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78-520: The Common Burial Ground was established in 1665 on land given to city of Newport by John Clarke . It features what is probably the largest number of colonial era headstones in a single cemetery, including the largest number of colonial African American headstones in the United States. The predominantly African-American northern section of the cemetery is commonly referred to by local African-Americans as "God's Little Acre". The Island Cemetery

156-577: A Particular Baptist church under the pastorship of William Kiffin. One of his means of support was preaching at this church, which he called his "cheefe place for proffitt and preference", possibly because this arrangement offered him room and board. He also offered legal services and practiced medicine in London. Most of Clarke's time in England was during the Interregnum , when rule of the country

234-416: A Baptist, a member of another Christian denomination, an adherent to another world religion, or to choose no religious belief system, and the church, the government, family and friends may not make the decision or compel the person to choose otherwise. In addition, a person may change one's mind over time. According to Francis Wayland , president of Brown University (1827–1855), Roger Williams established

312-590: A Narrative of New England's Persecution (1652). The book begins with a letter to the English Parliament and Council of State, conveying an earnest plea for liberty of conscience and religious toleration. This is followed by another letter addressed to the Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. The largest part of the book is devoted to Clarke's beliefs on conducting a church and why he thought that

390-458: A book on the persecutions of the Baptists in Massachusetts and on his theological beliefs. The fledgling Rhode Island colony needed an agent in England, so he remained there for more than a decade handling the colony's interests. The other New England colonies were hostile to Rhode Island, and both Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut Colony had made incursions into Rhode Island territory. After

468-592: A catalog of students from Leiden University in Holland, one of Europe's primary medical schools at the time. The school's ledger of graduates includes, in Latin, "Johannes Clarcq, Anglus, 17 July 1635-273" (translated as John Clark, England). It is apparent that Clarke earned a master's degree from the concordance that he wrote, where the authorship is given as "John Clarke, Master of Arts". Clarke arrived in Boston in

546-470: A concordance and lexicon that he wrote himself. The difficulty with tracing Clarke's life in England stems largely from his very common name. Rhode Island historian George Andrews Moriarty, Jr wrote that this was probably the same John Clarke who attended St Catharine's College, Cambridge , but he may also have received a bachelor's degree from Brasenose College, Oxford in 1628 and a master's degree there in 1632. Another clue to his education comes from

624-409: A degree of religious freedom without precedent. The provisions of this charter were so far-reaching that not only would Rhode Island proceed as an autonomous entity, but the document would remain in effect for 180 years. In this charter, colonial boundaries were outlined, provisions for a military and for prosecuting war were effected, fishing privileges were secured, and a means of appeal to England

702-544: A delegation of three men to Plymouth Colony where he was informed that Sowams was under their jurisdiction but Aquidneck Island was not. This suited Clarke, whose desire for the exiles was to "get clear of all, and be ourselves". Aquidneck was in the territory of the Narragansett people , and Williams suggested that the Colonists pay them for the land with tools, coats, and wampum . On 24 March 1638, Williams drew up

780-404: A free Black woman formerly enslaved to William Ellery Channing , had been an active member of Newport's African community. 41°29′47″N 71°18′56″W  /  41.49639°N 71.31556°W  / 41.49639; -71.31556 John Clarke (Baptist minister) John Clarke (October 1609 – 20 April 1676) was a physician, politician, and Baptist minister, who was co-founder of

858-483: A letter from the colony requesting assistance with legal proceedings against William Harris . An important acquaintance of Clarke's in London was Richard Baily, who provided him with legal expertise, helped him draft petitions to the king, and may have even helped him write Rhode Island's charter. When Clarke eventually returned to Newport, Baily sailed with him, later providing additional legal counsel and writing Clarke's extensive will. In 1660, Charles II ascended

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936-513: A letter to Governor Endicott, making an earnest plea for toleration in matters of conscience and religion, but the request was unheeded. However, Williams did not let the matter rest, and used Clarke and Holmes as the subjects of his book The Bloody Tenent Yet More Bloody (1652). Williams gave a copy of this book to Clarke and wrote in the front: "For his honoured and beloved Mr. John Clarke, an eminent witnes of Christ Jesus ag'st ye bloodie Doctrine of persecution, &c." One positive outcome of

1014-421: A letter to Governor Winthrop: "At Seekonk, a great many have lately concurred with Mr. John Clarke, and our Providence men, about the point of a new baptism and the manner by dipping; and Mr. John Clarke hath been there lately, and Mr. Lucar, and hath dipped them. I believe their practice comes nearer to the first practice of our great Founder, Christ Jesus, than other practices of religion do." Several members of

1092-433: A letter to the court from prison the following day, accepting the implied challenge to have a debate with the Puritan ministers on religious beliefs and practices. The challenge was initially accepted, but Clarke's fine was paid by some friends without his knowledge and he was released from jail. He left the area, and was then accused by the Puritan elders of defaulting on the challenge. He made two more attempts to debate

1170-492: A matter of conscience, though friends attempted to pay for him as well. As a result, Holmes was taken to the town's whipping post on 5 September 1651 and given 30 lashes with a three-corded whip. He told the magistrates, "You have struck me as with roses", and he claimed to have felt no pain during the incident; however, he could only sleep by resting on his knees and elbows for many days afterwards. Much later, Rhode Island Governor Joseph Jenckes wrote, "Those who have seen

1248-586: A stake in the Atherton Company, which undermined the sovereignty of Rhode Island by buying large tracts of land from the Narragansett people west of the Narraganset Bay , where Rhode Island claimed the territory. Clarke regarded Winthrop's conduct as treacherous, and Winthrop avoided Clarke while in England; he was able to get his charter approved in May 1662. The Earl of Clarendon recognized

1326-485: Is not offered to the person, name, or estate of others. —John Clarke Four Religious Principles During the trial, the court was represented by Governor Endicott, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley , and magistrates Richard Bellingham , William Hibbins, and Increase Nowell . The Reverend John Cotton weighed in with denunciation for the prisoners, and the Reverend John Wilson struck Holmes while he

1404-550: Is one of the commandments of this Lord Jesus Christ, and that a visible believer or disciple of Christ Jesus—that is, one that manifesteth repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ—is the only person that is to be baptized, or dipped with that visible baptism. Third, every such believer in Christ Jesus ... may in point of liberty, yea, ought in point of duty, to improve that talent his Lord hath given unto him, and in

1482-512: The American Revolutionary War did not change its position, since both the revolution and the charter rested on the same foundation—the inherent right of self-government. Soul competency Soul competency is a Christian theological perspective on the accountability of each person before God. According to the view, one's family relationships, church membership, or ecclesiastical or religious authorities cannot affect

1560-842: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , author of its influential charter, and a leading advocate of religious freedom in America. Clarke was born in Westhorpe, Suffolk , England. He received an extensive education, including a master's degree in England followed by medical training in Leiden , Holland. He arrived at the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 during the Antinomian Controversy and decided to go to Aquidneck Island with many exiles from

1638-666: The Massachusetts Bay Colony in November 1637 when the colony was in the midst of the major theological and political crisis known as the Antinomian Controversy . A major division had occurred within the Boston church between proponents of so-called "covenant of grace" theology, led by John Cotton , and proponents of so-called "covenant of works" , led by John Wilson and others. The controversy ultimately resulted in many people leaving Massachusetts Bay Colony, either voluntarily or by banishment. Some went north in November 1637 to found

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1716-679: The Rhode Island Royal Charter and presented it to the king, and it was approved with the king's seal on 8 July 1663. This charter granted unprecedented freedom and religious liberty to Rhode Islanders and remained in effect for 180 years, making it the longest-lasting constitutional charter in history. Clarke returned to Rhode Island following his success at procuring the charter; he became very active in civil affairs there, and continued to pastor his church in Newport until his death in 1676. He left an extensive will, setting up

1794-559: The Anglican Church "because some of the people ... cannot, in their private Opinions, conform to the publique exercise of religion ..." It also took some of the language from the Declaration of Breda : that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter shall be any wise molested [harassed], punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion in matters of religion, and do not actually disturb

1872-523: The Assembly, [it was] Voted: That the box in which the King's gratious letters were enclosed be opened, and the letters with the broad seale thereto affixed be taken forth and read by Captayne George Baxter in the audience and view of all the people; which was accordingly done, and the sayd letters with his Majesty's Royall Stampe, and the broad seal, with much becoming gravity held up on hygh, and presented to

1950-559: The Colonial Commissioners in London. On 3 April 1651, the Council of State of England gave Coddington the commission of a separate government for the island of Aquidneck and for the smaller neighboring island of Conanicut (later Jamestown, Rhode Island ), with him as governor for life. Criticism arose as soon as Coddington returned to Rhode Island with his commission. In September 1651, William Arnold summed up

2028-734: The Council of State on New England until April 1652 because of recent hostilities between the English and the Dutch. Coddington's commission for the island government was revoked in October 1652, with the help of Henry Vane . William Dyer returned to Rhode Island the following February, bringing the news of the return of the colony to the Williams Patent of 1643, but Clarke remained in England with his wife. Very soon after arriving in England, Clarke published Ill Newes from New England: or

2106-618: The Massachusetts churches were proceeding in the wrong direction. Less than half of the book concerns the persecution that Clarke and his companions experienced at the hands of the Massachusetts authorities. He wrote, "it is not the will of the Lord that any one should have dominion over another man's conscience. ... [Conscience] is such a sparkling beam from the Father of lights and spirits that it cannot be lorded over, commanded, or forced, either by men, devils, or angels." The book ultimately had

2184-595: The Newport church. William Witter was an elderly blind man with Baptist sentiments who was living in Lynn, Massachusetts in July 1651. He wanted to connect with his Baptist faith, but he was too infirm to travel to Newport, so Clarke, Obadiah Holmes , and John Crandall visited him at his home. The party arrived on Saturday 19 July and held a religious service the next day. Those present included family and visitors and "four or five strangers that came in unexpected". During

2262-579: The North to be somewhat cooler, but the winter following [1637–38] proved so cold, that we were forced in the spring to make towards the South." Clarke joined a group of men at the Boston home of William Coddington on 7 March 1638, and they drafted the Portsmouth Compact . Some historians suggest that Clarke wrote the document, based on its religious sentiment. 23 men signed the document which

2340-402: The Puritan clergy, but the case was dropped by the court and the debate never took place. Clarke had drafted four points of discussion which detailed his beliefs and position. Friends raised the money to pay the fines for Clarke and Crandall, but without their consent and contrary to their wishes. As soon as Holmes discovered what was happening, he was able to forbid the payment of his fine as

2418-603: The Seekonk baptisms. In their eyes, they invalidated the earlier baptisms which the parishioners had undergone as children, and also invalidated the ministers who performed them. The magistrates wrote to their counterparts in Plymouth accusing them of doing nothing about the practices. The Seekonk church then excommunicated Holmes and he was compelled to move to Newport in 1650 or 1651 with a few other dissidents, following court action against him. He subsequently became an elder of

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2496-488: The Seekonk church had quarreled with their minister Samuel Newman and had broken off from the main church, largely over the issue of infant baptism. Hearing of this division, Clarke and Lucar went to welcome the dissidents and baptize them by immersion. One of the Seekonk men was Obadiah Holmes who is considered a "pugnacious man [and] a hot-tempered fault-finder" by Clarke biographer Sydney James. The Massachusetts clergymen and magistrates were angered when they learned of

2574-495: The agreement was reached, Winthrop returned to New England while Clarke made his final push for Rhode Island's charter. Following all the furore over the land boundaries, none of the other provisions of the proposed charter aroused any debate. Many of the provisions of Rhode Island's charter were like those in Connecticut's, except that Connecticut wanted a government similar to that of Massachusetts, while Rhode Island wanted

2652-490: The boundary issues between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies. Clarke had to wait nearly a year for any action on the various petitions. An unforeseen emergency occurred in the spring of 1662 when Connecticut Colony Governor John Winthrop, Jr. was given an audience with the king ahead of Clarke, and he obtained a new charter for his colony. Winthrop was on good terms with many Rhode Islanders, but he also had

2730-427: The cause of Rhode Island in England. Shortly after Clarke arrived in England, he published Ill Newes from New-England, documenting the ordeal at the hands of the Massachusetts authorities . The book was an appeal to the English government outlining the case for religious tolerance, and it was instrumental in shaping public opinion and generating support for a charter for the Rhode Island colony. William Coddington

2808-547: The civil peace of our said colony; but that all and every person and persons may, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments, throughout the tract of land hereafter mentioned, they behaving themselves peaceable and quietly ... Once he had the cherished document in hand, it was imperative for Clarke to get it sent to Rhode Island. However, he had received very little remuneration for his diplomatic efforts and did not have

2886-543: The commonwealth of Rhode Island on the fundamental principle of "perfect freedom in religious concerns; or, as he so well designated it, "SOUL LIBERTY"." . In line with soul competency, the Southern Baptist Convention has no official creed . They, however, have the Baptist Faith and Message , a statement of "generally held convictions" although many Southern Baptist churches do not hold to

2964-706: The conflict between Connecticut and Rhode Island. He summoned Winthrop and Clarke in July 1662, representing the king in hopes of settling the boundary dispute between the two colonies. Both colonies claimed the territory between the Pawcatuck River and the Narragansett Bay. The boundary line between the two colonies was ultimately set at the Pawcatuck River, after months of negotiations involving lawyers and arbitrators on both sides. Those who had settled on Atherton Company lands were allowed to choose whether to be governed by Connecticut or Rhode Island. Once

3042-434: The conflict. He became a co-founder of Portsmouth and Newport, Rhode Island , and he established America's second Baptist church in Newport. Baptists were considered heretics and were banned from Massachusetts, but Clarke wanted to make inroads there and spent time in the Boston jail after making a mission trip to the town of Lynn, Massachusetts . Following his poor treatment in prison, he went to England where he published

3120-417: The congregation ... may speak by way of prophecy for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the whole. Fourth, that no such believer or servant of Christ Jesus hath liberty, much less authority from his Lord to smite his fellow-servant, nor yet with outward force, or arm of flesh to constrain, or restrain his conscience, no, nor yet his outward man for conscience' sake, or worship of his God, where injury

3198-409: The crown. It also outlined provisions for colonial representation, specifying a colonial governor, deputy governor, and ten assistants (called magistrates because of their judicial role). In addition, the number of deputies allotted to each town was specified. Of paramount importance to Clarke was the charter's explicit guarantee of religious freedom. It excused Rhode Islanders from conformity with

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3276-416: The deed granting Aquidneck Island to the settlers, which was signed "at Narragansett" (likely Providence) by sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi , with Williams and Randall Holden as witnesses. The names of many of the settlers were included on the deed; Coddington's name appeared first because he was responsible for the gratuity. Clarke joined William and Anne Hutchinson and many others in building

3354-522: The desired effect. The Massachusetts authorities became so alarmed over the contents of Ill Newes that Thomas Cobbet, the minister of the Lynn church, wrote a rebuttal entitled The Civil Magistrates Power in Matters of Religion Modestly Debated (1653). This book defended the use of force to maintain the "correct" church in the Massachusetts colony. This response was well written, but it did more to confirm

3432-567: The end of the service and explained to the congregation why they refused to remove their hats. The men were detained that evening, then brought before the local magistrates the following day. They were free to return to Witter's after being arraigned and before being taken to Boston. Clarke conducted a service and Holmes baptized three people. The prisoners were taken to Boston on 22 July and held until their trial on 31 July. They were brought before Governor John Endicott for questioning and were accused of being Anabaptists . Clarke replied that he

3510-461: The feelings of many of the Providence settlers when he wrote, "Whereas Mr. Coddington have gotten a charter of Road Iland and Conimacuke Iland to himself, he have thereby broken the force of their charter that went under the name of Providence, because he have gotten away the greater part of that colonie." Clarke voiced his opposition to Coddington's rule of the island, and he was commissioned as

3588-656: The first educational trust in America. He was an avid proponent of the notion of soul-liberty that was included in the Rhode Island charter—and later in the United States Constitution. John Clarke was born at Westhorpe in the county of Suffolk , England, and was baptized there on 8 October 1609. He was one of seven children of Thomas Clarke and Rose Kerrich (or Kerridge), six of whom left England and settled in New England. No definitive record has been found concerning his life in England other than

3666-488: The funds to immediately sail back to New England. He therefore entrusted the charter to Captain George Baxter, who carried it to Rhode Island. On 24 November 1663 Rhode Island's General Court of Commissioners convened at Newport for the last time under the parliamentary patent of 1643. The inhabitants and legislators had gathered to receive the result of Clarke's decade-long labors. The magnitude and solemnity of

3744-464: The island's agent to England on 15 October 1651. The following month, he and William Dyer were sent to England to get the Coddington commission revoked. Simultaneously, the mainland towns of Providence and Warwick sent Roger Williams on a similar errand, and the three men sailed for England in November 1651, just a few months after Clarke had been released from prison. The men did not meet with

3822-401: The king between 1661 and 1662. He offered the king the complete loyalty of the Rhode Island colony, and then requested the king's sympathy and support to guarantee freedom of conscience in the pursuit of religious worship. Clarke wrote a particularly eloquent proposal in a petition received by the crown on 5 February 1661, with certain words emboldened within the document. His earnest request

3900-420: The new settlement of Pocasset on Aquidneck Island. Within a year, however, there was dissension among the leaders, and Clarke joined Coddington and others in moving to the south end of the island, establishing the town of Newport . On 2 January 1639, Clarke and three others were appointed to survey the new lands around Newport, and they were appointed to proportion it among the inhabitants on 5 June. In 1640,

3978-499: The occasion was captured in the colonial records: At a very great meeting and assembly of the freemen of the colony of Providence Plantation, at Newport, in Rhode Island, in New England, November the 24th, 1663. The abovesayed Assembly being legally called and orderly mett for the sollome reception of his Majestyes gratious letter pattent unto them sent, and having in order thereto chosen the President, Benedict Arnold , Moderator of

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4056-516: The ordeal endured by these men was the conversion and baptism of some of the witnesses. One such witness was Henry Dunster , the first president of Harvard College . Dunster's conversion in faith resulted in his removal as president in 1654, but helped inspire the creation of the First Baptist Church of Boston . Some scholars have argued that Clarke's mission trip was planned to provoke the Massachusetts officials in order to support

4134-467: The parish records of his baptism and those of his siblings. Clarke was apparently highly educated, judging from the fact that he arrived in New England at the age of 28 qualified as both a physician and a Baptist minister. His many years of study become evident through a book that he wrote and published in 1652, and through his masterful authorship of the Rhode Island Royal Charter of 1663; further, his will mentions his Hebrew and Greek books, as well as

4212-512: The perfect view of the people, and then returned into the box and locked up by the Governor, in order to the safe keeping of it. The following day it was voted that words of humble thanks be delivered to the King and also to the Earl of Clarendon, and that a £100 gratuity be given to Clarke. The charter stood the test of time, and it wasn't until 1843, 180 years after its creation, that the charter

4290-519: The persecutions of Clarke's party than to defend the Massachusetts position. Ultimately, the book helped Rhode Island secure significant religious liberties, prompting one Baptist historian to describe Clarke as "the Baptist drum major for freedom in seventeenth century America." Clarke was Rhode Island's official agent in England, although he received little compensation for his work. However, he remained active in his religious commitment and joined

4368-488: The principal author of the first complete code of laws that was enacted by the fledgling colony in 1647. Rhode Island historian and Lieutenant Governor Samuel G. Arnold extolled the virtues of this code, calling it a model of legislation which has not been surpassed. In 1638, Roger Williams established a church in Providence which is now known as the First Baptist Church in America . The next Baptist congregation

4446-460: The restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660, it was imperative that Rhode Island receive a royal charter to protect its territorial integrity. It was Clarke's role to obtain such a document, and he saw this as an opportunity to include religious freedoms never seen before in any constitutional charter. He wrote ten petitions and letters to King Charles II and negotiated for months with Connecticut over territorial boundaries. Finally, he drafted

4524-489: The salvation of one's soul from damnation. Instead, each person is responsible to God for one's own personal faith in Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. The basic concept of individual soul liberty , is that in matters of religion, each person has the liberty to choose what conscience or soul dictates is right, and is responsible to no one but God for the decision that is made. A person may then choose to be

4602-489: The same self-government of the freemen that had been granted earlier in the 1643 patent. However, the Rhode Island charter went much further in its guarantees of religious freedom. Once the boundary issue between Rhode Island and Connecticut was resolved, the long-awaited charter, drafted by Clarke, was given the king's seal on 8 July 1663. The document was remarkable in that it not only offered corporate powers beyond what most English bureaucrats thought prudent, but offered

4680-474: The scars on Mr. Holmes' back (which the old man was wont to call the marks of the Lord Jesus), have expressed a wonder that he should live." Following the men's arrest and ill treatment, Sir Richard Saltonstall wrote from England to Reverends Cotton and Wilson of the Boston church: "These rigid wayes have lay'd you very lowe in the hearts of the saynts." Shortly after the incident, Roger Williams wrote

4758-416: The service, two constables appeared with a warrant signed by local magistrate Robert Bridge calling for the arrest of Clarke and his two associates. No baptisms had been performed, but the wording of the warrant suggested that this was the reason for the men's arrest. The men were forced to attend a Puritan religious service against their will, and they refused to remove their hats in church. Clarke stood at

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4836-573: The throne of England, and within two years the Act of Uniformity was passed requiring unified religious observances centered on the Anglican Church. The new king harbored prejudices against the Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, increasing Clarke's difficulty in crafting a charter that included religious freedoms. Clarke's commission as the agent for Rhode Island was renewed on 18 October 1660, and he filed at least ten petitions and letters to

4914-519: The time of his arrival until 1644, when a church at Newport was founded. The church remains active as a Reformed Baptist Church and carries the name of United Baptist Church, John Clarke Memorial in honor of its founder. In 1649, Clarke went to Seekonk (then in Plymouth Colony but later in Rehoboth, Massachusetts ) to help organize a Baptist church. Roger Williams confirmed this in

4992-490: The town of Exeter, New Hampshire , while a larger group were uncertain where to go. They contacted Roger Williams , who suggested that they purchase land from the Narragansett people along the Narragansett Bay , near his settlement of Providence Plantations . John Clarke apparently went with both groups, based on what he wrote in his book: "By reason of the suffocating heat of the summer before [1637], I went to

5070-404: The towns of Portsmouth and Newport united and Coddington was elected its governor. Roger Williams wanted royal recognition for these settlements and protection against encroachments from their neighbors of Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut. In 1643, he went to England to obtain a patent bringing all four towns (Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and Warwick ) under one government. Coddington

5148-444: The trial was that Holmes was fined £30, Clarke £20, and Crandall £5. Holmes had been given the heaviest fine because of his excommunication in Seekonk and for administering the baptisms in Lynn. Clarke protested their heavy fines, and Governor Endicott replied that Clarke "was worthy to be hanged." In court, Endicott told Clarke that his beliefs would not stand up to those of the Puritan ministers. Clarke responded to this by writing

5226-491: Was "TO HOLD FORTH A LIVELY EXPERIMENT THAT A MOST FLOURISHING CIVILL STATE MAY STAND ... AND BEST BE MAINTAYNED ... WITH A FULL LIBERTIE IN RELIGIOUS CONCERNMENTS". These words became emblematic of Rhode Island's struggle for religious freedom and were soon included in the charter itself—and much later were chiseled on the frieze of the Rhode Island State House. One of the later petitions dealt heavily with

5304-652: Was a 12 x 24 marker for a 1-year-old child. The others were 1835 stones for a Newport woman, which were found in a Newport yard during a renovation. The recovered stones were reset in the Common Burying Ground in 2016 by the Newport Historic Cemetery Advisory Commission. In 2017, two more burial stones found in Pennsylvania, those of Violet and Duchess Quamino , were returned and restored. Duchess Quamino,

5382-459: Was detailed. The charter guaranteed the rights of Rhode Island residents to travel freely within the other colonies, which rights had been curtailed due to religious reasons in the past. The new charter also forbade the other New England colonies from making war against the Indians within Rhode Island, without its permission, and also directed that disputes with other colonies would be appealed to

5460-527: Was established by John Clarke on Rhode Island and likely had its beginnings when he arrived on the island in 1638. Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop wrote that there were "professed Anabaptists " on the island from 1640 to 1641. Boston lawyer Thomas Lechford wrote that there was a church on the island in 1640 of which Clarke was the elder or pastor, but he understood that it had been dissolved. Nevertheless, Clarke conducted public worship in Newport from

5538-478: Was established by the city in 1836, and transferred to the private Island Cemetery Corporation in 1848. Many members of Newport's most prominent families have been buried there over the years. Notable people buried there include Medal of Honor recipient Hazard Stevens , Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry , Commodore Matthew C. Perry and financier August Belmont . In 2016, three gravestones were discovered which had been lost for years. One stone, found in Pennsylvania,

5616-467: Was finally replaced by the Constitution of Rhode Island , and only for the one reason that the apportionment of representatives for the several towns "could no longer be rendered as just in operation and could only be remedied by alteration of the organic law." When the document was ultimately retired, it was the longest surviving constitutional charter in the world. It was so far-reaching that even

5694-442: Was in the protection of the court. The men were charged with: (1) holding an unauthorized religious meeting; (2) disrupting an authorized meeting (wearing their hats); (3) administering sacraments illegally; (4) maintaining that the Massachusetts churches were not true churches; and (5) maintaining that infant baptism was false baptism. The men were sentenced without any accuser or witness speaking out against them. The outcome of

5772-423: Was intended to form a "Bodie Politick" based on Christian principles, and Coddington was chosen as the leader of the group. Roger Williams suggested two places where the exiles could settle on the Narraganset Bay : Sowams (which became Barrington and Warren, Rhode Island ) and Aquidneck Island (which was called Rhode Island at the time). Williams was uncertain about English claims to these lands, so Clarke led

5850-501: Was neither an Anabaptist, nor a Pedobaptist (one favoring infant baptism), nor a Catabaptist (one opposing infant baptism). The governor said that the three men "deserved death, and he would not have such trash brought into his jurisdiction." First, that ... Jesus Christ is ... the Lord: none to or with him by way of commanding and ordering, with respect to the worship of God, the household of faith. Second, baptism, or dipping in water,

5928-400: Was opposed to the patent because the two island towns had grown and prospered much more than the mainland towns of Providence and Warwick. He managed to keep the island towns separate until 1647 when the four towns finally adopted the patent and became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . Clarke had some legal training, and historian Albert Henry Newman argued that he was

6006-541: Was under Parliament and Oliver Cromwell as the Lord Protector . Clarke's primary purpose there was to secure a strengthened charter for the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ensuring the religious liberties on which the colony had been founded, and Cromwell confirmed the validity of Rhode Island's 1643 patent. Clarke also assisted the colony in 1656 by sending home four barrels of powder and eight barrels of shot and bullets, and in 1657 he handled

6084-408: Was unhappy with the colonial patent that Roger Williams had obtained in 1643, and he was resistant to consolidating the four settlements into the unified Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , which ultimately came about in 1647 as a result of the patent. He wanted colonial independence for the two island towns of Newport and Portsmouth, and decided to go to England to present his case to

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