Roger Williams (abt. 1606 - 1683)

Born about 1606 in London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Barnard) Williams — married 15 Dec 1629 in High Laver, Essex, England

Descendants

Died 1 Apr 1683 at about age 77 in Providence, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Problems/Questions Profile managers: John Martin [send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], and Kathy Fetters [send private message]

Roger Williams migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 3, p. 2007) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Roger Williams is Notable.

Roger Williams was born in the City of London, England.

Reverend Roger Williams, President of Rhode Island Colony 1654-57, was born in London, but no record of the exact date survives, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography guesses c.1606.^[1] He was the son of James Williams (d. 1621) and Alice Pemberton (d. 1625), daughter of Robert Pemberton and Catherine Stokes (sister of Roger Stokes).^[2] According to the records of the Roger Williams Family Association, published as Roger Williams of Providence, R.I., he was born about 1601 in London, but the great fire of London destroyed the church which housed all the birth and baptism records of the family.^[2]

His godfather was his uncle Roger Pemberton Pemberton-1404. Roger Pemberton's will dated 13 Dec 1624 named godson Roger Williams to have 10 pounds English money. ^[3]

Some family trees claim a birth of 21 Dec 1603 at Long Lane, London, Middlesex, England ^[4] and christening at St. Sepulchre, London Christ Church Greyfriars Newgate, London, England or High Laver, Essex, England. The register for St. Sepulchre with the earliest dating has been lost, and the relevant records are not available at familysearch.org nor on ancestry.com in London Area registers. St. Sepulchre Holborn records begin in 1662.

Roger's father was a merchant tailor of London.^[2] His siblings were: Sydrach, Catherine and Robert.^[2]

As a teenager, Roger was associated with Sir Edward Coke, who employed Williams to take notes of sermons and speeches in Star Chamber, an English court which sat at the royal Palace of Westminster. Through Coke's influence, he matriculated at Pembroke College in 1624, receiving a BA in 1627.^[1]

He left Cambridge in 1628/9 to enter the Essex household of Sir William Masham as a family chaplain. He married, on 15 Dec 1629 at High Laver Church, Essex, England.^[2], Mary Bernard (bap. 1609, d. in or after 1676), the daughter of the clergyman and religious writer Richard Bernard, who was serving as a maid in the Masham household.^{[1] [5]}

Roger Williams migrated from England to Colonial America.

He met with other dissenters Thomas Hooker and John Cotton and they discussed with other dissenting clergy to invest in the Massachusetts Bay Company and migrate to the New World. He migrated with his wife in 1631 on the Lyon, residing initially at Salem, then Plymouth, back to Salem in 1633 and finally to Providence, Rhode Island by 1636.^[1]

Roger Williams established what would become Rhode Island, having been banished from Salem and Plymouth for the quality of his preaching. "His favorite theme was liberty of conscience in religious matters, and that civil magistrates as such have no power in the church, and that Christians as such are subject to no laws or control, but those of King Jesus." This did not go over well with church and civil leaders.^[6]

At the time of the burning of Providence by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War, Roger Williams, who was also an Indian interpreter, along with Valentine Whitman parlayed with the Indians but was unable to prevent the burning of the town.^[7]

His exact date of death is not known, but he died between 27 Jan 1682/3 and 15 March 1682/3 on his Providence farm.^[8][1]

He was originally buried in the orchard behind his homestead. Many years later his remains were disinterred and placed in the tomb of a descendant at the North Burial Ground in Providence [Stephen Randall's tomb, placed there about 1860]. In 1939, his remains were interred under his statue at Prospect Terrace, his third and current resting place. ^[9]

The monument on Prospect Terrace, Providence, was dedicated June 29, 1939, by the Roger Williams Memorial Association. ^{[2] [10]}

There is also a Cenotaph at the Williams Family Cemetery , Providence, Rhode Island.^[11]

Children

1. Mary Williams August 1633 ^[12] (1633 - 1681) ^[13]
2. Freeborn Williams Oct 1635 ^[14](1635 - 1710) ^[15]
3. Providence Williams Sep 1638^[16](1638 - 1686) ^[17]
4. Mercy Williams 15 July 1640 ^[18] (1640 - 1705) ^[19]
5. Daniel Williams 15 Feb 1642^[20](1641 - 1712)^[21]
6. Joseph Williams Dec 1643 ^[22] (1643 - 1724) ^[23]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Francis J. Bremer, ‘Williams, Roger (c.1606–1683)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2015
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Anthony, Bertha Williams Roger Williams of Providence, R.I. (Forward) Np: Published by Mrs. C. W. Bertha Williams Anthony, 1949, HathiTrust accessed May 30, 2015,
3. ↑ Water's Genealogical Gleanings in England - printed item on ancestry tree https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/57844161/person/390009348310/media/10e5627c-325a-4c65-9735-6bb9314406b6 read 15 May 2020. The item cites The early Massachusetts press, 1638-1711, Volume 1 By George Emery Littlefield, Club of Odd Volumes From long article on Glover family.
4. ↑ Roger Williams, Call #F82 W72. Providence in Colonial Times by Gertrude S Kimball. 1912 http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001262360
5. ↑ The marriage entry is in the parish register for High Laver. These are all on-line at SEAX here here.
6. ↑ Israel Wilkinson, Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family, Jacksonville, IL: Davis & Penniman (1869), pp 3-6
7. ↑ Bowen, Richard LeBaron. Early Rehoboth, Documented Historical Studies of Families and Events in This Plymouth Colony Township, Volume 3, pp. 9-11. https://archive.org/details/earlyrehobothdoc03bowe/page/9/mode/1up
8. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, Roger Williams The Great Migration Begins Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Pages 2007-10 ) Online database accessed February 5, 2015: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010.
9. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Historical Cemetery Commission Index, 1647-2008 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. URL
10. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database with images, Find A Grave: Memorial #1110 (accessed 26 March 2024), Memorial page for Roger Williams (21 Dec 1600-1 Apr 1683), citing Prospect Terrace Park, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
11. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database with images, Find A Grave: Memorial #19715819 (accessed 26 March 2024), Memorial page for Roger Williams (21 Dec 1600-1 Apr 1683), citing Williams Family Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
12. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Roger Williams children Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
13. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Mary Williams Sayles (8 Mar 1633–1681), Find A Grave: Memorial #19727534, citing Easton Lot, Middletown, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Scout (contributor 47319613).
14. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Roger Williams children Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
15. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Freeborn Williams Clarke (4 Oct 1635–10 Jan 1710), Find A Grave: Memorial #12221429, citing Clifton Burying Ground, Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Jen Snoots (contributor 4661415).
16. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Roger Williams children Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
17. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Providence Williams (16 Sep 1638–Mar 1686), Find A Grave: Memorial #17477451, citing Williams Family Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave (contributor 8).
18. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Roger Williams children Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
19. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Mercy Williams Winsor (15 Jul 1640–19 Sep 1705), Find A Grave: Memorial #17477493, citing Williams Family Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Linda Ogren (contributor 47657928).
20. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Daniel Williams Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
21. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Daniel Williams (15 Feb 1641–14 May 1712), Find A Grave: Memorial #17477316, citing Williams Family Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Linda Ogren (contributor 47657928.
22. ↑ Rhode Island, U.S., Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 for Roger Williams children Vol. 02: Providence County: Births, Marriages, Deaths
23. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images : accessed 28 July 2019, memorial page for Joseph Williams (12 Dec 1643–17 Aug 1724), Find A Grave: Memorial #17142392, citing Williams Family Cemetery, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA ; Maintained by Robin Page (contributor 47347883).

See also:

• Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922/i. iVolumes 1–22./i London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922, Oxford University Press, London, England. Volume: Vol 21

• The American Genealogist, volume 28 (1953): pages 197-208. "Roger Williams," by Winifred Lovering Holman.

• Allen, Zachariah, Esq. Memorial of Roger Williams (Cooke & Danielson, Printers, Providence, 1860)

• Descendants of Roger Williams

• Roger Williams (Wikipedia)
• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q391591

• Barry, John M., Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty; Viking, 2012

• Austin, John Osborne. Ancestry of Thirty-Three Rhode Islanders (J. Munsell's Sons, 1889); chart: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015028775222&view=1up&seq=79&size=150

• Austin, John Osborne. The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island (1887)

• Anthony, Bertha Williams. & Weeden, Harriett Wood. Roger Williams of Providence, Rhode Island (Cranston, R.I.: B. W. Anthony and H. W. Weeden, 1949, 1966)

• Virkus, Frederick Adams. The Compendium of American Genealogy: First Families of America (Chicago, A.N. Marquis & Company, 1925-)

• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, 1862) (4 vols)

• Wilkinson, Rev. Israel, A. M. Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America (Jacksonville, Ill.: Davis & Penniman, Printers., 1869)

• The Blue Laws (Case, Tiffany & Co., Hartford, 1838) Page 63-67

• Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1995) Pages 2007-10 American Ancestors (subscription)

• Wikipedia:Colony_of_Rhode_Island_and_Providence_Plantations

• Smith, Joseph Jencks. Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647-1800 (Preston and Rounds Co., Providence, R.I., 1900) Page 2: "1649. May. To have left to sell a little Wine or Strong Water to some natives in their sickness: Mr. Roger Williams."

• Hodges, Jr., Almon D., Notes Concerning Roger Williams, NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, 1899) Vol. 53, Page 60-4.
• Colonial Families of the United States of America, Volume IV> Williams Family [Image URL: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61175/images/colonialfamiliesiv-003215_573?pId=80815]

• Geneanet Community Trees Index [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. [URL: https://gw.geneanet.org/espohn63?n=williams&oc=&p=roger]

• "Today in History - February 5 - Roger Williams, Rhode Island Founder" Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved July 12, 2023. online