William Hutchinson (Rhode Island judge)
William Hutchinson (1586–1641) was a judge at Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He sailed from England to New England in 1634 with his large family. He became a merchant in Boston and served as both Deputy to the General Court and selectman. His wife was Anne Hutchinson who became embroiled in a theological controversy with the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which resulted in her banishment in 1638. The Hutchinsons and 18 others departed to form the new settlement of Pocasset on the Narragansett Bay, which was renamed Portsmouth and became one of the original towns in the Rhode Island colony.
Historical highway marker for William and Anne Hutchinson property at Mount Wollaston, later in Quincy, Massachusetts
"Anne Hutchinson on Trial" by Edwin Austin Abbey
Portsmouth Compact with William Hutchinson's signature third on the list
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1707, and then a colony of Great Britain until the American Revolution in 1776, when it became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
The original 1636 deed to Providence signed by Chief Canonicus
Roger Williams returning with the royal charter
Four-time governor of the colony and first chancellor of Brown University Stephen Hopkins was influential in his support of the American Revolution
