The Arnold Family of Rhode Island and a Revolutionary Traitor

Descendants of William Arnold, great-grandfather of Benedict Arnold

Alicia M Prater, PhD
GenTales
Published in
4 min readOct 27, 2020

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Thomas Hart color print of benedict arnold
Colonel Benedict Arnold as illustrated by Thomas Hart in 1776. Source

In the early days of the state we now know as Rhode Island, the land was purchased from the local tribes to create the colony and the surrounding plantations. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations would later form the towns now known as Warwick, Pawtucket, Coventry, Newport, and Providence, among others.

These purchases were not without controversy, even at the time, as the British Crown and colonists fought over the rights to these lands and the authority of each over the other. At the time, being a landowner granted rights and income. One of the few families with the money and privilege to be part of this tug of war were the Arnolds. The men in this family would spend generations building the new country, only to end up having one of their own betray it.

The Colonial Arnold Family Holdings

In my genealogical research, I’ve found that my lineage includes William Arnold (born 1587), an Englishman who bought land in what is known as the Pawtuxet Purchase (now part of Pawtucket). William served as President of Portsmouth, Providence, Newport, and Warwick for 5 years, and then as Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island…

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Alicia M Prater, PhD
GenTales

Scientific editor with Medical Science PhD, former researcher and lecturer, long-time writer and genealogist