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William Arnold (24 June 1587 – c. 1676) was one of the founding settlers of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and with his sons was among the wealthiest people in the colony. He was raised and educated in England where he was the warden of St. Mary's, the parish church of Ilchester in southeastern Somerset. In 1635, along with family and associates, he immigrated to New England, where he initially settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but soon relocated to the new settlement of Providence with Roger Williams. He was one of the 13 original proprietors of Providence, appearing on the deed signed by Roger Williams in 1638, and was one of the twelve founding members of the first Baptist church to be established in America. After living in Providence for about two years, Arnold moved with his family and other relatives and associates to the north side of the Pawtuxet River forming a settlement commonly called Pawtuxet, later a part of Cranston, Rhode Island. He and his fellow settlers had serious disputes with their Warwick neighbors on the south side of the river and as a result separated themselves from the Providence government, putting themselves under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This separation from Providence lasted for 16 years, and as the head of the settlement, Arnold was appointed as the keeper of the peace. He died sometime during the great turmoil of King Philip's War in 1675 or 1676. Arnold's son, Benedict Arnold, succeeded Roger Williams as President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1657, and under the royal charter of 1663 became the first Governor of the colony. Highly unusual for a 17th-century American settler, Arnold began a family record based on entries from the local parish registers in England and brought this with him to New England; this family record would eventually span more than 200 years and six generations. Nearly 300 years after his birth, a fabricated pedigree for Arnold was published, claiming his descent from 12th-century kings living in Wales. Three and a half decades later, in 1915, his correct ancestry was published, but not before the misinformation had been printed in an important source for Rhode Island genealogy. ==Early life== Born in Ilchester, Somerset, England on 24 June 1587, William Arnold was the son of Nicholas Arnold (c. 1550–1623) by his first wife Alice Gully (1553–1596). In about 1610 he married Christian Peak who was baptized 15 February 1584, the daughter of Thomas Peak of Muchelney, Somerset, a village about six miles (10 km) west of Ilchester. Arnold's parents lived in the small village of Northover, located across the River Yeo (also known as the River Ivel) from the town of Ilchester. Nicholas was a tailor, and the mention of his occupation in his will and the vital records of some of his family members suggests that he was prominent in his work, and likely a member of the Tailor's Guild, which carried professional and political clout in its day. As he advanced in his profession, and after the baptism of his oldest daughter Thomasine in 1572, Nicholas moved with his small family from Northover across the river to the much larger town of Ilchester where he became well established in his trade, and where the remainder of his children were born. Arnold's mother, Alice Gully, was the daughter of John Gully (c. 1508–1559) and his wife Alice (c. 1510–1583) of Northover. His mother died in 1596 shortly after child birth, when Arnold was eight years old, and he was thereafter largely raised and influenced by his sister Joanne who was ten years older than he. Though Joanne eventually married William Hopkins of Yeovilton and died at an early age in England, two of her children, Frances (Hopkins) Man and Thomas Hopkins, immigrated to New England with their Uncle William Arnold. Arnold and his siblings were likely educated at the Free Grammar School associated with the parish church in Limington, slightly more than a mile to the east of Ilchester. This ancient school is where Thomas Wolsey was the curate and schoolmaster from 1500 to 1509. Wolsey later became the Lord Cardinal and Primate of England. Only two records for Arnold are known to exist while he still lived in England. The first of these was a transcript of baptisms, marriages and burials that he signed in 1622 as the warden of St. Mary's, the parish church of Ilchester. These bishop's transcripts, as they were called, were sent to the City of Wells, Somerset, a central repository for such records. The other record mentioning his name was the will of his father, Nicholas Arnold, dated 18 January 1623. William Arnold was appointed by the will as overseer along with Ambrose Chappell, a friend of Nicholas. There is no record of Arnold between 1623 and his sailing to New England in 1635. He was an educated man, since he had to be able to read and write as the warden of his parish church, and appeared to have a secure relationship with his church and community. Unknown are his motives for emigrating from England and when he began planning to do so. For whatever reasons, his plan to leave England with his family and associates materialized in 1635. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Arnold (settler)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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