WILLIAMS: Roger Williams was born in London between 1604 and 1606 to James and Alice [Pemberton] Williams. James was a "merchant Tailor", an importer and trader. Roger's grandparents were Mark and Agnes [Audley] Williams.
In his will, proved 19 November 1621, James Williams named his "loving wife" Alice, sons Sydrach, Roger, and Robert, and his daughter, Catherine. Alice's will was probated on 26 January 1634. In it she left the sum of £10 yearly for twenty years to son Roger, "now beyond the seas" and further stipulated that if Roger preceded her in death, the remaining money was to be paid to his wife and daughter.
Roger spent his youth in St. Sepulchere's Parish without Newgate, London. As a teenager, Williams came to the attention of Sir Edward Coke, lawyer and one-time Chief Justice of England. With Coke's assistance, he was enrolled at Sutton's Hospital on 25 June 1621, a part of Charter House, a school in London. Williams graduated from Pembroke College at Cambridge University in 7 July 1625, where he had been admitted 29 June 1623. He was one of eight granted scholarships to Pembroke based on excellence in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Williams also mastered French and Dutch.
After graduation Roger Williams became Chaplain to the family of Sir William Masham. He courted Jane Whalley, but the relationship was terminated by the disapproval of Jane's aunt Lady Barrington. Williams became ill with a fever and was nursed back to health by Mary Barnard, a member of Lady Masham's household. This relationship held and Roger married Mary Bernard at the Church of High Laver, Essex in 1629.
Roger Williams was already becoming a controversial figure because of his ideas on freedom of worship. In 1630 he made the decision to leave for America and secured passage for himself and Mary on the "Lyon". The ship departed England on 1 December 1630 arrived at Boston on 5 February 1631.
Williams preached at Salem, where he was chosen teacher in 1631. His separatist views forced his removal to Plymouth in 1632, where William Bradford made references to Williams' controversial views.
It was during his time at Plymouth that his respect for and fair dealings with the Native Americans were established. He also learned to farm there. In 1633 he returned to Salem and was appointed teacher again in 1635. Following the death of Reverend Samuel Skelton, he was chosen pastor. In both communities he was at odds with the Puritan leadership.
In 1635, Reverend Williams' outspoken views on dealing with the Indians and freedom of worship led the General Court of Massachusetts to banish him from the colony and threaten to have him deported back to England. He was given permission to remain in the Bay Colony until spring due to his wife's pregnancy, but continued to enrage the colonial leaders as his following grew and with his plans to establish a plantation at Narragansett Bay. John Winthrop warned him of the Court's deportation plans in January 1636 and Williams quickly fled Salem to the sanctuary of the Narragansett Indians.
Chiefs Massasoit and Canonicus welcomed Williams. Massasoit gave him a tract of land on the Seekonk River. Williams was advised by Governor Winslow that his grant was within the bounds of Plymouth Colony and left in the spring or early summer to meet with the Indian chiefs. His new settlement was on the Moshassuck River, which for the many "Providences of the Most Holy and Only Wise, I call Providence."
"Providence Plantation" would become the colony of Rhode Island, founded in the form of a pure democracy, and a haven for Quakers, Jews, and others persecuted for their beliefs. Williams joined the Baptist Church in 1639 and founded the first Baptist Church in America. He would later withdraw from the church and become a "Seeker." [Seekers considered all organized churches corrupt, and preferred to wait for God's revelation. The Seekers were considered forerunners of the Quakers. (from Wikipedia)]
In 1639, Roger Williams served as a mediator [at the request of Massachusetts] in preventing a coalition of the Pequots with the Narragansetts and Mohegans. He signed the compact for the government of Providence in 1640. Williams went to England in 1643 to obtain a charter uniting Providence with Warwick, Newport and Portsmouth. These settlements were coveted by Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth and Connecticut. On the voyage he wrote his "Key to Indian Languages." He would continue to mediate difficulties between the Indians and colonies. Williams also established a successful trading post near Wickford. He lived at the post for long periods, but maintained his residence at Providence.
It was necessary for Williams to return to England in 1651 to renew the 1644 charter. He sold the trading post to finance the voyage. He published "Experiments of Spiritual Life, and Health and Their Preservations" while in London. He wrote to his friends and neighbors on 1 April 1653 that, with the mediation of Sir Henry Vane, he was able to renew the charter. On the return voyage, he supported himself by teaching languages. He taught Dutch to the poet John Milton.
Reverend Williams became president of the colony from 1654 - 1658. He was made Freeman in 1655 and served as Commissioner in 1658, 1659, and 1661; Deputy in 1670, 1678, 1679 and 1680; and on the Town Council from 1675 - 1676.
Despite Williams' continued efforts to avoid warfare with the Indians, King Phillip's War erupted in 1676. For the first time, Providence was threatened with destruction. Williams met with the invaders to attempt to save his city, but although he was unharmed, Providence was burned on 26 March 1676.
Williams wrote Governor Bradstreet on 6 May 1682 referring to himself as "old and weak and bruised with rupture and colic and lameness on both my feet."
Death came to Roger Williams sometime between 16 January and 16 March 1683 [or 27 January and 15 March 1683]. He was buried in the orchard in the rear of his homestead lot. Many years later his remains were disinterred and placed in the tomb of a descendant in the North Burial Ground. The remains were sealed in a bronze container and set into the base of a monument erected to his memory on Prospect Terrace in 1936. There is also a memorial inscription to Roger Williams in the Chapel Cloister of Charter House in London.
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