NOTES:
See SAMUEL GORTON OF GORTON ENGLAND and of WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND andHIS DESCENDANTS IN AMERICA 1592-1906 by Adelos Gorton, Member of t he NewYork Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Rhode Island HistoricalSociety and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philade lphia, 1907,pps 159-162:
"SAMUEL GORTON, clothier, of London, was born in 1592 (cite) in Gorton(now incorporated within the City of Manchester), "where the fathers ofhis body had lived for many generations, not unknown to the Heraldry ofEngland." (cite)
"He was reared in the Established Church. In an address to KingCharles the First he said that he had sucked in the so-called peculiartenets attributed to him from the breasts of his mother the Churc h ofEngland. To the fundamental doctrines taught by the church he everfirmly held, although he was a Nonconformist.
"England was under the rule of the conformist King James. Laud wasconspicuous in the universities; and they had declared it to be unlawfulto be opposed to the king upon religion or any other subject. (cite)Gorton was instructed by private tutors, and, being of studious habits,he secured a classical education, became well read in English law andmore than ordinarily skilled in the languages. "One of those noblespirits who esteemed liberty more than life, and counting no sacrificetoo great for the maintenance of principal, could not dwell at ease in aland where the inalienable rights of humanity were not acknowledged." Heleft his native country, he says, to enjoy liberty of conscience inrespect to faith toward God and for no other end . (cite)
"He landed at Boston in March, 1636, with his wife Mary (cite),{daughter of John Maplet, Gent. of St. Martin's le Grand, London, andMary his wife} his son Samuel and one or two other children. At the timeof his arrival, the Massachusetts government was proceeding againstWheelright, the brother- in-law of Annie Hutchinson. He says he foundthe people of the colony at great varience in points of religion,prosecuting it very hotly in their courts unto fines and punishments.
"Their laws prohibiting non-subscribing churchmen from living there,he took up his residence in Plymouth, which was then a more liberalcolony. In June, 1637, he, while a resident of Plymouth, joined one ofthe military companies which was raised in response to Massachusetts'call for aid to defend themselves against the Pequot Indians. ( cite)
"In 1638 he led the opposition to the illiberal changes, delegaterepresentation, etc., thrust into the government by Prence, then theGovernor of Plymouth, was snared into Prence's court and, for hiscontempt of it, was banished.
"In 1639, at Pocasset, Aquidneck Island, he was a freeman and a memberof the second or civil compact of government; the first government uponthe island of Aquidneck or Rhode which had as its official head aGovernor -- Governor Hutchinson -- a Deputy Governor and Assistants; thefirst to grant universal suffrage; the first that constituted regularQuarterly Courts, and the first with a jury for the trial of causes. Theychanged the name of the place to Portsmouth.
"In 1640 he settled on land he purchased of Robert Cole atPapaquinapaug, near Massapaug Pond adjoining Providence. This land withthe buildings he had erected thereon he abandoned on account of claimsmade by his opponents with fradulent underlying titles. In 1642 hepurchased of the first owners, the Narragansett Sachems, the lands ofShawomet and founding the town he named Warwick.
"In 1643 he was made a prisoner by soldiers [representing] theMassachusetts Magistrates who coveted the land, was tried for heresy andwas confined at Charleston. In 1644 he was chosed a magistrate by thepeople immediately after he was released and returned to the town ofPortsmouth. In 1644 he secured from the Narragansett Indians their deedin dominion of all their lands, their submission to the Englishgovernment and their appointment of him as their representative and"beloved commissioner" to attach them to the colony, for which RogerWilliams had departed to obtain a charter.
"In 1644, upon Williams' return with the charter which included theNarragansett lands (the greater part of the present State), a governmentwas at one organized with Williams as Governor and Gorton as one of theAssistants of "the Government of the Providence Plantations. "
"In 1645, after nearly two years of ineffectual operation of thegovernment owing to the obstructions of the Arnolds and Coddington, andthe war waged against it by the adjoining colonies, Gorton was chosenCommissioner to lay the grievances of the government before the EnglishParliament. As expressed in Williams' letter [their purpose was] "topreseve the lives and liberties of the people."
"In August, 1645, [Gorton] took ship from Manhattan. In 1646 hesecured from the Parliament Commissioners a mandate commanding the othercolonies not to disturb the petitioners and inhabitants living within thebounds of their charter. Upon this, in 1647 a union of all thesettlements within the chartered government was effected.
"He returned, landing in Boston, on May 10th, 1648, where he wasdetained by the Massachusetts Magistrates in collusion with the Arnold-Coddington faction in violation of the Parlimentary order. It wasimpossible for him, a promising candidate for the chief office in thecolony, to reach his government to be present at their annual court andelection. Coddington, the Arnold candidate for the Presidency , whosetreasonable acts and papers had confronted Gorton while he was inEngland, and against whom Gorton's testimony was desired by the [RhodeIsland] court before the election, and against whom various bills ofindictment thus deferred were pending, was fradulently elected! [Later,after the matter was presented to the court] the majority of the courtwas against him and they immediately suspended him from the governmentand deputed and installed Jeremiah Clark as President of the Colony.
"In 1649 Gorton was chosen a member of the Assembly. [Some of thefollowing is rephrased for clarity.] Gorton was chosen President of thecolony in 1651, the most trying time in the history of the colony.Movement continued to subvert the colony to the authority of Plymouth andMassachusetts, most of which activity occurred during the absence ofGorton when he was laying the grievances of the colony before the BritishParliament. Gorton, and his assistants, were, in the words of thehistorian of Warwick, a "crew of valiant men whose courage and wisdomwere equal to the emergency."
"In 1652 he drafted and assisted [ the legislators] to [adopt] thefirst legal enactment abolishing slavery -- involuntary life servitude inthe colonies. Hawes in his history says that Gorton and Williams drew upthis Act, but Williams was then in England, having gone there the yearbefore. This law, [premature], could not be sustained . Not until aboutone hundred years later was a like statute again enacted.
"He was one of the incorporators named in the new 1663 charter. From1664 to 1667 he was a Deputy, a judge in the high court and theequivalent of what is now a state senator. He was again chosen to thisposition in 1670. When he was seventy-nine, on account of his age , hedeclined the proffered continuation in office.
"Although he is represented by some writers as a man given to anger,he appears mild when compared with many others of that period. It isobservable that his friends and the people, nearly all of whom were ofdissimilar religious views who lived in Warwick, did not fall out withhim or complain of him. They had no difficulties among themselves butthat were lovingly arbitrated, and he "never raised his hand in violenceagainst any human being, not even aginst his own children."
"In debates with the Friends [Quakers?], in which he with RodgerWilliams and others took part against them, he is the one almost alonewho exhibited no anger, flung no epithets, and is not accused by hisopponents, as most of the others are, of unkindness and incivility . (Thearticle continues with the praises of Samuel Gorton including atestimonial from the Hon. Job Durfee, "one of the most able of the ChiefJustices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.")
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FAMILY HISTORY AND STORY OF SAMUEL GORTON
First governor of PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS of Rhode Island,
and founder of Warwick, Rhode Island.
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Samuel Gorton is my immigrant ancestor. He was baptized on February 12,1592 in the Cathedral Church, Lancashire, Manchester, England. He wasprobably born there in the Parish known as Gorton. His father was ThomasGorton and his mother was Thomas' second wife, Anne. Samuel's parentswere influential and well to do, "not entirely unknown to the heraldry ofEngland," wrote Judge George A. Brayton, Justice of the Supreme Court ofRhode Island. Samuel had private tutors who taught him the classics. Hisfluency in both Greek and Hebrew enabled him to study the Bible'soriginal text.
All around Samuel, the world was torn by religious wars. Samuel wascaught in the unrest. He befriended a Separatist elder who later moved toHolland. The Separatists were the people who chose to separate themselvesfrom the Church of England; some were eventually known as Pilgrims,others were known as Puritans. Samuel Gorton was neither a Pilgrim nor aPuritan. He was a nonconformist. He was a man of deep, strong feeling,keenly aware of every injustice inflicted on the humblest of God'screatures. An excellent preacher, he was also a profound thinker who, inhis spiritual meditations, wandered off into infinity often forgettinghis earthly surroundings. The Honorable Job Durfee, Chief Justice of theRhode Island Supreme Court, thought that Samuel, "did indeed clothe histhought at times, in clouds, but then it was because they were too largefor any other garment."
Yet, in ordinary life, no one was more plain, simple, and unaffected thanSamuel. He was courteous, friendly, and elegant. He is said to havelooked like a Saxon, tall and thin, with blue eyes and light brown hair.Early records say he was a clothier in London. This is where he mighthave met his wife, Mary Maplett. Incidentally, her brother was to becomea famous personal physician for King Charles I. An articulate andpassionate man, he was able to preach for hours at a time. A convincingspeaker, Gorton spoke openly whenever he could get people to listen tohim. His enemies complained about his charismatic language. Searching forreligious freedom, Samuel, his wife Mary, the first three of theireventual nine children, and Samuel's brother Thomas sailed to Americaaboard the Speedwell, landing in Boston in 1636.
Samuel found the world of the Boston Puritans no better than the one hehad left behind in England. He soon became involved in many disputes withthe Puritan government in Massachusetts, so much so that they tried toimprison him. His every thought and word was an issue with the Puritanrules. His maid was put in jail because she smiled in church. Samuel wentto jail for his maid and was later thrown out of Boston. It is believedthat he went on to Portsmouth, Rhode Island with his family and spoke outagainst the magistrates there, call them all "asses."
William Arnold (Benedict Arnold's father) was against Gorton and hisfollowers settling near what is now Portsmouth. Samuel didn't sense thisanimosity and he unwisely built homes. The Arnolds' appealed toMassachusetts to help rid themselves of the Gortonists, as Samuel and hisfollowers had become known. Massachusetts enlisted two Indian chiefs,Ponham and Soconoco, to get Gorton out. They raided Samuel's home andburned it down. The Gortonists retreated to a block house. Then GovernorWinthrop, a friend of Gorton, had Mr. Chad Brown try to mediate. He wasunsuccessful. The Massachusetts soldiers came and entrenched themselves.They started firing and Samuel hung out the English flag, which waspromptly shot to shreds. The Gortonists surrendered and were put in jail.Governor Winthrop had to abide by this although he did not want to. Theywere brought to trial and escaped death by one vote. After repeatedpersecution and prosecution, the court banished Gorton and his followersto other towns. They had to wear leg irons. Since Samuel had always beena friend of Governor Winthrop, he appealed. By March, 1644, theMassachusetts Bay authorities found that Gorton and his company did harmin the towns where they were confined and not knowing what to do withthem, set them free and gave them fourteen days to make themselvesscarce. This miraculous escape enabled Gorton to obtain the submission ofthe Narragansett Sachems Indians, an achievement which contributed in nosmall measure to the Independence of Rhode Island. He and about 100 otherGortonists braved a blowing snowstorm to walk and ride horses about 90miles to the area now known as Providence.
Moving on was no new experience for the Gortonists. Each of them had beencast out of Massachusetts and most of them from other Rhode Islandsettlements. Gorton himself had been cast out of Boston, Plymouth,Aquidneck, and Newport before seeking refuge in Providence. By 1642, anEnglish historian commented, "Gorton might almost be said to havegraduated as a disturber of peace in every colony in New England." All ofthe settlers of Providence were outcasts from Massachusetts. Of all thosewho were banished because they dared to express opinions in conflict withthe ruling hierarchy, Roger Williams is the most famous and Samuel Gortonis the most notorious. Samuel Gorton had the power to inspire fear,loathing, and wrath among his enemies.
Samuel and his followers purchased land from the Great Chief Miantonomo.This tract of land was to become known as the Shawomet Purchase. Othernames on the deed, dated January 12, 1642, were: William Hutchinson, JohnWickes, Sampson Shotten, and Robert Potter. In April, 1642, Samuel waselected Deputy Governor of the Land. They became friends with the Indiansand Gorton and his older brother, Thomas, became adept in the Indiantongues. Even after the group became the owners of the land, there wereproblems. The Massachusetts Magistrates kept sending Gorton lettersstating that the land was still under the rule of Boston. The magistrateseven charged Samuel with blasphemy and burned the family home. Theyarrested and jailed him. His wife and children went to stay with friendsand several Indian families. Samuel eventually cleared his name and wasreleased from jail. However, he was told to leave Shawomet. He left, allright!
Samuel decided to rid himself of the yolk of the MassachusettsMagistrates once and for all. He headed to England, but had to detourthrough the New York area, since he was still a wanted man inMassachusetts. He left his family for three years and sailed to Englandand presented his written manuscript, "Simplicities Defense Against aSeven Headed Policy," London, 1649 (a copy of this is in the U.S. Libraryof Congress).
With the help of his friend, the Earl of Warwick, Gorton obtainedhearings from Parliament since King Charles I had left power. Finally,Samuel was granted a royal charter with the help of the Earl of Warwick.Once he had the charter, he also got an order of safe passage and conductgiven to him from the Earl. Upon sailing back into the Boston Harbor, heshowed the magistrates the grant and they were very angry because theyhad to give Samuel safe passage back to Rhode Island. The charter alsosaid that the Massachusetts government had to help Samuel set up hisgovernment. Never were they allowed to again interfere with SamuelGorton.
Once charter government was established in Warwick, Gorton was satisfiedand we hear no more of him making trouble. He was continuously honored byfellow citizens. Also, the town of Warwick was formed, and named afterthe Earl of Warwick. Records show that in March 1664, Samuel was stillactive and appointed Administrator of John Smith's will. Happily, helived to see religious freedom secured to the colony in its Constitution.
In 1649, Samuel Gorton was elected general assistant to the Governor, andin 1651, was elected the first President over the two towns Warwick andProvidence, called the Providence Plantations. Mr. Gorton was from thisdate the first citizen of Warwick, and his name stands at the head of theWarwick Commissioners for several succeeding years. He was elected aDeputy Governor in 1664, 1665, 1666, and 1670.
The Massachusetts Magistrates had often denounced Gorton as an anarchist,a blasphemer and rogue. This was not the real Gorton. Gorton's moralcharacter was of the highest caliber and though he differed from theOrthodox Puritans he was never a blasphemer. He was an independentthinker and a true champion of liberty. He was a graduate of PembrokeCollege and Cambridge and was a minister of the Gospel. Throughout hislife he was a close friend and devoted admirer of Governor John Winthrop.
The Gortonists beliefs have been described as a type of ChristianTranscendentalism. The group believed Jesus Christ was divine, but theydid not believe in the Trinity. They didn't think preachers should bepaid, felt women were equal to men, were totally against slavery, andthought each individual had a right to read and study the scriptures forhimself. Gorton staunchly believed that people should pay the Indians fortheir lands. Gorton's political creed may be stated briefly: true libertycan be found only within the framework of the law, which protects thecivil right of the individual and the minority from the passing whim ofthe majority. He believed that government should be limited to civilaffairs.
By about 1670, Gorton was in his advanced years and had retired fromofficial cares. He died on December 10, 1677 at the age of 85. Samuel'sgrave is in Warwick behind a home off Warwick Neck Road. There areseveral Gorton cemeteries there. To this day, several lines of Gortonslive in the area. Much has been written about Samuel and his chair is inthe Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington, D.C.Samuel can be called a forgotten founder of liberty.
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References and Books to read about Samuel Gorton
1907 The Life and Times of Samuel Gorton by Adelos Gorton, a very rarebook. 1980 Samuel Gorton of Rhode Island and His Descendants, ThomasGorton.
May 1942 Bulletin of the Newport, Rhode Island Historical Society titled:"Samuel Gorton" by William Wager Weeden.
Samuel Gorton's letter to Lord Hyde - Providence: Society of Colonial War1930, page 5 (Also called GORTON TO HYDE)
Massachusetts War with Samuel Gorton, Providence: RHODE ISLAND PENDULUM,142.
"The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," SamuelMacauley Jackson New York Funk and Wagnalls, dated 1909, page 25-26
"Simplicities Defence Against Seven-Headed Policy," by Samuel GortonLondon, 1646.
"The Founding of New England," Boton: The Atlantic Monthly 1921, page 142
"An Abstract of The Laws of New England," John Cotton, London 1641, page10.
"The Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, The Story howSamuel Gorton fought in the Pequot War," by Nathaniel B. Shurleff, Boston1855, page 104, 1856, page 70.
"History of Rhode Island." John S. Taylor, NY 1853, page 40.
"The Complete Book of Emigrants," by Peter Wilson Coldham 1607-1660, page227. Year 1644, entry April 19. The Copy of Act of Submission by PessicusSachema and the Narragansett Indians to the government of England.Samuel, Gorton, John Wickes, Randal Holden and John Warner are appointedto execute the Deed witnessed by Christopher Helme, Robert Potter andRichard Carder.
Also in "The Complete Book of Emigrants," entry dated April 1647. PROBATETHE WILL of Mery Maplet of St. Giles Cripplegate, London, whose daughterMary was married to Samuel Gorton of New England.
"The American Genealogist," 1989, by Donald Lines Jacobus, Vol 18-20,page 186, Samuel Gorton.
Samuel Gortons writing chair is in the Daughters of the AmericanRevolution Museum in Washington, D.C.
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THE HISTORY OF THE GORTON NAME.
By Kathryn Mae Gorton Thompson
The Saxon Chronicle is a manuscript which was painstakingly researched byMonks of the 10th Century and now dwells in the British Museum. Emergingthrough the chronicles of History is one of the Oldest Familiy Names.GORTON and the distinguished history of this Surname is interwoven intothe tapestry of the History of England. Historical analysts have usedmany sources in the preparation of this history. Such as: The DomesdayBook, The Ragman Rolls (1291-1296) The Curig Regis Rolls, The PipeRolls, The Haerth Rolls, Praish Registers, Baptismals, Tax Records andothe rancient documents and found the first Record of the NAME GORTON wasin Lancashire, England where they were seated from very ancient timessome will say , well before the Noman Conguest and the arrival of DukeWilliam of Hastings in 1066 A.D.
The Surname Gorton was found in the archives, the name was sometimesrevealed as Gorton,Gorten,Gortin,Gordon and these changes in spellingoccured even between father and son. It wsa not uncommon for a person tobe born with one spelling variation, married with another and for yetanother, to appear on his gravestone. Scribes spelt the name the way itsounded as it was told to them. From Century to Century spellingschanged. The Family name GORTON was found to be descended from the SAXON RACE. The SAXONS were a fair skinned people led by the BROTHERSGENERAL, Commanders Hengist and Hosa, who settled in England town aboutthe year 400 AD. They settled first on the South British Coast, comingfrom the Rhine Valley. They spread North and Westward from Kent andduring the next four hundred years forced the Ancient Britons back intoWales and Cornwall to the West. Cumbria and Scotland to the North. TheAngles held the Eastern Coastline. The South folk in Suffolk, the NorthFolk, in Northfolk. Under Anglo Saxon five century rule, the Nationdivided into five separate Kingdoms. A high King being elected asSupreme Ruler.
Alfred the Great emerged in the 9th Century as the saxon leader to dispelthe Danish Invasion. England by 1066 was Led by Harold "The King of theSaxons" and was enjoying resonable Peace and Prosperity. The NormanInvasion from France under Duke William of Normandy and their victory atthe Battle of Hastings found Saxon land owners to be forced to forfeitall of their lands. William with an Army of 40,000 men drove Northwasting all of the land in his path. All of the Northern Counties weredestroyed. Both rebellious Norman Nobles and Saxons fled over the borderinto Scotland. Those Saxons who remained were restive under NormanRule. Many moved northward tothe Midlands, Lancashire, and Yorkshirewhere Norman influence prevailed less.
The family name GORTON emerged as a Noble English Name in the County ofLancashire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seatedat Gorton Near Manchester, until the early 1900s there was still a partof Manchester named Gorton, with manors and large estates in that area.One of the earliest records is of Sir Thomas Gorton ( I have thismanuscript) from the Manor Gorton. By the 13th Century the family hadalso acquired other estates in the County of Lancashire and became one ofthe Middle Ages Distinguished Lacastrian Families. The next two or threecenturies found the Surname Gorton flourishing and contributing greatlyto the culture of the British nation.
During 16,17, and 18th Centuries, England was ravaged by religiousconflicts. Protestantism, the new found Political fervour of Cromwellismand the remnants of the Roman Catholic church rejected all but the mostardent followers. As each group gained power druing these turbulenttimes many were burnt at the stake but many more were banished form theland. They lost all their titles, estates and status. Many familieswere truly encouraged to migrate to Ireland or to the Colonies. Somewere rewarded with grants of lands and others were indentured as servantsfor as long as ten years.
In Ireland they became known as "The Adventurers for Land in Ireland".They wer also known as "Undertakers". There is no evidence that thefamily name migrated to Ireland but this does not preclude thepossibility of their scattered migration to that country. Theseunsettling times were distrubing and the new world beckoned theadventurous. The Migrates some voluntarily form Ireland , some by ArmyService, but mostly directly from England. Some also moved to theEuropean continent. Member of the family name Gorton sailed aboard theArmada of Small Ships know as "The White Sails" which sailed the StormyAtlantic. These overcrowded ships were pestilence ridden, sometimes up to40% of the passenger lists never reached their destinations. Theirnumbers decimated by sickness and the lements and many were htereforeburied at sea.
Included amoungst the first migrants who settled in North America wasSamuel Gorton in 1637, John Gorton Virgiina in 1679, Steven Gorton inVirginia in 1635. Probably the most notorious and prolific GortonAncestor on the New America Colonies shores was Samuel Gorton. He and hiswife Mary with the first two to three children and Samuels' brotherThomas came over on the boat "The Speedwell" landing in Boston in 1637.This Samuel is credited with being the first judge in the new world, afair main, religious zealot and he hated the presecution of himself andhis followers by the Puritans and was eventually banned by theMassachusettes Bay Society. He wrote a charter and went back to Englandpresenting it to Parliament to gain his independence. Hence he lived inpeace eventually settling in Warwick RI. He founded that town and servedfor many years on the Providence Plantations and General Assembly,Samuel Gorton was one of the first Governors of Rhode Island. Many bookshave been written about him. There is a 1907 Book by Adelos Gorton "TheLife and Times of Samuel Gorton", a 1980 book by Thomas Gorton " SamuelGorton of Rhode Island and His Descendents" These books includedthousands of Gorton lines and ancestors.
When Samuel came over to the Colonies, the southern coast of SouthernEngland was extremely overcrowded, near what is now SouthHampton,England. Today there is a huge ferry station where the Mayflower took offwith ferries going back and forth to the Isle of Wight.
The new settlers, as Samuel Gorton, upon arriving in the New AmericaColonies found themselves yearning to see this vast land. The east coastof the Colonies were so overcrowded that from the port of entry on thiscoast, many settlers started treking their way west. The Gorton namespread in the Americas. They were granted lands along the banks of theSt. Lawrence River and the NIagara Peninsula. Samuel Gorton was greatfriends of the Indians and was granted most of the lands that are now thestate of Rhode Island from the great Indian Chief Miantonomo. This iscalled the Showamet Purchase.
The Surname Gorton includes some very distinguished people. IncludingJohn Gorton is a famous Australian Politician. Slade Gorton was a Senatorin Washington State in the U.S. Samule Slade Gorton founded the HugeCompany The Gorton Fisheries in Gloucester, Massachusettes. Thomas andSlade Gorton are very famous Gorton lawyers. Sir Thomas Gorton ofEngland. There are approximately 5,500 people that have the SurnameGorton that live in the United States. The Gorton Coat of Arms is granedfrom an ancient grant to the family and it is described as Red with GoldSquares and a Gold Stripe accross the top. Above the squares is the Headof a Goat symbolizing strength.
1999 Kathryn Mae GortonThompson
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathryn Mae Gorton Thompson is from upstate New Yorkand is a direct descendant of Samuel Gorton. Her line is: Samuel, John,John, William, William, Joseph, William, Warren, Edward, Edward, Kathryn.She started her genealogy research in 1972, and currently hasthirty-three other Gorton cousins on the internet and sends out abimonthly Gorton newsletter and so far has matched together thirteenfamilies from the Gorton line. <KThomp6155@@aol.com>
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These documents are made available free to the public for non-commercialpurposes by the Rhode Island USGenWeb Project. This document has beenmade available by Kathryn Mae Gorton Thompson, <KThomp6155@@aol.com>,March 1999.
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