Person:Mary Williamson (34)

Mary Williamson of Marshfield, Massachusetts married Josiah Closson of Tiverton, Rhode Island in March of 1679 about two years after he had completed service in the Indian war that had claimed her father's life. They were the parents of eight children. Mary and Josiah apparently lived in Marshfield until after the birth of their first two children and then moved to eastern Rhode Island, eventually settling in the village of Little Compton that was being established by the Plymouth Colony. (John Alden's daughter, Elizabeth Alden Pabodie, also lived there).

Josiah Closson's family had been among the first colonists to arrive in Rhode Island, They were led by clergyman Roger Williams, who founded the first small settlement in the region after being driven out of Massachusetts for his views on religious and political freedom. He was an outspoken apostle of religious toleration and an advocate of democracy and liberal government. These views were distinctly at odds with the strict Puritans in Boston who were intransigent in their insistence on unwavering adherence to the narrow dictates of the church fathers.

Unlike the mostly poor farmers and craftsmen of the Plymouth Colony, these founds of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were professional and middle class people. Some had grown up on landed estates in England, some were shrewd lawyers, some were scholars from Oxford, some were zealous clergymen and some were artisans or planters. Their laws were strict, even to snobbishly decreeing what classes might wear what clothing. In decrying the dress of some of lower station, a writer of the period noted: "It is verie hard to know who is noble, who is worshipful, who is a gentleman and who is not; for you shall have those who are neighter of the mobylitie, gentilitie nor yeomanrie who go daylie in silks, velvets and damasks notwithstanding they be base by byrth, meane of estate and servyle by calling." It was this elitist attitude that moved Roger Williams to challenge the prevailing authority in Boston and bring on his expulsion.

Williams bought land from the Narragansett Indians and secured a charter from England for the Providence Plantations in 1644. Unlike many setllers in other regions, he maintained good relations with the Indians, a factor that undoubtedly drew many to his more peaceful land.

This tranquility was soon to end, however. The trouble began in the nearby colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Plantation when young Indian chiefs replaced more accomodating older ones and decided to fight against further English incursions into their lands. Murdering raids on colonists and the burning of their towns ensued. The conflict spilled over into Rhode Island and the definitive battle was the Great Swamp Fight near Kingston, Rhode Island in 1676. It was well after these events that Josiah Closson felt it was safe enough to return to the area of his birth with his growing family.

Both Mary and Josiah Closson are recorded as having died in the village of Little Compton in Newport County, Rhode Island, she at age 67, he much earlier at around 44. (Little Compton is best known for developing the Rhode Island Red, a popular breed of chicken.) (Taken from: A Family History, by Donovan Faust)