Tobias Saunders
Encyclopedia
Tobias Saunders was a Deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly
(1669, 1671, 1672, 1680, 1681, 1683, and 1690), a Conservator of the Peace
(1669, 1678, and 1695) and a founding settler of Westerly, Rhode Island.
, Buckinghamshire
, England
. His paternal grandparents were Richard Saunders and Johanna Osburne. His father owned a coaching inn
and his grandfather owned the mill for the Manor of Amersham. Before emigrating to America, Saunders was a soldier in England. References indicate he was a Life Guard of Foote for King Charles I of England
. Saunders likely used his inheritance to pay for his passage to America after his father's death in 1642.
on the Company Rolls of Taunton in August, 1643. These rolls contain the names of all male persons between sixteen and sixty years, who were able to perform military duty. Between 1649-1650 Saunders lived in the home of Lawrence Turner while working at the Saugus Ironworks
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
. By 1654 Saunders and Turner were purchasing property in Newport, Rhode Island
. Saunders was recorded as a Freeman
in the town of Newport in 1655.
of the Niantic Tribe. By 1661, Tobias Saunders had acquired a quarter of a share in a division of Misquamicut (the area which now encompasses the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton Rhode Island).
Rhode Island settled Misquamicut as a means to anchor its claim to disputed territory. When Roger Williams
secured a land patent
from the Earl of Warwick in 1643 [Jackson, Ronald Vern; Rhode Island 1800 Census, p.6] Rhode Island was not a political entity. By the time monarchy was restored in England in 1660, the first four Rhode Island towns had joined together as Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The newly formed colony claimed jurisdiction over the land south of Warwick and between the Pawcatuck River
and Narragansett Bay
. The death of the Narragansett sachems Miantonomi and Canonicus
created a power vacuum leaving their tribal lands vulnerable. The Massachusetts Bay Colony
proclaimed prior jurisdiction over Pequot
country (which it argued, included land west and east of the Pawcatuck River), as part of their spoils from the Pequot War
, and created a paper town, Southertowne, (which includes parts of modern day Westerly, RI and Stonington, CT), to solidify their gains. The Atherton Company's (which included Humphrey Atherton
and John Winthrop the Younger) southern land claims conflicted with part of the land acquired by a group of Rhode Island speculators known as the Pettaquamscut Company. An additional group of Rhode Island speculators, including Benedict Arnold
, purchased a title to Misquamicut (the land south of Warwick and west of the Pettaquamscut territory) and actively sought settlers to protect their investment.
The consequence of this situation was claim and counterclaim over the disputed territory. Usually this was a battle of words, but occasionally adversaries asserted physical force. William Chesebrough
, a sixty-six-year-old resident of Southertowne, testified that "about thirty six inhabitants of Road Island" were laying out lots within Southerntowne boundaries on the east side of the Pawcatuck River. When he confronted them, Benedict Arnold
and others answered that "they would not try their title any where but in Road Island, or in England." Angry Massachusetts Bay Colony
authorities ordered the constable of Southertowne to "apprehend all such persons" and to bring them before the colony's magistrates. Walter Palmer
arrested Tobias Saunders, Robert Burdick, and Joseph Clarke and conveyed Saunders and Burdick to Boston. Placed on trial before Governor John Endicott and associates on November 14, 1661, and In response to charges of "forcible entry and intrusion into the bounds of Southerntowne," Saunders and Burdick contended that with the approval of the Rhode Island General Court they had purchased land from Indians and lawfully had begun constructing homes and farms. Their arguments were ineffective, and they remained in jail for a year until a fine of 40 pounds each was paid and 100 pounds each was raised as security." Roger Williams raised the funds for Saunders and Burdick’s release.
The ascension of Charles II of England
placed all land claims and charters in jeopardy, particularly if they had been acquired during the English Civil War
or the English Interregnum
. With greater concerns before it, the Massachusetts Bay Colony
relinquished its claim on the contested territory. Connecticut
stepped into the breach and claimed the territory that Massachusetts had vacated, advancing its own territorial ambitions and serving as a shadow advocate for the Atherton Company. Roger Williams was outraged. Writing to the deputy governor of Connecticut, John Mason
, he reviewed his own influential role during the Pequot War
, acquainted Mason with the fact that the Pequots did not live east of the Pawcatuck River
, and reminded him of the Rhode Island patent that granted them the area. "However you satisfy yourselves with the Pequot conquest, "Williams fumed, "you will find the business at bottom to be, First, a depraved appetite after the great vanities, dreams and shadows of the vanishing life, great portions of life, great portions of land in this wilderness....This is one of the gods of New-England, which the living and most high Eternal will destroy and famish. An un-neighborly and unchristian intrusion upon us, as being the weaker, contrary to your laws, as well as ours, concerning purchasing of lands without the consent of the General Court.”
Both Connecticut and Rhode Island desperately needed new royal charter
s which could potentially resolve the boundary controversy. Rushing to London as Connecticut's agent, John Winthrop the Younger, skillfully presented his Connecticut’s (and less directly, the Atherton Company's) case. The resulting royal charter of 1662 drew Connecticut's boundaries from Massachusetts Bay Colony’s southern border to the Sound and from "Norrogancett River, commonly called Norrogancett Bay" to the Pacific Ocean. The way was prepared for Connecticut to swallow up the New Haven Colony
and to acquire all of southwestern Rhode Island. New Haven soon capitulated, but Rhode Island fought back through its influential agent, John Clarke. After more than a year of tactical maneuvering, Clarke and Winthrop reached an agreement that established the Pawcatuck River ("which said River shall for the future be also called alias Narrogansett, or Narrogansett River") as the boundary between the two colonies. In addition, they concurred that the owners and inhabitants on Atherton Company land could "choose to which of those Colloneis they will belong." Clarke’s new charter was signed by Charles II on 9 July 1663, establishing a “State where no
constraint could ever be put upon the human conscience and no limit to freedom of human thought”. There could be no Royal veto of this charter. On 24 November 1663 Clarke was voted 100 pounds by the state for his 12 years of work. “It was by the efforts of Dr. John Clarke alone that Rhode Island retained her independence as a colony and her sons enjoyed a liberty of conscience unique in ;the early history of this land”. His charter was not superseded until 1843, a period of 180 years. [Allyn, James H.; Swamp Yankee from Mystic, p.43.] Clarke successfully upheld the boundary of the Pawcatuck River but conveniently neglected to acknowledge the option made to members of the Atherton Company. According to the charter, the company was under Rhode Island's jurisdiction whether it liked it or not. At worst, the investors could lose title to their land. At best, they would have to work out an accord with Rhode Island authorities.
Overseeing British colonial policy, the Earl of Clarendon
anticipated continued conflict and appointed a royal commission to investigate and resolve the various controversies surrounding Connecticut and the recently acquired Province of New York
. Before the commission arrived, trouble already had erupted in Narragansett country. Twenty or more men from Southertowne (which became part of Stonington
under Connecticut jurisdiction) crossed the Pawcatuck River, broke into James Babcock’s house, and carried him back across the river as a prisoner. The Rhode Island government protested to Connecticut authorities and suggested that representatives of the two colonies should meet to establish a boundary. In the meantime, Rhode Islanders retaliated in kind. Pressure was placed on people living on Atherton Company land to pledge their allegiance to Rhode Island. When John Green instead took Connecticut's side, he was seized and brought before Rhode Island authorities, where he quickly recanted and was restored to Rhode Island protection. Although both colonies made half-hearted attempts to negotiate, each found reasons to delay, and no progress was made.
In 1669, Rhode Island created a town on the eastern side of the Pawcatuck River
. The place called Misquamicut became the town of Westerly, and Tobias Saunders and others were now townsmen as well as freemen. Connecticut continued to argue that the Narragansett River was their eastern boundary and that the river and the bay were the same. Rhode Island, unwilling to relinquish its southwestern territory, referred its adversaries to the 1644 patent, the 1664 charter, and the royal commissioners' determination of the King's Province, all of which set the Pawcatuck River as the Boundary. The problem as the Connecticut agents (Fitz-John Winthrop
, was one of the three) well knew, was that their charter confused the Narragansett River with the Narragansett Bay; although Governor Winthrop in his agreement with Clarke had acknowledged that "Pawcatuck" and "Narragansett" described the same river, they refused to deflate their territorial ambitions. Profitable lobbying by the Atherton Company also strengthened their resolve. The conference dissolved with matters worse than before. On 18 July 1669, Tobias Saunders and John Crandall wrote a letter to Thomas Stanton and Thomas Minor, both of Stonington, concerning their examination of Chief Ninigret regarding a rumored Indian plot. [Indian Papers Vol.1 doc.16, Connecticut State Library, Hartford.] On 11 March 1669/70, Saunders and Crandall wrote to the Governor of Connecticut “in the behalf of the Town of Westerly”, replying to a complaint by the inhabitants of Stonington concerning jurisdiction over the Westerly lands, wherein they claimed to be subjects only to Rhode Island law . [Colonial Boundaries 1662-1827, Series 1, Vol,1, Doc.45, Connecticut State Archives, Hartford.]
By 17 June 1670, both sides in their frustration opted for force. The Connecticut commissioners ordered the residents of Westerly to "submit to the government" of Connecticut, and they authorized the constable of Stonington, John Frink, to gather the Rhode Islanders to hear the declaration. The Westerly citizens did not appear. Instead, Tobias Saunders empowered James Babcock as a constable to arrest “those claiming authority over them”. Babcock apprehended Frink and two other Stonington residents. Almost immediately Babcock and Saunders were captured and brought before the Connecticut commissioners. The Connecticut agents had a deal. They offered Saunders a town office under Connecticut jurisdiction (he is listed as a Selectman of Stonington in 1677) but both he and Babcock had to post bail to appear before magistrates at New London
the following June.
The Rhode Island General Assembly warned that Connecticut citizens, those who disrupted Rhode Island lives, would forfeit any land they owned east of the Pawcatuck River and would face additional prosecution. Residents of Westerly who professed loyalty to Connecticut also would lose their land. Westerly victims who incurred damage would be reimbursed from the sale of confiscated property. Connecticut's response was to apprehend one of Westerly's officers, John Crandall
. When Rhode Island objected, Connecticut replied that people in the disputed territory were supposed to choose which government they wanted rather than having it imposed, and they complained that their citizen were the ones being molested. The Rhode Island General Assembly defiantly held their next session at Westerly. Just prior to the meeting, the constable, James Babcock, was requested to call all the local residents in. The much-abused Babcock, caught once again in an awkward position, refused. Nevertheless, twenty-two adult males attended the meeting and swore their fidelity to Rhode Island. Two of the four non-attendees, included James Babcock, reversed themselves the next day, and they too acknowledged the sovereignty of the King and the Rhode Island government. On 2 May 1673, Tobias Saunders wrote to John Winthrop Jr., Governor of Connecticut, “in the nehalf of the rest”, requesting that their outstanding fines from Connecticut be forgiven because “we are but a company of poor men”. [Winthrop Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]
The dispute over Westerly was interrupted by King Philip's War
, when most of the English settlers abandoned the region. Immediately after the war, Connecticut and Rhode Island resumed their dispute. Not until 1728, did Connecticut and Rhode Island agree on the Pawcatuck River as their boundary.
During the war, Saunders remained in Westerly acting as a liaison to Ninigret
, and conveying information about the intentions of the various Indian tribes involved in King Phillip's War to Major John Winthrop, Captain Wait Still Winthrop, and Fitz-John Winthrop
. During this time, "Certain men among the English, because of their place of residence and their connections, specialized in dealing with one or another of these tribes. The minister at Norwich, Mr. James Fitch, usually maintained a close liaison with Uncas
and the Mohegans. Thomas Stanton
and the Reverend James Noyes of Stonington performed a similar function with the Pequot
s and the Niantics
, while Tobias Saunders of Westerly also had some influence with Ninigret
."
On 10 December 1675, Tobias Saunders and Thomas Stanton wrote to Governor Winthrop regarding their meeting that day with Chief Ninigret and his pledging to stand with the English against the Narragansett Indians if it comes to war. [Thomas Stanton Letters, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]
church and the members living at Westerly frequently held meetings in his home before the Westerly Congregation's meetinghouse was built.
by William Perry and John Earle Bentley, 1957, p.126.
Rhode Island General Assembly
The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...
(1669, 1671, 1672, 1680, 1681, 1683, and 1690), a Conservator of the Peace
Conservator of the Peace
A conservator of the peace is defined as a public official authorized to conserve and maintain the public peace.-Examples:Under common law, conservators of the peace included judges, police, sheriffs, and constables.The king is mentioned as the first...
(1669, 1678, and 1695) and a founding settler of Westerly, Rhode Island.
Early life in England
Tobias Saunders was born between 1620 and 1625, the second son and fourth child of Tobias Saunders and Isabel(la) Wilde of the town of AmershamAmersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His paternal grandparents were Richard Saunders and Johanna Osburne. His father owned a coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
and his grandfather owned the mill for the Manor of Amersham. Before emigrating to America, Saunders was a soldier in England. References indicate he was a Life Guard of Foote for King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Saunders likely used his inheritance to pay for his passage to America after his father's death in 1642.
Early years in Colonial America
Tobias Saunders first appears in the Plymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
on the Company Rolls of Taunton in August, 1643. These rolls contain the names of all male persons between sixteen and sixty years, who were able to perform military duty. Between 1649-1650 Saunders lived in the home of Lawrence Turner while working at the Saugus Ironworks
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site is a National Historic Site located about 10 miles northeast of Downtown Boston in Saugus, Massachusetts. It is the site of the first integrated ironworks in North America, 1646 – 1668...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. By 1654 Saunders and Turner were purchasing property in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. Saunders was recorded as a Freeman
Freeman (Colonial)
Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...
in the town of Newport in 1655.
Founding and settlement of Westerly, RI
With the permission of the colonial legislature, a group of Rhode Island speculators purchased a tract of land called "Misquamicut" from the Indian Chief, Sosoa (a.k.a. Ninigret), Chief SachemSachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
of the Niantic Tribe. By 1661, Tobias Saunders had acquired a quarter of a share in a division of Misquamicut (the area which now encompasses the towns of Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton Rhode Island).
Rhode Island settled Misquamicut as a means to anchor its claim to disputed territory. When Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
secured a land patent
Land patent
A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...
from the Earl of Warwick in 1643 [Jackson, Ronald Vern; Rhode Island 1800 Census, p.6] Rhode Island was not a political entity. By the time monarchy was restored in England in 1660, the first four Rhode Island towns had joined together as Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The newly formed colony claimed jurisdiction over the land south of Warwick and between the Pawcatuck River
Pawcatuck River
The Pawcatuck River is a river in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately . There are eight dams along the river's length. The former USS Pawcatuck was named after the river.-History:...
and Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
. The death of the Narragansett sachems Miantonomi and Canonicus
Canonicus
Canonicus was a Native American chief of the Narragansett. He was a firm friend of English settlers.-Biography:...
created a power vacuum leaving their tribal lands vulnerable. The Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
proclaimed prior jurisdiction over Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
country (which it argued, included land west and east of the Pawcatuck River), as part of their spoils from the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
, and created a paper town, Southertowne, (which includes parts of modern day Westerly, RI and Stonington, CT), to solidify their gains. The Atherton Company's (which included Humphrey Atherton
Humphrey Atherton
Major-General Humphrey Atherton, an early settler of Dorchester, Massachusetts, held the highest military rank in colonial New England. He first appeared in the records of Dorchester on March 18, 1637 and made freeman May 2, 1638. He became deputy governor, a representative in the General Court,...
and John Winthrop the Younger) southern land claims conflicted with part of the land acquired by a group of Rhode Island speculators known as the Pettaquamscut Company. An additional group of Rhode Island speculators, including 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...
, purchased a title to Misquamicut (the land south of Warwick and west of the Pettaquamscut territory) and actively sought settlers to protect their investment.
The consequence of this situation was claim and counterclaim over the disputed territory. Usually this was a battle of words, but occasionally adversaries asserted physical force. William Chesebrough
William Chesebrough
William Chesebrough was a farmer and trader in the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was one of the four co-founders of Stonington, Connecticut, along with Thomas Stanton, Thomas Miner, and Walter Palmer....
, a sixty-six-year-old resident of Southertowne, testified that "about thirty six inhabitants of Road Island" were laying out lots within Southerntowne boundaries on the east side of the Pawcatuck River. When he confronted them, 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 others answered that "they would not try their title any where but in Road Island, or in England." Angry Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
authorities ordered the constable of Southertowne to "apprehend all such persons" and to bring them before the colony's magistrates. Walter Palmer
Walter Palmer (Puritan)
Walter Palmer was an early Separatist Puritan settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who helped found Charlestown and Rehoboth, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut.-Early life:...
arrested Tobias Saunders, Robert Burdick, and Joseph Clarke and conveyed Saunders and Burdick to Boston. Placed on trial before Governor John Endicott and associates on November 14, 1661, and In response to charges of "forcible entry and intrusion into the bounds of Southerntowne," Saunders and Burdick contended that with the approval of the Rhode Island General Court they had purchased land from Indians and lawfully had begun constructing homes and farms. Their arguments were ineffective, and they remained in jail for a year until a fine of 40 pounds each was paid and 100 pounds each was raised as security." Roger Williams raised the funds for Saunders and Burdick’s release.
The ascension of Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
placed all land claims and charters in jeopardy, particularly if they had been acquired during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
or the English Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
. With greater concerns before it, the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
relinquished its claim on the contested territory. Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
stepped into the breach and claimed the territory that Massachusetts had vacated, advancing its own territorial ambitions and serving as a shadow advocate for the Atherton Company. Roger Williams was outraged. Writing to the deputy governor of Connecticut, John Mason
John Mason (c.1600-1672)
John Mason was an English Army Major who immigrated to New England in 1632. Within five years he had joined those moving west from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the nascent settlements along the Connecticut River that would become the Connecticut Colony...
, he reviewed his own influential role during the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
, acquainted Mason with the fact that the Pequots did not live east of the Pawcatuck River
Pawcatuck River
The Pawcatuck River is a river in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately . There are eight dams along the river's length. The former USS Pawcatuck was named after the river.-History:...
, and reminded him of the Rhode Island patent that granted them the area. "However you satisfy yourselves with the Pequot conquest, "Williams fumed, "you will find the business at bottom to be, First, a depraved appetite after the great vanities, dreams and shadows of the vanishing life, great portions of life, great portions of land in this wilderness....This is one of the gods of New-England, which the living and most high Eternal will destroy and famish. An un-neighborly and unchristian intrusion upon us, as being the weaker, contrary to your laws, as well as ours, concerning purchasing of lands without the consent of the General Court.”
Both Connecticut and Rhode Island desperately needed new royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
s which could potentially resolve the boundary controversy. Rushing to London as Connecticut's agent, John Winthrop the Younger, skillfully presented his Connecticut’s (and less directly, the Atherton Company's) case. The resulting royal charter of 1662 drew Connecticut's boundaries from Massachusetts Bay Colony’s southern border to the Sound and from "Norrogancett River, commonly called Norrogancett Bay" to the Pacific Ocean. The way was prepared for Connecticut to swallow up the New Haven Colony
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in present-day Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662.- Quinnipiac Colony :A Puritan minister named John Davenport led his flock from exile in the Netherlands back to England and finally to America in the spring of 1637...
and to acquire all of southwestern Rhode Island. New Haven soon capitulated, but Rhode Island fought back through its influential agent, John Clarke. After more than a year of tactical maneuvering, Clarke and Winthrop reached an agreement that established the Pawcatuck River ("which said River shall for the future be also called alias Narrogansett, or Narrogansett River") as the boundary between the two colonies. In addition, they concurred that the owners and inhabitants on Atherton Company land could "choose to which of those Colloneis they will belong." Clarke’s new charter was signed by Charles II on 9 July 1663, establishing a “State where no
constraint could ever be put upon the human conscience and no limit to freedom of human thought”. There could be no Royal veto of this charter. On 24 November 1663 Clarke was voted 100 pounds by the state for his 12 years of work. “It was by the efforts of Dr. John Clarke alone that Rhode Island retained her independence as a colony and her sons enjoyed a liberty of conscience unique in ;the early history of this land”. His charter was not superseded until 1843, a period of 180 years. [Allyn, James H.; Swamp Yankee from Mystic, p.43.] Clarke successfully upheld the boundary of the Pawcatuck River but conveniently neglected to acknowledge the option made to members of the Atherton Company. According to the charter, the company was under Rhode Island's jurisdiction whether it liked it or not. At worst, the investors could lose title to their land. At best, they would have to work out an accord with Rhode Island authorities.
Overseeing British colonial policy, the Earl of Clarendon
Earl of Clarendon
Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1661 for the statesman Edward Hyde, 1st Baron Hyde...
anticipated continued conflict and appointed a royal commission to investigate and resolve the various controversies surrounding Connecticut and the recently acquired Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
. Before the commission arrived, trouble already had erupted in Narragansett country. Twenty or more men from Southertowne (which became part of Stonington
Stonington
-Places:United States*Stonington, Connecticut **Stonington , Connecticut *Stonington, Illinois*Stonington, Indiana*Stonington, Maine*Stonington, MichiganAntarctica*Stonington Island, an island in the Marguerite Bay...
under Connecticut jurisdiction) crossed the Pawcatuck River, broke into James Babcock’s house, and carried him back across the river as a prisoner. The Rhode Island government protested to Connecticut authorities and suggested that representatives of the two colonies should meet to establish a boundary. In the meantime, Rhode Islanders retaliated in kind. Pressure was placed on people living on Atherton Company land to pledge their allegiance to Rhode Island. When John Green instead took Connecticut's side, he was seized and brought before Rhode Island authorities, where he quickly recanted and was restored to Rhode Island protection. Although both colonies made half-hearted attempts to negotiate, each found reasons to delay, and no progress was made.
In 1669, Rhode Island created a town on the eastern side of the Pawcatuck River
Pawcatuck River
The Pawcatuck River is a river in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut flowing approximately . There are eight dams along the river's length. The former USS Pawcatuck was named after the river.-History:...
. The place called Misquamicut became the town of Westerly, and Tobias Saunders and others were now townsmen as well as freemen. Connecticut continued to argue that the Narragansett River was their eastern boundary and that the river and the bay were the same. Rhode Island, unwilling to relinquish its southwestern territory, referred its adversaries to the 1644 patent, the 1664 charter, and the royal commissioners' determination of the King's Province, all of which set the Pawcatuck River as the Boundary. The problem as the Connecticut agents (Fitz-John Winthrop
Fitz-John Winthrop
Fitz-John Winthrop was the governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1698 to 1707....
, was one of the three) well knew, was that their charter confused the Narragansett River with the Narragansett Bay; although Governor Winthrop in his agreement with Clarke had acknowledged that "Pawcatuck" and "Narragansett" described the same river, they refused to deflate their territorial ambitions. Profitable lobbying by the Atherton Company also strengthened their resolve. The conference dissolved with matters worse than before. On 18 July 1669, Tobias Saunders and John Crandall wrote a letter to Thomas Stanton and Thomas Minor, both of Stonington, concerning their examination of Chief Ninigret regarding a rumored Indian plot. [Indian Papers Vol.1 doc.16, Connecticut State Library, Hartford.] On 11 March 1669/70, Saunders and Crandall wrote to the Governor of Connecticut “in the behalf of the Town of Westerly”, replying to a complaint by the inhabitants of Stonington concerning jurisdiction over the Westerly lands, wherein they claimed to be subjects only to Rhode Island law . [Colonial Boundaries 1662-1827, Series 1, Vol,1, Doc.45, Connecticut State Archives, Hartford.]
By 17 June 1670, both sides in their frustration opted for force. The Connecticut commissioners ordered the residents of Westerly to "submit to the government" of Connecticut, and they authorized the constable of Stonington, John Frink, to gather the Rhode Islanders to hear the declaration. The Westerly citizens did not appear. Instead, Tobias Saunders empowered James Babcock as a constable to arrest “those claiming authority over them”. Babcock apprehended Frink and two other Stonington residents. Almost immediately Babcock and Saunders were captured and brought before the Connecticut commissioners. The Connecticut agents had a deal. They offered Saunders a town office under Connecticut jurisdiction (he is listed as a Selectman of Stonington in 1677) but both he and Babcock had to post bail to appear before magistrates at New London
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
the following June.
The Rhode Island General Assembly warned that Connecticut citizens, those who disrupted Rhode Island lives, would forfeit any land they owned east of the Pawcatuck River and would face additional prosecution. Residents of Westerly who professed loyalty to Connecticut also would lose their land. Westerly victims who incurred damage would be reimbursed from the sale of confiscated property. Connecticut's response was to apprehend one of Westerly's officers, John Crandall
John Crandall
John Crandall, one of the founding settlers of Westerly, Rhode Island, was born in 1618 in Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, England to James Crandall, a yeoman of Kendleshire in that parish, and his first wife Eleanor...
. When Rhode Island objected, Connecticut replied that people in the disputed territory were supposed to choose which government they wanted rather than having it imposed, and they complained that their citizen were the ones being molested. The Rhode Island General Assembly defiantly held their next session at Westerly. Just prior to the meeting, the constable, James Babcock, was requested to call all the local residents in. The much-abused Babcock, caught once again in an awkward position, refused. Nevertheless, twenty-two adult males attended the meeting and swore their fidelity to Rhode Island. Two of the four non-attendees, included James Babcock, reversed themselves the next day, and they too acknowledged the sovereignty of the King and the Rhode Island government. On 2 May 1673, Tobias Saunders wrote to John Winthrop Jr., Governor of Connecticut, “in the nehalf of the rest”, requesting that their outstanding fines from Connecticut be forgiven because “we are but a company of poor men”. [Winthrop Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]
The dispute over Westerly was interrupted by 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 most of the English settlers abandoned the region. Immediately after the war, Connecticut and Rhode Island resumed their dispute. Not until 1728, did Connecticut and Rhode Island agree on the Pawcatuck River as their boundary.
King Phillips War
On 3 July 1675, Tobias Saunders wrote to Major John (Fitz John) Winthrop on behalf of Chief Ninigret concerning King Philip’s mischief with Uncas. [Winthrop Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.] On 7 July 1675. Tobias wrote to Wait (Waitstill, brother of Fitz John) Winthrop concerning a meeting between Ninigret and Waitstill tomorrow “near Mr. Stanton’s farm”, but requesting that Uncas and his men not be invited to attend. [Winthrop Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]During the war, Saunders remained in Westerly acting as a liaison to Ninigret
Ninigret
thumb|Ninigret in 1681, painting currently at the [[Rhode Island School of Design Museum]]Ninigret was a seventeenth century sachem of the eastern Niantic Native American tribe in New England. Ninigret allied with the English settlers and Narragansetts against the Pequots...
, and conveying information about the intentions of the various Indian tribes involved in King Phillip's War to Major John Winthrop, Captain Wait Still Winthrop, and Fitz-John Winthrop
Fitz-John Winthrop
Fitz-John Winthrop was the governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1698 to 1707....
. During this time, "Certain men among the English, because of their place of residence and their connections, specialized in dealing with one or another of these tribes. The minister at Norwich, Mr. James Fitch, usually maintained a close liaison with Uncas
Uncas
Uncas was a sachem of the Mohegan who through his alliance with the English colonists in New England against other Indian tribes made the Mohegan the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut.-Early life and family:...
and the Mohegans. Thomas Stanton
Thomas Stanton
Thomas Stanton was a trader and an accomplished Indian interpreter and negotiator in the colony of Connecticut. One of the original settlers of Hartford, he was also one of four founders of Stonington, Connecticut, along with William Chesebrough, Thomas Miner, and Walter Palmer.He first appears...
and the Reverend James Noyes of Stonington performed a similar function with the Pequot
Pequot
Pequot people are a tribe of Native Americans who, in the 17th century, inhabited much of what is now Connecticut. They were of the Algonquian language family. The Pequot War and Mystic massacre reduced the Pequot's sociopolitical influence in southern New England...
s and the Niantics
Niantic (tribe)
The Niantic, or in their own language, the Nehântick or Nehantucket were a tribe of New England Native Americans, who were living in Connecticut and Rhode Island during the early colonial period. Due to intrusions of the Pequot, the Niantic were divided into an eastern and western division...
, while Tobias Saunders of Westerly also had some influence with Ninigret
Ninigret
thumb|Ninigret in 1681, painting currently at the [[Rhode Island School of Design Museum]]Ninigret was a seventeenth century sachem of the eastern Niantic Native American tribe in New England. Ninigret allied with the English settlers and Narragansetts against the Pequots...
."
On 10 December 1675, Tobias Saunders and Thomas Stanton wrote to Governor Winthrop regarding their meeting that day with Chief Ninigret and his pledging to stand with the English against the Narragansett Indians if it comes to war. [Thomas Stanton Letters, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston.]
Religious beliefs
Tobias Saunders joined the Newport Seventh Day BaptistSeventh Day Baptist
Seventh Day Baptists are Christian Baptists who observe Sabbath on the seventh-day of the week in accord with their understanding of the Biblical Sabbath for the Judeo-Christian tradition...
church and the members living at Westerly frequently held meetings in his home before the Westerly Congregation's meetinghouse was built.
Personal life
Tobias Saunders married Mary Peckham (daughter of John Peckham and Mary Clarke and niece of Rev. John Clarke) in 1661.- ELIZABETH SAUNDERS (1662-1730/31)
- Married Captain James Babcock (1664-1736/37) in 1687 and was the mother of Joshua BabcockJoshua BabcockJoshua Babcock was a physician, American Revolution general, Rhode Island Supreme Court justice, and postmaster from Westerly, Rhode Island.-Biography:...
- Married Captain James Babcock (1664-1736/37) in 1687 and was the mother of Joshua Babcock
- JOHN SAUNDERS (1669-1746)
- Captain of the Block IslandBlock IslandBlock Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
TrainbandTrainbandTrainbands were companies of militia in England or the Americas, first organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th. The term was used after this time to describe the London militia. In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit. However, no standard...
(1692) - Justice of the PeaceJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Westerly, RI (1710-1712, 1714, 1721-1723) - Deputy to the Rhode Island General AssemblyRhode Island General AssemblyThe State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...
(1707, 1718)
- Captain of the Block Island
- EDWARD SAUNDERS (1672-1731/32)
- MERCY SAUNDERS (1677-?)
- BENJAMIN SAUNDERS (1682-1733)
- SARAH SAUNDERS (1684-?)
- SUSANNA SAUNDERS (1688-1733)
- STEPHEN SAUNDERS (1675-1746) Genealogy of One Branch of the Peckham Family of Newport and Westerly, R.I. and its Allied Families,
by William Perry and John Earle Bentley, 1957, p.126.
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...