Nicholas Power (abt. 1608 - 1657)

Born about 1608 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 25 Aug 1657 at about age 49 in Rhode Island [uncertain]

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Nicholas Power migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Nicholas Power was in Rhode Island by 27 July 1640, when he was a signer of an agreement to reform the government of Rhode Island.^[1] Nicholas was an early settler, after Roger Williams. At death, left widow Jane and son Nicholas, and daughter Hope, both under age. ^[2]

Nicholas Power was among the 39 Signers of Providence agreement for a government, 27 July 1640. ^[1][3]

In about 1650 ("five or six years earlier [than 5 May 1656]"), Nicholas Power of Providence purchased from Richard Harcarte of Warwick "commonage [which] was once my uncle Francis Weston's."^[4]

Nicholas Power was among those who purchased the land from the Indians on January 12, 1642. ^[5]

Research Notes

Nicholas Power is not included in the Great Migration Directory, probably because there is some question whether the attached signatures of the Providence Agreement were part of the original or appended later. "The foregoing is copied from a copy in the files of the city clerk's office, dated March 28, 1662. It is certified by Thomas Olney, town clerk, to be a true copy "as it standeth upon record in our town book." The records in their present mutilated state, do not contain this document or any reference to the appointment or report of the committee by whom it was drawn up. A copy of it may be found in the Hazards' Historical Collections, there said to be taken from the Suffolk records. The signer's names are there omitted. Nor are the names of all the first settlers and received purchasers, appended to Olney's copy, and whether they were or were not to the original, cannot be ascertained, as that original is not in existence."^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} William Read Staples, Annals of the Town of Providence: From Its First Settlement, to the Organization of the City Government, in June, 1832, published 1843. Reference pages 40-44 or Internet Archive
2. ↑ Genealogical Dictionary First Settlers NE, vol. III, page 470
3. ↑ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_early_settlers_of_Rhode_Island#First_settlers_of_Providence citing Staples, William R. (1843). Annals of the Town of Providence, from its First Settlement to the Organization of the City Government in June 1832. Providence: Printed by Knowles and Vose. pp. 40–43.
4. ↑ Citing "PrTR 4:231," Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols. (1995), p. 1966 (Francis Weston, in relevant part); digital images by subscription, American Ancestors.
5. ↑ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_early_settlers_of_Rhode_Island#First_settlers_of_Providence citing Arnold, 176

• Austin, Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, page-356-7
• Colonial Dames of America. Ancestral Records and Portraits (New York, The Grafton Press, 1910) Vol. 1, Page 12
• Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp (Ancestry.com Operations Inc.)
• U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) Providence, Rhode Island; Year: 1640; Page Number: 229