| Notes |
- The following notes are paraphrased from the book "Descendants of Roger Williams" by Dorothy Higson White:
When Richard Waterman arrived in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony on 29 June 1629, his reputation as a skillful hunter had preceded him. In addition to helping supply the people with good venison, he was appointed to inspect canoes by the Court at Salem, and he also served on a Petit Jury in 1636. Richard agreed with many of the ideas preached by Roger Williams, concerning religious and civil liberty. Because of this, he was among a group of eighteen or more men who were asked to leave the colony, along with their families.
"Providence Town Records quote Roger Williams in 1661 as having declared that in 1634 and 1635 he made treaties with the Narragansett Indians and bought land he called Providence 'for a shelter for persons destressed for Conscience.' He communicated this fact to his 'loving friends, John Throckmorton, William Arnold, William Harris, Stuckley West(cott), John Greene Sr., Thomas Olney Sr., Richard Waterman, and others who desired to take shelter with him. Roger Williams generously shared his purchase of land with twelve" others, who along with Roger are called The Original Proprietors of Providence. Several of them were baptized or re-baptized in the new colony and are co-founders of the First Baptist Church in America, an active congregation to this day.
Richard Waterman was one of the signers of the Compact of Providence of 27 July 1640, proposing a form of government. He also served on the Providence Committee of 18 May 1647 to form a government under the Charter that Roger Williams had brought back from England. At one point he was arrested and jailed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony over a border dispute, and found to be "erronious, hereticall, and obstinate."
There is some question as to whether Richard and family relocated to Warwick. He, along with Samuel Gorton and ten others, was one of the purchasers of the "Grand Purchase," the area which is now Warwick, West Warwick, and Coventry. This was bought from Myantonomy (Miantonomo) on 12 January 1642.
Of the men named as The Original Proprietors of Providence, we -- meaning Grandpa Norman Remington and thus I and my children -- are direct descendents of at least five them: Roger Williams, Richard Waterman, Stukeley Westcott, Thomas Olney, and John Greene. We are descended from the Watermans through the Whitford line.
(Read more about Richard Waterman's adventures and accomplishments in the above-mentioned book, pages 2-3, available online from the Roger Williams Family Association; also see other books and web sites to learn about Rhode Island's fascinating history.)
According to "The History of Warwick" by Oliver Payson Fuller, Cowesett farm #8 belonged to Richard Waterman, one of the 12 original purchasers of Warwick. As nearly as I can determine, this would be on the southwest corner of Route 3 (Cowesett Rd.) and Route 2 (Quaker Lane). Farm #3, on the opposite corner (northwest of the four corners), originally belonged to Robert Potter, but was purchased from his heirs in 1707 by Israel Arnold of Pawtuxet. A portion of this was purchased by the Remingtons, and in 1875 "is now owned by heirs of Jonathan Remington." The next plantation eastward also belonged to the Remingtons.
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Abt 1590 - 1673 (~ 83 years)
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