The next few posts will deal with direct-line and collateral ancestors who held a role in history.
ARNOLD: Immigrant William Arnold's [1587-1675] son was a Rhode Island governor, but it was the governor's great-great-grandson who holds down the "honor" for the most prominent famous member of the family: Brigadier General Benedict Arnold [1740/1-1804]. He was a hero at Ticonderoga and the Canada campaign. Arnold should have received the lion's share of the credit for the Continental Army's victory at Saratoga that went to General Gates. But it was striking a deal with John Andre and the British government to sell the plans to strategic West Point in 1780 that Arnold will be best remembered for. [collateral]
WILLIAMS: Following his banishment from Massachusetts for his religious convictions and views on dealing with the Indians, Roger Williams [c1605-1683] fled to Narragansett territory. There he was given a tract of land on the Seekonk River that became Providence Plantation and eventually part of Rhode Island. [direct]
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