John Albro (settler)
Encyclopedia
John Albro was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
, a magistrate, and a long-time military officer in the Porstmouth
Militia in the colony. He immigrated to New England
in 1634 as a minor under the care of early Portsmouth settler William Freeborn
. He was very active in civil as well as military affairs, and was an Assistant to the Governor for nine one-year terms between 1671 and 1686. During King Philip's War
when the colony needed the advice and counsel of "the most judicious inhabitants" in the colony, his was one of 16 in a 1676 list of names, which included Governor Benedict Arnold
and former President Gregory Dexter
.
When the colony's charter
was suspended in 1686, and Rhode Island was placed under the Dominion of New England
, Albro was chosen as a member of Sir Edmund Andros
' council, and was present at its first meeting in Boston
. Albro remained active in the affairs of the colony while well advanced in age, and even when nearly 80 years old, he was reimbursed for an official trip he made to Boston in 1697. He was a Quaker and died in 1712 at a very advanced age, and was buried "in his own orchard" according to the Friends' records.
aboard the ship Francis in 1634, John Albro was a teenager under the care of William Freeborn
, and as a young adult followed Freeborn to Portsmouth
in the Rhode Island colony
in 1638. The following year he was granted a lot within the town, provided he build within a year's time. Five years later, in 1644, he joined the Portsmouth Militia, being assigned as a Corporal
, and remained active therein for most of his life, attaining the rank of Major
. He was also very active in civil affairs as well, and in 1649 was a clerk of weights and measures, a member of the Town Council, and also served as Moderator, which he continued to do well into his later years. Early in his career Albro was a coroner
, and was one of the first men sent for when the burnt remains of Rebecca Cornell were discovered at her home, a death for which her son, Thomas Cornell, was tried and convicted of murder. In 1671 Albro was first elected as the Portsmouth Assistant to the Governor, and he served in this capacity for a total of nine years, last holding the position in 1686.
From 1675 to 1676, King Philip's War
, "the most disastrous conflict to ever devastate New England," left the mainland towns of Rhode Island in ruins. This confrontation between many indigenous people and the English settlers was named for Metacomet
, sachem of the Wampanoag
s, who was also called King Philip. Though much more at peace with the Indians than the other colonies, because of geography, the Rhode Island colony took the brunt of damage from this conflict, and the settlements of Warwick and Pawtuxet were totally destroyed, with much of Providence destroyed as well. In April 1676 it was voted by the Assembly "that in these troublesome times and straits in this Colony, this Assembly desiring to have the advice and concurrence of the most judicious inhabitants, if it may be had for the good of the whole, do desire at their next sitting the company and counsel of" 16 persons, one of whom was Major Albro. This list included very prominent members of the colony such as Governor Benedict Arnold
, President Gregory Dexter
, and Deputy Governor James Barker
. During the war, Albro was a member of a court martial held at Newport for the trial of certain Indians complicit in King Philip's designs, and after the war he sat on a variety of committees, mostly concerning the disputed boundaries of the Rhode Island colony.
Following King Philip's War, several of the governors of the colony died in office, and Albro was appointed, with other members of a committee, to secure the royal charter
and other state papers from the widow or family of the deceased governor. He was required to do this twice in 1678, following the death of Governor Benedict Arnold in June 1678, and then again in November 1678 following the death of Governor William Coddington
. In 1683 he and a committee were tasked to retrieve the documents from a living governor, Peleg Sanford
, who had been replaced that May by William Coddington, Jr.
In 1685 the colony began to lose its freedoms when Edward Randolph
urged the Board of Trade to revoke the charters of both Rhode Island and Connecticut because of alleged irregularities. In October of that year Joseph Dudley
was appointed to govern the colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and King's Province, the latter in the Narragansett country (later Washington County, Rhode Island
), and Randolph was made secretary of his council. At the election of May 1686, Walter Clarke
was chosen governor of the Rhode Island colony, but served only a few weeks before the Dominion of New England
was imposed on the northern colonies, and Edmund Andros
was appointed as the Royal Governor. In December 1686, Albro became a member of Andros' Council, and was present at its first meeting in Boston, being required to take an oath of allegiance. Andros ruled for nearly three years, when in April 1689 news of the ascension of William and Mary
to the English throne arrived in Boston, and Andros and Randolph were both arrested, after which Rhode Island returned to its chartered government.
Albro remained active in the affairs of the colony until very late in his life, being reimbursed for expenses for an official trip to Boston in 1697, when he was nearly 80 years old. He wrote his will on 28 December 1710, and died two years later, in December 1712, aged about 95 years. Because his death was recorded in the records of the Society of Friends, Albro apparently became a Quaker at some point in his life.
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...
, a magistrate, and a long-time military officer in the Porstmouth
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...
Militia in the colony. He immigrated 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...
in 1634 as a minor under the care of early Portsmouth settler William Freeborn
William Freeborn (settler)
William Freeborn was one of the founding settlers of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island , having signed the Portsmouth Compact with 22 other men while still living in Boston. Coming from Maldon in Essex, England, he sailed to New England in 1634 with his wife and two young daughters, settling in...
. He was very active in civil as well as military affairs, and was an Assistant to the Governor for nine one-year terms between 1671 and 1686. During King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
when the colony needed the advice and counsel of "the most judicious inhabitants" in the colony, his was one of 16 in a 1676 list of names, which included Governor 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...
and former President Gregory Dexter
Gregory Dexter
Gregory Dexter was a printer, Baptist minister, and early President of the combined towns of Providence and Warwick in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was in New England as early as 1638 when he had a five-acre lot assigned to him in Providence...
.
When the colony's charter
Royal Charter of 1663
The Royal Charter of 1663 was a colonial charter giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony...
was suspended in 1686, and Rhode Island was placed under the Dominion of New England
Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...
, Albro was chosen as a member of Sir Edmund Andros
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
' council, and was present at its first meeting 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...
. Albro remained active in the affairs of the colony while well advanced in age, and even when nearly 80 years old, he was reimbursed for an official trip he made to Boston in 1697. He was a Quaker and died in 1712 at a very advanced age, and was buried "in his own orchard" according to the Friends' records.
Life
Sailing to New EnglandNew 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...
aboard the ship Francis in 1634, John Albro was a teenager under the care of William Freeborn
William Freeborn (settler)
William Freeborn was one of the founding settlers of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island , having signed the Portsmouth Compact with 22 other men while still living in Boston. Coming from Maldon in Essex, England, he sailed to New England in 1634 with his wife and two young daughters, settling in...
, and as a young adult followed Freeborn to 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...
in the Rhode Island colony
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...
in 1638. The following year he was granted a lot within the town, provided he build within a year's time. Five years later, in 1644, he joined the Portsmouth Militia, being assigned as a Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
, and remained active therein for most of his life, attaining the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He was also very active in civil affairs as well, and in 1649 was a clerk of weights and measures, a member of the Town Council, and also served as Moderator, which he continued to do well into his later years. Early in his career Albro was a coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
, and was one of the first men sent for when the burnt remains of Rebecca Cornell were discovered at her home, a death for which her son, Thomas Cornell, was tried and convicted of murder. In 1671 Albro was first elected as the Portsmouth Assistant to the Governor, and he served in this capacity for a total of nine years, last holding the position in 1686.
From 1675 to 1676, King Philip's War
King Philip's War
King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies in 1675–76. The war is named after the main leader of the...
, "the most disastrous conflict to ever devastate New England," left the mainland towns of Rhode Island in ruins. This confrontation between many indigenous people and the English settlers was named for Metacomet
Metacomet
Metacomet , also known as King Philip or Metacom, or occasionally Pometacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philip's War, a widespread Native American uprising against English colonists in New England.-Biography:Metacomet was the second son of Massasoit...
, sachem of the Wampanoag
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag In the 1600s when encountered by the English, the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as within a territory that encompassed current day Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket...
s, who was also called King Philip. Though much more at peace with the Indians than the other colonies, because of geography, the Rhode Island colony took the brunt of damage from this conflict, and the settlements of Warwick and Pawtuxet were totally destroyed, with much of Providence destroyed as well. In April 1676 it was voted by the Assembly "that in these troublesome times and straits in this Colony, this Assembly desiring to have the advice and concurrence of the most judicious inhabitants, if it may be had for the good of the whole, do desire at their next sitting the company and counsel of" 16 persons, one of whom was Major Albro. This list included very prominent members of the colony such as Governor 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...
, President Gregory Dexter
Gregory Dexter
Gregory Dexter was a printer, Baptist minister, and early President of the combined towns of Providence and Warwick in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was in New England as early as 1638 when he had a five-acre lot assigned to him in Providence...
, and Deputy Governor James Barker
James Barker (Rhode Island)
James Barker was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He sailed from England with his father, also named James Barker, who died during the voyage. Also on the same ship was future Rhode Island Governor Nicholas Easton...
. During the war, Albro was a member of a court martial held at Newport for the trial of certain Indians complicit in King Philip's designs, and after the war he sat on a variety of committees, mostly concerning the disputed boundaries of the Rhode Island colony.
Following King Philip's War, several of the governors of the colony died in office, and Albro was appointed, with other members of a committee, to secure the royal charter
Royal Charter of 1663
The Royal Charter of 1663 was a colonial charter giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony...
and other state papers from the widow or family of the deceased governor. He was required to do this twice in 1678, following the death of Governor Benedict Arnold in June 1678, and then again in November 1678 following the death of Governor 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...
. In 1683 he and a committee were tasked to retrieve the documents from a living governor, Peleg Sanford
Peleg Sanford
Peleg Sanford was an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving three consecutive terms from 1680 to 1683. He was the son of John Sanford by his second wife, Bridget Hutchinson...
, who had been replaced that May by William Coddington, Jr.
William Coddington, Jr.
William Coddington Jr. was an early governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving two consecutive terms from 1683 to 1685...
In 1685 the colony began to lose its freedoms when Edward Randolph
Edward Randolph (colonial administrator)
Edward Randolph was an English colonial administrator, best known for his role in effecting significant changes in the structure of the England's North American colonies in the later years of the 17th century...
urged the Board of Trade to revoke the charters of both Rhode Island and Connecticut because of alleged irregularities. In October of that year Joseph Dudley
Joseph Dudley
Joseph Dudley was an English colonial administrator. A native of Roxbury, Massachusetts and son of one of its founders, he had a leading role in the administration of the unpopular Dominion of New England , and served briefly on the council of the Province of New York, where he oversaw the trial...
was appointed to govern the colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and King's Province, the latter in the Narragansett country (later Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, Rhode Island
Washington County, commonly known colloquially as South County, is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Washington County borders Kent County to the north, New London County in Connecticut to the west, Suffolk County in New York to the southwest, the Atlantic...
), and Randolph was made secretary of his council. At the election of May 1686, Walter Clarke
Walter Clarke (governor)
Walter Clarke was an early Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and the first native-born governor of the colony. The son of colonial President Jeremy Clarke, he was a Quaker like his father. While in his late 20s, he was elected as a Deputy from Newport, and in 1673...
was chosen governor of the Rhode Island colony, but served only a few weeks before the Dominion of New England
Dominion of New England
The Dominion of New England in America was an administrative union of English colonies in the New England region of North America. The dominion was ultimately a failure because the area it encompassed was too large for a single governor to manage...
was imposed on the northern colonies, and Edmund Andros
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
was appointed as the Royal Governor. In December 1686, Albro became a member of Andros' Council, and was present at its first meeting in Boston, being required to take an oath of allegiance. Andros ruled for nearly three years, when in April 1689 news of the ascension of William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
to the English throne arrived in Boston, and Andros and Randolph were both arrested, after which Rhode Island returned to its chartered government.
Albro remained active in the affairs of the colony until very late in his life, being reimbursed for expenses for an official trip to Boston in 1697, when he was nearly 80 years old. He wrote his will on 28 December 1710, and died two years later, in December 1712, aged about 95 years. Because his death was recorded in the records of the Society of Friends, Albro apparently became a Quaker at some point in his life.
Family
About 1645, Albro married Dorothy, the widow of Nathaniel Potter, whose maiden name is not known. John and Dorothy had five known children, all of whom grew to maturity, married, and had children. Their two sons Samuel and John were both original proprietors of the settlement of East Greenwich.See also
- 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...
External links
- Rhode Island History from the State of Rhode Island General Assembly website. See Chapter 2, Colonial Era.