William Arnold’s dislike for Samuel Gorton grew during the early days of the colony. Arnold, generally considered well-versed in legal aspects, felt that Gorton, with his concepts of the law and religion was a definite threat to the colony and especially to his acquiring of land. When on Nov. 17, 1641 Gorton and his followers opposed Arnold’s taking the cattle and land from the rather simple Francis Weston. Arnold claimed it was for default on a loan, and Gorton thought it was a trick to get the land. The result was a skirmish between Gorton and Arnold, which resulted in violence. The incident grew to greater proportions as time went on.

Shortly after the Weston incident, Gorton moved to Papaquinapeag, west of Pawtuxet, where Arnold and his supporters had obtained large grants of land. Then Gorton moved to the southern side of the Pawtuxet River, settling on the lands deeded to Robert Cole by Roger Williams and confirmed by Miantonomi. Arnold bitterly opposed this move as he felt the Gortonists would become too powerful and infringe upon his land. When Gorton moved nearby to Pawtuxet, Arnold appealed to Massachusetts to help restore “law and order.” When we remember that nearly everyone in the Providence colony was an exile from Massachusetts, it is obvious that this was a drastic move. The Massachusetts authorities refused to help unless Pawtuxet was placed under their jurisdiction. Arnold was determined to stop Gorton at any cost and had his followers agree to the terms laid down by the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Even while the founding fathers of Rhode Island were often engrossed in problems of religion, politics, and land deeds, and Arnold’s determination to stop Gorton from settling in the area, the village of Pawtuxet began to grow. Horace Belcher, veteran Rhode Island newspaperman, and an excellent source for Pawtuxet materials, made a careful study of the early accounts of Pawtuxet before King Philip’s War. He placed a great deal of emphasis on the early settlements of William Arnold and his family as they first set up a trading post in the wilderness and then began the first industry with a grist mill near the falls. The trading post along the river brought the Arnolds in close contact with the under-sachems of Pawtuxet (Socononoco) and Shawomet (Pomham). Williams’ son, Benedict, became fluent in the Indian language and was instrumental in fostering the trade between the Arnolds and the natives.

The Arnold clan of Pawtuxet consisted of William, the founder, his wife Christian, his children, Elizabeth, Benedict, Joane and Steven. Belcher’s thoroughness includes the ages of the family when they first arrived in Boston from England in 1635. William was at that time was 48-years-old, probably the oldest of the Pawtuxet purchasers, his daughter Elizabeth was 23, Benedict 19, Joane 17, and Stephen 12-years-of-age. Elizabeth had married William Carpenter one of the original purchasers and the young couple accompanied the Arnolds to Pawtuxet in 1638. The remarkable older son, Benedict, later moved to Newport and became Rhode Island’s first governor under the Royal Charter (1663-1670). According to Belcher, from the beginning, he “became popular with the Narragansett Indians and as an Indian interpreter was ranked with Roger Williams.” In 1640, Benedict married Damaris, daughter of Stukely Westcott, who was another of the original Pawtuxet purchasers.

Joane, the second Arnold daughter, married Zachariah Rhodes of Rehoboth on March 7, 1646, and he came to Pawtuxet to join the Arnolds and establish the first grist mill. The youngest Arnold, Steven, married Sarah Smith in 1946. He eventually became a major landowner in Pawtuxet, was a member of the Colonial Assembly on numerous occasions and served as deputy and assistant for the colony. The traditional date, backed by considerable evidence, places the Arnolds as settling in Pawtuxet as early as 1638.

The story of William Arnold, the founder of Pawtuxet, his quarrels with Samuel and the “forged deed” will be continued.