Roger Amidon

Last updated
Roger Amidon
Personal details
Born1614
France
DiedNovember 13, 1673 [1] [2]
Rehoboth, Massachusetts, United States
Spouse(s)Sarah Lynn Hutching (4 children)
Joanna Harwood (3 children)

Roger Amidon (or Amadon, Amidown, Amadowne) was an early settler of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Roger Amidon was a French Huguenot, who had arrived with John Endecott's advance company after escaping to England from the Siege of La Rochelle in 1628.

Roger was a ship's carpenter. He is first recorded at Salem, Massachusetts, where there was a flourishing shipbuilding industry in the early 17th century. On 25 December 1637 at a town meeting it was agreed that the marsh and meadow land in Salem which had been common land was to be "proportioned out unto [the inhabitants of Salem] accordingly to heads of their families -- to those that have the greatest number an acre thereof and to those that have least not above half an acre and to those that are betweene both three quarters of an acre". Roger was 89th on the list and drew half an acre of meadow land. He was the only person in his household—see History of Salem.

He was probably married around 1639 and moved to Weymouth where his daughter Sarah was baptised in 1640. Three years later the baptism of his daughter Lydia was recorded in Boston. He had at least two more children around this time, but their birth records have yet to be found. He got into some trouble in Boston and on 5 January 1644 he "was enjoined to pay 2 shillings and 6 pence fees, admonished and discharged". Not long afterwards he moved to Rehoboth (Seekonk) where in July 1648 he drew a house lot. The houses formed a semicircle around the commons and Roger's home was located at the northeastern end of the circle—see Early Rehoboth by Bowen. His last child by his wife Sarah was baptised in Rehoboth in 1652. In 1658 he took the Oath of Fidelity at Rehoboth and at a town meeting held on 22 June 1658 he participated in the drawing of meadow lots, lying on the north side of the town. The lots were drawn "according to person and estate". Roger was number 43 in a list of 49 men drawing lots—see Rehoboth Town Records. Until 1685 Plymouth Colony included the western portion of Rhode Island and for a time Roger lived in Warwick [see Land Records, A:254], which would become part of Kent County, Rhode Island.

In 1659 he was sued for neglect in Warwick by Robert Hearngton who was master of the "Barke Deborn"—see Early Records of the Town of Warwick. Roger was one of the jurors impanneled at an inquest held at Rehoboth in 1661. That year Rehoboth acquired additional land from the Indians, which would become known as the North Purchase. It contained part of the 50 acres (200,000 m2) that Rehoboth had already granted Roger. His first wife Sarah died in 1668. Within months he remarried and over the next four years became the father of three more children. He died suddenly in 1673 and, due to some suspicion that he had been murdered by his wife, a coroners inquest was held on 11 November 1673. The jury found his death had been a natural one. Roger died intestate and his land was divided between his widow and surviving children:

[3] He was one of the early settlers of Rehoboth, [4] and the present city of Attleboro is partially on land purchased from Amidon. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rehoboth, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many historic sites, including 53 historic cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedict Arnold (governor)</span> President and governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1615–1678)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Carpenter (Rhode Island colonist)</span> Colonizer

William Carpenter was a co-founder of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, born about 1610, probably in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. He died September 7, 1685, in the Pawtuxet section of Providence, now in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was listed by 1655 as a "freeman" of the colony.

Obadiah Holmes was an early Rhode Island settler, and a Baptist minister who was whipped in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs and activism. He became the pastor of the Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island, a position he held for 30 years.

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 President of the colony, then consisting of four towns. In 1652 he was once again chosen President, but the two towns on Rhode Island had been pulled out of the joint colony, so he only presided over the towns of Providence and Warwick. An important piece of legislation enacted during this second term in 1652 abolished the slavery of African Americans, the first such law in North America.

Captain Thomas Townsend was an early settler of the American Colonies. Captain Townsend was the son of John Townsend and his wife Elizabeth, both early settlers on Long Island.

Stukely Westcott was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and one of the original members of the first Baptist Church in America, established by Roger Williams in 1638. He came to New England from the town of Yeovil in Somerset, England and first settled in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but difficulties with the authorities prompted him to join Roger Williams in settling near the Narragansett Bay in 1638 at Providence Plantations. He remained there for a few years, but he was recorded as an inhabitant of Warwick in 1648, probably having settled there several years earlier. He was most active in colonial affairs from 1650 to 1660 when he was a commissioner, surveyor of highways, and the keeper of a house of entertainment. His highest offices were as an Assistant in 1653 and much later as a deputy to the General Court in 1671 when he was almost 80 years old. He made his will on January 12, 1677, but died the same day with it unsigned, leaving his affairs in limbo for the following two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolor Davis</span>

Dolor Davis was born about 1599 in Kent, England. He married Margery Willard daughter of Richard Willard of Horsemonden, yeomen in Parish church, East Farleigh, Kent, England March 29, 1624. Margery was baptized at Horsemonden, November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Margery's brother Simon would become a lifelong friend of Dolor Davis. Other than being a carpenter and Master Builder nothing is known of him until he sailed to America and landed in Boston in May 1634. He quickly bought 25 acres (10 ha) of land on the west side of the river in Cambridge, Massachusettson August 4, 1635.[about where Harvard College is today] On April 17, 1635, his wife and three children embarked from London for New England, arrived on the Elizabeth, and they decided to live in Cambridge. On June 4, 1635, Davis bought a lot of half a rood for a home, which was located on what is now the corner of Winthrop and Dunster streets. However, Davis and his friend Willard decided not to stay in Cambridge, like many of the settlers during the years of 1635–1636. In August 1635, Davis and Willard sold their land in Cambridge to Richard Girling. and became a member of the Duxbury Church in 1640 as well.

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.

Randall Holden was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick. He came to New England from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England and is first recorded as one of the signers of the Portsmouth Compact. Following a few years on Aquidneck Island, he joined Samuel Gorton and ten others to establish the town of Warwick in early 1643 on land purchased from the Indian sachems.

Thomas Angell (c.1616–1694) was one of the four men who wintered with Roger Williams at Seekonk, Plymouth Colony in early 1636, and then joined him in founding the settlement of Providence Plantation in what became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a minor at the time of his arrival, but his name appears on several of the early documents related to the settlement of Providence. In the early 1650s, he became active in the affairs of the town, serving as commissioner, juryman, and constable. In 1658, he began his service as the Providence Town Clerk and held this position for 17 years. He wrote his will in 1685, dying almost a decade later in 1694, leaving a widow and many grown children. Angell Street on Providence's East Side is named for him.

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.

John Whipple was an early settler of Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who later settled in Providence in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, where the family became well established.

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.

Mathew Waller was an early settler of New London, Connecticut Colony. He was among the six hired in 1650 by John Winthrop Jr.–the founder of New London –to build the town's first gristmill. Before settling in New London, Waller lived in Salem and Providence Plantations.

John Smith was a founding settler of Providence in what would become the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Smith joined Roger Williams at the Seekonk River in 1635 after both were expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony. In early 1636 they crossed the river to found Providence where Smith later built and operated the town's gristmill.

Francis Weekes, also spelled Wickes, was a founding settler of Providence in what would become the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

William Mann, alternatively spelled Man, along with his wife Frances Mann, was among the original settlers in 1636 who founded Providence in the future Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

References

  1. ↑ Crane, Ellery Bicknell. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts. New York: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1907.
  2. ↑ See interment at Rehoboth Village Cemetery, .
  3. ↑ "The Amidon Family". www.rootsweb.com. http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyononda/AMIDON.HTM. Accessed July 1, 2007.
  4. ↑ Davis, George. A Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge. O.S. Cooke and Co., 1856, p. 120. Google Books:
  5. ↑ Dagget, John and Shellfield, Amelia Daggett. A Sketch of the History of Attleborough: From Its Settlement to the Division. S. Usher, 1894, p. 90. Google Books: .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.