Chapter X: Conclusion

In conclusion, what shall we say were the peculiar and distinctive contributions of Samuell Gorton to the Commonwealth which he helped to found, and the life of our later day? I answer, first, to him more than to any other we are indebted for the recognition and establishment of the principle that English law and the rights of English citizenship are coextensive with English supremacy; and that to secure these rights in the Colonies, together with the privileges of local administration, a charter from the Home Government was necessary. This principle had been ignored or denied by Roger Williams,[79] and violated by the governments of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. Samuell Gorton affirmed it in season and out of season; in its defence suffered imprisonment and stripes, and did not rest until by the aid of Roger Williams at last convinced by his insistency and by the stern logic of events, it was accepted by the Commonwealth, affirmed in its Charter, and embodied in its legislation.

So firmly was this principle subsequently engrafted on our Colonial system, that it became our strongest defence against the encroachments of the Mother Country during the Revolutionary struggle and gave us an effective _pou sto_ for the Declaration of Independence. Nor did the severing of the relations with the government of England rupture this thread of law and equity which bound us to our historic past. Ours became the heritage of English Common Law: ours as well as England’s those historic rights and privileges of citizenship handed down from Magna Charta.

I answer, secondly, to Samuell Gorton more than to any other, all generations of Americans will owe the insistent affirmation and consistent illustration of the principle of religious individualism which is the logical outcome of the Protestant idea—the principle which strips off the conventional reliance on ritual and organization, and places the individual soul face to face with the problems of life and duty. In our own generation, Ralph Waldo Emerson has been the clearest exponent of this principle. Gorton was the premature John the Baptist of New England Transcendentalism.

No portrait, or adequate description of this forgotten Founder of our Liberties has been handed down to our time. The writer of his brief biography tells us that “His bearing was courteous, his feelings lively, his mind vigorous and well-informed.”[80] From such hints as we may obtain from various sources we may picture him as a man of tall stature, marked features and gentlemanly address; blue-eyed—a typical Saxon; of an earnest and sympathetic nature; persuasive of speech in conversation and exhortation, and freely emphasizing his thoughts with appropriate gestures, quick to resent injustice, and bold in his denunciation of wrong-doers,[81]—more eloquent and effective in his spontaneous utterances and unstudied efforts than in the formal and labored style of his written treatises.

Of his domestic life we know but little. From his kindly mention of his wife and children in the final disposal of his property, we have a right to infer that his family relations were harmonious. The reverent regard of his sons for his wishes, long after his decease, shows that the respect which they bore for him was deep and lasting. Besides the three sons, his family included twice that number of daughters. These were all married at the time of his decease, and the fact that they, conjointly with their husbands, were remembered in the final disposal of his property indicates his affectionate regard for all the branches of his household. One of the daughters, with the remarkable Scriptural name of Mahershallalhashbaz, married Daniel Cole, and removed to Glen Cove, Long Island, then known as Moscheto Cove, and has numerous descendants still residing in that vicinity.[82]

More than most men, Samuell Gorton has been honored in the persons of his descendants. His oldest son, Captain Samuell Gorton, succeeded in some respects, to the position and influence of his father and held many posts of honor in his Town and State. Benjamin, the youngest son, was one of the founders of the neighboring Town of East Greenwich. Othniel Gorton, a lineal descendant of Samuell Gorton, was several times chosen to the General Assembly from the Town of Warwick, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives at intervals during and subsequent to the Revolutionary War. Gen. Nathaniel Greene, next to George Washington, the most eminent military leader in the contest with Great Britain, traced his lineage directly to John Greene and Samuell Gorton, noble founders of the liberties which he fought to sustain; as did also Col. Christopher Greene, of Revolutionary fame. Albert Gorton Greene, a descendant of John Greene, Samuell Gorton and Randall Holden, three of the original settlers of Warwick, became a judge of the Municipal Court in the City of Providence, and is well known to three generations as the author of “Old Grimes,” and other popular ballads and poems. The late Governor Henry Lippitt, and the present Chief Magistrate of Rhode Island, the Hon. Charles Warren Lippitt, as well as the late Lieut.-Gov. Samuel G. Arnold, the historian of the State, are direct descendants of Samuell Gorton. The Rev. James Gorton, a Baptist minister of independent views now living, is a frequent contributor on social and religious topics to periodical literature. Dr. David Allyn Gorton, of Brooklyn, N. Y., another living descendant of Samuell Gorton, has won an enviable reputation in the practice of medicine, was formerly editor of the National Quarterly Review, is the author of an able work on “The Monism of Man,” and numerous philosophical essays, as well as a treatise on “The Principles of Mental Hygiene,” and voluminous contributions to medical literature. In recent years he has contributed several able papers to the collections of the Brooklyn Ethical Association. His son, Dr. Eliot Gorton, is well known as an alienist and an able writer on this and kindred topics, as is also Dr. W. A. Gorton, of the Butler Asylum for the Insane, in Providence. Charles Gorton, of the same city, who owns the only complete original edition of Samuell Gorton’s published works known to exist in this country, is a tireless bibliophilist and book collector, the possessor of invaluable literary and archæological treasures. Dexter Gorton is one of the most respected citizens of Providence, a man of sterling integrity, for many years Chief Engineer of the Fire Department of that City, now one of its Fire Commissioners, and has several times been chosen to the City Council. The descendants of Samuell Gorton are also widely distributed in other portions of the country. In the independence of mind and literary ability which they have often illustrated, the believer in heredity will recognize the out-cropping of the same sterling qualities which characterized the first of their honored name who made his home in the new world.

The house which Samuell Gorton erected and where he spent his later years was a land-mark in Old Warwick until within the last half century. From its door his eyes could rest on the placid waters of Warwick Cove, and beyond the meadow could see his cattle grazing upon the rounded uplands of Warwick Neck. The surrounding scenery is restful to the eye, and invites the thoughtful contemplation of the deep things of life in which his soul delighted. A short time since, I visited the spot, and conversed with the oldest representative of four generations of his descendants, now occupying the ancestral acres. I walked up the hill-side back of the house which now occupies the site of the old Gorton homestead, to the little family graveyard where tradition says that Samuell Gorton was laid to rest with the patent of the Town of Warwick which he obtained in England,—a nobler decoration than a royal order—upon his breast. No monumental stone—not even a green mound or an over-arching tree—now marks the sacred bit of earth where his body long since turned to dust.

All around, however, are the gracious evidences that his life and labors were not vainly spent. The prosperity of the town which he founded and the Commonwealth which he helped to build, constitute his most enduring monument. South, lies the quiet hamlet of East Greenwich, of which his son was one of the founders, built in part upon land once owned by Samuell Gorton. West, also, lie the rural towns of Coventry and West Greenwich, the soil of which was largely covered by his original purchase from Miantonomi. What fortunes have been made where he found a wilderness and out of it wrought a humble home for his declining years! What untold happiness has filled the throbbing hearts of the many generations that have come after him as they have looked out upon the pleasant acres, honestly bought of their aboriginal possessors, and bravely held as a heritage to his posterity!

The Commonwealth which he loved and served so well has proudly held up the banner of Soul Liberty guarded and consecrated by Righteous Law, until its beautiful symbol[83] has carried Hope and Safety to the uttermost parts of our American Union. Could this Founder of our Liberties look down upon these peaceful and prosperous scenes, and ponder upon their vast and beneficent significance, hardly would his unselfish soul miss the monumental stone which yet a grateful community shall raise to his fragrant memory. In thankfulness of heart he would bless the Power which has wrought so marvelously in him and in those who have followed in his footsteps, and murmur in grateful acknowledgment, “Yea, Lord, I have seen of the travail of my soul, and am satisfied.”

FOOTNOTES

Footnote 1:

Both Samuell Gorton, Sr., and his eldest son, spelled their first name
with the double “L.”

Footnote 2:

“Beniamin Gorton Killed A woolfe And brought ye head & Skine to my
house ye 21st day of December, 1674.”—[_Unpublished Town Records, of
Warwick._]

Footnote 3:

The site of the block-house has usually been placed on the North Side
of the Mill Pond, at Old Warwick. Recent investigations, however,
strongly favor the more natural site at Conimicut. I am told that
Judge Brayton was convinced that this was the true location, before he
died.

Footnote 4:

Notes to “Simplicities Defence against Seven-Headed Policie,” by Judge
W. R. Staples, [_R. I. Hist. Soc. Coll._]

Also “A Defence of Samuel Gorton,” By George A. Brayton, late Justice
of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. [_Providence: Sidney S. Rider._]

Footnote 5:

Report on the Settlement of Warwick, 1642, and the Seal of the R. I.
Historical Society, by William D. Ely and John P. Howland,
(Proceedings, 1887-88,) and Report of the Committee on the Library,
(Proceedings, 1890.)

Footnote 6:

Fuller’s “History of Warwick” also contains some sympathetic allusions
to Gorton’s story. The Hon. William P. Sheffield, in an address before
the R. I. Historical Society (1893), does him less than justice.

Footnote 7:

Mackie, et al. A letter of Gorton’s seems to fix this date with
reasonable certainty as the year of his birth.

Footnote 8:

A Defence of Samuel Gorton and the Settlers of Shawomet, p. 5.

Footnote 9:

In a letter to Nathaniel Morton, Gorton says: “I was not bred up in
the Schoole of humane learninge, and I bless God that I never was.”

Footnote 10:

_Vide_ Mackie, and others. Gorton himself refers to his father as “a
merchant of London,” which would possibly imply an earlier removal.

Footnote 11:

Calendar’s Historical Discourse, p. 9. I have not yet found this
letter of Gorton’s in the original.

Footnote 12:

The fact that he subsequently returned and spent some time in London,
unmolested, also militates against this charge.

Footnote 13:

1636, O. S.

Footnote 14:

The trial of Wheelwright was in progress when Gorton arrived.

Footnote 15:

Under date of June 7, 1637, his name appears on the roll of a company
of volunteers from Plymouth to aid Massachusetts in the Pequot war. He
probably saw no service.

Footnote 16:

An early tradition, the origin of which I have not been able to trace,
gives the name of Gorton’s wife as Elizabeth. In the New England
Historical and Genealogical Register, (Vol. XLIV) however, there is a
record of the bequest of Mary Mayplett, of London, widow, on Dec. 7,
1646, to her daughter, “_Mary_ Gorton, wife of Samuell Gorton, being
in New England,” of “all the money which her said husband Samuell doth
owe me, and a breed of cattle which he hath of mine.” In a later
volume (XLVI), there is a record of the will of “John Maplett, Doctor
of Physicke, of the city of Bath, Somerset,” dated April 16, 1670,
which contains the following clause: “I give and bequeath unto my dear
sister, Mistress Mary Gorton, of New England, the sum of 20s., and to
each of her children I give the sum of 10s. apiece.” Dr. John Maplett,
the brother-in-law of Samuell Gorton, was eminent in letters as well
as in medicine, having been for a time the Principal of Worcester
College. (_Vide_ Stevens’s Cyc. of Nat. Biography.) Samuell Gorton’s
oldest child was a daughter named Mary, probably for her mother. His
youngest daughter was named Elizabeth, but the late date of Dr.
Maplett’s bequest to his sister Mary precludes the idea of a second
marriage. There appear to have been at least two instances in the
later history of the Gorton family of marriages between Samuells and
Elizabeths, and it is probably from this that the confusion has
arisen. I am indebted to Mr. Adelos Gorton, of Philadelphia, for
important facts bearing on this question.

Footnote 17:

Winslow afterwards vaguely accused her of “having made some unworthy
speeches and carriages.” (“_Hypocrisy Unmasked_”).

Footnote 18:

For an account of Gorton’s trial see Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. I,
pp. 100, 105, under date “5 Nov. 1638.”

Footnote 19:

_Vide_ Portsmouth Records, under date “Aprill the 30th, 1639.”

Footnote 20:

April 28, 1639, William Coddington was Governor, under the Royal
Charter, from May, 1674, to May, 1676, and from Aug. 28, 1678, to Nov.
1 of the same year, dying in office.

Footnote 21:

March 12, 1640.

Footnote 22:

He is said to have characterized the magistrates as “just asses,” and
to have called one of the witnesses a “jack-an-apes.” (See charges in
Portsmouth Records). This occurred in August, 1640.

Footnote 23:

So Leckford (1641), Winthrop and Morton. Judge Staples questions this.
Gorton himself refers to “fines, whippings and banishments out of
their jurisdiction,” suffered by himself and friends. (_Simplicities
Defence_). See also Edward Winslow’s “_Hypocrisie Unmasked_.”

Footnote 24:

For charges against Gorton see Portsmouth Town Records. There, also,
under date “Mch. 16, 1642,” is a record of the banishment and
disfranchisement of Wickes, Carder, Holden, Shotten and Potter; an
action practically reversed on the 19th of the following September.
(Portsmouth Records). They had already left Portsmouth before their
official banishment.

Footnote 25:

There is reference to these controversies in Providence Records under
date Nov. 17, 1641, in which Gorton’s name is mentioned.

Footnote 26:

There are strong reasons for questioning the authenticity of this
letter.

Footnote 27:

This is admitted by Knowles, the biographer of Roger Williams. Arnold,
certainly, had few sympathizers. None of the five “Disposers” of the
town took part in this action.

Footnote 28:

The first deed of land beyond the Pawtuxet was made to John Greene,
Oct. 1, 1642, and signed by Miantonomi and Soccononocco. The deed to
Samuell Gorton and others, of the Shawomet lands bears date on the
12th of the following January (1642, O. S.).

Footnote 29:

The submission of Pomham and Soccononocco to Massachusetts bears date
“June 22nd, 1643.”

Footnote 30:

_Vide_ “_Narragansett Historical Register_,” Vol. I, pp. 16, 17, _et
seq._

Footnote 31:

Sept. 12, 1643.

Footnote 32:

Reply of Nowell and the Boston authorities to Gorton, _vide_
“_Simplicities Defence_.”

Footnote 33:

“All ministers of the Gospel.” (Brayton.) The Providence men were
Chad. Brown, Thomas Olney, William Field and William Wickenden.
Sheffield says “Brown and Wickenden _afterwards_ became clergymen.”
(_Samuell Gorton_, p. 45).

Footnote 34:

Sheffield says “for several days.” (Address before R. I. Historical
Society, February, 1893).

Footnote 35:

The invaders also took and sold eighty head of cattle belonging to
Gorton and his friends.

Footnote 36:

A full account of this contest, with statements of both parties,
appears in Gorton’s “_Simplicities Defence_,” (first ed., London, Aug.
3, 1646.) See also Winslow’s “_Hypocrisie Unmasked_.”

Footnote 37:

Gorton was at first ordered to formulate his answers “_within fifteen
minutes_,” but on appeal was given until the next morning.

Footnote 38:

By two majority!

Footnote 39:

Gorton was taken to Boston as “prisoner of war,” Oct. 13, 1643. He was
sentenced Nov. 3, 1643; released Mch. 7, 1643-44 (1643, O. S.).

Footnote 40:

History of New England, Vol. I.

Footnote 41:

_Simplicities Defence against Seven Headed Policie._

Footnote 42:

The reference is to Mr. Cotton’s championship of Anne Hutchinson and
the Antinomian heresy.

Footnote 43:

Williams probably sold his half of Prudence to obtain money to pay his
expenses to England, when he went to make application for a charter.
The purchase was in the name of a friend and co-partner of Winthrop,
one Parker, a merchant of Boston.

Footnote 44:

The date ordinarily assigned to this patent, “Aug. 19, _1644_,” must
be erroneous. It was probably granted two years later, when Gorton was
in England.

Footnote 45:

The manner in which the authorities of Massachusetts Bay recognized
this safe-conduct was characteristic. Under date of “13th May, 1648,”
the following entry appears in the Colonial Records: “Vppon the
request of the Earle of Warwicke, the Court allowes Samuell Gorton,
now a shipboard, one full weeke after the date hereof, for the
transportatiō of himselfe & his goods through or iurisdictiō to the
place of his dwelling, he demeaning himselfe inoffensively, accordinge
to the contents of the Ŝd earle’s l’re, & that the marshals or some of
them shall shew him a coppie of this order, or fix it to the maine
mast of the shippe in which he is.”—_Mass. Records, Vol. III, p. 127._

Footnote 46:

Warwick was not named in the Charter, as the town was not organized
when it was granted; but it united with the other towns in 1647, in
the first General Assembly of the entire Colony.

Footnote 47:

These were the names given the contesting parties of white men by the
Indians. The latter, Roger Williams says, means “coat wearers,” which
leads Dr. Fiske to query whether the Gortonists habitually went in
their shirt sleeves!

Footnote 48:

Peage, or wampum, was legal tender in Rhode Island until 1662, and
doubtless still passed current among the Indians. The bill of sale
bears the name of Pomham’s son, but in its terms binds Pomham as well
as his heirs.

Footnote 49:

The Charter of 1643-44 provided “that the laws, constitutions,
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 would admit.”

Footnote 50:

Gorton’s legal acquirements were evidently superior to those of any
other man in the Colony. He was one of the first Judges of the Colony.

Footnote 51:

Historical Records, Vol. I, p. 166.

Footnote 52:

William Arnold and the Pawtuxet malcontents.

Footnote 53:

Hazard’s State Papers, p. 555. Quoted in R. I. Colonial Records, Vol.
I, p. 235.

Footnote 54:

Colonial Records (May 19, 1652).

Footnote 55:

John M. Mackie.

Footnote 56:

_Vide_ “Certain Letters which Passed between the Penman of this
Treatise and certain men newly come out of Old England into New.” By
Samuell Gorton.

Footnote 57:

Colonial Records, 1658.

Footnote 58:

Ibid, 1665.

Footnote 59:

Records of the Town of Warwick (unpublished).

Footnote 60:

Greene’s Short History of Rhode Island, p. 76.

Footnote 61:

Unpublished Town Records.

Footnote 62:

_Vide_ Austin’s Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. See, also,
unpublished Town Records of Warwick.

Footnote 63:

Massachusetts Records, Vol. II, p. 51.

Footnote 64:

History of Rhode Island. By Samuel G. Arnold.

Footnote 65:

Ibid.

Footnote 66:

This is substantially the conclusion of Judge Brayton. (Defence of
Samuel Gorton).

Footnote 67:

That Gorton believed in civil government also clearly appears in his
correspondence relating to the Quakers, where he expressly dissents
from their views about government.

Footnote 68:

_Vide_ Nowell, Rawson, Winthrop, Winslow, Morton, _et al._

Footnote 69:

“The Father was never knowne nor is he knowable but in Christ.”
(Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer).

Footnote 70:

The quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from Gorton’s
unpublished Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer. (Commentary, p. 101).

Footnote 71:

“Though no church was formed in connection with his ministrations, he
exercised a powerful influence upon the religious views of the
Colony.” History of Warwick, p. 301. By Orris Payson Fuller, B. A.

Footnote 72:

He also differed with the Friends of his day in his views about
government.

Footnote 73:

This is strongly emphasized in his Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer.

Footnote 74:

Commentary Mss., p. 11. See, also, p. 14, _et seq._, as well as
“_Simplicities Defence_,” (R. I. Hist. Soc. Ed.) page 183.

Footnote 75:

Commentary Mss., page 57.

Footnote 76:

Dr. Fiske is in error in classing him as a follower of Anne
Hutchinson. His theology was original and peculiarly his own.
(Commentary Mss., p. 58).

Footnote 77:

Commentary Mss., p. 90.

Footnote 78:

It is hardly necessary to say that neither Gorton or Parker held this
doctrine in any materialistic sense. It was a lofty philosophical
conception that the entire creative energy was expressed in the divine
nature, to conceive which as purely masculine was inadequate,
anthropomorphic and irrational.

Footnote 79:

The first charge against Roger Williams, on which he was banished from
Massachusetts Bay, accused him of teaching “That wee have not our land
by Pattent from the King, but that the natives are the true owners of
it and that wee ought to repent of such receiving it by Pattent.”
Gorton agreed with Williams as to the necessity of purchase from the
Indians, but thought the charter also necessary.

Footnote 80:

John M. Mackie, in “_Sparks’s American Biography_.”

Samuel Eddy, Secretary of State of Rhode Island, _circum_ 1820, says
of Gorton: “From the first establishment of the government he was
almost constantly in office, and during a long life there is no
instance of record to my knowledge of any reproach or censure cast
upon him, no complaint of him, although history furnishes abundance of
evidence that there were no lack of enemies to his person, principles,
or property. This can hardly be said of any other settler of the
Colony of any standing.” Quoted in Judge Brayton’s “_Defence of Samuel
Gorton_.”

Footnote 81:

_Vide_ Winthrop’s Letters, the Portsmouth charges, etc.

Footnote 82:

The eldest daughter, Mary, married, i. Peter Greene; ii. John Sanford;
the youngest, Elizabeth, married John Crandall; Sarah married William
Mace; Ann’s husband was John Warner; Susanna’s was Benjamin Barton.
From these marriages have sprung many well known Rhode Island
families.

Footnote 83:

The Colonial Assembly of 1647 provided “that the seale of the Province
shall be an anchor.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND INDEX

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following books, articles and manuscripts have been consulted in the preparation of this paper:

1. SIMPLICITIES DEFENCE AGAINST SEVEN-HEADED POLICIE. By Samuell Gorton.
Original Edition, London, Aug. 3, 1646. Second edition, 1647.
Reprinted in Vol. III of R. I. Historical Collections, with
introduction and notes by Judge W. R. Staples.

2. AN INCORRUPTIBLE KEY COMPOSED OF THE CX PSALME, WHEREWITH YOU MAY
OPEN THE REST OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. By Samuell Gorton. London.

3. SALTMARSH RETURNED FROM THE DEAD, in _Amicus Philalethes_; or the
Resurrection of James the Apostle out of the Grave of Carnall Glosses,
for the Correction of the Universall Apostasy which cruelly buryed him
who yet liveth. By Samuell Gorton. London Edition.

4. AN ANTEDOTE AGAINST THE COMMON PLAGUE OF THE WORLD. * * SMARTLASH
ASCENDED TO THE THRONE OF EQUITY, FOR THE ARRAGNMENTS OF FALSE
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE WORD OF GOD. By Samuell Gorton. London Edition.
(Dedicated to “His Highness, Oliver, Lord Protector of England,
Scotland and Ireland, with the dominions thereto belonging.”)

5. A RUNNING COMMENTARY ON THE LORD’S PRAYER (Matt. vi, 9-13). By
Samuell Gorton. (_Mss._ in Library of the R. I. Historical Society, at
Providence).

6. CERTAIN LETTERS WHICH PASSED BETWEEN THE PENMAN OF THIS TREATISE AND
CERTAIN MEN NEWLY COME OUT OF OLD ENGLAND INTO NEW. By Samuell Gorton.
(London Edition).

7. LETTERS TO NATHANIEL MORTON AND OTHERS. By Samuell Gorton. (Some of
these letters are in the possession of Mr. Edward Crowninshield, of
Boston).

8. LIFE OF SAMUEL GORTON. By John M. Mackie. (Sparks’s American
Biography).

9. A DEFENCE OF SAMUEL GORTON AND THE SETTLERS OF SHAWOMET. By George A.
Brayton. Late Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island (R. I.
Historical Tracts, No. 17.—Sidney S. Rider).

10. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE—Calendar.

11. RHODE ISLAND COLONIAL RECORDS.

12. MASSACHUSETTS COLONIAL RECORDS.

13. RECORDS OF PLYMOUTH COLONY.

14. TOWN RECORDS OF PORTSMOUTH.

15. TOWN RECORDS OF PROVIDENCE.

16. TOWN RECORDS OF WARWICK. (Unpublished).

17. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WARWICK. By Orris Payson Fuller, B. A.

18. NARRAGANSETT HISTORICAL REGISTER.

19. HISTORY OF THE NARRAGANSETT CHURCH. Updike.

20. HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND. By J. G. Palfrey.

21. HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. By Samuel G. Arnold.

22. A SHORT HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND. By George Washington Greene.

23. THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND. By John Fiske, LL. D.

24. PROCEEDINGS OF THE R. I. HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1887-88, 1890-91.

25. HYPOCRISIE UNMASKED. By Edward Winslow.

26. HAZARD’S STATE PAPERS.

27. AUSTIN’S GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY OF RHODE ISLAND.

28. THE COLONIAL ERA. (American History Series). By G. P. Fisher.

29. LETTERS OF JOHN WINTHROP.

INDEX

=Adams=, Charles Francis, on Samuell Gorton, 83

=Agnosticism=, Gorton’s views on, 88-89

=Aldredge=, Mrs.
Her trouble with the Plymouth authorities, 28
Samuell Gorton’s defence of, 28-29

=Anarchism=, Gorton’s alleged, 74-78

=Anchor=, the Seal of Rhode Island, 115

=Andros=, Governor, 78

=Antinomianism=, 97 and _note_.

=Apponaug.=
Town Hall of Warwick in, 9, 14
Ancient records in, 14, 15

=Aquidneck.=
Settlement of, 29-31
Effort of Massachusetts to separate from Providence Plantations,
49-55
A refuge for Warwick residents in King Philip’s war, 70

=Arnold=, Hon. Samuel G.,
His History of Rhode Island, 17, 19
On Samuell Gorton’s political creed, 75
His kinship to Samuell Gorton, 75, 110

=Arnold=, William,
His contentions in Providence and Pawtuxet, 34, 36
His alliance with Massachusetts Bay, 36
His small following, 36, _note_.
His friends accuse the men of Shawomet, 62, and _note_.

=Arrow-heads=, 14

=Atherton= Company, 39, 49

=Awoshosse=, 52

=Barton=, Benjamin,
Marries Susanna, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Bible=, Samuell Gorton’s principal text-book, 22, 99

=Bibliography=, 119-122

=Blasphemy=, Charges against Gorton for, 39, 43, 45

=Boston=, Sympathy with Gorton in, 45-46

=Bradford=, William, 10

=Brayton=, Hon. George A.
His Defence of Samuell Gorton, 18, and _note_, 19
On Gorton’s noble connection, 21-22
On the peace-makers from Providence, 40, _note_.

=Canonchet=, 69

=Carder=, Richard.
His banishment from Portsmouth, 33-34, _note_.
His imprisonment in Massachusetts, 47

=Channing=, William Ellery.
Samuell Gorton’s theology compared with, 96

=Charles= the First.
His contest with Parliament, 35

=Charles= the Second.
Gorton prepares an address to, 67
Grants the Charter of 1663, 68

=Charlestown=, Samuell Gorton’s imprisonment in, 45

=Charter.=
Of Providence Plantations, 1643-44, 53, 56, 60, 61, _note_.
Of Warwick, 54
Royal Charter of 1663, 68

=Christ=, Samuell Gorton’s teachings about, 88, 89, 91, 95-97

=Christocentric= character of Samuell Gorton’s theology, 88

=Church= of England, Samuell Gorton’s indebtedness to, 23

=Clam-bakes=, 14

=Clarke=, John.
Represents Rhode Island in England, 66
Gorton’s letter to, concerning the Quakers, 67
Secures the Charter of 1663, 68

=Coddington=, William.
Settles at Aquidneck, 30
Removes to Newport, 30
Establishes a Theocracy, 30
Supported by a minority, 31
Opposes union under the Charter of, 1643-44, 56
Secedes from the Charter Government, 63
Governor under the Royal Charter, 30, _note_.

=Code= of 1647, 60-62

=Cole=, Daniel, marries Mahershallalhashbaz, daughter of Samuell
Gorton, 108

=Colonial= dwellings in Warwick, 8

=Common= Law of England, 76-77, 105

=Conanicus=, 52

=Conimicut= Point.
Samuell Gorton’s Block House on, 12, and _note_.
The siege of, 12, 40-42

=Connecticut= rejects the limitations of citizenship by
church-membership, 80

=Cotton=, John, his alleged heresies, 47-48, and _note_.

=Coventry=, 114

=Coweset=, Gorton’s lands in, deeded to his sons, 72

=Coweset= Bay, 9

=Crandall=, John, marries Elizabeth, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108,
_note_.

=Cromwell=, Oliver, letter to, concerning the Quakers, 66-67

=Cutshamekin=, 46

=Declaration= of Independence, 105

=East= Greenwich.
Land in owned by Samuell Gorton, 72-73, 114
Benjamin Gorton, one of its first settlers, 73

=Eddy=, Samuel, on Samuell Gorton’s character, 106, _note_.

=Ely=, William D., his studies of the Gorton history, 48, and _note_.

=Emerson=, Ralph Waldo, his philosophy foreshadowed by that of Samuell
Gorton, 92, 106

=Ethical= teachings of Samuell Gorton, 97, 101

=Fiske=, John, LL. D.
His account of Samuell Gorton in “The Beginnings of New England.”, 18
His story of the murder of Miantonomi, 52
On the Gortonoges and Wattaconoges, 57, _note_.
His inadequate estimate of Gorton’s career, 82

=Friends.=
Gorton’s defence of, 66, and _note_ 67
His letters to, 66, _note_.
His theology compared with that of, 93-94
He opposes their doctrine of the “inner light.”, 93
He opposes their doctrine about Government, 94, _note_.

=Gaspee=, burning of, 11

=Gorton=, Adelos, vi, 27, _note_.

=Gorton=, Ann, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Gorton=, Benjamin,
Kills a wolf in Warwick, 1774, 12, _note_.
Inherits estate from his father, Samuell Gorton, 71
Early settler of East Greenwich, 72, 109, 114

=Gorton=, Charles, 111-112

=Gorton=, Dr. David Allyn, 110-111

=Gorton=, Dexter, 112

=Gorton=, Dr. Eliot, 111

=Gorton=, Elizabeth, 108, _note_.

=Gorton=, Rev. James, 110

=Gorton=, John.
Inherits estate from his father, Samuell Gorton, 71
Shares in final division of the Coweset lands, 72

=Gorton=, Mary, eldest daughter of Samuell Gorton, 27, _note_, 108,
_note_.

=Gorton=, Mary Maplett,
Wife of Samuell Gorton, 26, 27 and _note_.
His testimony to her gentle birth, 27
His provision for her in the disposal of his estate, 72

=Gortonoges=, 10, 57, and _note_.

=Gorton=, Othniel, 109

=Gorton=, Parish of, in England, 21

=Gorton=, Samuell.
Born in 1592, 21, and _note_.
The man and his work, 21
His education, 22, and _note_.
His residence in London, 23-24
His marriage, 24
His emigration to America, 25
His residence in Boston and Plymouth, 25-29
His first meeting with Roger Williams, 26
His troubles with the Plymouth authorities, 28
His banishment from Plymouth, 29
His difficulties in Portsmouth, 31-33
His banishment by the Coddington Government, 33
His contentions in Providence, 34-35
His settlement in Shawomet, 37
He is summoned to Boston, 39
Besieged at Conimicut, 40-42
Taken to Boston for trial, 43
Imprisoned in Massachusetts, 43-45
His release and return to Portsmouth, 45-49
Secures the submission of the Narragansetts to the British
Government, 51, 52, 55
Excluded from Shawomet by Massachusetts, 49, 51
His voyage to England, 1645-48, 54-55
Secures Charter for Warwick, 54
His later career, 59
His service in the General Assembly, 59-65
Probable author of the statute against slavery, 63-65
General Assistant, Moderator and President, 65
His defence of the Quakers, 66-67
Incorporator of the Colony under the Royal Charter, 68
Assigned shares in Warwick Neck, 68
His life saved by friendly Indians during King Philip’s War, 68-69
Divides his estate among his children, 71-73
His political philosophy, 74-81
His religious convictions, 82-102
His character and personal appearance, 106-108

=Gorton=, Samuell, Jr.
Born in England, 1630, 27-28
Writes will of John Wickes, 70
Elected Town Treasurer, 71
Trust reposed in him by his father, 71-72
Participates in the final division of Coweset lands, 72-73

=Gorton=, Sarah, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Gorton=, Susanna, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Gorton=, Dr. W. A., 111

=Greene=, Hon. Albert Gorton, 110

=Greene=, Col. Christopher, 110

=Greene=, John,
Co-settler of Warwick with Samuell Gorton, 13
First deed of Shawomet lands to, 37, _note_.
Accompanies Gorton to England, 54
Signs will of John Wickes, 71

=Greene=, Gen. Nathanael, 109-110

=Greene=, Peter, marries Mary, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Hireling= ministry, 91

=Historical= Society, documents in the Library of, 15, 18, and _note_.

=Holden=, Randall.
Co-settler of Warwick with Samuell Gorton, 13
His banishment from Portsmouth, 33, 34, _note_.
Commissioner to convey submission of the Narragansetts, 52
Accompanies Gorton to England, 54
Will of John Wickes proved before him, 70

=Huguenots=, 81

=Hutchinson=, Anne.
Her banishment from Massachusetts Bay, 25
Settles at Aquidneck, 29
Gorton not her follower, 97, _note_.

=Hypocrisie= Unmasked, 28, _note_, 33, _note_, 42, _note_.

=Immortality=, Gorton’s views about, 97

=Imprisonment= for debt forbidden by Code of 1647, 62

=Imputed= sin, 97

=Incorruptible= Key to the CX Psalme, 78, 79, 84

=Indians.=
In Warwick, 12
At Pottowomut Neck, 14
Employed by Massachusetts against Gorton, 40, 41
Their sympathy with Gorton, 46
They save his life, 68-69
He is their trusted counsellor, 69

=Individualism=, Samuell Gorton’s, 77, 105

=Inner= Light, Gorton opposes the Quaker doctrine of, 93-94

=Intolerance.=
Of the Puritans, 25
Samuell Gorton opposes, 78, 94
Its contest with Soul Liberty, 78-80
Final overthrow of, 81

=James= the Second, 78

=Liberty= of Conscience.
Gorton leaves England for, 25
Not found in Massachusetts, 26
Nathaniel Ward on, 48
Upheld by Gorton and Roger Williams, 78-81

=Lincoln=, Abraham, 76

=Lippitt=, Hon. Charles Warren, 110

=Lippitt=, Hon. Henry, 110

=London=, Gorton’s residence in, 24
His return to, 54-55

=Lord’s= Prayer, Gorton’s Commentary on, 85, _et seq._

=Mace=, William, married Sarah, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108,
_note_.

=Mackie=, John M. his Life of Samuell Gorton, 17, 21, 23, 106, _note_,
119

=Magna= Charta, 76

=Mahershallalhashbaz=, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108

=Manhattan=, 54

=Maplett=,
Dr. John, Brother-in-law of Samuell Gorton: his bequest to his sister
and her children, 27, _note_.
Mary, wife of Samuell Gorton, 26, 27, _note_, 29, 72, 107
Mary, mother of Mrs. Gorton: her bequest to her daughter, 27, _note_.

=Massachusetts Bay.=
Intolerance of its government, 25
Gorton banished from, 45
Its contest for the control of Narragansett Bay, 49-58
Its efforts blocked by Samuell Gorton, 51-58
Failure of its theocratic policy, 79-81

=Miantonomi.=
Gorton purchases Shawomet of, 37, 38
Winthrop and Roger Williams purchase Prudence Island of, 50, and
_note_.
His murder by the Mohegans with the consent of the Boston elders, 52

=Mixan=, 52

=Monism=, Samuell Gorton’s, 89

=Morton=, Nathaniel,
On Samuell Gorton, 33
Gorton’s correspondence with, 22, _note_, 84

=Mysticism=, Gorton’s, 84, 94

=Narragansett Bay.=
Gorton’s residence on, 13, 37, 112
Settlement of Aquidneck on, 29
Efforts of Massachusetts authorities to control, 50, 55

=Narragansett= Indians.
Allies of Gorton, 10
Gorton purchases Shawomet of, 37
Gorton obtains their submission to Great Britain, 51-53
Massachusetts declares war against, 53
Gorton publishes their submission in London, 55

=New England= Confederation, 39, 53

=Nowell=, Increase, on Gorton’s alleged blasphemies, 39, and _note_,
83, _note_.

=Ordinances= of religion, Gorton’s opposition to, 90, 93

=Palfrey=, John G.
His account of Samuell Gorton in his History of New England, 18
Admits sympathy with Gorton in Massachusetts, 46

=Pawtuxet.=
Gorton’s settlement in, 35
His contest with William Arnold, 36
His departure from, 37
Contest of Massachusetts for, 50

=Pawtuxet= River, 8, 14

=Peage=, 57, and _note_.

=Perry=, Hon. Amos, 85

=Pessicus=, 52

=Philip=, King.
His war with the white settlers, 68
Samuell Gorton’s life saved, 69
Warwick’s sufferings during the war, 69
A battle fought in Warwick, 69

=Philosophy=, Samuell Gorton’s, 74, _et seq._

=Pilgrims=, 26

=Plymouth.=
Gorton’s residence in, 26
His banishment from, 29
Sends men to Warwick during King Philip’s war, 69

=Pomham.=
His assent to Gorton’s Shawomet purchase, 37
He repudiates his signature, 38
His submission to Massachusetts Bay, 38
His Block-House on Warwick Neck, 51
He sells his claim to Samuell Gorton, 57, and _note_.

=Popaquinepaug=, (See Pawtuxet.)

=Portsmouth.=
Town-government instituted, 29-31
Union with Newport, 31
Gorton’s troubles in, 32-33
Gorton returns to, 49

=Portsmouth.=
Is elected to a magistracy, 49
Union with Northern towns under Charter of 1643-44, 56

=Pottowomut= Neck, Indian relics found on, 14

=Pottowomut= River, 14

=Prayer=, Samuell Gorton’s definition of, 91-92

=Providence.=
Samuell Gorton emigrates to, 34
Controversies in, 34, and _note_, 35
Peacemakers from, interfere at Shawomet, 40, and _note_.
United with Aquidneck under Charter of 1643-44, 56

=Providence= Plantations.
Antagonism of Massachusetts to, 49-55
Charter obtained for, 56, and _note_.
Action of General Assembly of in 1645, 53

=Prudence= Island.
Its strategic importance in the struggle with Massachusetts Bay, 50
Its purchase by Gov. Winslow, 50, and _note_.

=Puritans.=
Their revolt against religious formalism, 23
Send an armed force against Gorton, 40
Their preaching to the Gortonists, 46, 47
Their opposition to soul liberty, 78-81

=Quakers.=
Gorton’s defence of, 66, and _note_, 67
His letters to, 66, _note_, 78, _note_.
His theology compared with that of, 90-91, 93-94

=Rawson=, Edward, on Samuell Gorton, 83-84

=Religion=, Samuell Gorton’s views concerning, 82-102

=Religious= development, Samuell Gorton on, 99

=Remphan=, Chion, Moloch, 44

=Revolutionary= War, the first blow struck in Warwick, 11

=Rites= and ceremonies, Gorton’s distrust of, 90-91, 92-93

=Rhode Island.=
Interesting character of its early history, v, 17
Settlement of, 29-30, 34, 36
Soul Liberty established in, 15, 19, 78-81
Contest with Massachusetts Bay, 38-58
First Charter of, 56, and _note_, 61, _note_.
Earliest Code of, 60-63
Triumph of Rhode Island principles, 79-81

=Salvation= by character, taught by Samuell Gorton, 97

=Sanford=, John, marries Mary, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Saracens=, 81

=Separatists=, 23, 26

=Shawomet.=
First settlement of, 37, and _note_.
Gorton’s troubles in, 38-48
Becomes Warwick, 49-58

=Sheffield=, Hon. William Pitt.
His address on Samuell Gorton, 18, _note_, 40, _note_, 41, _note_.

=Simplicities= Defence Against Seven-Headed Policie, 18, _note_, 33,
_note_, 39, _note_, 42, _note_, 47, _note_, 54, 117

=Slavery=, Statute against, in 1652, 63-65

=Smith=, Ralph.
Gorton hires a house of in Plymouth, 26
Colleague of Roger Williams, 26

=Soccononocco.=
Signs deed to Shawomet lands, 37, and _note_.
Repudiates his signature, 38
Makes submission to Massachusetts, 38, and _note_.
His revolt one cause of the submission of the Narragansetts to Great
Britain, 52

=Soul= Liberty.
Defence of by Roger Williams and Samuell Gorton, 19
Rhode Island the first Government founded on, 79
Its final triumph in the Nation, 81

=Sources= of information, 17-20

=Squatter= Sovereignty, denied by Samuell Gorton, 75

=Staples=, Hon. William R.
On Samuell Gorton, 18, and _note_, 33, _note_.
On the death of John Wickes, 70

=Sumner=, Charles, 76

=Swedenborg=, Emanuel, his theology compared with that of Samuell
Gorton, 88-90

=Theocracy.=
Of Massachusetts Bay, 25
Of Coddington’s Government, 30
Its contest with Soul Liberty, 78
Its final failure, 81

=Tomanick=, 52

=Transcendentalism.= Samuell Gorton a forerunner of, 92, 106

=Trinitarianism.= Samuell Gorton’s views about, 95-96

=Unknowable.= Samuell Gorton’s doctrine of, 88

=Wampum=, legal tender in Rhode Island, 57, _note_.

=Ward=, Nathaniel.
His exhortation to Richard Carder, 47
His “Simple Cobbler of Agawam.”, 48

=Warner=, John.
Commissioner to convey the submission of the Narragansetts, 52
Marries Ann, daughter of Samuell Gorton, 108, _note_.

=Warwick= Cove, 13, 113

=Warwick=, Earl of.
Grants Patent to Samuell Gorton, 54
Gives Gorton safe conduct through Massachusetts, 55
Massachusetts recognizes his authority, 55, _note_.

=Warwick=, Old and New, 7-16
Beautiful in Summer, 9
Town government organized in, 56-57
Unites with Providence and Aquidneck, 56
Samuell Gorton’s service of, 59-73

=Wattaconoges=, 57, and _note_.

=West= Greenwich, 114

=Wheelwright=, John, his banishment from Massachusetts Bay, 25

=Wickes=, John.
His punishment at Portsmouth, 33, and _note_.
He goes to Providence, 34
Commissioner of the Narragansetts, 52
His supposed death in King Philip’s war, 70-71
His will, 70

=Williams=, Roger, 10, 19, 26, 36, 53, 57, _note_, 63, 77, 78
His residence in Plymouth, 26
His first meeting with Samuell Gorton, 26
His banishment from Massachusetts Bay, 25
His early disagreements with Gorton, 35
His alleged letter to Winthrop of doubtful authenticity, 35, _note_.
He sells his half of Prudence Island, 50, and _note_.
He visits England and secures a Charter, 56
His doctrine of Soul Liberty, 19, 78-81
The first charge against him in Massachusetts, 104, _note_.
His conversion to Gorton’s views of civil government, 77-78, 104

=Winslow=, Edward, his “Hypocrisie Unmasked.”, 28, _note_, 33, _note_,
42, _note_.

=Winthrop=, John.
On Gorton’s controversy with Roger Williams, 35, and _note_.
Purchases Prudence Island, 50, and _note_.
His inconsistency, 50-51
Defeat of his plans by Gorton, 51-55

=Witchcraft.=
Provision against in Code of 1647, 61-62
Scepticism about in Rhode Island, 62
Charges against the men of Shawomet, 62-63
No prosecutions for in Rhode Island, 63

=Woman.= Samuell Gorton’s favors her equality with man in the Church,
101, 102

------------------------------------

PUBLICATIONS

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History of the State of Rhode Island

and Providence Plantations,

1636-1790.

By SAMUEL GREENE ARNOLD.

New Edition. 2 vols. Octavo. 574 and 600 pp. $7.50, net.

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Governor Arnold’s History of Rhode Island, based upon a careful study of documents in the British State Paper Office and in the Rhode Island State Archives, supplemented by investigations at Paris and The Hague, has from its publication been the authoritative history of the State.

Genealogical students will find in these volumes the names of over fifteen hundred persons prominent in Rhode Island affairs. This work is of much more than local interest, as the experiment of religious liberty here tried gives to this history an importance far beyond the narrow limits of the State.

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“One of the best State histories ever written is S. G. Arnold’s History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”—JOHN FISKE.

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Among Rhode Island Wild
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By W. WHITMAN BAILEY,

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Cloth. 16mo. Three full-page Illustrations. 75 cents, net.

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This admirable little volume, the outgrowth of the author’s ripe experience in teaching and in botanizing, contains a popular and interesting account of Rhode Island wild flowers as distributed throughout the State. The favorite collecting grounds are fully described, thus forming a botanical guide to Rhode Island.

In writing this volume Professor Bailey has had in mind the needs of the nature lover, and has discarded technical terms as far as possible, adapting the work to the amateur as well as the botanist.

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Tax Lists of the Town of Providence

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Cloth. Octavo. 60 pp. $1.00, net.

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The “Tax Lists of the Town of Providence” is a compilation of original documents relating to taxation during the Administration of =Sir Edmund Andros and his Council, 1686-1689=. It comprises copies of warrants issued by order of the Council for the assessment and collection of taxes, the tax lists or rate bills prepared pursuant to these warrants, the returns made by the townsmen of their ratable property, and the Tax Laws enacted by Andros and his Council. All of these, with the exception of the laws, are here printed for the first time.

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The returns of ratable property form a study by themselves, for they tell in the quaint language of the colonists what they possess, and therefore shed much light on the condition of the times. For a study of this episode in New England Colonial History this work is invaluable.

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The edition is limited to =two hundred and fifty= numbered copies.

Sent postpaid to any address on receipt of one dollar.

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Early Rhode Island Houses.

An Historical and Architectural Study by NORMAN M. ISHAM, Instructor
in Architecture, Brown University, and ALBERT F. BROWN, Architect.
Illustrated with a map and over fifty full-page plates. $3.50, net.

No feature in the study of the early life of New England is more valuable or more interesting than the architecture. Nothing throws more light on the home life of the colonists than the knowledge of how they planned and built their dwellings.

=Early Rhode Island Houses= gives a clear and accurate account of the early buildings and methods of construction, showing the historical development of architecture among the Rhode Island colonists, the striking individuality in the work of the colony and the wide difference between the buildings here and the contemporary dwelling in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Those interested in colonial life may here look into the early homes of Rhode Island with their cavernous fireplaces and enormous beams. The student will find in these old examples a valuable commentary on New England history, while the architect will discover in the measurements and analyses of construction much of professional interest.

Among the houses described are the Smith Garrison House and the homesteads of the families of Fenner, Olney, Field, Crawford, Waterman, Mowry, Arnold, Whipple, and Manton.

A chapter is devoted to the early houses of Newport, which were unlike those of the northern part of the State and resemble the old work in the Hartford colony.

Photographs and measurements of the dwellings have been made, and from them careful plans, sections, and restorations have been drawn; in some cases six full-page plates admirably drawn and interesting in themselves have been devoted to a single house. Several large plates give illustrations of framing and other details. It is to be noted that these plates are made from measured drawings, that the measurements are given on the plates, and that these constitute in most if not all cases the only exact records for a class of buildings which is destined to disappear at no distant day. It is believed that these drawings, and especially the restorations, will give a clearer idea than has ever before been obtained of the early New England house. A map enables the reader to locate without difficulty the houses mentioned in the text.

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A list of the houses in the State built before 1725, so far as they are known, with dates and a brief description will be found in the appendix.

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THE EAST INDIA TRADE

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From 1787 to 1807.

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TOPOGRAPHICAL ATLAS

OF THE

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS.

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By the United States Geological Survey, in co-operation
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The plates of this Atlas were engraved upon copper in the highest style of cartographic engraving by the United States Government and furnished to the State. From these plates transfers were made to stone and the maps printed in four colors, viz: The names, roads, railroads and other culture features are in _black_. Rivers, ponds, swamps and other water features are in _blue_. Contour lines and figures denoting elevation are in _brown_. State, county and town boundaries are in _pink_ over the more exact boundaries in black or blue.

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This Atlas includes 12 maps and 10 pages index and statistics in all 22 sheets 21×16½. The scale of the survey is 1/62500 or one mile to an inch.

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MARY DYER

OF RHODE ISLAND,

THE QUAKER MARTYR THAT WAS HANGED ON BOSTON
COMMON, JUNE 1, 1660.

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BY HORATIO ROGERS,

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

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The author has gathered from many sources the scattered facts relating to the career of Mary Dyer and woven them into a detailed narrative, so that the tragic story of her life is now for the first time adequately told. By adding a brief but comprehensive sketch of the manner and sentiments of her times he has furnished a background or framework for his subject which adds much to the interest of the volume by enabling the reader the better to understand the surroundings of the characters he portrays. The important documents relating to her trial are printed in the appendix.

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A Summer Visit of Three Rhode Islanders
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Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Providence, R. I.

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AN ACCOUNT OF THE VISIT OF DR. JOHN CLARKE, OBADIAH HOLMES AND JOHN
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WILLIAM WITTER OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASS., IN JULY, 1651: ITS INNOCENT
PURPOSE AND ITS PAINFUL CONSEQUENCES.

-------

“Dr. King’s pungent and conclusive essay is a timely contribution. He adduces competent evidence refuting the gratuitous insinuations of Palfrey and Dexter, who charged the Rhode Islanders in question with sinister political motives and excused their alleged maltreatment on that ground. Citations from original documents, with a bibliography, put the reader in position to verify the allegations of the author.”—_The Watchman._

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Revolutionary Defences in Rhode Island.

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE
FORTIFICATIONS AND BEACONS ERECTED
DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, WITH
MUSTER ROLLS OF THE COMPANIES
STATIONED ALONG THE SHORES OF
NARRAGANSETT BAY, WITH MAPS, PLANS AND
ILLUSTRATIONS.

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BY EDWARD FIELD.

Past President of the Rhode Island Society
of the Sons of the American Revolution.

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CLOTH OCTAVO, WITH 29 ILLUSTRATIONS AND TWO MAPS.

PRICE $2.25 NET.

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This volume contains an account of the various works of defence erected in the State of Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War, showing where and under what circumstances they were built, and the names of the officers and enlisted men located at many of them at various periods of the war.

For nearly three years the British Army was located within the State and one of the notable battles was fought within its territory. The war map of this battle of Rhode Island, now preserved in the State archives, has been especially reproduced for this work, and is shown in its entirety for the first time.

The work is profusely illustrated with plans and views of these old earthworks, together with illustrations of the styles of equipments and fac-similes of enlistment papers for the Continental Army. A Map of the State of Rhode Island is inserted showing the location of each fort, beacon, and coast guard station described in the text.

Muster rolls and company lists containing the names of more than seven hundred officers and enlisted men, many of which have been hitherto inaccessible, are here presented. The records of Rhode Island Soldiers in the War of the Revolution are scattered and incomplete, and the names contained in this book will be of great assistance to those who desire to ascertain the service of Rhode Island Soldiers, or to establish their right to membership in the hereditary patriotic societies, for the names have been carefully transcribed and reference is given in each case where the original muster or pay roll may be found.

Sent postpaid upon receipt of price by the publishers.

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NEW ENGLAND WILD FLOWERS

AND THEIR SEASONS.

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BY W. WHITMAN BAILEY,

PROFESSOR OF BOTANY IN BROWN UNIVERSITY.

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Cloth, 16mo. Uniform with “RHODE ISLAND WILD
FLOWERS.” 75 cents net.

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From long wanderings afield the author has caught the charm of the varying moods of our New England year, and pictures them for the reader with sympathetic touch.

The characteristics of the conspicuous and dominant flowers of the months are sketched in broad lines rendering identification easy.

The flowers of the White and Green Mountains—our alpine flora—receive separate treatment, as do also the flowers of the sea-shore—our coast flora.

Sent postpaid upon receipt of price by the publishers.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Punctuation has been normalized. Variations in hyphenation have been retained as they were in the original publication. The following changes have been made:

Peague —> Peage {135}
comon (bar-capped m) course —> common course {64}

A reference under the Index entry “Quakers” referring to page 118 was not found to be accurate, and was removed.

Footnotes have been moved to the back of the main text.

Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with _underscores_.

Bold phrases are presented by surrounding the text with =equal signs=.

Raised letters are indicated by preceding them with a caret ^ sign.