Roger Williams (1603-1683), founder of Providence Plantation, the precursor of Rhode Island, was arguably the greatest American of the 17th-century. A protégé of the Sir Edward Coke, the codifier of English common law, Williams was also privy to the work of the Scientific Revolution forerunner Francis Bacon, owing to Williams’ work as a scribe in the court of King James I. Roger Williams graduated from Cambridge University, spoke multiple languages, and was ordained as a vicar in the Church of England.
Roger Williams eventually split with the Church of England and became one of the foremost spokespersons for the Puritan movement, Befriended by John Winthrop but not a passenger in the Winthrop Fleet, Williams arrived in Massachusetts in February 1631. He served the separatist community of Salem, Massachusetts, until January 1636, when, following charges of heresy and blasphemy by the Massachusetts General Court, he narrowly escaped with his life by trekking more than 50 miles in the snow and spending the winter with the Wampanoag Indians.
In 1637, Williams and a few others purchased a track of land from the Narragansetts on the present-day site of Providence. He established the location as a haven for people intending to follow their conscience in religious matters. Roger Williams also espoused the principle of “separation of church and state.” He mastered the languages of several Native American tribes and advocated for fair dealings with them. He resisted multiple efforts by the Massachusetts Bay leaders to destroy or acquire his settlement. He returned to England twice to secure the permanence of the Rhode Island charter which, by 1654, encoded the principles of religious and political liberty. Roger Williams’ home was destroyed in 1676 during King Philip’s War. He died in relative poverty seven years later, but his ideas and values had a great impact upon America’s revolutionary generation a century later.
Our book, The Home Lotts of the Early Settlers of the Providence Plantations (LINK 9189) recapitulates the settlement of Providence by Roger Williams and his followers, complete with transcriptions of the deed signed by Williams and Benedict Arnold and the Sachems of the Narragansetts. (This land now exists within the present-day Providence streets of Olney, Hope, Wickenden, and Main.) The balance of The Home Lots consists of short biographical and genealogical essays of the lot owners, virtually all of them containing references to the settlers’ origins in England.
The Home Lots is just one of fifteen books Rhode Island and Massachusetts collection that we’ve discounted by 20% off the retail price until 11:59 PM EST, March 12, 2026. Check them out while this offer stands.
