John Coggeshall
Encyclopedia
John Coggeshall was one of the founders of Rhode Island
and the first President of all four towns in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
. Coming from Essex
, England as a successful merchant in the silk trade, Coggeshall arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1632 and quickly assumed a number of roles in the colonial government. In the mid 1630s he became a supporter of the dissident ministers John Wheelwright
and Anne Hutchinson
. When Hutchinson was tried as a heretic in 1637, Coggeshall was one of three deputies who voted for her acquittal. Hutchinson was banished from the colony in 1638, and the three deputies who voted for her acquittal were also compelled to depart.
Before leaving Boston, Coggeshall and many other Hutchinson supporters signed a compact
in March 1638 agreeing to form a government based on the individual consent of the inhabitants. They then established the new colony of Portsmouth
on Aquidneck Island
, also called Rhode Island, in the Narragansett Bay
, later one of four towns comprising the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Coggeshall was once again very active in civil affairs, but a rift in the leadership of the colony caused him and several other leaders to leave in 1639, and move to the south end of the island, establishing the town of Newport
. The two towns of Portsmouth and Newport reunited in 1640 under the leadership of William Coddington
, and Coggeshall was his assistant until 1647 when the two towns of Rhode Island united to form a common government with the towns of Providence
and Warwick
, and Coggeshall was elected President of the entire colony of four towns. His tenure was very short due to his death later the same year, but during his administration many excellent laws were established, becoming the legal basis for both the colony and state of Rhode Island.
, England, being baptized at Halstead
. After his marriage he lived four miles (six km) away in Castle Hedingham
where several of his children were baptized, and where he was a merchant prior to his emigration. In 1632, Coggeshall and his family joined the mass immigration of English Puritans to New England, sailing on the Lyon, the same ship that brought Roger Williams the year before. The Coggeshalls first settled at Roxbury
where they were admitted to the Roxbury Church the year of their arrival, and where John Eliot
would soon be the pastor. In 1634 Coggeshall moved with his family to Boston
where he and his wife were admitted to the church on 20 August, and where they became neighbors and acquaintances of the Hutchinson family.
Coggeshall was a mercer, specifically involved in the silk trade, and held many offices in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
. He was a deputy to the General Court for Boston from 1634 to 1637 and a Boston selectman during the same period. In 1634 he was also on a committee to survey Mount Wollaston
, and on a committee to oversee ammunition.
Some time after moving to Boston, Coggeshall became an enthusiastic supporter of Anne Hutchinson
, the controversial dissident minister and preacher. Also supporting her initially was the Reverend John Cotton, most of the Boston ministers and many of the church members. Even the governor of the colony, Henry Vane
was a strong admirer of Mrs. Hutchinson, but he was voted out of office, and when John Winthrop
became the governor strong measures were taken to "stamp out heresy and drive out the heretics." Because of her religious opinions, and her influence in conveying her ideas within the community, Mrs. Hutchinson was tried, convicted, and banished from the colony. At her civil trial, Coggeshall spoke out in her defense and was one of only three deputies to vote for her acquittal, the other two being William Aspinwall
and William Coddington
. Coggeshall also supported another dissident minister, the Reverend John Wheelwright
, whose wife was the sister of Anne Hutchinson's husband. Shortly after Hutchinson's banishment, Coggeshall was expelled from the General Court and in March 1638, was also directed to leave Massachusetts.
Scores of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers were ordered out of the Massachusetts colony, but before leaving Boston a group of them, including Coggeshall, signed what was later called the Portsmouth Compact
, establishing a non-sectarian civil government upon the universal consent of the inhabitants, with a Christian focus. Planning initially to settle in New Netherland
, the group was persuaded by Roger Williams
to purchase some land of the Indians on the Narragansett Bay. They settled on the north east end of Aquidneck Island
, and established a settlement they called Pocasset, but in 1639 changed the name to Portsmouth
. William Coddington
was elected the first judge (governor) of the settlement. In May 1638 Coggeshall was on a committee to lay out land there, and was granted six acres at the same time. The following year a disagreement prompted Coddington and a few other leaders, including Coggeshall, to leave Portsmouth and begin a new settlement at the south end of the island called Newport
. In his journal, Governor Winthrop described the 1639 disagreement in Portsmouth, writing, "the people grew very tumultuous and put out Mr. Coddington and the other three magistrates," Coggeshall being one of the three alluded to by Winthrop.
Coggeshall was soon a leader in Newport, and was granted 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land on the south side of the town, along present-day Bellevue Avenue. In the first election in 1638, he was elected as treasurer, and in 1640 he became an assistant to the governor, which position he held continuously until 1647. Coggeshall had a good working relationship with Roger Williams
, and this relationship helped the four towns of Portsmouth, Newport, Providence and Warwick to unite and form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
in the Spring of 1647, under the patent that Williams had obtained from the crown in 1644. In May 1647 Coggeshall was elected the chief magistrate of the four-town colony being given the title of President
. He had four assistants, one from each town, a general recorder and a treasurer. Under his administration the courts of justice were established and the first complete code of laws was written. Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold
made this tribute to the digest of statutes enacted under Coggeshall in 1647:
Coggeshall was in office only briefly, dying of an illness in Newport on 27 November 1647 and being buried on his own property in Newport. While he is noted for being the first president of the united colony of four towns, he is also noted for helping to establish the three towns of Boston, Portsmouth, and Newport, and the two colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island.
, was very active in colonial affairs over a period of three decades, serving as treasurer, commissioner, assistant and deputy governor. Their second child, Ann, married Peter Easton, a son of Nicholas Easton
who served many terms as either president or governor of the Rhode Island colony.
Places named for President Coggesahll include John Coggeshall Elementary School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Coggeshall Way and Coggeshall Circle in rural Middletown; and Coggeshall Avenue in Newport, which goes through the original Coggeshall property. His numerous descendants include painter Sanford Robinson Gifford
and composer Jimmy Van Heusen.
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and the first President of all four towns in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
. Coming from Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England as a successful merchant in the silk trade, Coggeshall arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
in 1632 and quickly assumed a number of roles in the colonial government. In the mid 1630s he became a supporter of the dissident ministers John Wheelwright
John Wheelwright
John Wheelwright was a clergyman in England and America.-Early life:...
and Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
. When Hutchinson was tried as a heretic in 1637, Coggeshall was one of three deputies who voted for her acquittal. Hutchinson was banished from the colony in 1638, and the three deputies who voted for her acquittal were also compelled to depart.
Before leaving Boston, Coggeshall and many other Hutchinson supporters signed a compact
Portsmouth Compact
The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island...
in March 1638 agreeing to form a government based on the individual consent of the inhabitants. They then established the new colony of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
on Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
, also called Rhode Island, in the Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, later one of four towns comprising the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Coggeshall was once again very active in civil affairs, but a rift in the leadership of the colony caused him and several other leaders to leave in 1639, and move to the south end of the island, establishing the town of Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. The two towns of Portsmouth and Newport reunited in 1640 under the leadership of William Coddington
William Coddington
William Coddington was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire colony, and then Governor of the...
, and Coggeshall was his assistant until 1647 when the two towns of Rhode Island united to form a common government with the towns of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and Warwick
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
, and Coggeshall was elected President of the entire colony of four towns. His tenure was very short due to his death later the same year, but during his administration many excellent laws were established, becoming the legal basis for both the colony and state of Rhode Island.
Immigration to New England
John Coggeshall, the son of John and Ann (Butter) Coggeshall, was born and raised in northeastern EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England, being baptized at Halstead
Halstead
Halstead is a town and civil parish located in Braintree District of Essex, England, near Colchester and Sudbury. It has a population of 11,053. The town is situated in the Colne Valley, and originally developed on the hill to the north of the river...
. After his marriage he lived four miles (six km) away in Castle Hedingham
Castle Hedingham
Castle Hedingham is a small village in northeast Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and is situated in the Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge....
where several of his children were baptized, and where he was a merchant prior to his emigration. In 1632, Coggeshall and his family joined the mass immigration of English Puritans to New England, sailing on the Lyon, the same ship that brought Roger Williams the year before. The Coggeshalls first settled at Roxbury
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
where they were admitted to the Roxbury Church the year of their arrival, and where John Eliot
John Eliot (missionary)
John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
would soon be the pastor. In 1634 Coggeshall moved with his family to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
where he and his wife were admitted to the church on 20 August, and where they became neighbors and acquaintances of the Hutchinson family.
Coggeshall was a mercer, specifically involved in the silk trade, and held many offices in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. He was a deputy to the General Court for Boston from 1634 to 1637 and a Boston selectman during the same period. In 1634 he was also on a committee to survey Mount Wollaston
Mount Wollaston
Wollaston, Massachusetts, is a neighborhood in the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Divided by Hancock Street/Route 3A, the Wollaston Beach side is called Wollaston Park, while the Wollaston Hill side is called Wollaston Heights....
, and on a committee to oversee ammunition.
Some time after moving to Boston, Coggeshall became an enthusiastic supporter of Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, the controversial dissident minister and preacher. Also supporting her initially was the Reverend John Cotton, most of the Boston ministers and many of the church members. Even the governor of the colony, Henry Vane
Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
was a strong admirer of Mrs. Hutchinson, but he was voted out of office, and when John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
became the governor strong measures were taken to "stamp out heresy and drive out the heretics." Because of her religious opinions, and her influence in conveying her ideas within the community, Mrs. Hutchinson was tried, convicted, and banished from the colony. At her civil trial, Coggeshall spoke out in her defense and was one of only three deputies to vote for her acquittal, the other two being William Aspinwall
William Aspinwall
William Aspinwall was an Englishman who emigrated to Boston aboard the Winthrop Fleet in 1630 and played an integral part in the early religious controversies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.-Life:...
and William Coddington
William Coddington
William Coddington was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire colony, and then Governor of the...
. Coggeshall also supported another dissident minister, the Reverend John Wheelwright
John Wheelwright
John Wheelwright was a clergyman in England and America.-Early life:...
, whose wife was the sister of Anne Hutchinson's husband. Shortly after Hutchinson's banishment, Coggeshall was expelled from the General Court and in March 1638, was also directed to leave Massachusetts.
Scores of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers were ordered out of the Massachusetts colony, but before leaving Boston a group of them, including Coggeshall, signed what was later called the Portsmouth Compact
Portsmouth Compact
The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island...
, establishing a non-sectarian civil government upon the universal consent of the inhabitants, with a Christian focus. Planning initially to settle in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, the group was persuaded by Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
to purchase some land of the Indians on the Narragansett Bay. They settled on the north east end of Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
, and established a settlement they called Pocasset, but in 1639 changed the name to Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
. William Coddington
William Coddington
William Coddington was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire colony, and then Governor of the...
was elected the first judge (governor) of the settlement. In May 1638 Coggeshall was on a committee to lay out land there, and was granted six acres at the same time. The following year a disagreement prompted Coddington and a few other leaders, including Coggeshall, to leave Portsmouth and begin a new settlement at the south end of the island called Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. In his journal, Governor Winthrop described the 1639 disagreement in Portsmouth, writing, "the people grew very tumultuous and put out Mr. Coddington and the other three magistrates," Coggeshall being one of the three alluded to by Winthrop.
Leader of Rhode Island
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
, and this relationship helped the four towns of Portsmouth, Newport, Providence and Warwick to unite and form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
in the Spring of 1647, under the patent that Williams had obtained from the crown in 1644. In May 1647 Coggeshall was elected the chief magistrate of the four-town colony being given the title of President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. He had four assistants, one from each town, a general recorder and a treasurer. Under his administration the courts of justice were established and the first complete code of laws was written. Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold
Samuel G. Arnold
Samuel Greene Arnold, Jr. was a United States Senator from Rhode Island. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he received his early education under private tutors, and graduated from Brown University in 1841 and, in 1845, the law department of Harvard University, gaining admission to the bar that year...
made this tribute to the digest of statutes enacted under Coggeshall in 1647:
Coggeshall was in office only briefly, dying of an illness in Newport on 27 November 1647 and being buried on his own property in Newport. While he is noted for being the first president of the united colony of four towns, he is also noted for helping to establish the three towns of Boston, Portsmouth, and Newport, and the two colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island.
Family and legacy
Coggeshall's wife was named Mary, but her maiden name remains unknown. They had eight children, five of whom were born in England, and the others born in Boston, but only half of whom are known to have survived to maturity. Their oldest child, JohnJohn Coggeshall, Jr.
John Coggeshall, Jr. was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The son of Rhode Island President John Coggeshall, he was raised in the village of Castle Hedingham in northeastern Essex where his father was a merchant...
, was very active in colonial affairs over a period of three decades, serving as treasurer, commissioner, assistant and deputy governor. Their second child, Ann, married Peter Easton, a son of Nicholas Easton
Nicholas Easton
Nicholas Easton was an early colonial President and Governor of Rhode Island. Born in Hampshire, England, he lived in the towns of Lymington and Romsey before immigrating to New England with his two sons in 1634. Once in the New World, he lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony towns of Ipswich,...
who served many terms as either president or governor of the Rhode Island colony.
Places named for President Coggesahll include John Coggeshall Elementary School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Coggeshall Way and Coggeshall Circle in rural Middletown; and Coggeshall Avenue in Newport, which goes through the original Coggeshall property. His numerous descendants include painter Sanford Robinson Gifford
Sanford Robinson Gifford
Sanford Robinson Gifford was an American landscape painter and one of the leading members of the Hudson River School...
and composer Jimmy Van Heusen.
See also
- List of colonial governors of Rhode Island
- List of early settlers of Rhode Island
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsColony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...