A Rhode Island historical marker in the William Blackstone Memorial Park on Broad Street in Cumberland, Rhode Island is titled "WILLIAM BLACKSTONE the man" and includes a timeline which covers the period 1590 - 1680. It describes events in the life of William Blackstone both in England and New England.
A quote from Mr. Blackstone appears at the top left corner of the marker: "I looked to have dwelt with my orchards and my books in undisturbed solitude."
The left side of the marker presents a lengthy description of Blackstone. It begins with a quote:
By birth, William Blackstone was an English gentleman. By training he was a clergyman and scholar. By choice, he became an American pioneer." -Louise Lind-
Few records remain to detail the life of Reverend William Blackstone, but those that do tell a fascinating story. The most important of William Blackstone's accomplishments, and the most overlooked, is the role he played as a pioneer of the American frontier. The land you see before you and on which you now stand, was once the home of William Blackstone.
William Blackstone was born in 1595 in Whickham, Durham County, England. He attended Cambridge University, and upon graduation in 1621, took holy orders in the Church of England. Soon, Blackstone found himself in disagreement with the hierarchy of the church, and joined an expedition to New England led by Captain Robert Gorges in 1623. The venture failed, and most returned to England, but Blackstone remained and became the first English settler in what is now Boston.
He built his home atop Beacon Hill and kept his cattle on what is now the Boston Common. Blackstone lived in solitude until 1630, when the Puritans arrived at Massachusetts Bay. Blackstone soon fell into disagreement with his new neighbors, and he refused to forego his Anglican orders to join the Puritan Church. In 1635, he sold his land and packed up his few belongings to once again set forth into the wilderness to find a new home. Before he left, he said to his neighbors:
"I left England to get from under the power of the lord bishop, but in America I am fallen under the lord brethren. I looked to have dwelt with my orchards and my books, and my young fawn and bull, in undisturbed solitude. Was there not room for all of ye? Could ye not leave the hermit in his corner?"
At a time when other settlers of New England were huddling close to the coastline in order to maintain their connections to England, Blackstone set off into the wilderness to carve out a homestead several days ride from the nearest town. Blackstone traveled southwards, and settled on this hillside along the river that now bears his name. He called this place Study Hill and named his homestead Study Hall. Finally, Reverend William Blackstone had found a place that he could live as he see fit, and remained here among his rose garden and apple orchard, until his death on May 16, 1675.
Besides his well known role as an English Church minister, Blackstone was also a skilled botanist. His homes at Boston and Study Hill were both known for their roses, and he developed the first new strain of apple in North America, the Yellow Sweeting. In 1675, Rhode Island Governor Stephen Hopkins declared that the Yellow Sweeting was "perhaps the richest and most delicious apple of the whole kind."
A hand drawn illustration of two apples on a leafy branch are to the immediate right of this last paragraph.
The midsection of the marker continues, from the top:
In 1659, Blackstone married Sarah Stevenson, a widow with four children. He had one son by Sarah, John Blackstone, who was born in 1660. From that year on, William Blackstone lived at Study Hill with Sarah, one of Sarah's children, and his son John.
Blackstone was a regular visitor at both Providence and Boston, and on occasion, he and Roger Williams would travel to Smith's Castle at Cocumccussoc (modern Wickford) to minister to the settlers and Narragansett Indians. It is believed that these were the first Church of England services in Rhode Island, if not all of New England.
Below that is a small square map of this area. A bend in "Pawcatuck or Blackstone River" runs along the top third of the drawing. Beneath the waterway on the left are labeled an orchard, a well, and a house; on the right are Study Hill and a grave. Bisecting the bottom to a triangle is King's Highway where the indication "To Boston" is labeled by an arrow pointing to the right. The map's caption reads:
BLACKSTONE'S HOME.
Blackstone called this area "Study Hill", and the house in which
he lived "Study Hall".
To the right of the marriage paragraph is another, smaller square map. This one shows the present borders of southern New England states -- all of Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts; the Atlantic Ocean is also labeled. The area of "Rhode Island Colony - 1663" is indicated in light brown and "Plymouth Colony - 1630" in olive green. The map's caption is:
William Blackstone, the first settler of Cumberland, never lived in Rhode Island. During his lifetime, modern Cumberland was part of the Plymouth Colony. It did not become a part of Rhode Island until 1747. It was named after the Duke of Cumberland - victor in the battle of Culloden, fought the year before.
The lower right corner of this section enumerates William Blackstone's book collection. Uppermost is difficult-to-interpret handwritten records followed by the list of volumes in type format. They include bibles, English and Latin "bookes in folio", "biggest/smaller/smale books in quarto", "bigest/small bookes in eigths", "bookes in twelves", "smale bookes without covers of smale vallue" and "10 paper bookes". This part's caption says:
The Reverend William Blackstone was a highly educated man. His 1675 Plymouth Colony probate record shows that he had a personal collection of 189 books, the largest library in North America at the time. Among these books were his own journals and records of events in Boston and Study Hill. Unfortunately, all were lost when his home was burned shortly after his death during the King Philip's War.
Still more information is presented along the right edge of the plaque. A proportionately large line drawing (courtesy of the William Blackstone Library at the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council) within a square frame depicts Blackstone reading a book while traveling by cattle along a path over a hill. The accompanying caption states:
Despite his own words, Blackstone was not a hermit. He would frequently go to Providence and preach. When he was old and unable to travel on foot, it was said he rode on the back of a white bull, tamed for that purpose.
We're not done yet. Thanks for reading this far!
Underneath the portrait is an example of Blackstone's signature with the explanation:
In Blackstone's day, the spelling of words and names varied widely. This signature, taken from the records of the University of Cambridge, England, represents his writing circa 1621. It may not be coincidence the "Blaxton" was an English pronunciation of Blackstone.
And, finally, spanning most of the lower edge of this Rhode Island historical marker is a timeline, and, not surprisingly, a thorough one at that.
The Blackstone Timeline
1595 - William Blackstone is born, March 5th.
1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold of Falmouth, England lands at and names Cape Cod after seeing thousands of Cod fish.
1607 - First permanent English colony in North America is established in Jamestown, Virginia.
1610 - Population of the colonies is estimated at 210
1620 - Plymouth colony is settled
1621 - Blackstone graduates from Cambridge and takes Holy Orders
1624 - Blackstone settles at Shawmut (Boston)
1630 - The start of the "Great Migration". The Massachusetts Bay Company arrives at Shawmut. Population in the colonies is estimated at 5,700
1635 - Blackstone moves to Study Hall in the west limit of the Plymouth Colony (now Cumberland, RI)
1648 - Margaret Jones of Charlestown, MA is the first person in the colonies to be executed as a witch
1650 - Population of the colonies is estimated at 52,000
1659 - William Blackstone marries Sarah Stevenson
1660 - Blackstone's son, John is born
1670 - Population of the colonies is estimated at 114,500
1675 - William Blackstone dies, May 16th
1676 - End of King Philip's War. Philip, son of Massasoit is killed, ending the bloodiest Indian war in New England
You did it! Go have an apple.