Randall Holden (1692) was an early inhabitant of the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one of the original founders of
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, and one of the co-founders of the town of
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. He came to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
from
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England and is first recorded as
one of the signers of the
Portsmouth Compact
The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island. It was the first document in American history that severed both political and religious ...
. Following a few years on
Aquidneck Island (called Rhode Island at the time), he joined
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. He had strong religious beliefs which differed from Puritan the ...
and
ten others to establish the town of Warwick in early 1643 on land purchased from the Indian
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
s.
The first few years of the Warwick settlement were fraught with difficulty;
Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed their land and arrested them for supposed infractions against the sachems. The Warwick settlers were hauled off to face trial in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, but the charges had nothing to do with the sachems; instead, they were charged with heresy and sedition based on their religious views. They were sent to various jails in the Boston area, and they were then banished from the Massachusetts colony—and from their own Warwick lands. Holden soon after joined Gorton and
John Greene on a trip to England to seek redress for the wrongs committed against them. Holden and Greene returned to New England in 1646 with a new charter for their settlement and protection from the crown.
Holden became heavily involved in the affairs of his town of Warwick and of the entire colony. During the next 40 years, he served in a variety of roles as councilman and treasurer at the town level, and in the colony he was Assistant to the President (or Governor), Commissioner, and Deputy. He was highly respected within the colony and was
a leader in 1676 during the dire events of
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
. He continued to serve the colony into his mid 70s, only a few years before his death in 1692 at age 80.
New England
Randall Holden was born in
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England around 1612, and he sailed to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
as a young man. He married Frances Dungan, the daughter of William and
Frances (Latham) Dungan. The couple had 11 children, one of whom was Randall Holden Jr. who was very active in colonial affairs, serving for many years as Deputy, Assistant, Major, and Speaker of the House of Deputies.
Holden's name first appears on the deed of
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,871 at the 2020 U.S. census. Portsmouth is the second-oldest municipality in Rhode Island, after Providence; it was one of the four colonies which merged ...
as witness, along with
Roger Williams, in the sale of
Aquidneck Island.
William Coddington
William Coddington (c. 1601 – 1 November 1678) was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He served as the judge of Portsmouth and Newport, governor of Portsmouth ...
purchased the island from
Narragansett sachems
Canonicus
Canonicus (c. 1565 – June 4, 1647) was a chief of the Narragansett Indigenous Peoples. He was wary of the colonial settlers, but he ultimately befriended Roger Williams and other settlers.
Biography
Canonicus was born around 1565,Benjami ...
and
Miantonomo
Miantonomoh (1600? – August 1643), also spelled Miantonomo, Miantonomah or Miantonomi, was a chief of the Narragansett people of New England Indians.
Biography
He was a nephew of the Narragansett grand sachem, Canonicus (died 1647), with whom he ...
. His
signature also appears on the
Portsmouth Compact
The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island. It was the first document in American history that severed both political and religious ...
which established a non-sectarian civil government in the settlement of Pocasset (which became
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
in 1639).
![Portsmouth Compact document](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Portsmouth_Compact_document.jpg)
Holden became Marshall of Portsmouth in 1638 and was given a grant of five acres. He later helped to establish
Newport, but he was disenfranchised from the government there with three others in March 1641, and their names were cancelled from the Roll of Freeman of Newport. He and others reunited with the island settlements of Portsmouth and Newport some time the following year, and they were "readily embraced".
Shawomet
Holden became a follower of
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. He had strong religious beliefs which differed from Puritan the ...
, and
the group bought a large tract of land in January, 1643 from Narragansett chief Miantonomo for 144 fathoms of
wampum
Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...
. They initially named the settlement Shawomet, the Narragansett name for the site, but they later changed it to
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. Later that year, he and others of Shawomet were summoned to appear in court in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to answer a complaint from two Indian sachems concerning some "unjust and injurious dealing" towards them. The Shawomet men refused the summons, claiming that they were loyal subjects of the King of England and beyond the jurisdiction of
Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Boston court sent soldiers who confiscated the men's writings, then carried the men to Boston for trial. The official charges against them had nothing to do with any transactions with the Indians, but instead were about their writings and beliefs. The men were charged with heresy and sedition, sentenced to confinement, and threatened with death should they "break jail, or preach their heresies or speak against church or state."
Holden was imprisoned in
Salem in November 1643, but he was released from prison in March 1644 and banished from both Massachusetts and from Shawomet (which was claimed by Massachusetts Bay Colony). He and
John Greene boarded a ship in
New Amsterdam and sailed back to England to seek redress for the wrongs committed against them and did not return to New England until September 1646.
Upon his return from England, Holden immediately became involved in political affairs. In 1647 alone, he was on the Town Council, was Town Treasurer, and was frequently made the Moderator of town meetings. In the same year, he was also selected as Warwick's Assistant to the President of Rhode Island Colony, a position that he held seven more times during the next 30 years. He was also elected as Commissioner for six one-year terms from 1652 to 1663, and as a Deputy for eight terms between 1666 and 1686. Holden's name appears on a list of Warwick
freeman
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
in 1655, and at some point he earned the title of Captain.
Rhode Island Colony
Holden was
one of several prominent citizens named in the
Royal Charter of 1663
The Rhode Island Royal Charter provided royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, approved by England's King Charles II in July 1663. It outlined many freedoms for the inhabitants of Rhode Island and was the ...
which was delivered to Rhode Island Colony in November, and which outlined a government with broad freedoms for the Colony. In 1671, he and others were authorized to make assessments on towns for back taxes. Holden was highly esteemed within Rhode Island Colony; the General Assembly passed a
resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
in April 1676 which listed men whose wisdom and counsel was needed by the Colony during the chaos of
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, and Holden was one of 16 named.
Holden continued to be active in civic affairs into his mid 70s, and in 1687 was appointed as Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He died on 23 August 1692 at an advanced age.
See also
*
List of early settlers of Rhode Island
This is a collection of lists of early settlers (before 1700) in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Most of the lists are of the earliest inhabitants of a particular town or area.
Indian tribes and leaders
The following ...
*
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
''Online sources''
*
External links
A transcription of the Royal Charter of 1663
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Randall
1612 births
1692 deaths
English emigrants
People from Wiltshire
People from Warwick, Rhode Island
People of colonial Rhode Island
American city founders