Connections to Roger Williams
(See write-up below for information about Roger Williams & Descendants)
Excerpt from the brief Bio of George A. Ide in History of Union County, 1908: “His Mother, was before marriage, Sarah A. Stone, a direct descendant of Roger Williams.” Since George Ide himself published the History of Union County, he must have been impressed by this illustrious ancestor. Following is a family tree chart from recent, authoritative sources indicating that lineage.
About Roger Williams: Even before he left England in 1630 (10 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth), Roger Williams was controversial for his ideas on freedom of worship. He arrived on February 5, 1631 at the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the ship Lyon. He preached at Salem and Plymouth, always at odds with the structured Puritans. When he was about to be deported back to England, Roger fled Southwest out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was befriended by local Indians, and eventually settled at the headwaters of what is now Narragansett Bay (after he learned that his first settlement on the East bank of the Seekonk River was within the boundaries of the Plymouth Colony). He purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and named his settlement Providence in thanks to God. The original deed remains in the Archives of the City of Providence. In order to forestall the attempts of neighboring colonies to take over Providence, he obtained a Charter for his colony: “The Providence Plantations in Narragansett Bay” which incorporated Providence, Newport, and Portsmouth. On one of his two voyages back to England, he wrote Key into the Languages of America, which when published in 1643 in London made him the authority on American Indians. He was Governor of the colony from 1654 through 1658, and the colony grew through its acceptance of settlers of all religious persuasions. The following indented information was quoted from Rhode Island Fast Facts and Trivia (from 50States.com):
- Rhode Island’s official State name is: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
- Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, established the first practical working model of Democracy after he was banished from Plymouth, Massachusetts because of his "extreme views" concerning freedom of speech and religion.
- Thomas Jefferson and John Adams publicly acknowledged Roger Williams, as the originator of the concepts and principles reflected in The First Amendment. Among those principles were freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of public assembly.
- Rhode Island founder Roger Williams established the First Baptist Church in America in 1638. The existing structure was built in 1775.
Click HERE for a map of 1650 Providence showing ancestral land ownership, and comparing it to today’s Providence map.
The United States has maintained the reality of separation of church and state which Roger Williams envisioned and ordained at his Providence settlement. His descendants have also contributed to America in many ways: Andrew Waterman (b. 1724) was appointed Captain of the Smithfield (Rhode Island) Company of Minute Men in May 1775, and served in many capacities in gaining freedom for the Colonies. He was one of the signers of the Rode Island Declaration of Independence in 1776. Andrew’s brother, Captain John Waterman (not shown on above tree, b. 1728 d. 1777) was a mariner early in life and made voyages to China. Later, he engaged in printing, publishing, and commerce, erecting what was thought to be the first paper mill in Rhode Island – he was known as “Paper Mill John”. He was a Lt. in the Providence Militia in 1747 and in 1750, and a Captain in 1752. He gave 6 pounds sterling for the building of “Rhode Island College”, and his name appears in the Charter of what is now Brown University. He was a slave owner and was said to be the wealthiest man in Rhode Island at the time of his death. He built a powder mill for the use of the Colony in 1776.
The Ide Connection to Roger Williams: Roger and Mary Williams had 6 children. George Abel Ide’s maternal grandmother, Lucina Winsor (of whom he speaks in his memoir) has multiple direct connections to Roger Williams. As you can see on the chart, there are two “lines” of ancestry relating to the two marriages of Roger Williams’ youngest daughter Mercy: the “Waterman Line” and the “Winsor Line”. Augustus Winsor and Nancy Waterman (Lucina Winsor’s parents, and George Abel Ide’s great grandparents) had a common great great grandmother, Mercy Williams! Additionally, while Augustus Winsor’s father was a direct descendant of Mercy Williams (Winsor), his mother Sarah Smith was a direct descendant of Mary Williams, Roger William’s other daughter. The names Winsor and Waterman re-appear several times as given names amongst George A. Ide’s descendants.
Sources (except as otherwise referenced): Descendants of Roger Williams, Book I, The Waterman and Winsor Lines Through His Daughter Mercy Williams; Dorothy Higson White & Kay Kirlin Moore; Roger Williams Family Association, Gateway Press 1991; Lib. of Congress 91-72957. (Source for John Sayles and Elizabeth Olney family: Ancestral File).