Robert Burdick

- 1692

• Name	Robert Burdick
  Gender	Male
  Alternate death	Bef 25 Oct 1692  [1]
  Death	25 Oct 1692	Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island   [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Burial	Burdick Ground, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island   [7]
  Person ID	I172	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of TNH
  Last Modified	29 Feb 2020

  
  

  Family	Ruth Hubbard,   b. 11 Jan 1640, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts d. Aft 17 May 1691, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island (Age > 51 years)
  Marriage	2 Nov 1655	Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island   [8, 9, 10, 11, 12]
  Children	+ 1. Deborah Burdick,   b. 1 Jan 1662, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island d. 1717, Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island (Age 54 years)
  Family ID	F4870	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Feb 2020

  
  

• Notes

  [The following text about Robert Burdick appears on many different genealogical sites. We've been unable to identify its original author, but it seems to economically narrate the events that are found in other accounts of Robert Burdick.] Robert Burdick, the immigrant ancestor of the Burdick family [...] came to Newport, Rhode Island from England in 1651. Robert Burdick was admitted a Freeman of Newport on May 22, 1655, and a Freeman of the Colony of Rhode Island on May 20, 1657. He married Ruth Hubbard, the first white child born at Agawam (now Springfield), Massachusetts, on November 2, 1655. Robert Burdick gained early notoriety during a land dispute between the colonies of Rhode Island and Massachusetts over a tract of land known as the Pequot Country -- land taken by the English colonists in the Pequot War of 1637 -- which is now situated, largely, within New London County, Connecticut. Boundary disputes had been going on for some time between Massachusetts and Connecticut over land within the Pequot Country, but the conflict in this instance was primarily between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The dispute was centered upon a small settlement located in Pequot Country, between Mystic and Pawcatuck, which, in 1658 was named Southertown, and which, today is mostly contained within Stonington, Connecticut and a small part of Westerly, Rhode Island. In October 1658, the colony of Massachusetts laid claim to this settlement, declared it to be a plantation with the name of Southertown, annexed it to Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and appointed special commissioners and a constable to administer the new plantation. In the meantime, the colony of Rhode Island purchased land in a transaction known as the Westerly Purchase to add to its Narrangansett settlement. Included in the Westerly Purchase was some of the land within the boundaries of Southertown. A group of Rhode Islanders, including the Newport farmer, Robert Burdick, and his neighbors Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke, laid claim within the new settlement. In retaliation for the Massachusetts claim to Southertown, the Rhode Island Assembly sent out the warning to all settlers within the area of dispute that their land would be confiscated if they put it under the governance of another colonial government (e.g. Massachusetts). On September 30, 1661, William Cheseborough, an early settler of Southertown from Plymouth Colony, testified before the General Court of Massachusetts of his concern that some thirty-six inhabitants of Rhode Island had come into Southertown and had divided and laid out lots. The General Court of Massachusetts issued a warrant to apprehend the Rhode Island men who had settled in Southertown. A stand-off ensued, and Robert Burdick, Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke were arrested (although Joseph Clarke was "upon extraordinary occasion...set at liberty.") For two years, the colony of Rhode Island attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate the release of Burdick and Saunders. As a last resort, Rhode Island authorities abducted two Massachusetts officials, who were then exchanged for the release of Robert Burdick and Tobias Saunders. The issuance of the Charter of Connecticut by King Charles II on April 25, 1662 fixed the eastern boundary of Connecticut at the Pawcatuck River. Southertown was situated within this boundary, and thus under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. Later, the British Crown settled the conflict by dividing the disputed land between Connecticut and Rhode Island. The land where Robert Burdick had settled was awarded to Rhode Island, and became part of the area known as Westerly. The land that was awarded to Connecticut became part of the area known as Stonington. After his release from prison, Robert Burdick settled on the same land he was taken from and imprisoned over. He and his wife, Ruth, had eleven children, nine of whom survived to adulthood and had children of their own. He served as a deputy to the General Court of Rhode Island from Westerly for the years 1680, 1683 and 1685, and he was one of the earliest members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church (the Sabbatarians).

  
  

• Sources

  [S648] New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation ed. William Richard Cutter. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913. [S587] Ray Greene Huling, "Extracts from the Letter Book of Samuel Hubbard." Magazine of New England History 1:172, 1891., year only. [S679] The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island by John Osborne Austin. Albany, New York; 1887., year only. [S3114] One Thousand Years of Hubbard History by Edward Warren Day. New York: Harlan Page Hubbard, 1895., year only. [S3730] The Descendants of Robert Burdick of Rhode Island by Nellie Willard Johnson. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse Typesetting, 1937. [S3763] Babcock and Allied Families by Louis Effingham De Forest. New Haven, Connecticut: De Forest Publishing Co., 1928., year only. [S3505] Find a Grave page for Robert Burdick. [S587] Ray Greene Huling, "Extracts from the Letter Book of Samuel Hubbard." Magazine of New England History 1:172, 1891., date only. [S679] The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island by John Osborne Austin. Albany, New York; 1887., date only. [S2203] New England Marriages Prior to 1700 by Clarence A. Torrey. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. [S3730] The Descendants of Robert Burdick of Rhode Island by Nellie Willard Johnson. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse Typesetting, 1937., date only. [S3763] Babcock and Allied Families by Louis Effingham De Forest. New Haven, Connecticut: De Forest Publishing Co., 1928., date only.