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Note: he English Origins of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, Washington Co., Rhode Island'. The following information concerning Tobias Saunders is from 'The First Hundred Years -- Pawcatuck Seventh-day Baptist Church'; Utter Co.; Westerly, R.I.; 1940; pp 284-85. 'Tobias Saunders first appears in the records of Taunton, Mass., in 1643 and is thought to have died in 1695, as his will was proved on the second of September in that year. Although he was a member of the first Seventh-day Baptist Church in America at Newport, his ancestor, Rev. Lawrence Saunders, was not known to have been a Sabbath-keeper. He was one of the Christian martyrs burned to death outside the city of Coventry, England, on Sabbath Day, February 9, 1555. Tobias Saunders was a soldier of the King in old England and at one time was one of the King's Life Guard. He was made a freeman in Newport in 1655 and on September 9, 1661, received a quarter of a share in the division of the land at Misquamicut, as Westerly was then called. Almost immediately he was in the midst of trouble as he, his father-in-law [NOTE: see notes for his wife, Mary Peckham, not Clarke], Joseph Clarke, and Robert Burdick laid claim to Southertown (Southertown included the later limits of the town of Stonington [CT] and much of Westerly) which both Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed as theirs. All three were arrested November 1, 1661, by William Palmer, constable, but Joseph Clarke was freed later. Saunders and Burdick were both placed on trial before Governor Endicott and associates November 14, 1661, in Boston. Their defense was that they had bought the land from the Indians by the authority of the Court of Rhode Island. Bonds were set at one hundred pounds each and in the absence of surety, they were committed to prison for trial in May 1662. At that time they were fined forty pounds each and Rhode Island was notified to send in the fines, but they were kept in jail two years. Later Connecticut was given a new charter giving Southertown to her and Massachusetts retired from the contest. Still later a compromise was reached in England whereby Connecticut relinquished her claim to the disputed territory in Westerly to Rhode Island. Tobias Saunders, Robert Burdick, Joseph Clarke, and John Crandall were a few of the strong men of their day who stood steadfast, endured persecution and imprisonment not only because of the land disputes but also on account of the religious freedom guaranteed to the residents of Rhode Island, but not vouchsafed to the Connecticut settlers where the Puritan church was to all intents the State religion. Tobias Saunders was a deputy to the General Assembly of Rhode Island from Westerly many terms and was active in the Westerly congregation of the Newport church ...' Lyle S. Saunders: Saunders genealogy; typescript @ Westerly Public Library. Charles Denison: 'Westerly Settlers -- No. 7'; typescript @ Westerly Public Library. NOTE: Three of his daughters died of small pox as adults. Member of the Sabbatarian Church, Newport, RI, From 1671 to 1836 Lived in Newport and Westerly, Washington Co., Rhode Island Savage Gen Dict - Tobias, Taunton 1643, removed to Newport there was one of freemen in 1655, and of Stonington 1669, yet on the RI side of the river now Westerly and had to sustain many years the claim against CT usurpation. His wife Mary is the daughter of the first Joseph Clark of Newport. NEGHR vol 14 p24 Tobias with Robert Burdick arrested by MA authorities for trespassing upon their jurisdiction in Boston until fine of 40 pounds was paid. vol 15 p64 Children: John, Edward, Stephen, Benjamin,Susanna, Elizabeth, Mercy. Will 9 Aug 1688. He was moderator of town meeting 4 Jul 1695 but at 23 Aug Meeting referred to as deceased. 'Founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony' by Sarah Saunders Smith, an early member of DAR. Published in Pittsfield, Mass. in 1897. 1638. Also came Tobias Sanders, one of the King's life guards, and brother of Christopher. He came to Boston, but 1643 settled at Newport, Rhode Island.
Note: CONNECTICUT NUTMEGGER: Vol. 29, No. 4, pp 583-588. Paul A. Saunders, 'T
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