Roger Williams was an English-born New England Puritan minister,theologian,and author who founded Providence Plantations,which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom,separation of church and state,and fair dealings with the Native Americans.
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America,bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1707,and then a colony of Great Britain until the American Revolution in 1776,when it became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
John Clarke was a physician,Baptist minister,co-founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,author of its influential charter,and a leading advocate of religious freedom in America.
Jonathan Russell was a United States representative from Massachusetts and diplomat. He served the 11th congressional district from 1821 to 1823 and was the first chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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. He was born and raised in the town of Ilchester,Somerset,England,likely attending school in Limington nearby. In 1635 at age 19,he accompanied his parents,siblings,and other family members on a voyage from England to New England where they first settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In less than a year,they moved to Providence Plantation at the head of the Narragansett Bay at the request of Roger Williams. In about 1638,they moved once again about five miles (8 km) south to the Pawtuxet River,settling on the north side at a place commonly called Pawtuxet. Here they had serious disputes with their neighbors,particularly Samuel Gorton,and they put themselves and their lands under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts,a situation which lasted for 16 years.
William Arnold was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,and he and his sons were among the wealthiest people in the colony. He was raised and educated in England where he was the warden of St. Mary's,the parish church of Ilchester in southeastern Somerset. He immigrated to New England with family and associates in 1635. He initially settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,but he soon relocated to the new settlement of Providence Plantation with Roger Williams. He was one of the 13 original proprietors of Providence,appearing on the deed signed by Roger Williams in 1638,and was one of the 12 founding members of the first Baptist church to be established in America.
Nicholas "Nicky" Bianco was an American mobster who became an influential member of the Patriarca crime family of New England.
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. He had some military experience in England,and also was an employee of Massachusetts magistrate John Winthrop's household prior to sailing to New England in 1631 with Winthrop's wife and oldest son. He lived in Boston for six years and was the cannoneer there.
John Wilson Candler was a United States representative from Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on February 10,1828. He attended the Marblehead and Dummer Academies. He then became a merchant,engaged in shipping and commerce with the East and West Indies and South America. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He was chairman of the commissioners of prisons of Massachusetts,and president of the Boston Board of Trade and of the Commercial Club of Boston.
West Side Diner,formerly Poirier's Diner, is a historic restaurant at 1380 Westminster Street in Providence,Rhode Island. The diner was built in 1947 by Kullman Dining Car Company,and is a typical Art Deco streamlined stainless steel structure. It is one of two surviving Kullman diners in the state. The diner was originally located at 579-581 Atwells Avenue,an industrial area,where it operated for many years. The diner closed in 1999.
Matthew A. Harkins was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1887 until his death in 1921.
Henry Bull (1610–1694) 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. Sailing from England as a young man,Bull first settled in Roxbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,but soon became a follower of the dissident ministers John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson,and was excommunicated from the Roxbury church. With many other followers of Hutchinson,he signed the Portsmouth Compact,and settled on Aquidneck Island in the Narragansett Bay. Within a year of arriving there,he and others followed William Coddington to the south end of the island where they established the town of Newport.
Dustin Glenn Poirier is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),where he is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of August 1,2023,he is #3 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Elizabeth Poirier is an American politician who represented the 14th Bristol district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives until 2021,and was the current Third Assistant House Minority Leader. She succeeded her husband Kevin Poirier,who resigned to become director of development at Sturdy Memorial Hospital. She announced in March 2020 that she would not seek another term in that year's election.
John Greene Sr. was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,one of the 12 original proprietors of Providence,and a co-founder of the town of Warwick in the colony,sailing from England with his family in 1635. He first settled in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,but he had difficulty with the Puritan authority and soon followed Roger Williams to Providence,becoming one of the original proprietors of that town. In 1643,he joined Samuel Gorton and ten others in purchasing land that became the town of Warwick. Difficulties with Massachusetts ensued,until he accompanied Gorton on a trip to England where they secured royal recognition of their town.
John Throckmorton,Gent. (1601–1684) was an early settler of Providence Plantation in what became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,and he was one of the 12 original proprietors of that settlement. He emigrated from Norfolk,England to settle in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,but religious tensions brought about his removal to Providence.
Thomas Hopkins (1616–1684) was an early settler of Providence Plantations and the great grandfather of brothers Esek Hopkins,the only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War,and Stephen Hopkins who was many times colonial governor of Rhode Island and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Robert Coles was a 17th-century New England colonist who is known for the scarlet-letter punishment he received in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and his role in establishing the Providence Plantations,now the state of Rhode Island.
Massachusetts House of Representatives' 14th Bristol district in the United States is one of 160 legislative districts included in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. It covers part of Bristol County. Democrat Adam Scanlon has represented the district since 2021.
