William Arnold (b. 24 June 1587, d. Bef. 03 November 1677)
William Arnold (son of Nicholas Arnold and Alice Gully)166 was born 24 June 1587 in Ilchester, Somerset England167, and died Bef. 03 November 1677 in Pawtuxet, Providence Co, RI167. He married Christian Peake on Abt. 1610 in Ilchester, England167, daughter of Thomas Peake.
FREEMAN: In the Providence section of the 1655 list of Rhode Island freemen [RICR 1:299]. In a list of Providence freemen of 1665 [PrTR 15:73[. Swore allegiance to King Charles II, 31 May 1666 [PrTR 3:101]. EDUCATION: Sufficient to compose lengthy letters ill support of his positions in land disputes. OFFICES: Pawtuxet member of committee to run the line between Providence and Pawtuxet, 29 January 1668[/9] [PrTR 17:215]; report presented at Providence, 15 February 1668[/9] [PrTR 3:136]. ESTATE: On 18 September 1635, there was "[given] unto William Arnall by the Town of Hingham for a houselot two acres of land lying in the Town Street" [HiBOP 30]. On 8 October 1638, Roger Williams deeded the lands that he had earlier bought from the Indians, and which had become the settlement of Providence, to a large group of men, including William Arnold, who thereby became the proprietors of Providence [RICR 1:20; see also PrTR 5:306-9]. William Arnold had a half-right iii the first lot of thatch beds iii Providence [PrTR 9:19] and a half-right in the lower Bailey's Cove lot [PrTR 17:219]. On 29 August 1640, William Harris of Providence sold to William Arnold of Providence "all that meadow with the upland ground, which is the fifth part of that land or meadow which was laid out the last year unto us five persons, viz: Tho[mas] James, William Harris, William Carpenter, Tho[mas] Olney & William Field" [PrTR 1:107-8]. On 14 April 1641, the town of Providence confirmed unto "William Arnold one of the free inhabitants of the Town of Providence" the following pieces of land: "his house share," 112 poles by eight poles; "one plot of ground lying by the river," nine poles; six poles square on which "the said William Arnold have set up a wolf trap"; three acres of meadow "on the west side of the river called Wanasquattuckett"; a piece of land "which lieth upon the salt river at the furthermost side of the town," 48 poles by 80 poles; also "all the neck or point of land that lieth between the salt river and the aforesaid land"; and "another piece of land lying upon the neck of the town upon a point over against Wachamoquott to the land called Whatcheer" [PrTR 1:109-11]. On 2 April 1642, Thomas Olney of Providence "hath demised, granted and to farm letten unto William Arnold of Providence, or of Pautuxett, all the proper right and title that he hath or doth belong or appertain unto him in all the land that lieth between the great fresh river called Pautuxett (on the south) and the bounds that parteth the land of Providence aforesaid, and the land of Pautuxett aforesaid on the north, and the great salt river on the east, and the river called Pauchasett on the west, excepting the third share of Land lying upon the neck near unto the fall at Pautuxett and his part in the vineyard which is near the end of the aforesaid share, and his part in the point or neck of land lying before the fall, and one share of meadow which he hath sold unto William FeiId of Providence, and his part of fishing at the fall ... only he hath demised, granted and to farm letten unto the said William Arnold one acre and half of land at or in the west end of his share aforesaid" [PrTR 1:103-4]. On 11 January 1642/3, "William Arnold of Providence, or Pautuxett .... hath demised, granted, and to Farl let unto Thomas Olney of Providence the proper right and title that I have or do belong or appertain unto me in all the land that I have lying within the bounds of the Town of Providence aforesaid excepting my house or housing with my house share of land and my share of land lying upon the neck of the town before the point of Watchamoqut, being about six acres, and my right in all the commons of the town aforesaid, these four particulars before excepted I do reserve unto myself and for my use, only I have demised, granted and to farm letten unto the said Thomas Olney together with all the rest of my right and interest as aforesaid, the four particulars before mentioned of mine only excepted: two acres of land at or in the east end of my home share, all which Land right and interest as aforesaid is now in the tenure, use or occupation of the said Thomas Olney"; "if it shall happen at any time hereafter that there be any more land within the bounds of the town aforesaid to be appropriated unto me ... by virtue of the same right which at this time belongeth to me, then I or mine heirs and assigns is to enjoy but one half of that new appropriated Land, and the said Thomas Olney his heirs or assigns is to receive, possess and enjoy the other half of that new appropriated land"; "before these presents were agreed I William Arnold hath demised [and[ granted unto my son Benedict Arnold a plot of ground which lyeth by Mooshaske River side before the house shares of Benedict Arnold, aforesaid, and Frances Weekes and the aforesaid plot of ground is all the ground that I William Arnold have sold or granted within this Town of Providence besides the grant abovesaid made to Thomas Olney aforesaid" [PrTR 1:64-66, 2:7]. On 17 October 1643, "William Arnold of Providence" deeded to "my son Benedict Arnold all my proper right & interest that do belong to me in a parcel, or share of land lying upon the neck near the fall called Pautuxet" [PrTR 14:251]. On 27 August 1645, "Osomequen, the chief sachem of Pokanocuk," sold to "William Arnold of Pautuxett ... all that land which lyeth on the west side of the Great Salt River which floweth up to Providence between the bounds of the land that was once in the tenure, use or occupation of Soconanoco on the south side of the same, and the Salt River on the east part and the north side of the great cove which cometh in on the north side of that neck of land called Saxefraxe, and from thence unto the north side of the pond called Massapague, and so within these bounds westward all and general" [PrTR 15:74]. On 7 March 1646[/77], "William Arnold of Pautuxett" deeded to "my daughter Joane the wife of Zacariah Roades all that my proper right, title and interest that do belong to me in a part of that land or meadow that of late I bought of Thomas Olney Senior of Providence ... being on the west side of a small river called Papaquinapauge River" [PrTR 1:80-81]. On 30 January 164[worn], "William Arnold of Pautuxit" sold to "Arthour Feinner of Providence" his title to "all the land that lieth at or upon the neck or point that is near unto the place called Whatcheer" in Providence [PrTR 4:11-12]. In a Providence tax list of 2 September 1650, William Arnold was assessed £3 6s. 8d. [PrTR 15:33], and in a list of 3 June 1671 he was assessed £1 lls. 3d. [PrTR 15:136]. On 24 June 1652, Ralph Earle of Portsmouth sold to "William Arnold of Pautuxett all that proper right and title or interest that once he bought of Nathaniel Dickens in or of a certain parcel of meadow and upland containeth about the value of five acres more or less, all which said premises are situate, lying and being on the west side of the now dwelling house of the said Will[iam] Arnold" [PrTR 1:106-7]. On Z~ March 1658, Henry Fowler of Providence sold to "Will[iam] Arnold of Pautuxett all his proper right title and interest in a certain parcel of land, which formerly did belong unto Mary Person wife unto Thomas Peerson of Providence," about two acres [PrTR 1:107]. On 31 August 1658, "William Arnold of Pautuxett" deeded to "Jeremiah Roades my grandson all my proper right ... in that land that I set upon to close in by the consent of William Carpenter & Zachary Roades being a part of that land that fell to us by the order of our arbitrators, vide Eleaser Lusher, William Hauthorne, John Easton [and] Joseph Tory the which lyeth at the place called Pumgansett" and also "all that marsh, meadow or tussocks that lyeth on both sides of the river ... that run out of Massapague into the great river of Pautuxett" [PrTR 14:212]. On 27 April 1659, William Arnold petitioned the Court "that when the Town granted 60 acres of upland and 3 acres of meadow to every man to be appropriated then I Made thereof an acre and half of meadow lying on the river that runneth out at the southwest end of Mashapague Pond the which is now conceived to be out of the Town bounds, my desire therefore to the Town is that the Town will be pleased to let me have an acre and half of meadow allowed me in the nearest place that can be found out to that place, the which the Town I hope will not deny me forasmuch that I was ]one] that the very first day entered with some others upon the land of Providence and so laid out my money to buy and help pay for it, besides [much] hardship and danger I and mine with others did undergo to possess and keep the same a good while after & therefore I was one of the first in choice of any lands to be laid out to the Townsmen afterwards" [PrTR 15:77-78]. There was "laid out unto William Arnold of Pautuxett upon the 31 day of May in the year 1662 a parcel or neck of land near about Mashapauge (viz:) all the upland lying between the line lately run between the bounds of the Town of Providence, and Pautuxett, on the southwest, and nor[th]west parts of it, and to it the swampy and tussocky place lying on the west and northwest and north parts of it ... all the said land, swamp, or tussocks is near about the sum of thirty and two acres" [PrTR 1:78-79, 15:90]. On 19 February 1665[/6], William Arnold received Lot #75 in "the division of land on the east side of the seven mile line" ]PrTR 3:73]. On 31 May 1670, "William Arnold of Pautuxett" sold to "Henry Fouler Senior all that land that was laid out to me by two of the town deputies, near to the place called Masshapauge, the place where it lyeth and the manner how the same lyeth is plainly expressed, and recorded in the town records" [PrTR 1:24, 113, 2:157-58, 15:131]. On 9 February 1673[/4], "William Arnold of Pautuxett" sold to John Sheldon of the same "all my right, title or claim which doth in anywise belong to me of commons belonging to me as a purchaser of the town of Providence" [PrTR 20:288]. On 12 April 1675, William Arnold drew Lot #89 "for the dividing of the land beyond or on the west side of the seven mile line," and on 24 May 1675, he drew Lot #50 "for the second dividing of the land between the seven mile line and the four mile line on the east side of the seven mile line" [PrTR 4:46, 48]. On 17 March 1683/4, William Arnold received a share in "the division of the lands on the west side of the seven-mile line" (presumably distributed to his estate) ]PrTR 4:65]. In a deed of 18 May 1685, John Sheldon sold "one-third part of a full half-right of commoning lying oil the east side of the four mile line, the which said half-right of commonlng I the said John Sheldon obtained of William Arnold of Pautuxett (deceased)" [PrTR 14:121-22].
BIRTH: Born 24 June 1587 [NEHGR 33:427], son of Nicholas and Alice (Gully) Arnold [NEHGR 69:66-68]. DEATH: After "the beginning of [King Philip's] war [i.e., mid-1675]" [PrTR 15:182] and before 3 November 1677 (on which date Benedict Arnold described himself as "eldest son and heir of William Arnold late of Pautuxett ill the said Colony deceased" [PrTR 14:5]). MARRIAGE: By 1611 Christian Peak, born 15 February 1583, daughter of Thomas Peak [NEHGR 33:428].
CHILDREN: i ELIZABETH, b. 23 November 1611 [NEHGR 33:428]; m. by about 1635 William Carpenter (sonJoseph,apparently the eldest child of this couple, was not yet married in late 1658 [TAG 70:196, 204, citing PCPR 2:1:80-82; MD 14:231-33], but probably soon after ]Austin 36]; in his will of 10 February 1679/80, William Carpenter bequeathed to his sons Silas and Benjamin "that part of a share of meadow that I bought of my brother Stephen Arnold" [PrTR 6:140-1]). ii BENEDICT, b. 21 December 1615 [NEHGR 33:428]; m. 17 December 1640 Damaris Westcott [NEHGR 33:428], daughter of Stukely Westcott (in a letter of 18 October 1677, reference was inade to testimony presented earlier by "Mr. W[illia]m Arnold father to our honored present Governor & Stukely Westcot (father to our Governor's wife)" ]PrTR 15:163; RWCorr 2:741]). iii JOANNA, b. 27 February 1617 ]NEHGR 33:428]; m. (1) by 7 March 1646[/77] Zachariah Rhodes [PrTR 1:80-81] (on 13 January 1712/3, "John Roades of Warwick" sold land "that of late fell to me by virtue of a deed from my grandfather William Arnold to my mother Joan Roades, as being eldest son living at her decease" ]PrTR 21:70-71]); in. (2) Providence 11 January 1666]/77] Samuel Reape [RIVR 2: Providence: 155].
iv Stephen b. 22 December 1622 [NEHGR 33:428], bp. Ilchester, Somerset, 26 December 1622 [NEHGR 69:67]; m. Providence 24 November 1646 "Sarah Smith, [daughter] of Edward of Rehoboth" [RIVR 2:Providence:7[.
ASSOCIATIONS: Thomas Hopkins of Providence was son of William and Joan (Arnold) Hopkins, and therefore nephew of Willlam Arnold [RIHSC 14:47].
COMMENTS: In 1879 Edwin Hubbard published a document which purported to give information on six generations of the Arnold family, the earliest entries of which were thought to be in the handwriting of William Arnold himself; as will be seen, later research has shown that many of the dates in this document are reliable, thus validating the entire document [NEHGR 33:427-32]. In the same issue of the Register, Henry T. Drowne published a pedigree of the Arnold ancestry, prepared by Horatio G. Somerby, carrying the line back sixteen generations into Wales [NEHGR 33:432-38]. In 1915 Edson Salisbury Jones published a brief account of his own research into the ancestry of William Arnold [NEHGR 69:64-69]. He first demonstrated the problems with the ancestry proposed by Somerby, and then presented records which showed that William Arnold was froin Ilchester, Somerset, and that his father was Nicholas Arnold. Somerby did not even have the correct name for the immigrant's father. Jones also argued that Thomas Arnold of Watertown was not a brother or son of William Arnold. In 1921 Fred A. Arnold placed in print a longer account of the researches of Edson S. Jones, demonstrating especially the large number of records from English parish registers which were in accord with the family document published by Hubbard in 1879 [RIHSC 14:33-49, 68-86]. In summary, the family document published by Hubbard in 1879 may be relied upon, the pedigree prepared by Somerby is completely erroneous, and William Arnold came from Ilchester, Somerset. Somerby incorrectly stated that Elizabeth Arnold, daughter of the immigrant, married Thomas Hopkins [NEHGR 33:436], an error also printed by Savage [Savage 1:67, 2:462]. Savage and Somerby may have fallen into this error as a side effect of the known connection between the Hopkins and Arnold families through the marriage of Joan Arnold, sister of William Arnold the immigrant, to Thomas Hopkins, father of the immigrant of the same name. Benedict Arnold, in his continuation of the record begun by his father, included the following account of the migrations of his family: "Memorandum. My father and his family set sail from Dartmouth in Old England, the first of May, Friday & arrived ill New England June 24 Anno 1635. Memorandum. We came to Providence to dwell the 20th of April, 1636" [NEHGR 33:428]. On 27 July 1640, William Arnold was one of those who signed the "constitution" of Providence [RICR 1:31; PrTR 15:5]. Over the years, William Arnold became involved in a number of controversies with his neighbors, consisting mostly of !and disputes with Providence with regard to the Arnold family landholdings at Pawtuxet and of conflicts with the Gortonists at Warwick. (Ill addition to the documents in the next two paragraphs, see RICR 1:234; PrTR 4:73-76, 14:145-47, 273-76, 15:27-32, 94-95, Z36-38, 20:359-61; RWCorr 189n, 212-14, 240n, 316, 318n, 402n, 444, 446n, 472, 472n, 473, 474n, 508-10.) On 28 October 1642, John Winthrop, as governor, and three assistants of Massachusetts Bay wrote to "our neighbors of Providence" that "[w]hereas W[illia]m Arnold of Patuxet & Robert Cole & others have lately put themselves & their families, lands & estates under the protection & government of this jurisdiction & have since complained to us that you have since (upon pretense of a late purchase from the Indians gone about to deprive them of their lawful interest confirmed by 4 years' possession, & otherwise to molest them: We thought good therefore to write to you on their behalf to give you notice that they and their lands &c. being under our jurisdiction we are to maintain them in their lawful right" [SLR 1:33], On 28 January 1655/6, at a court held at Providence, it was "ordered that Mr. Rog[er] Williams & Mr. Olnie draw a letter in answer to one from Will[iam] Arnold date the 4th of 10th [4 December] 1655" [PrTR 2:91]. On 27 April 1657, at a court held at Providence, it was "ordered that whereas the Town hath received two letters from W[illiam] Arnold of Pautuxet bearing date the llth & 16th of April 1657 concerning deciding of differences by arbitrators it is ordered that the letter drawn up & read in this meeting be sent to him & the rest of Pautuxet under the Town Clerk's hand" [PrTR 2:103]. On 5 December 1658, "William Arnold of Pautuxett" reported to the town that he had landed "one anchor of liquors," and the same again on William Arnold
21 May 1660 [PrTR 2:25-26]. On 9 March 1658/9, Rhode Island General Council took notice of "a robbery committed by several Indians at Pawtuxett upon William Arnold," and ordered that warrants be issued "to the sheriff to apprehend all or any of the offenders" [RICR 1:406]. On 16 October 1678, "William Hopkins aged thirty-one or thereabouts" deposed "that at the beginning of the war they heard at Providence, that William Arnold of Pautuxett would not leave his own house, then some neighbors desired this deponent to go to Pautuxett and persuade him to go to some garrison for safety, or go down to Rhode Island, then this deponent said he would go and did not question but to persuade him, and so this deponent went to Pautuxett to the house of William Arnold, and told the said William Arnold of the danger of the times, and did persuade him to go to some garrison, or down to Rhode Island to his son Benedict's, but he was very unwilling to leave his own house, and said he would not go down to Rhode Island, but if he must leave his own house he would go to Providence, yet after he said Providence was so far off he had rather be nearer home; then this deponent asked him if he would go to his son Stephen's garrison, and the said William Arnold said he did not care if he did go thither, and so desired this deponent to go to his son Stephen's and call him to come to him and then he would go with him to his garrison, then this deponent went to his son Stephen Arnold and called him, and so then presently his son Stephen [went] to his father and desired his father to go to his garrison, and the said William Arnold did go along with his son Stephen and this deponent to his son Stephen's garrison" [PrTR 15:182-83].
Ref: The Great Migration Begins
On May 1, 1635 William Arnold sailed from Dartmouth, a seaport town about 25 miles from Plymouth, and landed in Massachusetts Bay on his 48th birthday. There he met with the pioneers who were establishing the town of Hingham. His name appears here as number 13 on the first list of those who drew houselots on the north side of the road from the Cove to Fort Hill. During the following winter Roger Williams, then living with the Indians at the head of Narragansett Bay, told the people of Hingham of the lands he had bought of the Indians and William Arnold and twelve other families went with him the next spring, April 20, 1636. The lots were where Brown University now stands, William Arnold's lot being opposite Star Street. October 8, 1638 he received the "Initial Deed" signed by Roger Williams with his share of the land bought from the Indian Chiefs Canonicus and Miantonomi in 1635/6. Arnold's name is the second on this deed. In 1638 William Arnold removed about five miles south of Providence to the Pawtuxet River where he, with his two sons, his son-in-law William Carpenter, a nephew Thomas Hopkins, and others, bought large tracts of land from the Indians, and here William Arnold lived until his death in the fall of 1675. He with his sons Benedict and Stephen owned nearly ten thousand acres of land and paid the highest tax in the Colony. One of the Indian deeds reads (under date of August 27, 1645) that for eighteen shillings in red cloth, all right and interest in land on the west side of the great Salt River which floweth up to Providence between the lands of Soccomoco on the south of the Salt River, on the east the Sasafrax Cove, on the north and from thence to Mashapaug. Signed by Suncksuit
William settled in Pawtuxet at the Ford or Indian wading place where the Pequot Trail crossed the Pawtuxet River. This Ford was quite a distance from the falls. The Pequot Trail was made a dividing line between William Carpenter's and William Arnold's homesteads. William Arnold was interested in the Church in England, having been Warden of the Church of St. Mary in Ilchester until he left England. Samuel Gorton in his "Simplicity's Defense" writes that William Arnold was a great professor of religion in the west of England. It was therefore natural that he should be one of the first twelve members to organize the First Baptist Church in Providence in 1639, it being as well, the first of that denomination in America. In Providence a person was allowed to follow the dictates of his own conscience. On January 27, 1640, Arnold signed an agreement with thirty-eight others of Providence for a Civil government. In 1641 the Pawtuxet settlers sent a letter to Massachusetts authorities complaining of their neighbors, the Gortonites in Warwick. They explained the difficulties encountered in the collection of taxes in the opposition of the Warwick settlers. They requested aid in this emergency. The Massachusetts authorities replied that they could not assist them because the Pawtuxet settlement was not under the jurisdiction of either the Massachusetts or the Plymouth Colony. In 1642 William Arnold, William Carpenter, Robert Cole and Benedict Arnold subjected themselves to the Massachusetts government, and William Arnold was appointed to keep the peace, as he was one of the most prominent and influential of the settlers. The separation from Providence lasted sixteen years, and meanwhile William Arnold enjoyed the confidence and esteem of the Massachusetts authorities with whom he had much correspondence. In 1648 they ordered the sum of seven pounds and two shillings to be paid him in wampum or such commodities as he desired, with the statement that the "Court is thankful to him for his care and pains herein." He felt for the Indians a conscientious kindliness and in his dealings with them he was actuated by a sense of strictest justice. In a long letter to the Governor of Massachusetts he complained of the injustice shown to the Indians by the Warwick settlers "who are going on with a high hand." In 1650 his taxes were three pounds, six shillings and eight pence,a large amount for those times. In the same year he wrote from Pawtuxet to Massachusetts, protesting against Roger Williams' proposed errand to England to seek a charter, and speaking in uncomplimentary terms of the Rhode island settlers said "under the pretense of liberty of conscience about these parts there came to live all the scum and runaways of the country, which in time for want of better order may bring a heavy burden on the land." Mr. Arnold not only had an excellent education in England, but in America acquired the Indian language and acted as interpreter many times. Six years later, in 1658, the Pawtuxet settlers expressed a wish to reunite with Providence, and upon their own motion it was done. About this time Arnold complained that he had been robbed by Indians at Pawtuxet. A few years later he commenced to deed away his property. In 1663 he deeded his son Stephen a lot northwest of Pawtuxet Falls. In 1673, he deeded to John Sheldon all rights in common, etc., that he had as proprietor in the first allotment in Providence in 1639. In 1675 he sold his rights in Wayunkeeke to Abraham Mann.
In July 1675 when King Philip's War burst in all its fury upon the Colony, the neighbors tried to persuade William Arnold to go to some garrison or down to his son Benedict's at Newport and he finally consented to go to the garrison of his son Stephen. He was carried there in a feeble condition. This garrison was as well the so-called mansion house of Stephen., whose homestead covered a large area. At the north end of this homestead farm was the burial lot of Stephen Arnold's family. The only grave stones on it, those of Stephen and Sarah, were removed about 1860. In 1675, at the age of eighty-eight, William Arnold passed away, after an active life filled with every kind of experience, and one which left its impress in the formation and history of the state of Rhode Island. Among his descendants are many illustrious persons who were influential in development of this country in finance, government and industry. Reference: The Arnold Memorial (Among them number two presidents, James Garfield and George Bush. BJS).
James N. Arnold, in his paper, "The Life and Times of Benedict Arnold", read before the Historical Association of Providence and D.A.R., contends that Roger Williams was not the leader in the founding of Providence and in Soul Liberty. He wrote,"This Soul Liberty or Individuality has made all the progression there has been made in human progress. I want to claim that William Arnold and Benedict Arnold were its leaders and defenders here in Rhode Island and they, not Roger Williams, should have the honor therefore." In reading the history of Providence, one is at first puzzled as to the reasons for William Arnold with others uniting with the Massachusetts Government for several years, then finally returning to Providence. This was because of dissention over admitting Samuel Gorton and his friends to equal rights in Providence. Gorton had been driven from other places for causing disturbances and tried to join Providence. He bought of the Indians the same land that William Arnold and others had bought of the Indians four years previous, and tried to seize that land. After an appeal had been made to the Massachusetts government, Gorton stopped making trouble and was content with land given him by friends. Thereupon, William Arnold, Benedict Arnold, William Carpenter and Robert Cole returned their allegiance to Providence. Ref: The Arnold Memorial.
It is interesting to note that William Arnold's Gr-Gr-granddaughter Rebecca married Samuel Gorton's gr-grandson Joseph Stafford.
The Arnold Memorial Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island
William Arnold was an ancestor of 41st President of the U.S. George Bush. Ref: Gary Boyd Roberts, Ancestors of American Presidents
More About William Arnold: Burial: Unknown, Rhode Island. Immigration: 24 June 1635, landed in Massachusetts Bay from England. Migration: 1636, from Hingham MA to Providence, RI. Vocation: Tailor, miller.
More About William Arnold and Christian Peake: Marriage: Abt. 1610, Ilchester, England.167
Children of William Arnold and Christian Peake are:
+Stephen Arnold, b. 22 December 1622, Ilchester, England168, d. 15 November 1699, Pawtuxet, Providence Co, RI.
William Arnold (b. 24 June 1587, d. Bef. 03 November 1677)
Notes for William Arnold: