OUR RHODE ISLAND ROOTS #2: "First Families" Connections

Pedigree Chart of Charles Winsor, 
5th Great Grandfather  
The chart below illustrates some of our lineal connections with 17th Century founding "First Families" of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations:

Winsor/Olney immigrant ancestry

The 16 great-great grandparents of Charles Winsor were all English immigrants who arrived in America's "New England" during the era known as The Great Migration.  (1620s-1640s)
Among these ancestors was the founder of Rhode Island, theologian Roger Williams.  The chart reveals that Charles was related to Roger Williams through both his mother (Freeborn Olney, granddaughter of Roger's son, Daniel Williams) and his father (Joshua Winsor, grandson of Roger's daughter, Mercy Williams.)

In this series, I hope to shine a light on some of our inspirational -and sometimes confrontational- pioneer "First Families" of Rhode Island.  I chose Charles' ancestry to begin with since its American roots clearly lead back to the very beginnings of Rhode Island and to our shared ancestors who followed Williams to Providence where his vision of religious and political tolerance was formed, exercised and defended.

The following "First Family" branches of my 9th great grandparents' Rhode Island "roots" will be examined in this series:

• JOSHUA WINSOR
• ROGER WILLIAMS/MARY BARNARD 
• JAMES BARKER/BARBARA DUNGAN
• WILLIAM JEFFERY
• THOMAS OLNEY/MARIE ASHTON 
• JOHN WHIPPLE
• ZACHARIAH RHODES/JOANNA ARNOLD