John Coggeshall

John Coggeshall (ca. 1591 - November 27, 1647) was one of the founders of Rhode Island.

Coggeshall was born in Halstead, Essex, England, to a wealthy family of Puritan leanings. As an adult Coggeshall made a propserous living as a silk merchant. Around 1618 he married his wife Mary (last name unknown) and they would eventually have eight children.

In 1632, Coggeshall and his family joined the mass emigration of English Puritans to New England, sailing on the "Lyon" (the same ship which had brought over Roger Williams the year before) in 1632. The Coggeshalls first settled at Roxbury, but quickly moved to Boston, where by chance they became next-door neighbours to the Hutchinson family. Some time after moving to Boston, Coggeshall became an enthusiastic supporter of Anne Hutchinson, the controversial dissident minister and preacher. At her civil trial, Coggeshall spoke out in her defense and was of only three deputies to vote for her acquittal. Shortly after Hutchinson's banishment, Coggeshall was expelled from the General Court and in March 1638, was banished from Massachusetts himself. Working with Roger Williams, William Coddington, and others, Coggeshall helped purchased Aquidneck Island in 1638. Right before Coggeshall and the others moved, they first signed the Portsmouth Compact, which was the first document granting religious freedom in American history. Soon after, Coggeshall and the others founded the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. However, a political dispute in the new town caused Coggeshall and others, including William Coddington, to leave for the southern half the island in 1639 to found Newport.

Coggeshall was soon a leader in Newport, and was granted 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land on the southern side of the town, along present-day Bellvue Avenue. In the 1640s, Coggeshall was one of the most important leaders of Newport, often being in charge of moderating the town meetings. Coggeshall also had a working relationship with Roger Williams. The two had first met up in Boston and had a deep respect for each other, and it was this working relationship that helped the four towns on Narragansett Bay to unite and form the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in the Spring of 1647. In May of that year Coggeshall served as the first "President" of the united colony. Coggeshall would only stay in office briefly, dying of an illness in Newport on November 27, 1647. He was buried at the Coggeshall Cemetery in Newport, which can still be seen today. Although the union Coggeshall helped formed dissolved several years later, the colony later was permanently reunited under the royal charter of 1663.

John Coggeshall had married Mary (last name unknown) around 1618 in England. They had the following children: John (who would also be a major leader in the early days of Rhode Island), Ann, Mary, Joshua, James, Hanneel, Wayte, and Beduiah. All were born in England except the last three, who were born in Massachusetts. Mary Coggeshall died in Newport on November 8, 1684, and is buried next to her husband.

John Coggeshall Elementary School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island is named for him, as well as Coggeshall Way and Coggeshall Circle in rural Middletown and Coggeshall Avenue in Newport (which goes right through the heart of the old Coggeshall property). His numerous descendants include painter Sanford Robinson Gifford and composer Jimmy Van Heusen.