and  limits  hereafter  mentioned,  (they  having  sub- 
jected themselves  unto  us,  and  being  by  us  taken  into 
our  special  protection,)  without  the  knowledge  and  con- 
sent of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  our  Colony  of 
Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Plantations.  Also  our  will 
arid  pleasure  is,  and  we  do  hereby  declare  unto  all  Christian 
Kings,  Princes  and  States,  that  if  any  person,  which  shall 
hereafter  be  of  the  said  Company  or  Plantation,  or  any 
other,  by  appointment  of  the  said  Governor  and  Company 
for  the  time  being,  shall,  at  any  time  or  times  hereafter, 
rob  or  spoil,  by  sea  or  land,  or  do  any  hurt  or  unlawful 
hostility  to  any  of  the  subjects  of  us,  our  heirs  or  succes- 
sors, or  any  of  the  subjects  of  any  Prince  or  State,  being 


APPENDIX.  255 

then  in  league  with  us,  our  heirs  or  successors,  upon  com- 
plaint of  such  injury  done  to  any  such  Prince  or  State,  or 
their  subjects,  we,  our  heirs  and  successors,  will  make 
open  proclamation  within  any  parts  of  our  realm  of  En- 
gland, fit  for  that  purpose,  that  the  person  or  persons  com- 
mitting any  such  robbery  or  spoil  shall,  within  the  time 
limited  by  such  proclamation,  make  full  restitution  or 
satisfaction  of  all  such  injuries,  done  or  committed,  so  as 
the  said  Prince,  or  others  so  complaining,  may  be  fully 
satisfied  and  contented  ;  and,  if  the  said  person  or  persons 
who  shall  commit  any  such  robbery  or  spoil,  shall  not 
make  satisfaction,  accordingly,  within  such  time,  so  to  be 
limited,  that  then  we,  our  heirs  and  successors,  will  put 
such  person  or  persons  out  of  our  allegiance  and  protection; 
and  that  then  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  arid  free  for  all 
Princes  or  others,  to  prosecute,  with  hostility,  such  of- 
fenders, and  every  of  them,  their  and  every  of  their  pro- 
curers, aiders,  abettors  and  counsellors,  in  that  behalf: 
Provided  also,  and  our  express  will  and  pleasure  is,  and 
we  do,  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
ordain  and  appoint,  that  these  presents  shall  not,  in  any 
manner,  hinder  any  of  our  loving  subjects,  whatsoever, 
from  using  and  exercising  the  trade  of  fishing  upon  the 
coast  of  New-England,  in  America  ;  but  that  they,  and 
every  or  any  of  them,  shall  have  full  and  free  power  and 
liberty  to  continue  and  use  the  trade  of  fishing  upon  the 
said  coast,  in  any  of  the  seas  thereunto  adjoining,  or  any 
arms  of  the  seas,  or  salt  water,  rivers  and  creeks,  where 
they  have  been  accustomed  to  fish ;  and  to  build  and  set 
upon  the  waste  land,  belonging  to  the  said  Colony  and 
Plantations,  such  wharves,  stages  and  work-houses,  as 
shall  be  necessary  for  the  salting,  drying  and  keeping  of 


256  APPENDIX. 

their  fish,  to  be  taken  or  gotten  upon  that  coast.  And 
further,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  inhabitants  of  our 
said  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations  to  set  upon  the 
business  of  taking  whales,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  them,  or 
any  of  them,  having  struck  whale,  dubertus,  or  other 
great  fish,  it  or  them  to  pursue  unto  any  part  of  that  coast, 
and  into  any  bay,  river,  cove,  creek  or  shore,  belonging 
thereto,  and  it  or  them,  upon  the  said  coast,  or  in  the  said 
bay,  river,  cove,  creek  or  shore,  belonging  thereto,  to  kill 
and  order  for  the  best  advantage,  without  molestation, 
they  making  no  wilful  waste  or  spoil ;  any  thing  in  these 
presents  contained,  or  any  other  matter  or  thing,  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  And  further  also,  we  are  gra- 
ciously pleased,  and  do  hereby  declare,  that  if  any  of  the 
inhabitants  of  our  said  Colony  do  set  upon  the  planting  of 
vineyards  (the  soil  and  climate  both  seeming  naturally  to 
concur  to  the  production  of  wines)  or  be  industrious  in 
the  discovery  of  fishing  banks,  in  or  about  the  said  Colony, 
we  will,  from  time  to  time,  give  and  allow  all  due  and 
fitting  encouragement  therein,  as  to  others  in  cases  of  like 
nature.  And  further,  of  our  more  ample  grace,  certain 
knowledge,  and  mere  motion,  we  have  given  and  granted, 
and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  do 
give  and  grant  unto  the  said  Governor  and  Company  of 
the  English  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  in  the  Narragansett  Bay,  in  New-England,  in 
America,  and  to  every  inhabitant  there,  and  to  every 
person  and  persons  trading  thither,  and  to  every  such 
person  or  persons  as  are  or  shall  be  free  of  the  said  Colony, 
full  power  and  authority,  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all 
times  hereafter,  to  take,  ship,  transport  and  carry  away, 
out  of  any  of  our  realms  and  dominions,  for  and  towards 


APPENDIX.  257 

the  plantation  and  defence  of  the  said  Colony,  such  and 
so  many  of  our  loving  subjects  and  strangers  as  shall  or 
will  willingly  accompany  them  in  and  to  their  said  Colony 
and  Plantation ;  except  such  person  or  persons  as  are  or 
shall  he  therein  restrained  by  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
or  any  law  or  statute  of  this  realm :  and  also  to  ship  and 
transport  all  and  all  manner  of  goods,  chattels,  merchan- 
dises, and  other  things  whatsoever,  that  are  or  shall  be 
useful  or  necessary  for  the  said  Plantations,  and  defence 
thereof,  and  usually  transported,  and  not  prohibited  by 
any  law  or  statute  of  this  our  realm  j  yielding  and  paying 
unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  such  the  duties,  cus- 
toms and  subsidies,  as  are  or  ought  to  be  paid  or  payable 
for  the  same.  And  further,  our  will  and  pleasure  is, 
and  we  do,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ordain,  de- 
clare and  grant,  unto  the  said  Governor  and  Company, 
and  their  successors,  that  all  and  every  the  subjects  of  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  which  are  already  planted  and 
settled  within  our  said  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations, 
or  which  shall  hereafter  go  to  inhabit  within  the  said 
Colony,  and  all  and  every  of  their  children,  which  have 
been  born  there,  or  which  shall  happen  hereafter  to  be 
bom  there,  or  on  the  sea,  going  thither,  or  returning  from 
thence,  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  liberties  and  immunities 
of  free  and  natural  subjects  within  any  the  dominions  of 
us,  our  heirs  or  successors,  to  all  intents,  constructions  and 
purposes,  whatsoever,  as  if  they,  and  every  of  them,  were 
born  within  the  realm  of  England.  And  further,  know 
ye,  that  we,  of  our  more  abundant  grace,  certain  knowl- 
edge and  mere  motion,  have  given,  granted  and  confirmed, 
and,  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
do  give,  grant  and  confirm,  unto  the  said  Governor  and 

33 


•f, .  • 

258  APPENDIX. 

Company,  and  their  successors,  all  that  part  of  our  do- 
minions in  New-England,  in  America,  containing  the  Na- 
hantick  and  Nanhyganset,  alias  Narragansett  Bay,  and 
countries  and  parts  adjacent,  bounded  on  the  west,  or 
westerly,  to  the  middle  or  channel  of  a  river  there,  com- 
monly called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Pawcatuck,  alias 
Pawcawtuck  river,  and  so  along  the  said  river,  as  the 
greater  or  middle  stream  thereof  reacheth  or  lies  up  into 
the  north  country,  northward,  unto  the  head  thereof,  and 
from  thence,  by  a  strait  line  drawn  due  north,  until  it 
meets  with  the  south  line  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  ; 
and  on  the  north,  or  northerly,  by  the  aforesaid  south  or 
southerly  line  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  or  Plantation, 
and  extending  towards  the  east,  or  eastwardly,  three  En- 
glish miles  to  the  east  and  north-east  of  the  most  eastern 
and  north-eastern  parts  of  the  aforesaid  Narragansett  Bay, 
as  the  said  bay  lyeth  or  extendeth  itself  from  the  ocean 
on  the  south,  or  southwardly,  unto  the  mouth  of  the  river 
which  runneth  towards  the  town  of  Providence,  and  from 
thence  along  the  eastwardly  side  or  bank  of  the  said  river 
(higher  called  by  the  name  of  Seacunck  river)  up  to  the 
falls  called  Patuckett  falls,  being  the  most  westwardly 
line  of  Plymouth  Colony,  and  so  from  the  said  falls,  in  a 
strait  line,  due  north,  until  it  meet  with  the  aforesaid  line 
of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  ;  and  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the  ocean :  and,  in  particular,  the  lands  belonging  to 
the  towns  of  Providence,  Pawtuxet,  Warwick,  Misquam- 
macock,  alias  Pawcatuck,  and  the  rest  upon  the  main  land 
in  the  tract  aforesaid,  together  with  Rhode-Island,  Block- 
Island,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  islands  and  banks  in  the  Nar- 
ragansett Bay,  and  bordering  upon  the  coast  of  the  tract 
aforesaid,  (Fisher's  Island  only  excepted,)  together  with 


APPENDIX.  259 

all  firm  lands,  soils,  grounds,  havens,  ports,  rivers,  waters, 
fishings,  mines  royal,  and  all  other  mines,  minerals, 
precious  stones,  quarries,  woods,  wood-grounds,  rocks, 
slates,  and  all  and  singular  other  commodities,  jurisdictions, 
royalties,  privileges,  franchises,  preheminences  and  here- 
ditaments, whatsoever,  within  the  said  tract,  bounds,  lands 
and  islands,  aforesaid,  or  to  them  or  any  of  them  belong- 
ing, or  in  any  wise  appertaining :  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
same,  unto  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their 
successors,  forever,  upon  trust,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
themselves  and  their  associates,  freemen  of  the  said 
Colony,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  to  be  holden  of  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors,  as  of  the  Manor  of  East-Greenwich, 
in  our  county  of  Kent,  in  free  and  common  soccage,  and 
not  in  capite,  nor  by  knight  service  ;  yielding  and  paying 
therefor,  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  only  the  fifth 
part  of  all  the  ore  of  gold  and  silver,  which,  from  time  to 
time,  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  shall  be  there  gotten,  had, 
or  obtained,  in  lieu  and  satisfaction  of  all  services,  duties, 
fines,  forfeitures,  made  or  to  be  made,  claims  and  demands 
whatsoever,  to  be  to  us,  our  heirs  or  successors,  therefor 
or  thereout  rendered,  made,  or  paid,  any  grant,  or  clause 
in  a  late  grant,  to  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Con- 
necticut Colony,  in  America,  to  the  contrary  thereof  in 
any  wise  notwithstanding  ;  the  aforesaid  Pawcatuck  river 
having  been  yielded,  after  much  debate,  for  the  fixed  and 
certain  bounds  between  these  our  said  Colonies,  by  the 
agents  thereof;  who  have  also  agreed,  that  the  said  Paw- 
catuck river  shall  be  also  called  alias  Norrogansett  or  Nar- 
rogansett  river;  and,  to  prevent  future  disputes,  that 
otherwise  might  arise  thereby,  forever  hereafter  shall  be 
construed,  deemed  and  taken  to  be  the  Narrogansett  river 


260  APPENDIX. 

in  our  late  grant  to  Connecticut  Colony  mentioned  as  the 
easterly  bounds  of  that  Colony.  And  further,  our  will 
and  pleasure  is,  that  in  all  matters  of  public  controversy, 
which  may  fall  out  between  our  Colony  of  Providence 
Plantations,  and  the  rest  of  our  Colonies  in  New-England, 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  Governor  and 
Company  of  the  said  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations,  to 
make  their  appeals  therein  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
for  redress  in  such  cases,  within  this  our  realm  of  En- 
gland :  and  that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  Colony  of  Providence  Plantations,  with- 
out let  or  molestation,  to  pass  and  repass,  with  freedom, 
into  and  through  the  rest  of  the  English  Colonies,  upon 
their  lawful  and  civil  occasions,  and  to  converse,  and  hold 
commerce  and  trade,  with  such  of  the  inhabitants  of  our 
other  English  Colonies  as  shall  be  willing  to  admit  them 
thereunto,  they  behaving  themselves  peaceably  among 
them ;  any  act,  clause,  or  sentence,  in  any  of  the  said 
Colonies  provided,  or  that  shall  be  provided,  to  the  con- 
trary in  any  wise  notwithstanding.  And  lastly,  we  do, 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ordain  and  grant  unto  the 
said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their  successors,  by 
these  presents,  that  these  our  letters  patent  shall  be  firm, 
good,  effectual,  and  available  in  all  things  in  the  law,  to  all 
intents,  constructions  and  purposes  whatsoever,  according 
to  our  true  intent  and  meaning  hereinbefore  declared  ;  and 
shall  be  construed,  reputed  and  adjudged  in  all  cases  most 
favorably  on  the  behalf,  and  for  the  best  benefit  and  be- 
hoof, of  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their  suc- 
cessors ;  although  express  mention  of  the  true  yearly 
value  or  certainty  of  the  premises,  or  any  of  them,  or  of 
any  other  gifts  or  grants  by  us,  or  by  any  of  our  progeni- 


APPENDIX.  261 

tors  or  predecessors,  heretofore  made  to  the  said  Governor 
and  Company  of  the  English  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and 
Providence  Plantations,  in  the  Narragansett  Bay,  New- 
England,  in  America,  in  these  presents  is  not  made,  or 
any  statute,  act,  ordinance,  provision,  proclamation  or  re- 
striction, heretofore  had,  made,  enacted,  ordained  or  pro- 
vided, or  any  other  matter,  cause  or  thing  whatsoever,  to 
the  contrary  thereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding.  In 
witness  whereof,  we  have  caused  these  our  letters  to  be 
made  patent.  Witness  ourself  at  Westminster,  the  eighth 
day  of  July,  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  our  reign. 

By  the  King :  HOWARD. 

The  above  Charter  has  been  copied  from  the 
Laws  of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island,  published  in 
1822,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Hon.  Henry 
Bowen,  Secretary  of  the  State,  and  compared  with 
the  original.  Some  of  the  copies,  in  other  publi- 
cations, are  incorrect.  A  persuasion  that  compara- 
tively few  of  our  citizens  possess  an  accurate  copy 
of  this  document,  which  is  distinguished  for  its  en- 
larged and  enlightened  principles  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious freedom,  and  which  continues  still  to  be  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  State,  has  induced  its  in- 
sertion in  this  volume. 

The  Charter  was  obtained  at  an  auspicious  mo- 
ment, when  Charles  II.,  having  recently  ascended 
the  throne,  was  not  disposed  to  deny  favors  to  any 
of  his  subjects.  By  this  Charter  all  the  powers  of 


262 


APPENDIX. 


government  were  conferred  upon  the  Colony,  the 
King  not  having  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of 
revising  its  proceedings.  At  no  other  period, 
probably,  could  such  extensive  privileges  have 
been  obtained. 


No.  XXII. 
Decision  of  Carr,  <fec.,  relative  to  Misquamacock. 

We,  by  the  power  given  us  by  his  Majesty's  commis- 
sion, having  heard  the  complaints  of  some  of  his  Majesty's 
subjects,  purchasers  of  certain  lands  called  Misquamacock, 
lying  on  the  eastern  side  of  Pawcatuck  river,  and  having 
likewise  heard  all  the  pretences  of  those  by  whom  they 
have  suffered  great  oppressions,  and  considering  the 
grounds  from  whence  these  differences  and  injuries  have 
proceeded,  and  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  like  for  the 
future,  do  declare,  that  no  colony  hath  any  just  right  to 
dispose  of  any  lands,  conquered  from  the  natives,  unless 
both  the  cause  of  that  conquest  be  just,  and  the  lands  lie 
within  those  bonnds  which  the  King  by  his  charter  hath 
given  it,  nor  to  exercise  any  authority  beyond  those 
bounds  ;  which  we  desire  all  his  Majesty;s  subjects  to 
take  notice  of  for  the  future,  lest  they  incur  his  Majesty's 
displeasure,  and  suffer  a  deserved  punishment.  We  like- 
wise declare,  that  all  those  gifts  or  grants  of  any  lands, 
lying  on  the  eastern  side  of  Pawcatuck  river,  and  a  north 
line  drawn  to  the  Massachusetts,  from  the  midst  of  the 
ford  near  to  Thomas  Shaw's  house,  and  in  the  King's 


APPENDIX.  263 

Province,  made  by  his  Majesty's  Colony  of  the  Massachu- 
setts, to  any  person  whatsoever,  or  by  that  usurped  au- 
thority called  the  United  Colonies,  to  be  void.  And  we 
hereby  command  all  such  as  are  therein  concerned  to  re- 
move themselves  and  their  goods  from  the  said  lands,  be- 
fore the  nine  and  twentieth  day  of  September  next.  In 
the  mean  time,  neither  hindering  the  Pequot  Indians  from 
planting  there  this  summer,  nor  those  of  the  King's 
Province,  who  are  the  purchasers,  from  improving  the 
same,  as  they  will  answer  the  contrary.  Given  under 
our  hands  and  seals,  at  Warwick,  April  4th.  1665. 

ROBERT  CARR,  [L.  S.] 

GEORGE  CARTWRIGHT,     [L.  S.] 

•SAMUEL  MAVERICK,  [L.  S.] 

[Colony  Records.] 


No.  XXIII. 

Commission  from  Carr,  <fcc.,  1665. 

Whereas,  by  the  authority  given  us  by  his  sacred 
Majesty,  our  dread  Sovereign,  to  provide  for  the  peace 
arid  safety  of  all  his  Colonies  here  in  America,  and  in  a 
more  especial  manner  for  that  part  of  it  called  the  Nar- 
ragansett  country,  and  by  his  Majesty  commanded  now  to 
be  called  the  King's  Province:  We  did,  by  commission 
under  our  hands  and  seals,  dated  at  Petaqumskocte  March 
the  twentieth  1664,  appoint,  authorize,  and  in  his  Majesty's 
name  require,  Benedict  Arnold,  William  Brenton,  Esquires, 
John  Coggeshall,  James  Barker,  Joseph  Clarke,  William 
Field,  Thomas  Olney,  Roger  Williams,  William  Baulston, 


264  APPENDIX. 

John  Sanfcrd,  Randall  Howldon,  Walter  Todd,  John 
Porter  and  John  Greene,  Gentlemen,  to  exercise  the  power 
and  authority  of  Justices  of  the  peace  or  magistrates, 
throughout  the  whole  compass  of  this  his  Majesty's 
Province,  and  to  do  whatsoever  they  think  best  for  the 
peace  and  safety  of  the  said  Province,  and  as  near  as  they 
can  to  the  English  laws,  till  his  Majesty's  pleasure  be 
farther  known  therein ;  and  in  matters  of  greater  conse- 
quence, any  seven  of  them,  whereof  the  Governor  or 
Deputy  Governor  shall  be  one,  shall  be  a  Court  to  deter- 
mine any  business:  Our  intent  and  meaning  was  and  is, 
that  the  said  commission  should  be  no  longer  in  force, 
than  until  the  3d.  of  May  next,  and  that  then  and  thence- 
forward, the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor,  and  all  the 
Assistants  for  the  time  being  of  his  Majesty's  Colony  of 
Rhode-Island  &c.  shall  be  Justices  of  the  peace.  And 
therefore  by  the  power  given  us  from  his  Majesty,  we 
order  and  appoint  the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor, 
and  all  the  Assistants  of  the  said  Colony,  for  the  time 
being,  to  be  and  to  exercise  the  authority  of  Justices  of 
the  peace  in  this  the  King's  Province,  and  to  do  whatever 
they  think  best  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  said  Prov- 
ince, and  as  near  as  they  can  to  the  English  laws,  till  his 
Majesty's  pleasure  be  farther  known  therein ;  and  in 
matters  of  greater  consequence,  any  seven  of  them,  where- 
of the  Governor  or  Deputy  Governor  shall  be  one,  shall 
be  a  Court  to  determine  any  business.  Given  under  our 
hands  and  seals,  at  Warwick,  April  8th.  1665. 

ROBERT  CARR,  [L.  S.] 

GEORGE  CARTWRIGHT,  [L.  S.] 

SAMUEL  MAVERICK,     [L.  S.] 

[Colony  Records.] 


APPENDIX.  265 

No.  XXIV.— [p.  120.] 
Episcopal  Church. 

The  following  account  of  the  establishment  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  Rhode-Island  is  taken 
from  an  historical  account  of  the  "  Society  for  the 
propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  by 
David  Humphries,  D.  D.,  Secretary  to  the  Sosiety, 
London,  1730." 

"In  September  1702,  the  Church-wardens  of  Rhode- 
Island,  wrote  to  the  Society,  '  That  they  cannot  forbear 
expressing  their  great  joy  in  being  under  the  patronage  of 
so  honorable  a  Corporation,  through  whose  pious  en- 
deavors, with  God's  assistance,  the  Church  of  England 
hath  so  fair  a  prospect  of  flourishing  in  those  remote  parts 
of  the  world,  and  among  the  rest  of  her  small  branches, 
theirs  also  in  Rhode-Island:  That  though  it  is  not  four 
years  since  they  began  to  assemble  themselves  together 
to  worship  God  after  the  manner  of  the  Church  of  En- 
gland, yet  have  they  built  them  a  church,  finished  all 
on  the  outside,  and  the  inside  is  pewed  well,  though  not 
beautiful ;  and  whatsoever  favors  the  Society  shall  be- 
stow upon  them  towards  the  promoting  of  their  Church, 
shall  be  received  with  the  humblest  gratitude,  and 
seconded  with  the  utmost  of  their  abilities.'  p.  61,  62. 

"  The  Society  resolved  to  send  a  Missionary  hither, 
both  on  account  of  their  being  the  first,  and  also  a  nume- 
rous people,  settled  on  a  flourishing  Island.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Honyman  was  appointed  in  1704.  He  discharged 

34 


266  APPENDIX. 

the  duties  of  his  mission  with  great  diligence,  p.  318,  319. 
He  represented  also  very  earnestly  to  the  Society,  the 
want  of  a  Missionary  at  a  town  called  Providence,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Newport,  a  place  very  considerable  for 
the  number  of  its  inhabitants.  The  Society  appointed 
in  the  next  year  (1723)  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pigot  Missionary 
there.  Besides  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duty  at  his 
own  station,  Mr.  Honyman  hath  been  farther  instru- 
mental in  gathering  several  congregations  at  Naragansett, 
Tiverton,  Freetown,  and  at  the  above  mentioned  place, 
Providence,  p.  320,  321. 

"  The  people  of  Naragansett  county  (North-Kingston) 
made  application  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  about  the  year 
1707,  for  a  Missionary,  and  built  a  church  soon  after  by 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  its  inhabitants.  In  the 
year  1717,  the  Society  appointed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Guy  to 
that  place ;  he  arrived  there  soon  after,  and  entered  upon 
his  mission  with  much  zeal.  He  removed  to  South- 
Carolina,  in  1719.  The  Rev.  Mr.  M'cSparran  was  ap- 
pointed Missionary  there  in  1720.  p.  324,  326. 

"  The  chief  inhabitants  of  Bristol,  in  the  year  1720, 
wrote  very  earnest  letters  to  the  Bishop  of  London  and  to 
the  Society,  for  a  Minister  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  promised  to  build  a  church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Orrem 
was  sent  Missionary  here  in  1722.  Mr.  Orrern  gained  the 
esteem  and  affection  of  the  people  very  much,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  his  mission  with  success."  p.  331,  332. 


APPENDIX.  267 

No.  XXV.— [p.  126.] 
Philip's  War. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1676,  a  large  body  of  In- 
dians attacked  Providence  and  burned  more  than 
thirty  houses  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  in  one 
of  which  were  the  town  records.  They  were  saved 
by  being  thrown  into  the  Mooshausick ;  from  thence 
they  were  afterwards  taken,  though  much  injured, 
and  sent  to  Newport  for  safe  keeping,  where  they 
remained  during  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

Philip's  War  lasted  more  than  a  year,  and  was 
the  most  distressing  period  that  New-England  had 
ever  seen,  and  threatened  the  total  extirpation  of 
her  colonies.  About  six  hundred  men,  the  flower 
of  her  strength,  fell  in  battle  or  were  butchered  by 
the  savages.  In  Massachusetts,  Plymouth  and 
Rhode-Island,  twelve  or  thirteen  towns  were  utterly 
destroyed.  About  six  hundred  dwelling  houses 
were  burned ;  a  heavy  debt  was  contracted,  and  a 
vast  amount  of  property  destroyed.  There  were 
few  families  who  did  not  lose  some  beloved  relative 
in  this  calamitous  war,  and  a  general  gloom  spread 
through  the  country. 


268  APPENDIX. 

No.  XXVI 

A  list  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode- 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  under  the 
first  Patent;  and  of  the  Governors,  under  the 
second  Charter,  collected  from  the  State  Records. 

Presidents  under  the  first  Patent. 

1647  John  Coggeshall,  to  1648 

1648  Jeremiah  Clarke,  to  1649 

1649  John  Smith,  to  1650 

1650  Nicholas  Easton,  to  1652 
In  the  year  1651,  William  Codding  ton  went  to 

England,  and  procured  from  the  Council  of  State, 
a  commission,  dated  April  3,  1651,  constituting 
him  Governor  for  life  of  Rhode-Island,  Canonicut, 
<£c.,  with  which  he  returned  about  the  1st  of  Au- 
gust, of  that  year.  This  produced  much  uneasiness 
in  the  Colony.  All  the  inhabitants  on  the  main, 
refused  to  submit  to  Coddington's  government. 
The  Colony  appointed  Roger  Williams  and  John 
Clarke  to  proceed  to  England,  to  procure  the 
repeal  of  Coddington's  commission.  After  much 
opposition,  they  effected  this  in  1652.  Mr.  Will- 
iams returned,  and  at  a  General  Election,  held 
at  Warwick,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1654,  was 
chosen  President  of  the  Colony.  Dr.  Clarke  con- 
tinued in  England  as  the  Colony's  agent,  till  he  ob- 
tained the  Charter  granted  by  Charles  II.  in  1663. 
1654  Roger  Williams,  to  1657 

1657  Benedict  Arnold,  to  1660 


APPENDIX.  269 

1660  William  Brenton,  to  1662 

1662  Benedict  Arnold,  to  1663 

Governors  under  the  second  Charter. 

1663  Benedict  Arnold,  to  1666 
1666  William  Brenton,  to  1669 
1669  Benedict  Arnold,  to  1672 
1672  Nicholas  Easton,  to  1674 
1674  William  Coddington,  to  1676 

1676  Walter  Clarke,  to  1677 

1677  Benedict  Arnold,  to  1679 

1679  John  Cranston,  to  1680 

1680  Peleg  Sanford,  to  1683 
1683  William  Coddington,  to  1685 

1685  Henry  Bull,  to  1686 

1686  Walter  Clarke 

1686  The   Charter   superseded   by   Sir  Edmund 
Andross,  but  restored  in 

1689  Henry  Bull,  to  1690 

1690  John  Easton,  to  1695 

1695  Caleb  Carr,  to  1696 

1696  Walter  Clarke,  to  1698 
1698  Samuel  Cranston,  to  1727 
1727  Joseph  Jenckes,  to  1732 
1732  William  Wanton,  to  1734 
1734  John  Wanton,  to  1741 
1741  Richard  Ward,  to  1743 
1743  William  Greene,  to  1745 

1745  Gideon  Wanton,  to  1746 

1746  William  Greene,  to  1747 


270  APPENDIX. 

1747  Gideon  Wanton,  to  1748 

1748  William  Greene,  to  1755 
1755  Stephen  Hopkins,  to  1757 

1757  William  Greene,  to  1758 

1758  Stephen  Hopkins,  to  1762 

1762  Samuel  Ward,  to  1763 

1763  Stephen  Hopkins,  to  1765 
1765  Samuel  Ward,  to  1767 

1767  Stephen  Hopkins,  to  1768 

1768  Josias  Lyndon,  to  1769 

1769  Joseph  Wanton,  to  1775 
1775  Nicholas  Cooke,  to  1778 
1778  William  Greene,  to  1786 
1786  John  Collins,  to  1789 
1789  Arthur  Fenner,  to  1805 

1805  Henry  Smith,  acting  Governor  to  1806 

1806  Isaac  Wilbour,  lieutenant  Governor  to  1807 

1807  James  Fenner,  to  1811 
1811  William  Jones,  to  1817 
1817  Nehemiah  R.  Knight,  to  1821 
1821  William  C.  Gibbs,  to  1824 
1824  James  Fenner,  to  1831 
1831  Lemuel  H.  Arnold,  to  1833 
1833  John  Brown  Francis. 


OFFICERS 

OF 


Elected  July  19,  1837. 

JOHN    ROWLAND, 

President. 
CHRISTOPHER    G.    CHAMPLIN, 

First  Vice-President. 
ROMEO    ELTON, 

Second  Vice-President. 
THOMAS    H.    WEBB, 

Secretary. 
THOMAS    W.    DORR, 

Treasurer. 

WILLIAM    R.    STAPLES, 
Librarian  and  Cabinet  Keeper  of  the  Northern  District. 

BENJAMIN    B.    HOWLAND, 
Librarian  and  Cabinet  Keeper  of  the  Southern  District, 

TRUSTEES. 

DAVID  BENEDICT, 
STEPHEN  BRANCH, 
THOMAS  H.  WEBB, 
THOMAS  F.  CARPENTER, 
ALBERT  G.  GREENE, 
JOHN  CARTER  BROWN, 
ROBERT  JOHNSTON, 
WILLIAM  G.  GODDARD, 
JOHN  PITMAN, 
RICHARD  J.  ARNOLD, 
JOSEPH  L.  TILLINGHAST, 
EDWARD  B.  HALL. 

COMMITTEE     OF     P  U  B  L  I  C  A  T  I  O  N, 

Elected  by  the  Trustees,  1837. 

ROMEO  ELTON, 
ALBERT  G.  GREENE, 
WILLIAM  G.  GODDARD. 


CIRCULAR 

OF 


The  Society  would  call  the  attention  of  members  and  correspondents, 
to  the  following  subjects  : 

1.  Topographical  Sketches  of  towns  and  villages,  including  an  ac- 
count of  their  soil,  agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  natural  cu- 
riosities and  statistics. 

2.  Sketches  of  the  history  of  the   settlement  and  rise  of  such  towns 
and  villages  ;  and  of  the  introduction  and  progress  of  commerce,  manu- 
factures, and  the  arts,  in  them. 

3.  Biographical  Notices  of  original  settlers,  revolutionary  patriots,  and 
other  distinguished  men  who  have  resided  in  this  State. 

4.  Original  letters  and  documents,  and  papers  illustrating  any  of  these 
subjects  ;  particularly  those  which  shew  the  private  habits,  manners  or 
pursuits  of  our  ancestors,  or  are  connected  with  the  general  history  of 
this  State. 

5.  Sermons,  orations,  occasional    discourses  and    addresses,  books, 
pamphlets,  almanacs  and  newspapers,  printed  in  this  State  ;  and  manu- 
scripts, especially  those  written  by  persons  born  or  residing  in  this  State. 

6.  Accounts  of  the  Indian  tribes  which  formerly  inhabited  any  part  of 
this  State,  their  numbers  and  condition  when  first  visited  by  the  whites, 
their  general  character  and  peculiar  customs   and  manners,  their  wars 
and  treaties,  and  their  original  grants  to  our  ancestors. 

7.  The  Indian  names  of  the  towns,  rivers,  islands,  bays,  and  other  re- 
markable places  within  this  State,  and  the  traditional  import  of  those 
names. 

8.  Besides  these,   the   Society   will  receive  donations  of  any  other 
books,  pamphlets,  manuscripts  and  printed  documents. 


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