List of colonial governors of Rhode Island
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the "judges," presidents, and governors of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
from 1638 to 1776.
Governors under the Royal Charter of 1663
The Rhode Island Charter was suspended from 1686-1689. During this time, Sir Edmund Andros
served as Governor of the Dominion of New England
, which included Rhode Island.
Vacant May 1689-February 1690
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...
from 1638 to 1776.
Judges of Portsmouth
- William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam 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...
1638-1639 - William Hutchinson 1639 - March 1640
Judge of Newport
- William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam 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...
1639-1640
Chief Officer under the Patent of 1643 (Providence and Warwick)
- Roger WilliamsRoger 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,...
September 1644-May 1647
Presidents under the Patent of 1643
- John CoggeshallJohn CoggeshallJohn 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...
May-1647-November 1647 (died in office) - Jeremy ClarkeJeremy Clarke (Governor)Jeremy Clarke was an early colonial settler and President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations...
May 1648-May 1649 - John SmithJohn Smith (Governor)John Smith was an early colonial settler and President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He lived in Boston, but was later an inhabitant of Warwick in the Rhode Island colony where he was a merchant, stonemason, and served as assistant. In 1649 he was selected to be...
May 1649-May 1650 - Nicholas EastonNicholas EastonNicholas 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,...
May 1650-August 1651 - Samuel GortonSamuel GortonSamuel Gorton , was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick for one term...
October 1651-May 1652 (Providence and Warwick only) - John SmithJohn Smith (Governor)John Smith was an early colonial settler and President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He lived in Boston, but was later an inhabitant of Warwick in the Rhode Island colony where he was a merchant, stonemason, and served as assistant. In 1649 he was selected to be...
May 1652-May 1653 (Providence and Warwick only) - Gregory DexterGregory DexterGregory Dexter was a printer, Baptist minister, and early President of the combined towns of Providence and Warwick in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was in New England as early as 1638 when he had a five-acre lot assigned to him in Providence...
May 1653-May 1654 (Providence and Warwick only)
Governors of Newport and Portsmouth under the Coddington Commission
- William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam 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...
May 1651-May 1653 - John SanfordJohn Sanford (governor)John Sanford , was an early settler of Boston, Massachusetts, an original settler of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and a governor of the combined towns of Portsmouth and Newport, in the Rhode Island colony, dying in office after serving for less than a full term...
May 1653-1653 (died in office between June and November 1653)
Presidents under the Patent of 1643
- Nicholas EastonNicholas EastonNicholas 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,...
May 1654-September 1654 - Roger WilliamsRoger 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,...
September 1654-May 1657 - Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold (governor)Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...
May 1657-May 1660 - William BrentonWilliam BrentonWilliam Brenton was a colonial President, Deputy Governor, and Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and an early settler of Portsmouth and Newport in the Rhode Island colony...
May 1660-May 1662 - Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold (governor)Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...
May 1662-November 1663
Governors under the Royal Charter of 1663Royal Charter of 1663The Royal Charter of 1663 was a colonial charter giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony...
- Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold (governor)Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...
November 1663-May 1666 - William BrentonWilliam BrentonWilliam Brenton was a colonial President, Deputy Governor, and Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and an early settler of Portsmouth and Newport in the Rhode Island colony...
May 1666-1669 - Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold (governor)Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...
1669-1672 - Nicholas EastonNicholas EastonNicholas 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,...
1672-1674 - William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam 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...
1674-1676 - Walter ClarkeWalter Clarke (governor)Walter Clarke was an early Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the first native-born governor of the colony. The son of colonial President Jeremy Clarke, he was a Quaker like his father. While in his late 20s, he was elected as a Deputy from Newport, and in 1673...
1676-1677 - Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold (governor)Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. Coming from Somerset, England, he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, likely attending school in Limington, nearby...
1677-1678 (died in office) - William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam 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...
1678 (died in office) - John Cranston 1678-1680 (died in office)
- Peleg SanfordPeleg SanfordPeleg Sanford was an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving three consecutive terms from 1680 to 1683. He was the son of John Sanford by his second wife, Bridget Hutchinson...
1680-1683 - William Coddington, Jr.William Coddington, Jr.William Coddington Jr. was an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving two consecutive terms from 1683 to 1685...
1683-1685 - Henry BullHenry Bull (Governor)Henry Bull was an early colonial Governor of Rhode Island, serving for two separate terms, one before and one after the tenure of Edmund Andros under the Dominion of New England...
1685-1686 - Walter ClarkeWalter Clarke (governor)Walter Clarke was an early Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the first native-born governor of the colony. The son of colonial President Jeremy Clarke, he was a Quaker like his father. While in his late 20s, he was elected as a Deputy from Newport, and in 1673...
1686
The Rhode Island Charter was suspended from 1686-1689. During this time, Sir Edmund Andros
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
served as Governor of the Dominion of New England
Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...
, which included Rhode Island.
Governors
- Henry BullHenry Bull (Governor)Henry Bull was an early colonial Governor of Rhode Island, serving for two separate terms, one before and one after the tenure of Edmund Andros under the Dominion of New England...
February 1690-May 1690 - John EastonJohn EastonJohn Easton was a political leader in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, devoting decades to public service before eventually becoming Governor of the colony. Born in Hampshire, England, he sailed to New England with his widowed father and older brother, settling in Ipswich...
May 1690-May 1695 - Caleb CarrCaleb Carr (Governor)Caleb Carr was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving a very short term prior to his death by drowning. In 1635, at the age of 11, he sailed from England on the ship Elizabeth and Ann with his older brother Robert...
May 1695-December 1695 (died in office) - Walter ClarkeWalter Clarke (governor)Walter Clarke was an early Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the first native-born governor of the colony. The son of colonial President Jeremy Clarke, he was a Quaker like his father. While in his late 20s, he was elected as a Deputy from Newport, and in 1673...
1696-1698 (resigned from office) - Samuel CranstonSamuel CranstonSamuel Cranston was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the first quarter of the 18th century. He held office from 1698 to 1727, being elected to office 30 times , and served as governor longer than any other individual in the history of both the colony and...
1698-1727 - Joseph JenckesJoseph Jenckes (governor)Joseph Jenckes was a deputy governor and governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was the son of Joseph and Esther Jenckes who lived in Lynn, Massachusetts before coming to Rhode Island. His father, the son of an earlier Joseph Jenckes, operated a sawmill in...
1727-1732 - William WantonWilliam WantonWilliam Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving a short term prior to his death...
1732-1733 (died in office) - John WantonJohn WantonJohn Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for six consecutive terms from 1734 to 1740. He was the son of Edward Wanton who was a ship builder, and who became a Quaker after witnessing the persecution of these people, also becoming a preacher of...
1734-1740 (died in office) - Richard WardRichard Ward (governor)Richard Ward was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for one complete term from 1741 to 1742. He was the son of Thomas Ward and Amey Billings of Newport, and grandson of John Ward who had come from Gloucester, England...
1740-1743 - William GreeneWilliam Greene (colonial governor)William Greene was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743...
1743-1745 - Gideon WantonGideon WantonGideon Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who served for two separate one-year terms. His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah Freeborn...
1745-1746 - William GreeneWilliam Greene (colonial governor)William Greene was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743...
1746-1747 - Gideon WantonGideon WantonGideon Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who served for two separate one-year terms. His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah Freeborn...
1747-1748 - William GreeneWilliam Greene (colonial governor)William Greene was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743...
1748-1755 - Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (politician)Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
1755-1757 - William GreeneWilliam Greene (colonial governor)William Greene was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743...
1757-1758 (died in office) - Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (politician)Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
1758-1762 - Samuel Ward 1762-1763
- Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (politician)Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
1763-1765 - Samuel Ward 1765-1767
- Stephen HopkinsStephen Hopkins (politician)Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
1767-1768 - Josias LyndonJosias LyndonJosias Lyndon was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a single one-year term. He was the son of Samuel and Priscilla Lyndon of Newport, the grandson of Josias Lyndon of Newport, and the great grandson of Augustin Lyndon, a shipwright in Boston in the...
1768-1769 - Joseph WantonJoseph WantonJoseph Wanton was a merchant and governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations from 1769 to 1775. Not wanting to go to war with Britain, he has been branded as a Loyalist, but he remained neutral during the war, and he and his property were not disturbed.Born in Newport of a...
1769-1775 (removed from office) - Nicholas CookeNicholas CookeNicholas Cooke was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Born in the maritime town of Providence, he...
1775-1776
See also
- List of Governors of Rhode Island
- List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island