William Coddington

William Coddington (born around 1601 in Marston , England ; † November 1, 1678 in Newport , Rhode Island ) was an English lawyer and politician . He served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations .

England and Massachusetts Bay Colony

Early years

William Coddington, probably the son of Margaret and Robert Coddington was in the reign of Elizabeth I in the county of Lincolnshire born. His alleged father was a wealthy yeoman . Young Coddington owned a signet ring in Rhode Island with the initials RC, probably from his father. His training place is not known. He must have had a good education, however, as evidenced by his correspondence and his considerable command of English law. As a young man, he married his first wife, Mary, around 1626. It is believed that it was Mary Burt, as Coddington once mentioned his cousin Burt in a letter. The couple had two sons who were baptized in St. Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire. The two sons died in childhood and were then buried in the same church. In the year of his marriage, 1626, the King of England, Charles I , bypassed Parliament by issuing a forced loan to raise funds. Coddington was one of many Puritans who refused to pay this royal loan. His name was on a list the following winter.

On March 18, 1629/1630 Coddington was elected a Massachusetts Bay Assistant (magistrate) while he was still in England. The following month he sailed to New England with the Winthrop fleet . His first wife died during the first winter in Massachusetts . He returned to England on board the Lion in 1631 , where he stayed for the next two years. During this time he married his second wife Mary Moseley in Terling ( Essex ), who accompanied him to New England in 1633. They settled in Boston that summer .

Coddington was a leading dealer in Boston. In the following years he built the first brick house there. He was elected Assistant (Magistrate) every year from his arrival in New England until 1637. Between 1634 and 1636 he was Treasurer in the colony and in 1637 MP for Boston. He served as a Boston city councilor in 1634 and served on several committees in 1636 and 1637 that oversaw real estate affairs.

Anabaptist Controversy

As a member of the Boston Ward, he was able to witness the arrival of one of the most prominent Puritan clergymen, John Cotton , who arrived at the colony in 1633. The two men had been friends since their time in England. In a 1630 letter, Cotton arranged for a barrel of flour to be sent to Coddington, who was in Salem at the time. Cotton took up a position as a minister in the Boston Ward. He joined the already present clergyman John Wilson . There was a theological difference between the two clergymen. Anne Hutchinson , a theologically astute midwife who listened to many of the women in the colony, openly supported Cotton and condemned the theological views of Wilson and the other clergy in the colony. The different religious views eventually led to public debates. As a result, the so-called Anabaptist controversy arose , but recently it has also been referred to as the Free Grace Controversy . Many Boston parishioners found Wilson's moral code and its doctrine of evidencing justification by sanctification (Werkbund) uncomfortable. Hutchinson told her followers that Wilson lacks "the seal of the spirit" . The theological views of Wilson agreed with those of all other clergymen in the colony except for Cotton, who emphasized "the invitability of God's will" (Gnadenbund) in contrast to preparationism (Werkbund). The Boston parishioners, all but five who supported Hutchinson's views, followed Cotton. Hence, they began to interfere with Wilson's sermons. In this regard, they even made excuses to leave when Wilson got up to preach or pray.

In May 1636, the Bostonians gained a new ally when the Reverend John Wheelwright arrived from England and immediately consulted Cotton, Hutchinson, and other Free Grace Advocates. Another boost to Free Grace theology advocates came the same month when the young aristocrat Henry Vane was elected colonial governor. Vane was a strong supporter of Hutchinson, but he also had his own theological ideas that were not only considered unorthodox but radical.

When the Anabaptist controversy began, Coddington was elected magistrate by the freemen of the colony. Like many Boston parishioners, he sided directly with Free Grace advocates. By the end of 1636, the theological division had grown so great that the General Court convened a day of fasting to help resolve colonial differences. During the convened fast day, January 19, 1637, Wheelwright preached to the Boston ward that afternoon. For the Puritan clergy, the sermon was "censurable and incited mischief." While the colonial clergy were offended by the sermon, Free Grace advocates were encouraged. They became louder and louder in their opposition to the official clergy. Not only did Colonial Governor Vane begin to challenge the teachings of the colonial clergy, but Hutchinson's supporters refused to serve during the Pequot War of 1637 because Wilson was the campaign's chaplain. The clergy were concerned that the strong opposition from Hutchinson and her supporters was beginning to threaten the "Puritan's holy experiment" .

As early as March 1637, the political mood began to turn against the Free Grace advocates. Wheelwright was tried that month for his Lent day preaching for disregard and rioting and was convicted but not punished in a narrow vote. In the general election in May 1637, John Winthrop was elected as the new colonial governor, replacing Henry Vane in office. In addition, Coddington and all of the other magistrates in Boston were voted out of office by the Freemen in the colony, who supported Hutchinson and Wheelwright. Coddington was then elected MP by the Town of Boston. In the summer of 1637 Vane sailed back to England and never returned. With his departure, the time was ripe for the Orthodox group to negotiate with the rest of their Free Grace rivals. The aggressive declarations of war by Free Grace advocates left the colony in a state of disagreement. Winthrop realized the following:

"Two so opposite parties could not contain in the same body, without apparent hazard of ruin to the whole"

So he decided to go tough, backed by the majority of the colonists. The October 1637 election brought even more changes, with a major change in the General Court. Unlike the rest of the colony, Boston continued to be represented by strong Free Grace advocates. Coddington was one of the three MPs.

Edwin Austin Abbey : Anne Hutchinson before the tribunal

The fall court, which was convened on November 2, 1637, sentenced Wheelwright. He was exiled and was due to leave the colony within 14 days. Several other supporters of Hutchinson and Wheelwright were also convicted. Various sentences have been passed. Anne Hutchinson was supposed to be next. On November 7, 1637 she came to court. Colonial Governor Winthrop was in the chair. She was charged with "traducing [slandering] the ministers" and other charges. One of the Boston MPs was dismissed, leaving the Town to be represented by only two MPs, Coddington and one other MP. The process took two days. Coddington probably coached Hutchinson on legal issues at the end of the first day. It went well for Hutchinson on the first day, but on the second day she made it much easier for the prosecutors. She threatened the court with its own trial. She also claimed that the source of her inspiration was divine revelation and threatened the court with a curse. The court's bewilderment resulted in an immediate conviction. Cotton tried to come to Hutchinson's defense, but was followed by the magistrates until Whinthrop called off the questioning. In the vote on the banishment sentence, only Coddington and the other remaining MP from Boston spoke out against it. Winthrop read the judgment:

"Mrs. Hutchinson, the sentence of the court you hear is that you are banished from out of our jurisdiction as being a woman not fit for our society, and are to be imprisoned till the court shall send you away. "

Coddington was very dissatisfied with the way the negotiation was going and got up and said the following:

"I do not see any clear witness against her, and you know it is a rule of the court that no man may be a judge and an accuser too. I would entreat you to consider whether those things which you have alleged against her deserve such censure as you are about to pass, be it to banishment or imprisonment. I beseech you: do not speak so as to force things along, for I do not, for my own part, see any equity in the court in all your proceedings. Here is no law of God that she hath broken nor any law of the country that she hath broke, and therefore deserve no censure. "

His words were ignored. The court tried to convict her, but could not continue the trial until some of the clergy had spoken. Three were sworn in and each testified against Hutchinson. Winthrop eventually banished them. Hutchinson challenged the legitimacy of the verdict, saying:

"I desire to know wherefore I am banished."

Winthrop only replied:

"The court knows wherefore and is satisfied."

Within a week of Hutchinson's conviction, other supporters were brought to trial and their voting rights were denied. The constables were then sent door-to-door across the colony to disarm those who had signed a petition in support of Wheelwright. Within ten days, these people were instructed to:

"All such guns, pistols, swords, powder, shot, & match as they shall be owners of, or have in their custody, upon paine of ten pound [s] for every default."

Large numbers of them then signed a petition as they faced loss of protection and, in some cases, livelihoods. They retracted under pressure and admitted their mistake by signing the petition. Those who refused to revoke suffered hardship and in many cases left the colony.

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

New beginning

Coddington, still angry at the injustice of the recent negotiations, began making plans for his own future in consultation with other stakeholders through the court rulings. He continued to maintain good relations with Winthrop and consulted with him about the possibility of leaving the Massachusetts Bay Colony in peace. Winthrop was encouraged and cleared the way for it with other magistrates. Unsure of where to go, some of the men contacted Roger Williams , who suggested they purchase land from the indigenous peoples along Narragansett Bay near his Providence settlement . On March 7, 1638, a group of men gathered in the Coddington house and drew up a contract. This group included several of the strongest supporters of Hutchinson and Wheelwright. This included men who were stripped of the right to vote, who were disarmed, who were excommunicated or who were banished. Their names were: John Coggeshall , William Dyer , William Aspinwall , John Porter , Philip Sherman , Henry Bull and several members of the Hutchinson's family. Some who were not directly affected by the events were also approached. They included Randall Holden and the doctor and theologian John Clarke . In total, a group of 23 people signed the document, which was intended to form a "Bodie Politick" based on Christian principles. Coddington's name first appears on the successor document known as the Portsmouth Compact . The signatories elected Coddington as their judge, who would be their leader or governor. After purchasing the proposed land from Roger Williams, they established their own colony on Aquidneck Island , which was later named Rhode Island. They named their settlement Pocasset, which was later renamed Portsmouth .

Within a year of the establishment of the settlement, differences of opinion arose among the leaders. Coddington then moved with three elders and other residents to the southern tip of the island, where they founded the town of Newport. In 1640 the two towns of Portsmouth and Newport merged. In this context, the appointment of Chief Officer to Governor was changed. Coddington was then elected first colonial governor. The two island cities grew and prospered to a much greater extent than the settlements of Providence and the newly formed Shawomet (now Warwick ) on the mainland. Roger Williams, who wanted to unify all four settlements on Narragansett Bay, went to England to get a patent for all four towns under one government. Williams was successful in his endeavors and received the relevant document on March 14, 1644. (The document is dated March 14, 1643, since England and the English colonies were using the Julian calendar at that time . March 14 before Easter it was according to the Gregorian calendar 1644, but according to the Julian calendar 1643. Of particular note is the fact that this document, although it was dated March 14, 1643, was orphaned on an earlier document dated November 2 This paradox is explained by the fact that the Old Style Julian Calendar in use at the time did not start the year on January 1, but instead on Easter.) The charter that the group received from Williams , was brought from England to New England and presented to the MPs of the Four Towns in late 1644.

Coddington opposed the Williams patent. As chief magistrate of the island, he had a well organized and fully organized government that had little in common with the disorganized, contradicting elements of Providence. In his view, the island cities were brought into a civic union with a different class of inhabitants with less education, wealth or law and order by the patent of 1643/1644. Because of this, the island cities ignored the 1643/1644 patent. Therefore, on April 13, 1644, the General Assembly of the two towns renamed Aquidneck Island to Isle of Rhodes or Rhode Island. Coddington was so dissatisfied with the union with the mainland cities that in August 1644 he wrote a letter to Colonial Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts letting him know that he would be more likely to form an alliance with Massachusetts or Plymouth than Providence. But none of this happened. Coddington resisted association with Providence until 1647, when MPs from the Four Towns finally met and accepted Williams' 1643 patent. It was also the year Coddington's second wife, Mary, died in Newport.

In May 1648, when the General Court (later the General Assembly) met in Providence, Coddington was elected President of the entire colony. He did not attend the meeting, probably because he did not support the patent, nor did he want to appear. He was subsequently charged with charges, although the nature of these has not been documented. He was eventually replaced by Jeremiah Clarke as colonial governor. The 1643 patent created little more than a confederation of independent governments. In September 1648, Coddington applied for the two island cities to join the New England Confederation . The following reply let him know that the island would have to submit to the Plymouth Colony government for the request to be honored. This was unacceptable for Coddington, as he wanted to preserve the colonial independence of the two island cities. They had a well-organized government in which civil and religious freedom were clearly defined and fully recognized. Those freedoms would have been lost in a Plymouth government.

Coddington Commission

Annoyed by the current situation, Coddington decided to go to England and present his case to the Colonial Commissioners in London . He left his farm and business interests to an administrator and went on a mission to save his island colony, to which he devoted much of his fortune and work. Upon arriving in England, he found the country in the middle of a civil war . So it took a while until he got an appointment with the relevant office. He eventually met with his old friend and comrade in the Boston government, Sir Henry Vane. Vane helped Roger Williams get his patent. Now he should advise Coddington on how to proceed. Colonial Governor Josiah Winslow of the Plymouth Colony was staying in London at the time and made claims to the two island cities for his colony.

On March 6, 1650 Coddington submitted his petition for an independent colonial government on Aquidneck Island, free from the claims of Plymouth and the union with Providence. A year later, in April 1651, Coddington received from the Council of State of England the commission for an independent government on Aquidneck Island and the small neighboring island of Conanicut (later Jamestown ) with him as colonial governor. Vane gave his approval. This canceled the patent that Roger Williams had received several years earlier. Coddington was perceived by Vane as a wise and successful chief magistrate. He was therefore allowed to serve in his new role as colonial governor for an indefinite period. His government was to consist of a council of six men, elected by the Freemen by popular vote.

Coddington spent nearly three years in England. During this time he met and married Anne Brinley. She was the daughter of Thomas Brinley and sister of Francis Brinley, who settled in Newport in 1652 and built a large building that later became the White Horse Tavern . In August 1651 Coddington returned to Aquidneck Island. Henry Bull of Newport said that Coddington was welcomed back from England and that the majority of the people accepted him as colonial governor.

With his new commission, Coddington tried again unsuccessfully that Aquidneck Island is accepted into the New England Confederation, which consisted of the colonies of Massachusetts , Plymouth , Connecticut and New Haven . Many writers and historians, especially those sympathetic to the Providence and Warwick settlers, including Samuel G. Arnold , viewed Coddington's commission and his wish to join the Confederation as treason. The historian Thomas W. Bicknell , however, found Coddington's actions fully justified. In his opinion, Roger Williams wanted to usurp the successful island government of Coddington with the patent of 1643. Coddington was, after Bicknell, the chief magistrate of a thriving island of nearly 1,000 people, while Providence and Warwick had a total population of around 200. Roger Williams went to London in 1643 without notice or instructions. In September 1644 he returned with a patent for the colony, without the knowledge or consent of the island's population. The island government fought the patent for several years until 1647 when it finally gave in and was merged with the mainland government.

Revocation of the Commission

Coddington soon came under fire for reasons that are not entirely clear from the records. In this context, Dr. John Clarke expressed his opposition to the island governor. He and William Dyer were then sent to England as plenipotentiaries. They should report their dissatisfaction with Coddington's commission and see that it should be withdrawn from Coddington. At the same time, Roger Williams was sent on a similar mission through the mainland cities of Providence and Warwick. The three men sailed for England in November 1651. Because of the hostilities between England and Holland at the time , the men could not be received by the Council of State on New England until April 1652. True or not, Coddington has been accused of sided with the Dutch in colonial trade, and in October 1652 his commission for the island government was revoked. Dyer was the one who returned to Rhode Island in February 1653 and brought word of the reinstatement of Williams' 1643/1644 patent. The reunification of the colony was due to take place in the spring of 1653, but the mainland commissioners refused to come to the island, so the island's separation from the mainland was extended by a year. During this transition period, John Sanford was elected colonial governor of the island cities, while Gregory Dexter became president of the mainland cities .

The disempowered Coddington withdrew from public life and went about his business. The four cities finally merged in 1654 and Nicholas Easton was elected president. A due court election took place in September 1654, and Roger Williams was elected President of the United Colony - a role he held for nearly three years. In the course of time, Coddington also held public office for a short time. He became Newport Commissioner on the General Court of Trials. A committee was set up to investigate Coddington's right to a seat. In connection with this, a letter was sent to the Council of State in England to get a full list of all complaints filed against him. The reply completely rehabilitated Coddington. An investigation at his home in Newport cleared him of all charges against him. Finally, in March 1656, Coddington took the following oath of office:

"I William Coddington doe hereby submit to ye authority of His Highness in this Colonie as it is now united, and that with all my heart."

Late years

Coddington was one of the prominent citizens mentioned in the Royal Charter of 1663 .

Sometime in the early 1660s, Colonial Governor Nicholas Easton and many other prominent citizens joined the Religious Society of Friends , better known as Quakerism . In March 1665, Coddington sent a letter to the Newport commissioners regarding Quaker affairs.

Coddington did not hold public office for the next two decades after his commission was withdrawn. He was still one of the most influential citizens in the colony. His name appears in the royal statute of 1663 . In May 1673 he then took up the post as Lieutenant Governor under Colonial Governor Nicholas Easton. In the parliamentary elections, which took place a year later, he was elected colonial governor. John Easton , son of Nicholas Easton, was then Lieutenant Governor under him. Little eventful took place during the Coddington administration, with the exception of the conclusion of the peace treaty between England and Holland. In addition, Kingston Township was founded in Narragansett Country and was added to the colony as the seventh town.

In May 1675, the same officials were elected in the colony in the parliamentary elections. They were commissioned to bring the weights and dimensions used in line with the English standards. During a quiet phase in this administration, an incident occurred which was the prelude to the following Indian War and overshadowed the following years. In June 1675, Indians carried out a massacre in Swansea, Massachusetts, which took the colonies by surprise. The King Philip's War was the most devastating event in the Rhode Island colony before the Revolutionary War . The mainland settlements of Warwick and Pawtuxet were completely destroyed during the war, and much of Providence was also in ruins. The island cities of Newport and Portsmouth were spared as a result of a fleet of armed ships.

In the general election of 1676, Walter Clarke was elected colonial governor. In his administration, the war came to an end. However, the experience of the elders in the colony was still needed. Therefore, in 1677 Benedict Arnold was elected colonial governor and after his death a year later Coddington was elected for his last term as colonial governor. Coddington only held the post for a few months. He died in early November 1678.

Death and family

Coddington died on November 1, 1678 and was then buried in Coddington Cemetery (Rhode Island Historic Cemetery, Newport No. 9) on Farewell Street in Newport, where several other colonial governors were also buried. The original tombstone still stands on his grave. A large memorial was also erected there to mark the 200th anniversary of Newport's founding. His eldest son from his third marriage, William Coddington Jr. , served as colonial governor for two terms from 1683 to 1685. His son Nathaniel was married to Susanna Hutchinson, the daughter of Edward Hutchinson and granddaughter of Anne and William Hutchinson . His daughter Mary married Peleg Sanford , who was colonial governor from 1680 to 1683. He was the son of former colonial governor John Sanford and his second wife Bridget Hutchinson, and grandsons of Anne and William Hutchinson. William Coddington, son of Nathaniel Coddington and grandson of the here considered William Coddington, married Content Arnold, daughter of Mary Turner and Benedict Arnold and granddaughter of Colonial Governor Benedict Arnold.

Trivia

Coddington usually disagreed with Roger Williams, who described him in a letter several years after the founding of Portsmouth (1638):

"... a worldly man, a selfish man, nothing for public, but all for himself and private ..."

During the harsh criticism of Coddington for receiving his commission on Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold said the following about him:

"He was a man of vigorous intellect, of strong passions, earnest in whatever he understood, and self-reliant in all his actions."

The historian Thomas W. Bicknell wrote:

"... he rose to the achievement of a great personal and political victory, when foes became friends, his policy of statecraft vindicated, and Rhode Island Colony on Aquidneck assumed the position for which he had so stoutly contended and so shamefully suffered."

Honors

A harbor, a street, a cemetery and an apartment complex in Newport are named in his honor, as well as a restaurant, Coddington Brewery, in Middletown, Rhode Island.

literature

• Anderson, Robert Charles: The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620–1633, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995, ISBN 0-88082-044-6 , pp. 395–398,
• Arnold, Samuel Greene: History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 1, New York: D, Appleton & Company, 1859, pp. 320, 367-369, 448
• Austin, John Osborne: Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, 1887, ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1 , pp. 276, 278-280
• Battis, Emery: Saints and Sectaries: Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controversy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1962, pp. 105, 174f, 204, 206, 208, 211f, 230f
• Bell, Charles H .: John Wheelwright, Boston: printed for the Prince Society, 1876, p. 11
• Bicknell, Thomas Williams: The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 3, New York: The American Historical Society, 1920, pp. 975-989, 1029
• Bicknell, Thomas Williams: The Story of Dr. John Clarke , Little Rock, Arkansas: The Baptist Standard Bearer, Inc., 2005, pp. 23, 35
• Bremer, Francis J .: Anne Hutchinson: Troubler of the Puritan Zion, Huntington, New York: Robert E. Krieger, 1981, pp. 1-8
• Bremer, Francis J .: The Puritan Experiment, New England Society from Bradford to Edwards, Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 1995, ISBN 978-0-87451-728-6 , p. 66
• Bush, Sargent (ed.): The Correspondence of John Cotton, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8078-2635-9 , p. 40
• Gorton, Adelos: The Life and Times of Samuel Gorton, George S. Ferguson, 1907, p. 33
• Hall, David D .: The Antinomian Controversy, 1636-1638, A Documentary History, Durham [NC] and London: Duke University Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-8223-1091-4 , p. 9
• Moriarity, G. Andrews: Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, The American Genealogist 20, April 1944, p. 185
• Morris, Richard B .: Jezebel Before the Judges, In Bremer, Francis J .: Anne Hutchinson: Troubler of the Puritan Zion, Huntington, New York: Robert E. Krieger, pp. 58-64
• Rust, Val D .: Radical Origins, Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors, University of Illinois Board of Trustees, 2004, ISBN 978-0-252-02910-3 , p. 107
• Turner, HE: William Coddington in Rhode Island Colonial Affairs: An Historical Inquiry, 1878, pp. 2-22
• Winship, Michael Paul: Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636–1641, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-08943-4 , pp. 6f, 116, 126–148, 167f, 182f

Web links

• William Coddington in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Rhode Island Presidents and Governors
• Brown University Office of the Curator - William Coddington III.