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Rhode Island Almost Sparks Revolutionary War in 1774 by Stealing Cannon in Newport
4 days ago

Rhode Island Almost Sparks Revolutionary War in 1774 by Stealing Cannon in Newport

Hostilities between the New England colonies and Great Britain did not break out until April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington and Concord. But Rhode Island’s government took a …
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My Day at the Battle of Lexington and Concord 250th Reenactment
2 weeks ago

My Day at the Battle of Lexington and Concord 250th Reenactment

I love history firsts. The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, at the Battle of Lexington and Concord. This was the sharp beginning of America on its road …
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A Rhode Island Officer’s Recollections Lead to New Information on Battle of Red Bank
3 weeks ago

A Rhode Island Officer’s Recollections Lead to New Information on Battle of Red Bank

I recently came across the recollections of Simeon Thayer, who served from 1777 to 1781 as a major in Rhode Island Continental Army regiments. He was one of the outstanding …
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African American Property Ownership in Newport from the 1780s to 1820s
1 month ago

African American Property Ownership in Newport from the 1780s to 1820s

Home ownership is a mainstay of the American Dream. In colonial Rhode Island, merchant shippers and merchant retailers, as well as professionals, such as attorneys and physicians, had access and …
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Book Review: Linford D. Fisher, Sheila M. McIntyre, and Julia A. Fisher, Reading Roger Williams: Rogue Puritans, Indigenous Nations, and the Founding of America, A Documentary History
1 month ago

Book Review: Linford D. Fisher, Sheila M. McIntyre, and Julia A. Fisher, Reading Roger Williams: Rogue Puritans, Indigenous Nations, and the Founding of America, A Documentary History

This is a most welcome book. Books on Roger Williams can be hard for the average reader to read. In part, this is because sixteenth century English language is so …
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Book Review: The Rise of Newport’s Catholics: From Colonial Outcasts to Gilded Age Leaders, by John F. Quinn (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024)
2 months ago

Book Review: The Rise of Newport’s Catholics: From Colonial Outcasts to Gilded Age Leaders, by John F. Quinn (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024)

Over the course of the last 25 years, Salve Regina University historian John F. Quinn has produced a remarkable body of scholarship illustrating the ethnic and religious history of …
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Elisha Potter Jr., Thomas Commuck, and Indigenous Land Claims from the Brothertown Narragansetts
2 months ago

Elisha Potter Jr., Thomas Commuck, and Indigenous Land Claims from the Brothertown Narragansetts

Elisha Potter, Jr. was the son of prominent attorney and Rhode Island politician Elisha Potter, Sr. and his wife Mary (Mawney) Potter. As a young man, Elisha Jr. grew up …
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South Kingstown’s Partial Census for 1730: Whites, Indians and Blacks
2 months ago

South Kingstown’s Partial Census for 1730: Whites, Indians and Blacks

I was going through the colonial records of South Kingstown at the South Kingstown Town Hall last year when I stumbled across a census document with decent detail that wound …
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The South Kingstown Planters: Country Gentry in Colonial Rhode Island
2 months ago

The South Kingstown Planters: Country Gentry in Colonial Rhode Island

[The following is the main text from my article “The South Kingstown Planters: Country Gentry in Colonial Rhode Island,” Rhode Island History, Volume 45, Number 3 (August 1986), pages 81-93. …
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How Narragansett Beer Survived Prohibition (But Still Couldn’t Escape the Government)
3 months ago

How Narragansett Beer Survived Prohibition (But Still Couldn’t Escape the Government)

[From the Publisher: This article originally appeared on the New England Historical Society’s website at www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. The New England Historical Society is similar to the Online Review of Rhode Island History, …
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