Person:William Blackstone (6)

Rev. William Blackstone
d.26 May 1675 Study Hill
  • HRev. William BlackstoneEst 1595 - 1675
  • WSarah UnknownBef 1623 - 1673
m. 4 Jul 1659
  1. John Blackstone1660 - 1743
Facts and Events
Name[2] Rev. William Blackstone
Alt Name William Blaxton
Gender Male
Birth[1][3] Est 1595 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Education[3] Bet 1614 and 1617 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, EnglandEmmanuel College
Degree[3] Bet 1617 and 1618 B.A. Emmanuel College
Degree[3] 1621 M.A. Emmanuel College
Emigration[2][3] 1623
Residence[2][3] 1623 Wessagusset
Residence[2][3] 1626 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
Other[3] 18 May 1631 Admitted freeman of Massachusetts Bay (as "Mr. Willm. Blackestone").
Residence[2][3] 1634 Study Hill
Marriage 4 Jul 1659 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United Statesto Sarah Unknown
Death[3][1] 26 May 1675 Study Hill
Reference Number? Q2578062?


"Two book-length biographies of Blackstone have been published, both of which contain much unreliable information: John Wilford Blackstone, Jr., Lineage and History of William Blackstone … (Frederic, Wisconsin, 1907); and Louise Lind, William Blackstone: Sage of the Wilderness (Bowie, Maryland, 1993)."[2]


The ablest historians and Thomas Savage (the genealogist) agree that the Rev. William Blackstone resided in Boston, on Beacon Hill, for ten years, and refer to him as "Boston's first inhabitant." Thomas Amory and others state the same. "He sold the peninsula of Boston for one hundred and fifty pounds, and removed to Rhode Island in 1635." "The Rev. William Blackstone seems to have been first in many things. The honor falls to him of being the first settler of Rhode Island as well as the original one of Boston." He occasionally visited Boston and Providence and preached in the latter place, and at Boston, July 4th, 1659, before Gov. Endicott, married Mrs. Sarah Stevenson, widow of John, who died in June, 1673. He died May 26, 1675, when he had reached the age of fourscore." "It will be noticed that contemporary with him in England were three poets whose names are immortalized in history; namely, Shakespeare, Spenser, and rare Ben Jonson." "Blackstone was a pioneer in the breaking away from the unjust assumed power of the bishops of that early day. His right to worship God in his own manner he recognized, and he proved his manhood in daring to stand for that which he felt to be his prerogative." " In such action he was not alone. The same spirit had prompted the fathers of 1620, as they sailed for the cold, inhospitable shores of Massachusetts Bay." "He was instrumental in the movement that brought to these shores that pilgrim band of God-fearing men and women." " The mission of Blackstone is ended, but his life and those of this contemporaries furnish themes for the historian for all time. They were the advance guard of a stern old race, behind whom was the Ruler of all things. The purpose that led them to these shores was his. His thought the motive gave."

"Who fathoms the Eternal Thought? Who talks of scheme and plan? The Lord is God! He needeth not The poor device of man."

(See "Rev. William Blackstone, the Pioneer of Boston," by John C. Crane; "Blackstone, Boston's First Inhabitant"; also Collections of the Bostonian Society, Vol.. I., No. I; "William Blaxton," read by Thomas Coffin Amory, November 9, 1880; "Merry Mount," by John Lothrop The Blackstone Valley - Yesterday | Who is William Blackstone? | The Blackstone Valley - Today A Premiere Tourist Attraction | The Blackstone Valley - Tomorrow | Communities | Valley Resources and Links

Who is William Blackstone?

(Excerpted in part from Louise Lind's brochure and book: "William Blackstone: Sage of the Wilderness.").

With a river, a valley, a town, several parks, streets and businesses named after him, as well as monument built for him, the logical question is: Who is this Blackstone guy, and what did he do to deserve this. The answer is that we are really not sure.


William Blackstone

Born March 5, 1595 in Durham County, England, Rev. William Blackstone was the first European to have settled in what is now Boston, and lived in what is now Rhode Island. Ordained in the Church of England, Blackstone conducted the first Anglican services of record in Rhode Island, and his collection of books was probably the largest private library in the British colonies at the time. Oh yes, he also developed the first American variety of American apples, the Yellow Sweeting.

Not much is known about Blackstone. Some called him, "the Sage of the Wilderness" since he was always reading books. Others called him an eccentric, a recluse.

Blackstone received a master's degree from Cambridge University in 1621, and received Holy Orders in the Church of England soon afterwards. Unhappy with the way the Anglican Church was being directed at the time, he joined an expedition which sailed to New England in 1623, three years after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth. While most of the expedition returned to England, Blackstone remained and settled in what is now Boston's Beacon Hill.

Shortly thereafter, Blackstone found himself to be neighbors with the Puritans, whom he invited to settle on his side of the river to share in the better water. While the Puritans also disagreed with leaders of the established Church, they proved to be quite intolerant of anyone who disagreed with them. Blackstone soon tired of their intolerance, and moved about 35 miles south of Boston, to a hill overlooking a wide bend in what the Indians then called the Patucket (sic) River and what is today known as the Blackstone River.

Blackstone lived at Study Hill, as he came to call it, for 40 years, where he tended cattle, planted gardens, and read books. Originally part of Rehoboth and later Attleboro, the land was turned over to Rhode Island in 1746 and became the Town of Cumberland.

Just how much of a recluse Blackstone was is a matter of debate, given the substantial amount of traffic at the foot of Study Hill by Indians and colonists alike. Blackstone was on good terms with Indians in both states and became good friends with Roger Williams, who, less than 2 years after Blackstone arrived in Rhode Island, settled in and founded Providence. While they disagreed on many theological matters, both agreed on the right to disagree, and Williams invited Blackstone to regularly preach to his followers in Providence.

Blackstone continued preaching and is considered to be the pioneer clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. At the age of 64, Blackstone married Sarah Stevenson, 34.

William and Sarah had only 1 child, John, who was a man of dubious behavior. Sarah died at the age of 48, and Blackstone died at in 1675 at the age of 80, leaving substantial holdings in real estate and an even more substantial library. As for Study Hill, all that was left was ashes and Blackstone's grave following the King Philip's War, the most devastating Indian war waged in New England.

References
  1. 1.0 1.1 William Blackstone, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995).

    ORIGIN: Cambridge
    MIGRATION: 1623
    FIRST RESIDENCE: Wessagusset
    REMOVES: Boston 1626, Study Hill 1634
    OCCUPATION: Minister.
    BIRTH: About 1595. (On 13 June 1675 Roger Williams wrote to John Winthrop Jr. that "about a fortnight since your old acquaintance Mr. Blackstone departed this life in the fourscore year of his age" [RWCorr 692]. This would make Blackstone nineteen when he entered Cambridge, a few years older than most college entrants at that time, so he may have been born a few years closer to the end of the century. The claim has been made that he is identical with a William Blaxton baptized at Horncastle, Lincolnshire, on 5 March 1595/6, son of John and Agnes (Hawley) Blaxton [Weymouth Hist 3:96], but this claim lacks satisfactory proof.)
    DEATH: 26 May 1675 [PCPR 3:1:173].

  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 William Blackstone, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Directory. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Jun 2015)
    32.

    "Blackstone, William: [Origin] Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; [Emigration] 1623; [Resided] Wessagusset, Boston, Study Hill [GMB 177-81]."

  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 William Blackstone, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
    1:177-81.