Note.—For this excellent dissertation on the seal of Rhode Island, I am indebted to my friend, the Hon. T. P. Shepard.
Governors of Rhode Island.
The State originally consisted of four towns: Providence, settled in 1636; Portsmouth, in 1638; Newport, in 1639; and Warwick, in 1642. Each town was governed independently until 1647. Providence and Warwick had no executive head till 1647.
PORTSMOUTH.
JUDGES.
| William Coddington, | March 7, 1638 to April 30. 1639. |
| William Hutchinson, | April 30, 1639 to March 12, 1640. |
NEWPORT.