One Rhode Island Family

Welcome to 8 Weeks to Better Rhode Island Genealogy Research Week 5 – Town Records, Histories and Newspapers.  This covers location-specific books, town records, and newspapers.

Town records

Town records, published histories, and local newspapers are where the stories of our ancestors may be hiding.  To know that our ancestors spent one or more generations in a town, and yet know very little about that town, or even worse, to assume we know enough without research, is to ignore our role as family story-finders.

10 things you can find in town records (often called “Council Minutes” or “Town Council Records”)

• (early records) vital records (and even, in early Providence records, marriage banns since the church was not allowed to provide any services like that)
• (early records) probate
• (early records) notes on real estate, for instance, swapping tracts of land.  Later, such functions would be assigned to, say, a town clerk and be recorded separately.
• During war-time, filling allotments of soldiers, or provisions for certain soldiers
• liquor (tavern) permits
• warnings out of new residents that the town had no obligation to support if they fell on hard times, and support for the poor including purchases of room and board, clothing, coffins, or medical services from named town residents
• jury duty
• road clearing teams, assigned by neighborhood
• collection of “rates” or taxes, sometimes based on data about property owned
• sending representatives to the state government

Always check Rhode Island Roots for various town records and lists transcribed there, and Rhode Island History, published by the Rhode Island Historical Society.  Check the card catalog and manuscript finding aids at the Rhode Island Historical Society.  A call to the town library with specific content-related questions (e.g., do you know of any local shipbuilding records?  Do you have any diaries or old documents from a certain neighborhood?) as well as a search for a local historical house or society is always worth doing. And lastly, the Narragansett Historical Register should be searched.

The major state histories usually describe the development of each early town and the subsequent spun-off towns.  These books contain some great illustrations, that might work well in your own family history book if they are no longer under copyright.

• Arnold, Samuel Greene. History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, vol 1  vol 2.  New York: D Appleton & Co., 1859.
• Bicknell, Thomas Williams.  The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. vol 1   vol 2   vol 3   vol 4   vol 5   vol 6 (not available online as a pdf). A search of all volumes is available with an Ancestry.com subscription here.   New York: The American Historical Society, 1920.
• Field, Edward, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the End of the Century: A History.  vol 1   vol 2   vol 3.  Boston, Mason Pub. Co., 1902.
• James, Sidney.  Colonial Rhode Island: A History. New York: Scribner, 1975.
• (original records transcribed; not a narrative history:) Bartlett, John R. Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England. Providence: A.C. Greene and Bros., State printers, 1856.
• Some late 1800’s histories (some are closer to “mug books” featuring sketchy family histories of wealthy locals):
  • History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island by J.R. Cole (N.Y.: W.W. Preston & Co., 1889)
  • History of Newport County, Rhode Island: From the Year 1638 to the Year 1887, Including the Settlement of Its Towns, and Their Subsequent Progress by Richard M. Bayles (New York: L.E. Preston & Co, 1888)
  • History of Providence County, Rhode Island, vol 1  vol 2, by Richard M. Bayles (New York, 1891)
  • Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, 4 vols. by Charles Carroll (N.Y.: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1932)
  • The Providence Plantations for Two Hundred and Fifty Years by Welcome Arnold Greene (Providence: J.A. and R.A. Reid, 1896)
  • Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men of Rhode Island (1881)
  • Representative Men & Old Families of Rhode Island, 3 vols (1908)

MANY original town record books are now included in the new Ancestry.com probate record set for Rhode Island, but it will not be obvious how to find them and they are not likely to be indexed.  For a guide and key to navigating those record sets, visit the post on probate records.

Town records and published histories, by town

• Barrington 
  • Adams, Virginia H. Historic and Architectural Resources of Barrington, Rhode Island. Providence, R.I. (150 Benefit St., Providence 02903) : Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1993.
  • Bicknell, Thomas Williams.
    • A History of Barrington, Rhode Island. Providence : Snow & Farnham, 1898.
    • Barrington Soldiers in the War of the Revolution, the Dorr War and in the War of the Rebellion. Providence, R.I. : Snow and Farnham, 1898.
    • Sowams: with Ancient Records of Sowams and Parts Adjacent. New Haven, 1908.
  • Erhardt, John G.
    • The History of Rehoboth, Seekonk, East Providence, Pawtucket & Barrington. Seekonk, Mass. : J. G Erhardt, n.d. (1982-1990?).
    • Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony, 1645-1692 : volume II: A History of Rehoboth, Seekonk, Swansey, Attleboro & No. Attleboro, Mass., East Providence, Barrington, & Pawtucket, R.I.  Seekonk, Mass. : J.G. Erhardt, 1983.
    • A History of Rehoboth, Seekonk, Mass. Pawtucket & East Providence, R.I.1692-1812. Volume III. Seekonk, Mass. : J.G. Erhardt, 1990.
  • Gizzarelli, Nicholas. The Revolutionary and Civil War Records. [Barrington, Rhode Island] : [Nicholas Gizzarelli], n.d.

There are at least five volumes in this set about various East Bay towns, by John G. Erhardt. This volume contained an 1888 newspaper extract about a barn fire at the home of my ggg-grandfather, William Murdock.

• Bristol
  • Cirillo, Susan E.  Bibliography of Materials Relating to the History of Bristol, Rhode Island.  [Kingston, R.I.], 1983.
  • Cirillo, Susan E. and John Pozzie Lombard.  Bristol: Three Hundred Years.  Providence: Franklin Graphics, 1980.
  • Howe, George Locke.  Mount Hope: A New England Chronicle.  New York, Viking Press, 1959.
  • Howe, M. A. DeWolf. Bristol, Rhode Island: A Town Biography.  Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1930.
  • Mathew, Linda L. Bristol, Rhode Island Town Council Records: 1760-1811.  Hope, R.I.; Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 2014.
  • Munro, Wilfred Harold.  The history of Bristol, R.I. : the story of the Mount Hope lands, from the visit of the Northmen to the present time.  Providence: J.A. & R.A. Reid, 1880.  See also his Tales of an Old Seaport, Princeton University Press, 1917.
  • Saunders, Dorothy C. Bristol, R.I.’s Early Settlers. Bowie, Md: Heritage Books, 1992.[thanks to Cherry Fletcher Bamberg’s 2006 article Comfort (Pearce) Coggeshall and her Children, The New England Historical Genealogical Register (2006), 160 : 85-98, 224-235, 297-310 ; footnote 2.]
  • Thompson, Charles O.F. Sketches of Old Bristol.  Providence: Roger Williams Press, 1942.
• Burrillville
  • Keach, Horace A.  Burrillville; As It Was, and it is. Providence: Knowles, Anthony & Co, 1856.
  • Mehrtens, Patricia A.  One Hundred Years Ago in Burrillville: Selected Stories from Local Newspapers.  Bowie, Md: Heritage Books, 1992.
• Central Falls
  • Haley, John Williams, Roscoe Morton Dexter, Mrs. Herbert Gould Beede. The Lower Blackstone River Valley; the Story of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, and Cumberland, Rhode Island. Pawtucket, R.I.: E.L. Freeman Co., 1937.
• Charlestown
  • The Charlestown Bicentennial Book Committee. Reflections of Charlestown, Rhode Island 1876-1976. Westerly, R.I.: The Utter Company, 1976. 
  • Crandall, Earl P.
    • Five Families of Charlestown, Rhode Island : Bliven, Crandall, Macomber, Money, Taylor.  Catskill, N.Y.: E.P. Crandall, 1993.
    • Charlestown in the Mid 19th Century, As Seen through the Eyes of “Uncle Phineas” (Nelson Byron Vars). 1992.
  • Fish, Joseph.  Old Light on Separate Ways: the Narragansett Diary of Joseph Fish, 1765-1776. Hanover, N.H., University Press of New England, 1982.
  • Mandeville, Frances W. The Historical Story of Charlestown, Rhode Island. Charlestown, R.I.: Charlestown Historical Society, 1979.
  • Tucker, William Franklin.  Historical Sketch of the Town of Charlestown in Rhode Island : from 1636 to 1876.  Westerly, R.I. : G.B. & J.H. Utter, steam printers, 1877.
  • See also Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society periodicals: Hinterlander and Proceedings.
• Coventry
  • Harpin, Mathias Peter and William Koji. Prophets in the Wilderness: A History of Coventry, Rhode Island.  Oneco, Conn.: Harpin’s Connecticut Almanac, 1974.
  • Hey, Catherine. “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Early Coventry Records.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2010 (April 2010).
  • Levesque, George A.  Coventry: The Colonial Years 1741-1783.  [Typescript, Master’s Thesis, Brown University], 1969.
  • Warnings out from Coventry Town Council Minutes transcr. by Linda L. Mathew.  Rhode Island Roots 29:1 (Mar 2003) p. 9-30.
  • See also Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society periodicals: Hinterlander and Proceedings.
• Cranston
  • Brayton, Gladys W and William M. Carpenter.  Other Ways and Other Days.  E. Providence: Globe Printing, 1975.
  • Clauson, J. Earl. Cranston: A Historical Sketch. Providence: T.S. Hammond, 1904.
  • See also Cranston Historical Society Newsletter
• Cumberland
  • Balfour, David W and Joyce Hindle Koutsogiane. Cumberland by the Blackstone: 250 Years of Heritage. Virginia Beach: The Donning Company: 1997.
  • Ray, Judith Jenckes. Founders and Patriots of the Town of Cumberland, Rhode Island.  Baltimore : Gateway Press, 1990. 
    
  • Simpson, Robert. North Cumberland: A History.[Chelsea, Vt.] : [Acorn Press], [1975].
  • Sprague, Abigail A. (Field). “Abigail Sprague’s History of Cumberland.” Mss. 1023. The Rhode Island Historical Society Research Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

This map of 1820 East Greenwich is provided as evidence that King Street, leading down to the bay, was the main thoroughfare of East Greenwich, not Main Street, where my ancestor had a house. That goes a long way to explain how my ancestor could afford such a classy address in 1800 — maybe it wasn’t. Partial snapshot from The History of East Greenwich by McPartland, p. 51.

• East Greenwich
  • Adamson, Thaire H. and Marion Fry.  A History of East Greenwich Rhode Island : as published in The East Greenwich Packet.  East Greenwich, R.I. : East Greenwich Preservation Society, 1996.
  • Bamberg, Cherry F. Elder John Gorton and the Six Principle Baptist Church of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Greenville, R.I: Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 2001.
  • Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher. “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: East Greenwich Town Council Records, 1734-1774.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2008 (April 2008).
  • Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher. “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: East Greenwich Town Council Records, 1775-1800.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2009 (April 2009).
  • Eldridge, James H. and Daniel H Greene.  History of East Greenwich.  A series of articles published in the East Greenwich Weekly Pendulum, June 8 – Nov. 17, 1860.
  • Greene, D.H.  History of the Town of East Greenwich and adjacent Territory, from 1677 to 1877.  Providence: J.A. and R.A. Reid, 1877.
  • MacGunnigle, Bruce C. Strolling in Historic East Greenwich. Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014.
  • McPartland, Martha R. The History of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, 1677-1960: with related genealogy. East Greenwich, R.I.: East Greenwich Free Library Association, 1960.
  • Miller, William Davis.  Notes and Queries concerning the Early Bounds and Divisions of the Township of East Greenwich: as set forth in William Hall’s plat.  Providence: E.L. Freeman Co., [1937].
  • Potter, Elisha R. Memoir Concerning the French Settlements and French Settlers in the Colony of Rhode Island. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co, 1968.
• East Providence
  • Bliss, George N. An historical sketch of the town of East Providence : delivered before the town authorities and citizens of East Providence, July 4th, 1876.  Providence, J.F. Greene, 1876
  • Conforti, Joseph. Our Heritage: a History of East Providence. White Plains: Monarch, 1976.
  • Hoyt, Harold W.  The Story of Hunts Mills, East Providence, R.I. 2nd. ed.  Providence: Snow and Farnham, 1897.
  • Wood, W. LeRoy.  “First Settlers in East Providence.”  Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, 24 (1931), 92-96.
• Exeter
  • Simister, Florence P. A Short History of Exeter, Rhode Island. Exeter, R.I.: Exeter Bicentennial Commission, 1978.
• Foster
  • Early Historical Accounts of Foster, Rhode Island. Glenview, Ill.: Moshassuck Press, 1993. Contains Charles C. Beaman’s “Sketches of Foster” and Casey B. Tyler’s “Historical Reminiscences of Foster.” Indexed by Kenneth W. Faig.
  • Ferraro, William Michael.  “Lives of quiet desperation : Community and polity in New England over four centuries : the cases of Portsmouth and Foster, Rhode Island.”  Dissertation:  Ph. D., Brown University 1991.
  • Matthews, Margery I.
    •  “First Tax List for Foster RI After Division from Scituate RI”  transc. by Margery I. Matthews.  Rhode Island Roots 12:2 (Jun 1986) p. 29-32.
    • [look for short works issued by the Foster Preservation Society in the 1980’s – 1990’s including “Tax Records 1781, 1787, 1798” and “Peleg’s Last Word: The Story of the Foster Woolen Manufactory.”]. 
  • Murray, Thomas Hamilton. “Sketch of an Early Irish Settlement in Rhode Island.”  American-Irish Historical Society, Journal, 2 (1899), 152-157.
• Glocester
  • Fiske, Jane Fletcher, transcriber. Glocester 1778 Tax List: “A List of the Polls and Estates Real and Personal of the Proprietors and Inhabitants of the Town of Glocester in the State of Rhode Island.” Rhode Island Roots, volumes 19 (1993) through 20 (1994).
  • Perry, Elizabeth A. A Brief History of the Town of Glocester, Rhode Island. Providence: Providence Press Co, 1886.
  • Glocester, the way up country : a history, guide and directory compiled by The Heritage Division, Glocester Bicentennial Commission. Glocester, R.I. : Town of Glocester, 1976.
• Hopkinton
  • Griswold, S.S. Historical sketch of the town of Hopkinton : from 1757 to 1876, comprising a period of one hundred and nineteen years. Hope Valley, R.I. : L.W.A. Cole, Job printer, 1877.
  • History of the town of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, 1757-1976 : historical facts compiled by Hopkinton Bicentennial Commission. Publication Committee.  Westerly, 1976.
  • “The Patriots of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, 1776.”  Narragansett Historical Register, 4:2 (1885).  Transcribed on USGenWeb thanks to Susan Irish Nahas.
  • See also Hopkinton Historical Association Hopkinton Notes  
• Jamestown
  • Watson, Walter L. History of Jamestown on Conanicut Island in the State of Rhode Island. Providence, 1949.
  • [note – the Jamestown Historical Society has some manuscripts of unique sources such as newspaper indices.]
• Johnston
  • McGowan, Louis and Virginia Brunelle. Johnston, Rhode Island ; 1759 to 2009 : 250th Anniversary. Johnston Historical Society. Johnston Historical Society : Printed by the Louis Press, 2009.
  • “A Valuation of the Rateable Property of the Town of Johnston.”  Rhode Island Roots 11:2 (Jun 1985) p. 35-37.
  • [note that some early Johnston town records are held at the Providence City Archives.]
• Lincoln
  • Greene, Welcome A. Historical Sketch of the Town of Lincoln, in the State of Rhode Island. Central Falls, R.I.: E.L. Freeman, 1876.
• Little Compton
  • Lisle, Janet Taylor. First light: Sakonnet, 1660-1820 : the history of Little Compton. Little Compton, R.I. : Little Compton Historical Society, 2010.
  • The stories houses tell : a collection of Little Compton house histories.  Little Compton, RI : Little Compton Historical Society, 2015.
  • Wilbour, Benjamin Franklin.
    • Little Compton families. Little Compton, R.I., Little Compton Historical Society, 1967.
    • and Carlton C Brownell. Notes on Little Compton : from records collected by Benjamin Franklin Wilbour. Little Compton, R.I. : Little Compton Historical Society, 1970.
• Middletown
  • Arnold, Samuel Greene.  An historical sketch of Middletown, R.I. : from its organization, in 1743, to the Centennial year, 1876.  Newport [R.I.] J. P. Sanborn & Co., 1876.
  • Mathew, Linda L.
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Middletown Town Council Records, 1743-1783.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2016 (April 2016).  (Linda Mathew has promised an additional Middletown volume in 2017!)
• Narragansett
  
  • Arnold, James N. The Records of the Proprietors of the Narragansett: Otherwise Called the Fones Record ; Rhode Island Colonial Gleanings. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1990.
  • Carpenter, Esther Bernon. South County Studies. Boston: D.B. Updike, 1924.
  • Hazard, Caroline (these books refer to the generic Narragansett area, not the town)
    • The Narragansett Friends’ Meeting in the Xviii Century: With a Chapter on Quaker Beginnings in Rhode Island. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co, 1899.
    • Thomas Hazard, Son of Robt Call’d College Tom: A Study of Life in Narragansett in the Xviiith Century. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co, 1893.
  • Views of Narragansett Pier. Tibbetts & Preston, 1884.
  • Updike, Wilkins.  History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island. New York, Henry M. Onderdonk, 1847.   [note: includes genealogical material].
• New Shoreham (Block Island)
  • Livermore, S.T.  History of Block Island, Rhode Island.  reprinted 1961. See also his Map and Guide, Historic Sketch, 1882.
  • Moriarty, G. Andrews.  “Early Block Island Families” – a series of articles in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register during the late 1920’s.
  • Sheffield, William P.  A Historical Sketch of Block Island.  1876.
• Newport (this is just a sampling – there are hundreds of books and articles available on Newport’s history)
  
  • Capron, John F.  III. “Genealogical Clues from Newport, R.I. Customs District Records.”  Rhode Island Roots 38:1 (Mar 2012) p. 33-54.
  • Coughtry, Jay, and Daniel Lewis. Papers of the American Slave Trade: Series B. Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 2002 (a large microfilm collection of Newport Historical Society holdings).
  • Crane, Elaine F.
    • Ebb Tide in New England: Women, Seaports, and Social Change, 1630-1800. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998.
    • A Dependent People: Newport, Rhode Island, in the Revolutionary Era. New York: Fordham University Press, 1985.
  • Fiske, Jane Fletcher. Gleanings from Newport Court Files 1659-1783. Boxford, Massachusetts: 1998.
  • Hubbard, Samuel.  Samuel Hubbard’s journal, circa 1633-1686 : manuscripts relating to Samuel Hubbard of Newport, Rhode Island / transcribed by the Rhode Island Historical Records Survey Project, Division of Professional and Service Projects, Work Projects Administration, from a copy in the possession of William L. Burdick.  Providence, R.I. : The Project, [1940]
  • Jefferys, C P. B, and C P. B. Jefferys. Newport: A Short History. Newport, R.I: The Society, 1992.
  • Merchant, Gloria.  Pirates of colonial Newport.    Charleston, SC : The History Press, 2014
  • Peterson, Edward. History of Rhode Island. New-York: J.S. Taylor, 1853.  [note: according to Bartlett’s 1864 Bibliography of Rhode Island, this volume “abounds in errors, and is of no historical value.”]
  • Robinson, William Henry. The proceedings of the Free African Union Society and the African Benevolent Society : Newport, Rhode Island, 1780-1824.  Providence, R.I. : Urban League of Rhode Island, 1976
  • Simpson, Richard V. Historic Tales of Colonial Rhode Island: Aquidneck Island and the Founding of the Ocean State. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012.
  • Stensrud, Rockwell. Newport: A Lively Experiment 1639-1969. Newport, RI: Redwood Library and Athenaeum, 2006.
  • Troost-Cramer, Kathleen. True Tales of Life & Death at Fort Adams. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.
  • Youngken, Richard C.  African Americans in Newport : an introduction to the heritage of African Americans in Newport, Rhode Island, 1700-1945 [Providence, R.I.] : The Newport Historical Society, 1998.

They just don’t make book titles like they used to. Wickford is a village in North Kingstown.

• North Kingstown
  • Conley, Patrick Thomas.  North Kingstown: An Historical Sketch. Providence: Rhode Island Bicentennial Commission, 1976.
  • 1798 Direct Tax records for North Kingstown, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Warwick [R.I. Historical Society manuscript 232, subgroup 4]
  • Griswold, Frances I. S. Old Wickford: The Venice of America. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Young Churchman, 1900.
  • Loxton, George R.  Davisville, Rhode Island: A History of the Textile Mill Village of Davisville, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, Since the Arrival of Joshua Davis in 1694. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 2001.
  • “Notes on Quidnesset“, from the Narragansett Historical Register.
  • Woodward, Carl R. Plantation in Yankeeland: The Story of Cocumscussoc, Mirror of Colonial Rhode Island. Chester, Conn: Pequot Press, 1971.
  • A more complete list from the North Kingstown Public Library
• North Providence
  • Angell, Frank C. Annals of Centerdale In the town of North Providence, Rhode Island Its Past and Present. 1636-1909. By author, 1909.
• North Smithfield
  • Nebiker, Walter E. The History of North Smithfield. North Smithfield Bicentennial Commission, 1976.
• Pawtucket (see also Central Falls)
  
  • Boucher, Susan Marie.  The History of Pawtucket, 1635-1976.  Pawtucket Public Library, 1976.
  • Goodrich, Massena. Historical Sketch of the Town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Originally Pawtucket, R.I., 1876, reprinted Heritage Books, 2012.
• Portsmouth
  • Brigham, Clarence S. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth. Providence, R. I., E. L. Freeman & Sons, state printers, 1901.
  • Ferraro, William Michael.  “Lives of quiet desperation : Community and polity in New England over four centuries : the cases of Portsmouth and Foster, Rhode Island.”  Dissertation:  Ph. D., Brown University, 1991.
  • Garman, James E.
    • Historic Houses of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  Portsmouth: Garman, 1976.
    • A History of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1638-1978. Newport: Franklin Printing, 1978.  [note: thanks to Grundset’s Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians, p. 153.]
  • Pierce, John T.  Historical Tracts of the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  1991.
  • Taft, Donald R. Two Portuguese communities in New England.   Dissertation: PhD., Columbia University, 1923.
  • West, Edward Homer.  History of Portsmouth, 1638-1936. Providence, R.I. : J. Green, 1936.
  • [note – the Portsmouth Free Public Library has an excellent local history collection, and hosts books from the Rhode Island Genealogical Society collection]
    
• Providence (this is just a sampling – there are hundreds of books and articles available on Providence’s history)
  
  • 1798 Direct Tax records for North Kingstown, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Warwick [R.I. Historical Society manuscript 232, subgroup 4]
  • Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher. 1776 Census of Providence, Rhode Island. New England Historic Genealogical Register, 159 (Jan 2005): 12-24 and (April 2005) 141-154.
  • Brown University.  Historical Catalog of Brown University, 1764-1914.  Providence: Brown University, 1914.
  • Cady, John Hutchins. The Civic and Architectural Development of Providence 1636-1950. Providence: The Book Shop, 1957. [note: reviews the growth and development of the various neighborhoods.]
  • Hopkins, Charles Wyman. Home Lots of the Early Settlers of the Providence Plantations. 1886, reprinted Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co, 2007.
  • Kimball, Gertrude S. Providence in Colonial Times. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1912.
  • Lemons, J. Stanley. Baptists in Early North America: Volume II, First Baptist Church in Providence. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2013.
  • Mathew, Linda L.
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Providence Town Council Records, 1770-1788.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2006 (April 2006).
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Providence Town Council Records, 1789-1801.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2007 (April 2007).
    • “Manumissions in Providence, 1784-1800.”  Rhode Island Roots 32:4 (Dec 2006) p. 193-196.
  • The Providence House Directory and Family Address Book, various issues, 1895-1935. Providence: Sampson & Murdock Co.  Image copy. Providence City Archives. https://www.providenceri.com/archives/providence-house-directory-0    : 2015. [note: see a few other directories at https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/providence-city-directories/ ]
  • Rogers, Horatio, George Moulton Carpenter and Edward Field. The Early Records of the Town of Providence, v. 1 – 21. Providence: Snow & Farnham, 1895. [note: contains many personal references.]
    
  • Staples, William R. Annals of the Town of Providence, from its first settlement to the Organization of the City Government, in June, 1832 (Providence, 1843).
  • Taylor, Maureen Alice. Rhode Island passenger lists : Port of Providence, 1798-1808; 1820-1872, Port of Bristol and Warren, 1820-1871 : compiled from United States Custom House papers. Genealogical Publ. Co., 1995
  • Woodward, Wm. McKenzie and Edward F. Sanderson. Providence: A Citywide Survey of Historic Resources. Providence: Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission, 1980.
• Richmond
  • 1798 Direct Tax records for North Kingstown, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Warwick [R.I. Historical Society manuscript 232, subgroup 4]
  • Irish, James R. Historical Sketch of the Town of Richmond, from 1747 to 1876: Comprising a Period of One Hundred and Twenty-Nine Years. Hope Valley, R.I: L.W.A. Cole, Job printer, 1877.
  • Town of Richmond Tax Book for 1855, 1872, 1883 [on USGenWeb thanks to Susan Pieroth and Kathleen Beilstein.]
• Scituate
  • Crane, Mary Knight.  “30 Revolutionary Pensioners, Scituate, R.I.”  National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 14 (June 1925), 29.  [thanks to Grundset’s Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians, p. 170.]
  • Grandchamp, Robert. “With Their Usual Ardor”: Scituate, Rhode Island and the American Revolution. Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Press, 2006.
  • Mathew, Linda L.
    • “Guardianships from the Town of Scituate, R.I. 1762-1799.”  Rhode Island Roots 30:4 (Dec 2004) p. 206-228.
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Scituate Town Council Records, 1731-1786.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2011 (April 2011).
  • Walker, Cyrus and later editors. The History of Scituate, R.I., from the Acquisition of the Territory in 1659 to the Close of the Nineteenth Century. Scituate Bicentennial Committee, 1976.  See also:
    • Reference Staff, North Scituate Public Library, “Index to History of Scituate by Hedley Smith” (2006). Special Collections Publications (Miscellaneous). Paper 4.
• Smithfield
  • 1798 Direct Tax records for North Kingstown, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Warwick [R.I. Historical Society manuscript 232, subgroup 4]
  • [Fiske, Jane Fletcher, transcriber?] Smithfield 1778 Tax List: “A List of the Polls and Estates Real and Personal of the Proprietors and Inhabitants of the Town of Smithfield in the State of Rhode Island.” Rhode Island Roots, volumes 21 (1995) through 23 (1997).
  • Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. “Smithfield, Rhode Island Death Records Culled from Probates.” New England Historic Genealogical Register 146 (October 1992): 343-351.
  • Steere, Thomas. History of the Town of Smithfield from its Organization, in 1730-1, to its Division, in 1871. Providence: E.L. Freeman, 1881.
  • [note that some early Smithfield town records are held at the Central Falls City Hall.]
• South Kingstown (see also Narragansett)
  
  • Bossy, Kathleen, and Mary Keane. Lost South Kingstown: With a History of Ten of Its Early Villages. Kingston, R.I: Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 2004.
  • Comstock, Charles. A History of South-Kingstown: With Description of the Hornet’s Nest Company, and the Cats Let Out of the Bag, 1806.
  • Hazard, Thomas B.  Nailer Tom’s Diary: otherwise, the journal of Thomas B. Hazard of Kingstown, Rhode Island, 1778-1840. Caroline Hazard, ed.  Boston: Merrymount Press, 1930.
  • McBurney, Christian M. A History of Kingston, R.I., 1700-1900: Heart of Rural South County. Kingston, R.I: Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 2004.
  • Miller, William D, and Joseph Torrey. Dr. Joseph Torrey and His Record Book of Marriages. Salem, Mass: Higginson Book Co, 1997.
  • Perkins, P. J. Shipwrecks, sinkings and strandings for Narragansett and South Kingstown, 1880 thru 1940. 1993.
  • “South Kingstown 1757 Tax List.”  Rhode Island Roots 13:2 (Jun 1987) p. 37-40.  Continued in 13:3 (Sep 1987) 63-67.
  • South Kingstown, Rhode Island Town Council. Town Council Records, 1771-1795 / transcribed by Jean C. Stutz. Kingstown, R.I. : Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 1988.
  • Stedman, Daniel. Daniel Stedman’s journal, 1826-1859 / transcribed and introduced by Henry Clay Oatley ; edited by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg.  Greenville, R.I. : Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 2003.
  • Stedman, Oliver H.  A Stroll Through Memory Lane with Oliver H. Stedman: Stories of South County’s Past. Kingston Press, 1978.
  • Watson, Judith Green.  South Kingstown, Rhode Island Tax Lists, 1730-1799.  Rockland, Maine: Picton Press, 2007.
  • [see also works published by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, newly renamed the South County History Center.]

South Kingston, Rhode Island Tax Lists, 1730-1799. Photo by Diane Boumenot.

• Tiverton
  • Burroughs, Peleg. Peleg Burroughs’s journal, 1778-1798 : the Tiverton, R. I. years of the humbly bold Baptist minister. Warwick, RI : Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 1981.
  • Durfee, Grace Stafford. Rhode Island tercentenary 1636 1936 historical edition of Tiverton Rhode Island.  1936.  (mostly covers historic buildings).
  • Fowler, Orin. An Historical Sketch of Fall River from 1620 to the Present Time: With Notices of Freetown and Tiverton : in Three Discourses Delivered January 24, 1841. Fall River. Mass.: B. Earl, 1841.
  • Simpson, Richard V. Tiverton & Little Compton, Rhode Island: Historic Tales of the Outer Plantations, 2012.
• Warren
  • Baker, Virginia.  The history of Warren, Rhode Island, in the War of the Revolution, 1776-1783.  publ. by the author, 1901.
  • Peck, Henry J. 200th anniversary of Warren, Rhode Island : historical sketch, 1747-1947.  The Town of Warren, 1947.
  • See also Providence [Taylor].

You can always join the Rhode Island Genealogical Society and let the experts transcribe and index those town council records for you. One volume per year!

• Warwick
  • 1798 Direct Tax records for North Kingstown, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Warwick [R.I. Historical Society manuscript 232, subgroup 4]
  • Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher.
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Warwick Town Council Records, 1742-1780.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2012 (April 2012).
    • “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: Warwick Town Council Records, 1781-1801.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2013 (April 2013).
    • “Residency Certificates from the Warwick Archives.”  Rhode Island Roots 31:1 (Mar 2005) p. 32-39.
  • Chapin, Howard M.
    • “Early house lots in the east part of the town of Warwick.” Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, 12 (1919), 129-136.
    • The early records of the town of Warwick. Providence, R. I,. E. A. Johnson company, 1926.
  • Curtis, Harold R.  “Warwick Proprietors’ Divisions.”  Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, 30 (1927), 33-51.
  • Fuller, Oliver P. The history of Warwick, Rhode Island, from its settlement in 1642 to the present time; including accounts of the early settlement and development of its several villages; sketches of the origin and progress of the different churches … Providence, Angell, Burlingame & co., printers, 1875.
  • Lockwood, Ernest Lapham. Episodes In Warwick History. Warwick, R.I. : City of Warwick historical committee of the Rhode Island tercentenary celebration, 1937.
  • Tillinghast, Samuel. The diary of Capt. Samuel Tillinghast of Warwick, Rhode Island : 1757-1766, transcribed and edited by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg.  Greenville, R.I. : Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 2000.
  • Warwick. More early records of the town of Warwick, Rhode Island : “The book with clasps” and “General records” transcribed by Marshall Morgan; edited by Cherry Fletcher Bamberg and Jane Fletcher Fiske.  Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001.
  • Woodward, Carl Raymond.  “Rural economy 200 years ago: as revealed in the account books of Benoni Waterman of Warwick, 1733-1740.”  Rhode Island History, 4 (1945), 97-106; 5 (1946), 119-128.
• West Greenwich
  • Baker, Roberta. Bits and pieces of West Greenwich memoranda, 1976.
  • Hey, Catherine. “Gleanings from Rhode Island Town Records: West Greenwich Town Council Records, 1741-1772.” Rhode Island Roots. Special Bonus Issue 2015 (April 2015).
  • Huling, Ray Greene.  “Early owners of land in West Greenwich, R.I.”  Narragansett Historical Register, 3 (1884-1885), 1-5.
  • Historical Records Survey. Rhode Island.  Inventory of the town and city archives of Rhode Island: No. 2, Kent County: vol. 4, West Greenwich. 
  • West Greenwich (Town), R.I. “Town Records, 1741-1869.” Manuscript MSS 222, Rhode Island Historical Society.  (note: this item comes from Grundset’s Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians, p. 123).
  • See also Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society periodicals: Hinterlander and Proceedings.
• West Warwick – see Warwick for earlier works
  
• Westerly
  •  Anderson, Robert Charles. “The Colonial Records of the Town of Westerly, Rhode Island” Rhode Island Roots 7:3 (Sep 1981) p. 25-27.  [contains an explanation of the contents and numbering of each re-bound early record book in the Town Hall]. 
  • Best, Mary Agnes. The Town that Saved a State, Westerly.  Westerly: 1943.
  • Denison, Frederic. Westerly and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history. Providence : J.A. & R.A. Reid, 1878.  See also
    • Larkin, Jessie N. C, and Frederic Denison. Index for Rev. Frederic Denison’s Westerly (r.i.) and Its Witnesses. New York: publisher not identified, 1933.
  • Dowding, George R. Military History of Westerly: 1710-1932. Westerly, R.I: Blackburn & Benson, printers, 1932.
  • O’Connell, Thomas A. Fair Westerly. Westerly, RI: Westerly Historical Society, 2014.
  • Shea, Robert F. Aspects of the History of Westerly During the Civil War , 1957.[thesis: University of Rhode Island].
  • Utter, George B. Old “westerle,” Rhode Island: Now Constituting the Towns of Charlestown, Hopkinton, Richmond and Westerly. Rhode Island’s Jubilee Year, 1636-1936. Westerly, R.I.: The Utter Company, printers, 1936.
  • “The Patriots of Westerly, R. I., 1776.” The American Monthly Magazine,  The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington D. C., (Feb. 1906), 124 – 126. Transcribed on USGenWeb by Susan Irish Nahas.
  • [check out worldcat.org for many shorter works published by the Westerly Historical Society.]
• Woonsocket
  • Bonier, Marie L, Claire Quintal, and Raymond H. Bacon. The Beginnings of the Franco-American Colony in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Worcester, Mass: Assumption College, Institut français, 1997.
  • Daniels, Alanson S.  Statistics of the village of Woonsocket : comprising the names of the heads of families, arranged in alphabetical order, the number of inhabitants in each section of the village, with other useful and interesting matter, 1842 … Woonsocket, 1842.
  • Fortin, Marcel P. Woonsocket, Rhode Island: A Centennial History, 1888-1988. Woonsocket, R.I: Woonsocket Centennial Committee, 1988.
  • Newman, S C. A Numbering of the Inhabitants: Together with Statistical and Other Information, Relative to Woonsocket, R.I. Woonsocket: Printed by S.S. Foss, 1846.
  • Richardson, Erastus.
    • Historical Sketches of Woonsocket, 1873
    • History of Woonsocket, 1876.
  • Thomas, Alton P. Old Woonsocket: Erastus & Doc. Providence: Mowbray Co., 1973.
  • [see also books published by American-French Genealogical Society]

Omitted from the above lists:  Architectural and archaeological surveys, church histories, and books about single families.  The Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission has issued Preliminary Survey Reports on the archaeology and historic sites of most or all Rhode Island towns.  Always check out local historical societies.  Some local libraries in Rhode Island also have local history collections.  This post on Rhode Island church records will show you the specific church-related vital records that were compiled by James Arnold.  And RIAMCO helps you find manuscript materials in Rhode Island repositories.

My favorite two bibliographies of Rhode Island historical materials are:

• Grundset, Eric G.  Rhode Island in the American Revolution: A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 2014.  There was so much additional material in there that I did not find in my other searches. I noted three entries in the list above that I found only in that book, but there are hundreds of others; I urge everyone to consult it.
• James, Sydney V.  Colonial Rhode Island: A History. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1975.   See “Bibliography”, p. 385-411.  I thank Maureen Taylor for recommending this book to me; it is so valuable for Rhode Island researchers.

Columbian Phenix, Providence, Saturday, December 1, 1810. I purchased this on eBay recently. What surprised me about holding the newspaper in my hand was how thick the paper was – just like book paper.

Newspapers

5 things to know about historic Rhode Island newspapers:

• In my experience GenealogyBank.com offers the best selection of Rhode Island newspapers.  That’s where I have found 95% of the newspaper items in my genealogy files.
• If you are looking for free newspaper offerings, look no further than The Ancestor Hunt‘s Rhode Island page.  Explore the website and blog, it’s filled with helpful tips.
• The Providence Journal, Rhode Island’s premier newspaper, does not have historical issues online or indexed (just the last few decades).  Hoping we see some progress on that soon.
• The Rhode Island Historical Society holds the largest collection of Rhode Island newspapers on microfilm, and there were many newspapers over the years.  There is little in the way of indexing, however, so you need to know the approximate date you need.  Note that the state is small and the capital was ever-shifting, so Providence and Newport papers were likely to carry stories from any part of Rhode Island.
• The Providence Public Library has a Rhode Island Index with listings of major stories from 1900-2004.   Only my rich and famous family connections are in there (so that’s not many!)
• A 1965 list of newspapers held in the various Rhode Island libraries is here.  The newspapers themelves would be accessed by going to the library and viewing the microfilm.

See the other 8 Weeks to Better Rhode Island Genealogy posts by clicking the tab at the top of the page.

The post you are reading is located at:  https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2016/06/19/town-histories-and-newspapers/

A card from the Rhode Island index, Providence Public Library.  Photo by Diane Boumenot.