Content ARNOLD

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• FamilySearch ID: L5YH-1NF

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• FamilySearch ID: LT4K-81F

Benedict married Mary TURNER on 9 Mar 1670 in Pawtuxet, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. Mary was born on 3 Feb 1650 in Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America; died on 16 Dec 1690 in Newport, Rhode Island, British Colonial America; was buried in 1690 in Arnold Burying Ground, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: MPQK-57D

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• FamilySearch ID: LBW4-N7J
• Occupation: ; Governor of Rhode Island 1663-1666, 1669-1672, and 1677-1678
• Immigration: 24 Jun 1635, Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America; Left Dartmouth, England 1 May 1635

Notes:

British Colonial Governor. After coming with his father to New England, in 1637, in Rhode Island, he signed a "compact as one of thirteen to any agreements made by the masters of families." He mastered the native languages and became a negotiator with the Indians in 1645. In 1653 he moved to Newport and was elected Assistant. In 1657 he was one of the purchasers of the island of Conanicut. On May 19,1657, after Roger Williams retired from the office of President of the Colony, he was elected to that office. In 1660 he was elected Assistant again. On May 22, 1663, he was elected as the first Governor of Rhode Island. He was re-elected in 1664, 1669, 1677 and 1678, and helped bring about the union of the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations into one colony.

" After accompanying his parents to Hingham, MA and then to Providence, RI, where he remained until November 1651 or 1653, Benedict removed to Newport, RI. He is said to have been one of the wealthiest men in the colony, as well as one of its most eminent citizens. He owned large tracts of land in and around Newport, also owned the southern part of the large island in Narragansett Bay(Quonaniquot) Canonicut, now forming the town of Jamestown and 1/7 part of Pettiquanscut purchase, now South Kingstown, RI. In 1645, having acquired a knowledge of the Indian language, he was employed by the colony as its interpreter in its negotiations with the Indian tribes. In 1670, he was chosen by the General Assembly as the agent of the colony to go to England, to protest its rights under the Charter against the claims of Connecticut. In 1654 and 1660, he was chosen one of the Governor's Assistants. After serving as Governor from 1663 to 1678, he died in that office. Nearly 1,000 persons were present at his funeral. The original seal of Gov. Arnold, with a mahogany handle, gearing the letters B.A. and an anchor, is now in the archives of the R.I. Historical Society. The official chair he occupied when, in 1663, he received the Royal Charter from England, is in possession of the Redwood Library at Newport."
(History and Genealogy of Stukely Westcott,Vol. 1, pg.127, 1932)
Personal records of Virginia May Brown Allen and submitted by Eloise A. Scott

Benedict married Damaris WESTCOTT on 17 Dec 1640 in Newport, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. Damaris was born on 27 Jan 1621 in Yeovil, Somerset, England; was christened on 27 Jan 1621 in Yeovil, Somerset, England; died on 19 Jun 1678 in Newport, Rhode Island, British Colonial America; was buried in 1678 in Arnold Burying Ground, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: KNDT-QWC

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• Education: ; Education Sufficient to write lengthy letters to authorities in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• FamilySearch ID: MYYN-4MJ
• Emigrated from Dartmouth, England to Massachusetts Bay: 24 Jun 1635; With his family(Including brother Thomas) and his sister's (Joane) three children
• Residence: Jul 1635, Hingham, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America
• Residence: 1636, Providence, Rhode Island, British Colonial America
• Residence: 1638, Pawtuxet, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island, British Colonial America; off of the Pawtuxet River

Notes:

William Arnold (24 June 1587 ? c. 1676) was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and he and his sons were among the wealthiest people in the colony. He was raised and educated in England where he was the warden of St. Mary's, the parish church of Ilchester in southeastern Somerset. He immigrated to New England with family and associates in 1635. He initially settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but he soon relocated to the new settlement of Providence Plantation with Roger Williams. He was one of the 13 original proprietors of Providence, appearing on the deed signed by Roger Williams in 1638, and was one of the 12 founding members of the first Baptist church to be established in America.
After living in Providence for about two years, Arnold moved with his family and others to the north side of the Pawtuxet River forming a settlement commonly called Pawtuxet, later a part of Cranston, Rhode Island. He and his fellow settlers had serious disputes with their Warwick neighbors on the south side of the river and, as a result, separated themselves from the Providence government, putting themselves under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This separation from Providence lasted for 16 years, and Arnold was appointed to keep the peace as the head of the settlement. He died sometime during the great turmoil of King Philip's War in 1675 or 1676. His son Benedict succeeded Roger Williams as President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1657, and he became the first Governor of the colony under the royal charter of 1663.

William married Christian PEAKE in 1614 in Muchelney, Somerset, England. Christian (daughter of Thomas PEAKE and Agnis GULLEY) was born on 15 Feb 1583 in Muchelney, Somerset, England; was christened on 15 Feb 1583 in Muchelney, Somerset, England; died on 15 Apr 1659 in West Pawtucket, Rhode Island, British Colonial America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: LBYV-N48
• Name: Christiana PEAKE
• Name: Christina PEAKE