Samuel GORTON

Father: Thomas GORTON
Mother: Anne //

Family 1: Mary MAPLET

(1) U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 via Ancestry.com

  1. Samuel GORTON
  2. John GORTON
  3. Benjamin GORTON
  4. Maher GORTON
  5. Mary GORTON
  6. Sarah GORTON
  7. Ann GORTON
  8. Elizabeth GORTON
  9. Susanna GORTON 
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 _Thomas GORTON_|
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|--Samuel GORTON
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|_Anne //_______|
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Notes

Updated July 4, 2022. Compiled by Howder (www.howderfamily.com) from the following source(s):

(1) Wikipedia, Samuel Gorton

"Samuel GORTON (1593-1677), was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick for one term. Having strong religious beliefs that were contrary to the established Puritan dogma and being very outspoken, he was frequently in trouble with the civil and church authorities in the New England colonies. His beliefs and demeanor brought him admiration from his followers, but great condemnation from those in positions of authority, and he was reviled for more than a century after his death. In more recent times historians and writers have looked upon him much more favorably, considering him one of the great colonial leaders of Rhode Island."

- Emigrated from England (1637), settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts; then left for Portsmouth, Rhode Island due to religious differences
- Left for Providence, Rhode Island, again due to religious differences
- Part of a group that purchased land from local Native Americans, formed Shawomet, later named Warwick, Rhode Island.
- Arrested, brought back to Massachusetts, and imprisoned.
- Banished from Massachusetts, returned to England and pressed his case, obtained order of protection from Earl of Warwick
- Returned to Rhode Island, renamed Shawomet to Warwick.
- Served in civic and leadership roles for the next twenty years.

- Born: baptized 12 Feb 1592/3; Manchester, Lancashire, England
- Died: by 10 December 1677; Warwick, Rhode Island
- Resting place: Samuel GORTON Cemetery, Warwick, Rhode Island
- Spouse: Mary MAPLETT (MAYPLET)
- Marriage: prior to 11 January 1629/30
- Children: Samuel, John, Benjamin, Maher, Mary, Sarah, Ann, Elizabeth, Susanna
- Occupation: Clothier, assistant, president, commissioner, deputy; 5th President of Providence and Warwick
- Religion: Self proclaimed "professor of the mysteries of Christ"

(2) The history of Warwick, Rhode Island: from its settlement in 1642 to the present time, Chapter II, page 8 via Ancestry.com

"The same general reasons that led Roger WILLIAMS to form a settlement at Providence, induced Samuel GORTON and his companions to take up their abode in the wilderness at Shawomet. The former found his religious views at variance with those of the standing order in Massachusetts, and he was banished out of their jurisdiction. GORTON was also a preacher and founder of a religious sect, and his views, both ecclesiastical and political were not only obnoxious to the colonists of Massachusetts but also in a less degree to those of Providence and Aquidneck. Both had sought the more hospitable regions among the Indians where they hoped quietly to enjoy that freedom in 'religious concernments' which they were denied among their own countrymen."

(3) Millennium File via Ancestry.com

- Name: Samuel GORTON
- Spouse: Mary MAPLET
- Death Date: 10 Dec 1677
- Death City: Providence
- Death County: Providence
- Death State: Rhode Island
- Death Country: USA
- Parents: Thomas GORTON, Anne
- Children: Susanna GORTON
- Source Information: Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.

(4) U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 via Ancestry.com

- Name: Samuel GORTON
- Gender: Male
- Birth Place: England
- Birth Year: 1592
- Spouse Name: Mary MAPLETT
- Spouse Birth Place: England
- Spouse Birth Year: 1608
- Marriage Year: 1629

(5) Find a Grave

- Name: Samuel GORTON
- Birth: 1592
- Death: 1677 (aged 85)
- Burial: Governor Samuel Gorton Lot; Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island, USA
- Memorial ID: 31050767

(6) Erlenkotter Family Records, citing:

... (6a) GORTON, Adelos, The Life and Times of Samuel GORTON, (Philadelphia, PA, 1907).
... (6b) [birth] SAVAGE, James, Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, (Boston, MA, 1860-1862), Vol. II, p. 283.

Further notes from the Erlenkotter Family Records:

"SAVAGE describes Samuel GORTON as 'a most active religious disturber of several places' who came to Boston in 1636 and went soon to Plymouth. In 1638 he went to Rhode Island where he was admitted as an inhabitant on 27 June. In 1641 he was 'disquieting' Roger WILLIAMS at Providence, and in 1643 he and several others purchased the land for Warwick from the Indians. This led to hostile aggression by the government of Massachusetts, which took all the settlers prisoners and punished them cruelly. The next year he went to England with other sufferers and obtained just assertion of his right. He and his adherents 'in the cloudy doctrines' then had peace for nearly thirty years."