[Gutenberg 63358] • Memoir of Roger Williams, the Founder of the State of Rhode-Island

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Mr. Williams refuses to unite with the Boston church?is invited to Salem?interference of the General Court?removes to Plymouth ?the Indians?difficulties at Plymouth?biith of Mr. Williams' eldest child. On the 5th of February, 1630-1, as we have already stated, Mr. Williams arrived in America, where he was to become one of the founders of a great nation. As a minister of the Gospel, he would naturally seek, without delay, for an opportunity to fulfil his office. He was, it is probable, without property, and a sense of duty would concur with the dictates of prudence, to urge him to inquire for some situation where he might be useful, while he obtained a maintenance. The church in Boston were supplied with a pastor, and the great Cotton was expected to become their teacher. There was, however, another difficulty to which we shall soon have occasion to recur. In a few weeks after Mr. Williams' arrival, he was invited by the church at Salem to become an assistant to Mr. Skelton, as teacher, in the place of the accomplished Hig- ginspn, who died a few months before. Mr. Williams complied with the invitation, and commenced his ministry in that town. But the civil authority speedily interfered, in accordance with the principle afterwards established in the platform, that if any church, one or more, shall grow schismatical, rending itself from the communion of other churches, or shall walk incorrigibly and obstinately in any corrupt way of their own, contrary to the rule of the word; in such case, the magistrate is to put forth his coercive power, as the matter shall require.t On the 12th of April, says Governor Winthrop (vol. i. p. 53) at a Court, holden at Boston, (upon information to the Governor, that they of Salem had called Mr. Williams to the office of ...