Samuel Gorton
Encyclopedia
Samuel 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. Having strong religious beliefs that were contrary to the established Puritan
dogma and being very outspoken, he was frequently in trouble with the civil and church authorities in the New England
colonies.
Baptized in 1593 in Manchester
, Lancashire
, England, Gorton received a classic education in languages and English law from tutors. His father was a merchant in London
, and he was called a clothier of the same place in a 1635 court case. In 1637 he emigrated from England, settling first in Plymouth Colony
where he was soon ousted for his religious opinions and his demeanor towards the magistrates and ministers. Settling next in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
, he met with a similar fate, being whipped for his insubordination towards the magistrates. He next went to Providence
, where he once again met with adverse circumstances until he and a group of others purchased land of the Indians, settling south of the Pawtuxet River
in an area they called Shawomet, later named Warwick
. Refusing to answer a summons following the complaints of two Indian sachem
s about being unfairly treated in a land transaction, Gorton and several of his followers were forcefully taken away to Massachusetts
. Being tried for his beliefs and writings, rather than the original supposed infraction, Gorton was sentenced to prison in Charlestown
, though all but three of the presideing magistrates voted to give him a death sentence.
After a few months Gorton was released from confinement, but banished from Massachusetts and his home settlement of Shawomet, which was claimed by Massachusetts. He and several of his followers soon sailed to England where he spent four years, writing and publishing a book about his Shawomet experience, but more importantly obtaining an official order of protection for his colony from the Earl of Warwick
. Once back in New England, with his settlement of Shawomet (now called Warwick) secure, Gorton became a part of the civil authority that he had previously rejected, serving as assistant to the president
, commissioner
, deputy, and president of the two towns of Providence and Warwick. He served in civic roles over a period of 20 years until he was in his late 70s.
Gorton wrote a number of books, two of them during his trip to England, and several others following his return. A man of great learning and great intellectual breadth, Gorton believed passionately in God, the King, and the individual man, and was harshly critical of the magistrates and ministers who filled positions that were meaningless in his eyes. His beliefs and demeanor brought him admiration from his followers, but great condemnation from those in positions of authority, and he was reviled for more than a century after his death. In more recent times historians and writers have looked upon him much more favorably, considering him one of the great colonial leaders of Rhode Island.
, Lancashire
, England, Samuel Gorton was the son of Thomas and Anne Gorton from the chapelry of Gorton
, a part of Manchester. Gorton's grandfather and great grandfather were both also likely named Thomas Gorton of the same place. They were members of an ancient family, found in Gorton as early as 1332.
Gorton received a classical education from tutors, and became an accomplished scholar, particularly in the area of languages and English law. His library contained volumes "in which the ancient statutes of his country were written.". Though in one document he was called a "clothier of London," he wrote of himself that "he had not engaged in any servile employment until he settled in the colonies." His father had been a merchant in London and a guild member, and the family was well off financially. His reason for leaving the comforts of England and sailing to North America was given in his writings. One biographer summarized this by writing, "He yearned for a country where he could be free to worship God according to what the Bible taught him, as God enabled him to understand it." Another biographer noted that "Gorton was one of the noble spirits who esteemed liberty more than life, and, counting no sacrifice too great for the maintenance of principal, could not dwell at ease in a land where the inalienable rights of humanity were not acknowledged or were mocked at." In his own words, Gorton wrote, "I left my native country to enjoy liberty of conscience in respect to faith toward God and for no other end."
when he filed suit in a chancery case in February 1634/5. Two years later, in March 1637 he arrived in Boston
from London, bringing his wife and several children, and shortly thereafter went to Plymouth
where he rented part of a house from Ralph Smith. Gorton was a volunteer from Plymouth during the Pequot War
, as was his older brother Thomas. He soon had differences of opinion on religion with his landlord, and in December 1638 he was summoned to court based on the latter's complaints. In court Gorton "carried himself so mutinously and seditiously" towards both magistrates and ministers that he was sentenced to find sureties for his good behavior during the remainder of his tenure in Plymouth, and given 14 days to be gone from the colony. He left Plymouth shortly, and was in Portsmouth
on Aquidneck Island
(later named Rhode Island) where on the last day of April 1639 he and 28 others signed a compact calling themselves subjects of King Charles
and forming a "civil body politick."
Things did not go any better for Gorton in Portsmouth than they had in Plymouth. In 1640 his servant maid assaulted a woman whose cow had trespassed on his land, and this servant was ordered to court. Gorton refused to allow her to appear, and he went in her place. With his hostile attitude towards the judges, he was indicted on 14 counts, some of which were calling the magistrates "Just Asses," calling a freeman in open court "saucy boy and Jack-an-Apes," and when Governor Coddington
said, "all you that own the King take away Gorton and carry him to prison" Gorton replied, "all you that own the King take away Coddington and carry him to prison." Since he had previously been imprisoned, he was sentenced to be whipped, and soon left Portsmouth for Providence
.
Trouble continued to follow Gorton to Providence, where his democratic ideas concerning church and state led to a division of sentiment in this town. On 8 March 1640 Roger Williams
wrote to Massachusetts
magistrate John Winthrop
, "Master Gorton having abused high and low at Aquidneck, is now bewitching and bemadding poor Providence, both with his unclean and his foul censures of all the ministers of this country (for which myself in Christ's name have withstood him) and also denying all visible and external ordinances in depth of Familism..." Being a bitter partisan by nature he used his talent and energy to consolodate many discordant elements of the discontented into a destructive party within the comparatively peaceful settlement established by Williams. This group became known as the Gortonists or Gortonites. Because of his disorderly course, he was never received as an inhabitant in Providence. At this point Gorton moved once again to an area called Pawtuxet, along the Pawtuxet River
, about five miles south of the settlement at Providence (later the dividing line between the Rhode Island towns of Cranston
and Warwick
).
, Robert Cole, and Arnold's son Benedict Arnold
were deeply offended by Gorton's conduct, so much so that they sent a letter to Massachusetts, dated 17 November 1641, in which they complained of the "insolent and riotous carriage of Samuel Gorton and his company" and they petitioned Massachusetts to "lend us a neighborlike helping hand." With no legal government established anywhere in the Narragansett region, these Pawtuxet settlers put themselves under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, which arrangement lasted for 16 years. In so doing, the Pawtuxet settlers became agents of the underhanded dealings of Massachusetts in its quest to continue punishing those with dissenting views, and to gain territories that would give them an outlet to the Narragansett Bay
. The Arnolds and their Pawtuxet partners became complicit in efforts by Massachusetts to remove Gorton and his followers from the entire region. Territorial claims made by Massachusetts in the Narragansett region were for decades an issue of contention for Roger Williams who wanted to consolodate all of the towns around the Narragansett Bay into a unified government.
In January 1643 Gorton and ten others bought a large tract of land from the Narragansett tribal chief Miantonomi for 144 fathoms (864 feet or 263 meters) of wampum
, and they called the place Shawomet, using the native name, which would later be named Warwick
. Later that year he and others of Shawomet were summoned to appear in court in Boston
to answer a complaint from two Indian sachems concerning some "unjust and injurious dealing" towards them. The Shawomet men refused the summons, claiming that they were loyal subjects of the King of England and beyond the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Soldiers were soon sent after them, their writings were confiscated, and the men were taken to Boston for trial. Once tried, the charges against Gorton and the others had nothing to do with the original charges, but instead were about Gorton's writings and how he conducted himself. The following charge was made against him, "Upon much examination and serious consideration of your writing, with your answers about them, we do charge you to be a blasphemous enemy of the true religion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Ordinances, and also of all civil authority among the people of God and particularly in this jurisdiction." It was then ordered that Gorton be confined to Charlestown
, to be kept at labor, and to wear bolts or irons in order to prevent his escape. Were he to break confinement, or were he to maintain any of the "blasphemies or abominable heresies wherewith he hath been charged" that upon a conviction by a jury trial he would be sentenced to death. Even though the trial was a total sham, all but three of the present magistrates had given Gorton the death sentence, though a majority of the deputies refused to sanction such a sentence.
The sentencing took place in November 1643, but a few months later, in March 1644, he was released from prison, being banished from both Massachusetts and from Shawomet (which was claimed by Massachusetts). Seeking redress for the wrongs committed against them, later that year Gorton, Randall Holden
and John Greene
boarded a ship in New Amsterdam
and sailed back to England, where Gorton would spend four years. In 1646 he published one of his many writings, entitled Simplicity's Defence Against Seven Headed Policy, detailing the wrongs that were put upon the Shawomet settlers. The same year he was given what he had come for: the Commissioner of Plantations, responsible for overseeing the activities of the colonies, issued an order to Massachusetts to allow the residents of Shawomet and other lands included in the patent to "freely and quietly live and plant" without being disquieted by external pressures. In 1648 Gorton returned to New England
, landing in Boston that May. His arrest was ordered, but he had a letter of protection from Robert Rich, 5th Earl of Warwick
, which saw him safely back to his family. In honor of the Earl's intercession in this colonial difficulty, Gorton changed the name of Shawomet to Warwick.
in 1647. With his success in England, Gorton was seen as a leader in the colony and in 1649 he was chosen as the Warwick assistant to President John Smith
, also from Warwick, but both Gorton and Smith declined their positions. Being fined, they both ultimately served, and their fines were remitted. William Coddington
was in England during this time, on a mission to remove the island towns of Newport and Portsmouth from the government with Providence and Warwick. In 1651 Gorton was chosen as President of the colony, but Coddington had been successful in gaining his commission to put the island towns under his governance, so Gorton presided only over the "plantation" towns of Providence and Warwick. In 1652 Smith was once again selected as President and Gorton was once again the assistant from Warwick. A remarkable statute during this administration, an act for the emancipation of slaves, was likely authored by Gorton.
Gorton was chosen as a commissioner during a majority of the years from 1651 to 1663, and his name appears on a list of Warwick freemen in 1655. Also, during the last half of the 1660s he was the Deputy to the General Assembly for four years. After last serving in a public capacity in 1670, when he was 78 years old, Gorton continued to live in Warwick until his death in 1677. In 1675 Gorton had received word that the Indians living in the Connecticut Colony
intended to invade the Narragansett country. This intention was realized the same year, when King Phillips War consumed the New England colonies. While the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hardly took an active role, the simple matter of geography put the colony in the middle of the fray, causing it to suffer more than any other colony. Being forced to flee their homes during the conflict, the people of Warwick returned in the spring of 1677 to a barren wasteland, and began the task of rebuilding.
Though Gorton did not leave a will, several deeds to his heirs on 27 November 1677 distributed his properties, and in one of these instruments he called himself "professor of the mysteries of Christ." He was dead by 10 December. He is buried in the Samuel Gorton Cemetery, Rhode Island Historic Cemetery, Warwick #67, at 422 Samuel Gorton Avenue in Warwick, and his grave is marked with a governor's medallion and an uninscribed field stone.
In his day, Gorton was largely reviled by those who were not his followers, and his insolence towards colonial leaders made him the butt of most early writers on Rhode Island's colonial history. While Gorton was still alive, Nathaniel Morton, for years the keeper of the Plymouth
records, published a libellous and scandalous book about him. On 30 June 1669 Gorton wrote a lengthy letter of denial, refuting virtually every point made by Morton. More than a century later, however, Samuel Eddy
, the Rhode Island Secretary of State, wrote, "In the case of Gorton, ...no one of the first settlers has received more unmerited reproach, nor any one suffered so much injustice. His opinions on religious subjects were probably somewhat singular, though certainly not more so than in any at this day. But that was his business; his opinions were his own and he had a right to them." Later, Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold
, wrote of Gorton:
Gorton was described as being gentle and sympathetic in private intercourse, and generous and sympathetic in nature. He gave to others the same liberty of thought and expression that he claimed for himself. His biographer wrote that after Roger Williams, no man was more instrumental in establighing the foundation of equal civil rights and liberty in Rhode Island.
Two biographical accounts of Gorton have been published. In 1896 Lewis G. Jones published Samuel Gorton: a forgotten Founder of our Liberties and in 1907 Adelos Gorton published The Life and Times of Samuel Gorton. The latter work includes an extensive account of Rhode Island's earliest colonial records.
, and granddaughter of the Reverend John Mayplet, Rector of Great Leighs
Parish in Essex
, Vicar of Northolt
in Middlesex
, and a writer on the topics of natural history
and astrology
. Mary Gorton's brother was Dr. John Mayplet, physician to King Charles II
.
Descendants of Samuel and Mary Gorton include General Nathanael Greene
, the only American Revolutionary War
general besides George Washington
to serve during the entire war. Rhode Island Governors Henry Lippitt
and Charles W. Lippitt
are both descendants. Lieutenant Governor and Rhode Island state historian Samuel G. Arnold
and New York
Lieutenant Governor Lewis S. Chandler also have Gorton as an ancestor.
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...
and President of 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...
for one term. Having strong religious beliefs that were contrary to the established Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
dogma and being very outspoken, he was frequently in trouble with the civil and church authorities in the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
colonies.
Baptized in 1593 in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, Gorton received a classic education in languages and English law from tutors. His father was a merchant in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and he was called a clothier of the same place in a 1635 court case. In 1637 he emigrated from England, settling first in Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
where he was soon ousted for his religious opinions and his demeanor towards the magistrates and ministers. Settling next in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
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...
, he met with a similar fate, being whipped for his insubordination towards the magistrates. He next went to 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...
, where he once again met with adverse circumstances until he and a group of others purchased land of the Indians, settling south of the Pawtuxet River
Pawtuxet River
The Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows and drains a watershed of . There are four dams along the river's length.-Course:...
in an area they called Shawomet, later named 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...
. Refusing to answer a summons following the complaints of two Indian sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
s about being unfairly treated in a land transaction, Gorton and several of his followers were forcefully taken away to Massachusetts
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...
. Being tried for his beliefs and writings, rather than the original supposed infraction, Gorton was sentenced to prison in Charlestown
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, though all but three of the presideing magistrates voted to give him a death sentence.
After a few months Gorton was released from confinement, but banished from Massachusetts and his home settlement of Shawomet, which was claimed by Massachusetts. He and several of his followers soon sailed to England where he spent four years, writing and publishing a book about his Shawomet experience, but more importantly obtaining an official order of protection for his colony from the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. Once back in New England, with his settlement of Shawomet (now called Warwick) secure, Gorton became a part of the civil authority that he had previously rejected, serving as assistant to the 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...
, commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
, deputy, and president of the two towns of Providence and Warwick. He served in civic roles over a period of 20 years until he was in his late 70s.
Gorton wrote a number of books, two of them during his trip to England, and several others following his return. A man of great learning and great intellectual breadth, Gorton believed passionately in God, the King, and the individual man, and was harshly critical of the magistrates and ministers who filled positions that were meaningless in his eyes. His beliefs and demeanor brought him admiration from his followers, but great condemnation from those in positions of authority, and he was reviled for more than a century after his death. In more recent times historians and writers have looked upon him much more favorably, considering him one of the great colonial leaders of Rhode Island.
Ancestry and early life
Baptized on 12 February 1592/3 in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England, Samuel Gorton was the son of Thomas and Anne Gorton from the chapelry of Gorton
Gorton
Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme....
, a part of Manchester. Gorton's grandfather and great grandfather were both also likely named Thomas Gorton of the same place. They were members of an ancient family, found in Gorton as early as 1332.
Gorton received a classical education from tutors, and became an accomplished scholar, particularly in the area of languages and English law. His library contained volumes "in which the ancient statutes of his country were written.". Though in one document he was called a "clothier of London," he wrote of himself that "he had not engaged in any servile employment until he settled in the colonies." His father had been a merchant in London and a guild member, and the family was well off financially. His reason for leaving the comforts of England and sailing to North America was given in his writings. One biographer summarized this by writing, "He yearned for a country where he could be free to worship God according to what the Bible taught him, as God enabled him to understand it." Another biographer noted that "Gorton was one of the noble spirits who esteemed liberty more than life, and, counting no sacrifice too great for the maintenance of principal, could not dwell at ease in a land where the inalienable rights of humanity were not acknowledged or were mocked at." In his own words, Gorton wrote, "I left my native country to enjoy liberty of conscience in respect to faith toward God and for no other end."
Plymouth, Portsmouth and Providence
Gorton lived in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
when he filed suit in a chancery case in February 1634/5. Two years later, in March 1637 he arrived in 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...
from London, bringing his wife and several children, and shortly thereafter went to Plymouth
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
where he rented part of a house from Ralph Smith. Gorton was a volunteer from Plymouth during the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
, as was his older brother Thomas. He soon had differences of opinion on religion with his landlord, and in December 1638 he was summoned to court based on the latter's complaints. In court Gorton "carried himself so mutinously and seditiously" towards both magistrates and ministers that he was sentenced to find sureties for his good behavior during the remainder of his tenure in Plymouth, and given 14 days to be gone from the colony. He left Plymouth shortly, and was in 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...
(later named Rhode Island) where on the last day of April 1639 he and 28 others signed a compact calling themselves subjects of King Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and forming a "civil body politick."
Things did not go any better for Gorton in Portsmouth than they had in Plymouth. In 1640 his servant maid assaulted a woman whose cow had trespassed on his land, and this servant was ordered to court. Gorton refused to allow her to appear, and he went in her place. With his hostile attitude towards the judges, he was indicted on 14 counts, some of which were calling the magistrates "Just Asses," calling a freeman in open court "saucy boy and Jack-an-Apes," and when Governor 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...
said, "all you that own the King take away Gorton and carry him to prison" Gorton replied, "all you that own the King take away Coddington and carry him to prison." Since he had previously been imprisoned, he was sentenced to be whipped, and soon left Portsmouth for 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...
.
Trouble continued to follow Gorton to Providence, where his democratic ideas concerning church and state led to a division of sentiment in this town. On 8 March 1640 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,...
wrote to Massachusetts
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...
magistrate 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...
, "Master Gorton having abused high and low at Aquidneck, is now bewitching and bemadding poor Providence, both with his unclean and his foul censures of all the ministers of this country (for which myself in Christ's name have withstood him) and also denying all visible and external ordinances in depth of Familism..." Being a bitter partisan by nature he used his talent and energy to consolodate many discordant elements of the discontented into a destructive party within the comparatively peaceful settlement established by Williams. This group became known as the Gortonists or Gortonites. Because of his disorderly course, he was never received as an inhabitant in Providence. At this point Gorton moved once again to an area called Pawtuxet, along the Pawtuxet River
Pawtuxet River
The Pawtuxet River is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows and drains a watershed of . There are four dams along the river's length.-Course:...
, about five miles south of the settlement at Providence (later the dividing line between the Rhode Island towns of Cranston
Cranston
Cranston or Cranstoun is a Scottish surname originating in a clan that lived around Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders. It is a minor clan but has its own tartan and clan brooch.-Notable people:...
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...
).
Pawtuxet and Warwick
At Pawtuxet there was immediate friction and a rift in the settlers, with a majority of them adhering to Gorton's views. The original Pawtuxet settlers, consisting of William Arnold, his son-in-law William CarpenterWilliam Carpenter (Rhode Island)
William Carpenter William Carpenter William Carpenter (born about 1610 probably in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England - died September 7, 1685 at Providence (Pawtuxet section now in Cranston, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) was a co-founder of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations...
, Robert Cole, and Arnold's son Benedict Arnold
Benedict 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...
were deeply offended by Gorton's conduct, so much so that they sent a letter to Massachusetts, dated 17 November 1641, in which they complained of the "insolent and riotous carriage of Samuel Gorton and his company" and they petitioned Massachusetts to "lend us a neighborlike helping hand." With no legal government established anywhere in the Narragansett region, these Pawtuxet settlers put themselves under the jurisdiction of 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...
, which arrangement lasted for 16 years. In so doing, the Pawtuxet settlers became agents of the underhanded dealings of Massachusetts in its quest to continue punishing those with dissenting views, and to gain territories that would give them an outlet to 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...
. The Arnolds and their Pawtuxet partners became complicit in efforts by Massachusetts to remove Gorton and his followers from the entire region. Territorial claims made by Massachusetts in the Narragansett region were for decades an issue of contention for Roger Williams who wanted to consolodate all of the towns around the Narragansett Bay into a unified government.
Wampum
Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
, and they called the place Shawomet, using the native name, which would later be named 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...
. Later that year he and others of Shawomet were summoned to appear in court in 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...
to answer a complaint from two Indian sachems concerning some "unjust and injurious dealing" towards them. The Shawomet men refused the summons, claiming that they were loyal subjects of the King of England and beyond the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Soldiers were soon sent after them, their writings were confiscated, and the men were taken to Boston for trial. Once tried, the charges against Gorton and the others had nothing to do with the original charges, but instead were about Gorton's writings and how he conducted himself. The following charge was made against him, "Upon much examination and serious consideration of your writing, with your answers about them, we do charge you to be a blasphemous enemy of the true religion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Ordinances, and also of all civil authority among the people of God and particularly in this jurisdiction." It was then ordered that Gorton be confined to Charlestown
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, to be kept at labor, and to wear bolts or irons in order to prevent his escape. Were he to break confinement, or were he to maintain any of the "blasphemies or abominable heresies wherewith he hath been charged" that upon a conviction by a jury trial he would be sentenced to death. Even though the trial was a total sham, all but three of the present magistrates had given Gorton the death sentence, though a majority of the deputies refused to sanction such a sentence.
The sentencing took place in November 1643, but a few months later, in March 1644, he was released from prison, being banished from both Massachusetts and from Shawomet (which was claimed by Massachusetts). Seeking redress for the wrongs committed against them, later that year Gorton, Randall Holden
Randall Holden
Randall Holden was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, was one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick...
and John Greene
John Greene (settler)
John Greene was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a co-founder of the town of Warwick in the colony...
boarded a ship in New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
and sailed back to England, where Gorton would spend four years. In 1646 he published one of his many writings, entitled Simplicity's Defence Against Seven Headed Policy, detailing the wrongs that were put upon the Shawomet settlers. The same year he was given what he had come for: the Commissioner of Plantations, responsible for overseeing the activities of the colonies, issued an order to Massachusetts to allow the residents of Shawomet and other lands included in the patent to "freely and quietly live and plant" without being disquieted by external pressures. In 1648 Gorton returned to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, landing in Boston that May. His arrest was ordered, but he had a letter of protection from Robert Rich, 5th Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
, which saw him safely back to his family. In honor of the Earl's intercession in this colonial difficulty, Gorton changed the name of Shawomet to Warwick.
Later life
The Samuel Gorton who stepped off the ship in Boston in 1648 seemed to be a totally different person than the one who sailed to England four years earlier. No longer were there court cases with charges of blasphemy, heresy, insolent and riotous behavior, and degradation of the magistrates and ministers. With his settlement of Warwick secured by royal decree, Gorton became actively involved in roles that he had previously criticized. The four towns of the colony had come together under a fragile government, choosing its first President, John CoggeshallJohn Coggeshall
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...
in 1647. With his success in England, Gorton was seen as a leader in the colony and in 1649 he was chosen as the Warwick assistant to President John Smith
John 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...
, also from Warwick, but both Gorton and Smith declined their positions. Being fined, they both ultimately served, and their fines were remitted. 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 in England during this time, on a mission to remove the island towns of Newport and Portsmouth from the government with Providence and Warwick. In 1651 Gorton was chosen as President of the colony, but Coddington had been successful in gaining his commission to put the island towns under his governance, so Gorton presided only over the "plantation" towns of Providence and Warwick. In 1652 Smith was once again selected as President and Gorton was once again the assistant from Warwick. A remarkable statute during this administration, an act for the emancipation of slaves, was likely authored by Gorton.
Gorton was chosen as a commissioner during a majority of the years from 1651 to 1663, and his name appears on a list of Warwick freemen in 1655. Also, during the last half of the 1660s he was the Deputy to the General Assembly for four years. After last serving in a public capacity in 1670, when he was 78 years old, Gorton continued to live in Warwick until his death in 1677. In 1675 Gorton had received word that the Indians living in the Connecticut Colony
Connecticut Colony
The Connecticut Colony or Colony of Connecticut was an English colony located in British America that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, it was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English...
intended to invade the Narragansett country. This intention was realized the same year, when King Phillips War consumed the New England colonies. While the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hardly took an active role, the simple matter of geography put the colony in the middle of the fray, causing it to suffer more than any other colony. Being forced to flee their homes during the conflict, the people of Warwick returned in the spring of 1677 to a barren wasteland, and began the task of rebuilding.
Though Gorton did not leave a will, several deeds to his heirs on 27 November 1677 distributed his properties, and in one of these instruments he called himself "professor of the mysteries of Christ." He was dead by 10 December. He is buried in the Samuel Gorton Cemetery, Rhode Island Historic Cemetery, Warwick #67, at 422 Samuel Gorton Avenue in Warwick, and his grave is marked with a governor's medallion and an uninscribed field stone.
Beliefs, demonization and restitution
Gorton had left a comfortable life in England to enjoy liberty of conscience in the English colonies of North America. He was a man of intense individualism who, according to Bicknell, recognized three pillars of power: "God, the Supreme One; the King, his vicegerent, and himself, the individual man. Between these he recognized no medium of interposition. The freedom of the individual was only limited by the express will of God or the King." In this context, his actions can be better understood. He was never punished for anything other than his opinions. He never committed any immoral act or crime against another person. He and his followers held that "by union with Christ believers partook of the perfection of God, that Christ is both human and divine, and that Heaven and Hell exist only in the mind."In his day, Gorton was largely reviled by those who were not his followers, and his insolence towards colonial leaders made him the butt of most early writers on Rhode Island's colonial history. While Gorton was still alive, Nathaniel Morton, for years the keeper of the Plymouth
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
records, published a libellous and scandalous book about him. On 30 June 1669 Gorton wrote a lengthy letter of denial, refuting virtually every point made by Morton. More than a century later, however, Samuel Eddy
Samuel Eddy
Samuel Eddy was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Born in Johnston, Rhode Island, near Providence, Eddy completed preparatory studies. He graduated from Brown University in 1787. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1790 and practiced a short time in Providence...
, the Rhode Island Secretary of State, wrote, "In the case of Gorton, ...no one of the first settlers has received more unmerited reproach, nor any one suffered so much injustice. His opinions on religious subjects were probably somewhat singular, though certainly not more so than in any at this day. But that was his business; his opinions were his own and he had a right to them." Later, 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...
, wrote of Gorton:
Gorton was described as being gentle and sympathetic in private intercourse, and generous and sympathetic in nature. He gave to others the same liberty of thought and expression that he claimed for himself. His biographer wrote that after Roger Williams, no man was more instrumental in establighing the foundation of equal civil rights and liberty in Rhode Island.
Writings by and about Gorton
Besides his first book, Simplicities Defence... Gorton also wrote another book while in England entitled An Incorruptible Key composed of the CX. Psalms wherewith you may open the rest of the Scriptures, published in 1647. After returning to New England he wrote Saltmarsh returned from the Dead (1655), with its sequel, An Antidote against the Common Plague of the World (1656). His final published work was Antidote Against Pharisaical Teachers (1656), though he left behind an unpublished manuscript of several hundred pages entitled Exposition upon the Lord's Prayer.Two biographical accounts of Gorton have been published. In 1896 Lewis G. Jones published Samuel Gorton: a forgotten Founder of our Liberties and in 1907 Adelos Gorton published The Life and Times of Samuel Gorton. The latter work includes an extensive account of Rhode Island's earliest colonial records.
Family and Descendants
Samuel Gorton was married prior to 11 January 1629/30 to Mary Mayplet, the daughter of John Mayplet, haberdasherHaberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...
, and granddaughter of the Reverend John Mayplet, Rector of Great Leighs
Great Leighs
Great Leighs is a village in Essex, England, half way between Chelmsford and Braintree. In 2008 Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue...
Parish in 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...
, Vicar of Northolt
Northolt
Northolt is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The town has London Underground and Network Rail stations and is on the A40 road...
in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, and a writer on the topics of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
. Mary Gorton's brother was Dr. John Mayplet, physician to King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Descendants of Samuel and Mary Gorton include General Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
, the only American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
general besides George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
to serve during the entire war. Rhode Island Governors Henry Lippitt
Henry Lippitt
Henry Lippitt was the 33rd Governor of Rhode Island from 1875 to 1877.-Family:Lippitt was the son of Warren Lippitt and Eliza Lippitt, married to Mary Ann Balch. He was the father of Charles Warren Lippitt, another Rhode Island Governor, and the father of Henry F. Lippitt, a U.S...
and Charles W. Lippitt
Charles W. Lippitt
Charles Warren Lippitt was an American politician and the 44th Governor of Rhode Island.-Early Life and Family:...
are both descendants. Lieutenant Governor and Rhode Island state historian 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...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Lieutenant Governor Lewis S. Chandler also have Gorton as an ancestor.
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...