Autographs
Samuel Cranston Historic Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations Signed on July 4th, 1714
SAMUEL CRANSTON (1659-1727). Royal Colonial Governor of Rhode Island in office (1698-1727), Elected to office 30 times (twice in 1698), and served as R.I. Governor longer than any other individual; Goldsmith by trade admitted a Freeman in 1684, was Assistant in 1696, Major of the Colony forces in 1698, and was elected Governor in 1698.
July 4th, 1714-Dated Colonial America Lady Anne Queen over England Etc. Period, Manuscript Document Signed, "Sam'el Cranston Justice" at its conclusion, by later Governor Samuel Cranston, in office (1698-1727), Very Fine. Docket on the blank reverse. Folds, minor edge chipping and some slight scattered edge tone on quite clean period laid paper. This original Manuscript Document measures about 8" x 12.5", 1 page, at Newport, Rhode Island. Document reads that, in part:



"Remembrance Simmons of the town of Freetown in the County of Bristol in her Maje.y province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England boatman am holden and firmly stand bound unto Henry Bul of the town of Newport in the Colony of Rhode Island in province plantation in New England, Joiner, in the sum of forty pounds Current money of New England...".



Samuel Cranston Signs in bold brown ink at bottom as "Justice" swearing that, in part: "Nathaniel Blackwell Personally appeared before me, one her maj'tys Justice of Peace for the Town of Newport in the Colony of Rhode Island John Greenman and Nathaniel Black and did Declare, on their oaths that the same Remembrance Simmons Sign Seal and Deliver the above bond. - Newport July 4th, 1714 - (Signed) Sam'el Cranston Justice".
Samuel Cranston (1659-1727). Colonial Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the first quarter of the 18th century, in office (1698-1727), being Elected to office 30 times (twice in 1698), and served as Governor longer than any other individual in the history of both the Colony and the State of Rhode Island.



The son of former Rhode Island Governor John Cranston, he was born in Newport and lived there his entire life. Going to sea as a young man, he was captured by Pirates, and held captive for several years before returning to his family.



Cranston had very little political experience when he was first elected as Governor of the colony upon the resignation of Walter Clarke in March 1698. The issues that he dealt with during his first three years in office were so critical, that the continued existence of the Rhode Island colony was at stake.



One of the major issues of his early tenure was that of Piracy, as many Privateers who were active in the recent war with France turned to Piracy. The Crown wanted Piracy stopped, while many colonists were sympathetic to the Pirates, and Cranston had to make difficult political decisions to satisfy the home country on this issue.



Another ongoing issue was the disputed boundary between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies. The Narragansett country was given to both colonies by their respective original Charters, creating many decades of friction. During Cranston's tenure as Governor, the dispute was finally ended, entirely in Rhode Island's favor.



Governor Samuel Cranston (1659-1727) The eldest son of Governor John Cranston. His first wife, Mary Williams Hart, was the granddaughter of Roger Williams. Together they had four children. Mary Hart died on September 17, 1710. He subsequently married his sister-in-law, Judith Parrott, in 1711 and fathered eleven more children.



He was a Goldsmith by trade and was admitted a Freeman in 1684, was Assistant in 1696 and Major of the Colony forces in 1698, and was elected Governor in 1698, holding this office until his death in 1727, a period of over thirty years, a longer service in this capacity than has ever been rendered by any one individual in Rhode Island.



The following is a quotation from a book on Rhode Island history: "the death of Governor Samuel Cranston was no ordinary event in the history of the colony. In the strength of his intellect, the courage and firmness of his administration, and the skill with which he conducted public affairs in every crisis, he resembles the early race of Rhode Island,. Thirty times successively chosen to the highest office, he preserved his popularity amidst political convulsions that had swept away every other official in the colony. He was the connecting link between two centuries of its history, and seemed, as it were, the bridge over which it passed in safety from the long struggle for existence with the royal governors of Massachusetts to the peaceful possession of it's chartered rights under the house of Hanover.



The piratical period, the strife about the acts of trade, the desperate efforts of Bellemont and his successors, a long and exhausting foreign war, the bitter boundary disputes involving the largest portion of the colony, one of which he lived to see favorably and finally settled, were some of the perplexing questions of his administrations."



Remembrance Simmons (1670-1751).



John Greenman. Birthdate: circa 1666 . Birthplace: Newport Twp., Newport County, Rhode Island. Death: September 30, 1727.



Nathaniel Blackwell, s/o John and Sarah, born Dec. 27, 1686, died at Dartmouth 1759.