Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America, published 1869

Memoirs of the Wilkinson Family in America, 1869

Coat of Arms.

The original coat of arms belonging to our family is of very ancient date. The crest is of more modern origin, and was granted September 18, 1615, as appears by the following abstract from a grant issued by Richard St. George, Norroy king at arms.

[Transcriber's Note: The letter "s" in the following paragraph was probably an elongated "S" in the original document, as used by printers in earlier times, but in this book it appeared as an "f" which appears here in italics.]

". . . Being now requefted by Lawrence Wilkinfon . . . to make fearch for the antient sic coate sic armor belonging to that name and Familye, sic which I find to be—'Azure a feffe erminois betwene sic thre sic unicorns paffant Argant;'—and for that I can fynd sic noe sic creaft sic proper, or belonging thereunto, as unto many antient sic coates at this day there is wanting, he hath further requefted me to confyrm sic unto him fuch a one as he may lawfully beare, sic * * * I have likewife condefcended unto and allowed him this creaft enfuinge (vide)—'A demy unicorne erazed erminoys ftanding on a murall crown graves;—as more plainly appeareth depicted in the margent; all which Arms and Creaft, I the said Richard St. George, Norroy give, grant, ratifye sic and confyrme sic unto the said Lawrence Wilkinfon, and to the feverall defcendants of his bodye sic forever bearing their due differences."

[The above paragraph in more modern English:

" . . Being now requested by Lawrence Wilkinson . . . to make search for the ancient coat [of] armor belonging to that name and Family, which I find to be—'Azure a fesse eminois between three unicorns passant Argant'—and for that I can find no other crest proper, or belonging thereunto, as unto many ancient coats at this day there is wanting, he has further requested me to confirm unto him such a one as he may lawfully bear * * * I have likewise condescended unto and allowed him this crest ensuing (vide)—'A demy unicorn erazed erminoys standing on a murall crown graves'—as more plainly appears depicted in the margent; all which Arms and Crest, I the said Richard St. George, Norroy, give, grant, ratify and confirm unto the said Lawrence Wilkinson, and to the several descendants of his body forever bearing their due differences."]

The following is Burke's description of the Wilkinson Family Arms: "Wilkinson (Harpley and Kyo. Co. Durham: granted Sept., 1615, to Lawrence Wilkinson of Harpley House and Farye sic on the Hill, Esq., son of Launcelot Wilkinson of Harpley and Kyo).

"Az. a fesse erminois, betw. three unicorns pass. ar. Crest. Out of a mural crown gu. a demi unicorn ramp. erminois, erased of the first, armed and maned, or."

GLOSSARY.

Metals.
Colors.

Furs.

Ermine:	white field with black spots
Ermines:	black field with white spots
Erminois:	gold field with black spots
Peau:	black field with gold spots
Vair, (Furs):	silver and blue put to resemble the flower of campanula and opposed to each other in rows; when of different colors they are specified and described Vaire.

Counter Vair: against, opposite.

Embattled: applied to battlements.

Fess:
this was one of the honorable ordinaries. The fess is formed by two horizontal lines, drawn across the field, composing the center third of the escrutcheon. It is emblematic of the military girdle worn round the body over the armor.

Stantant: standing.

Talbot: a hunting dog with thick snout and hanging ears.

Mullet: the rowel of a spear. English has five straight points, French six.

Passant: (beasts) in walking position.

Passant-Guardant: walking full-faced.

Passant Re-Guardant: walking but looking back

Mount:
when the bottom or base of the field is represented green as a field, and curved somewhat, (semicircularly arched), it is then called Mount Vert.

ABBREVIATIONS.

or.	gold or yellow.	chev.	chevron.
ar.	silver or white.	engr.	engrailed.
az.	azure or blue.	ramp.	rampant.
gu.	gules or red.	pass.	passant.
vert.	green.	d.	died.
purp.	purple.	m.	married.
sa.	sable or black.	b.	born.
erm.	ermine.	s.p.	sine prole.
ppr.	proper.	betw.	between.

Wilkinson Coat of Arms

History of Providence.

The first six white persons who came to Providence were:

Roger Williams,
William Harris,
John Smith, (miller.)
Joshua Verin,
Thomas Angell,
Francis Wickes.

Angell and Wickes had not yet arrived at their majority. They came from Seekonk, where they had wintered and crossed over East river in the spring or summer of 1636, before the month of July, they being then at Providence. The Indian name of the place was Ashocomack. The party first landed on a rock within a little cove north of India Point, and were greeted with the welcome word "What cheer," or "Wat cheer," as the natives pronounced it. They then went around Fox Point in their little canoe,* and up the river as tradition has uniformly stated it, to a spring, southwest of where the Episcopal Church now stands, and at which spot, Moses Brown says, a brick house was built by Nehemiah Dodge about 1823. On this spot, containing six acres, Roger Williams hereafter built his house. This house was also held by his grandson Roger Williams, the son of Daniel Williams, when Benefit Street (or Back Street) was first laid out in 1748. It was afterwards owned by Col. Jabez Bowen, and was never owned by the Crawfords as some have asserted. These first settlers each had a lot of five (now six) acres, extending from the river on the west to the lane on the east end, between them and the lot on which the Friends' Boarding School is built, and extending down southward, east of the college to Tockwotten, now called India Point. Each man was required by special order of the town as the old records show, to fence his lot, and as stones were plenty they had no trouble in erecting walls which are visible at the present day.

* See new American Cyclopedia, in loc. art. Rhode Island

It appears the first settlers of Providence laid out their lots with a frontage on King's Street, the present North and South Main Streets from Harrington's Lane to Wickenden Street, and extended back to Hope Street. The lots on the west side of North and South Main Streets were reserved for warehouses and wharves, generally comprising two lots of forty feet each, with a gangway on each side for access to the salt water. There were great tracts of woodland reserved for the common benefit of the principal proprietors, designated as "Stated Commons," and located in the country west and north of the above described lots, which were called "plantations." Hence the name of "Providence Plantations" has been retained to this day as the name of this State in connection with that of the Colony settled on the adjacent island of Rhode Island.

Roger Williams' lot was No. 38, northward from "Mile End Cove" at the south end of the town. This cove disappeared years ago. It was between Wickenden Street and Fox Point Hill, and a bridge, that crossed the creek communicated with it. This bridge is now an underground culvert. Bridge Street originally derived its name from it. William Harris' lot was No. 36; John Smith's No. 41; Joshua Verin's No. 39. It will be seen Williams' and Verin's lands joined.

Verin did not stay long in the Colony, and the following record concerning him explains the reason: "It was agreed that Joshua Verin, upon breach of covenant, restraining liberty of conscience, shall be withheld from liberty of voting till he shall declare the contrary." He restrained his wife from attending meeting as often as she desired, whereupon Verin removed from the Colony as the records show and did not submit to the order. So careful was Williams to allow nothing to undermine this fundamental principle of religious liberty in his newly established government. The men and rulers of Massachusetts made a great ado over this. Verin claimed his lands, and was not deprived of them.

These six men above named all became proprietors, though Wickes and Angell did not receive full shares till they became of age.

Roger Williams was on the best of terms with the Indians, and obtained a deed of his lands sometime after his settlement, bearing date "The 24th of the first month commonly called March, in the second year of our plantation or planting at Mooshausick, or Providence, 1637."

The description is as follows:

"The lands and meadows upon the two fresh rivers called Mooshausick and Wanaskatuckett * * from the rivers and fields of Pawtuckett; the great hill of Neoterconkeritt on the northwest, and the town of Mashapauge on the west.

"We do freely give unto him all that land from those rivers reaching to Pautuxett river, as also the grass and meadows upon Pautuxett river.

The mark of Caunanicus.

The mark of Miantinomu."

This tract was called "Providence," and included the present county of Providence and the greater part of Kent. The rivers mentioned are described as follows: the Mooshausick rises in the town of Smithfield in a small pond west of the Harris Lime Rock and flows south and empties into the cove from the north a little below the old mill bridge and is now nothing but a walled canal spanned with paved bridges for carriages and railroad cars. The Wanaskatuckett rises in what is now called the Stillwater reservoir in the west part of Smithfield and flows a southeasterly course, and flows into the cove from the west, and upon which the Olney Paper Mills, and the Acid Works are now situated. The Pawtuckett river rises in Worcester County, Mass., empties into the Narragansett Bay at India Point. The Pawtuxett sic River rises near the Connecticut line and falls into the bay five miles below Providence.

The "fields of Pawtuckett" alluded to in the above description are defined as follows in the early records:* "We declare that the bounds are limited in our Town Evidence, and by us stated 20 years since, and known to be the river and field of Pawtuckett, Sugar Loaf Hill, Bewit's Brow, Observation Rock, Absolute Swamp, Orfoord, Hepsis Rock; and the men that were appointed to set it, were Chad Brown, Hugh Bewit, Gregory Dexter, William Wickenden." Massachusetts and Connecticut were constantly overstepping the boundary line.

The population of the Colony did not increase very rapidly at first. In Sept., 1650, there were but 51 taxable persons above sixteen years of age, and in the 10th month 1684, there were 110; in Aug., 1688, there were 172. This by no means included all the people of said colony, for as early as 1674, Providence contained 500 souls.

*I. Book of Records, p. 128, Providence.