Walter Howard Covell
President, Roger Williams Family Association:
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Roger Williams Family
Association I bid you a hearty welcome to the 400th
birthday celebration of Roger Williams' birth. Were he alive today, I dare say his reaction to the change in human lifestyles and accumulation of countless comforts would overwhelm him with astonishment; but the parameters of our humanity have not altered since his time. Our appreciation for his concepts of religious freedom remains just as great today. To introduce our celebration, I call on Colonel Robert Allen Greene, past president of the Roger Williams Family Association, to lead us in a salute to the flag."
Pledge of Allegiance, led by Colonel Greene
President Covell:
"From the 1st
Baptist Church in America, founded by Roger Williams and others is Reverend James C. Miller, to offer us an Invocation."
Reverend Miller:
"I first of all want to greet you again, and to thank you
for gathering as you are this afternoon, because this occasion and other moments of recognizing such a stellar birth are quite important times in the life of our state and of our nation.
"Please let us join together in prayer.
"Almighty and compassionate God, ancient of days, ever present for years to come, to whom a thousand years are as a day, we pray that you would set our feet upon
that deep foundation where yesterday, today and tomorrow are the same, and lift up our eyes to see the vision of the eternal purpose fulfilled from age to age, in the faith of thy servants. In these memorable
days in which we hold up the birth, life and legacy of Roger Williams, bless our simple words and consecrate our continued devotions as we gather throughout these months to give thanksgiving for a genius mind and
fervent spirit that dwelled in the personhood of a great thinker, pioneer and founder of so many convictions that have given destiny to who we are as a nation and a fellowship of believers. His was a deep faith and a
clarion voice that sounded the liberties You intended from creation. And so, renew our faith as we ponder anew the principles of church and society for which Roger Williams lived and gave his being and pass on to our
generation and generations to come, his stubborn will, his articulate persuasions and his humble gratitude for all manifestations of Your guiding and sustaining providence, Amen."
President Covell:
"As a sharer of our tribute to Roger Williams today, we welcome the Honorable Jack Reed, representing the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in Washington. Senator Reed."
Senator Reed:
"Thank you very much, Walter. This is an honor to be here to recognize an extraordinary individual and also to be among my friends and colleagues, like Lieutenant Governor Fogarty and Sue Andrews, a
Park Service Ranger; Dean Deekle and Reverend Jim Miller, who is not only a friend, but someone who I admire greatly.
"We are here together to recognize the extraordinary contributions of Roger Williams,
not just to this state, but also to this nation, and one might say, the spirit of America, because his avocation for a separation of a church and state is one of the fundamental tenets of our country. And one of the
most interesting and remarkable things about that separation is that it makes both our state and our religion stronger. In America no one suspects, at least yet, that religion is extension of government, which gives
them great moral authority, in fact, establishes them as citadels of conscience throughout this nation. Unfortunately, today in Washington, the spirit of Roger Williams is ebbing, not flowing. There are those who seek
to obscure this line between religion and government. I think that would be a mistake. Every time I go to the floor in the Senate I am fortified, but not only by the knowledge of Roger Williams, but by the words of
Roger Williams. Because he so eloquently pointed out the practical consequences of confusing one's religion with one's civil responsibilities. As he said once, 'If you force people to practice a religion that they do
not believe you make them into hypocrites, which is worse than no religion at all.' He truly continues to inspire all of us. That is a remarkable contribution 400 years after one's birth. And as we look ahead, I hope,
400 years from now, this is a moment to reflect on a great individual, his legacy, and not just reflect upon it, to recommit to maintain that legacy. Thank you very much."
President Covell:
"It
is with great pleasure that I call to the podium now, for his special message on behalf of the state, the Honorable Charles Fogarty, Rhode Island's Lieutenant Governor."
Lieutenant Governor Fogarty:
"Thank you, Walter, Reverend Miller, Senator Reed and distinguished members of Roger Williams Family Association.
"First we want to wish the founder of our state a happy 400th
birthday. I don't know how many of our family members will be celebrating our 400th
birthday, but certainly it is a unique individual that has that honor. I think, while not all of us are related to Roger Williams by birth, that all of the one million and forty eight thousand Rhode Islanders are really the beneficiaries of his legacy, and thus can count themselves as his descendants as well. I don't think Mr. and Mrs. Williams 400 years ago had any idea what their bouncing baby boy would do not only do in his life, but in terms of the life of the nation, and really of the idea he brought to the whole world. And this was brought home to me a few years ago when I was in Switzerland in Geneva, and I happened to be in a park with monuments to some of the great religious leaders of the world -- Calvin, Zwingli -- and who else was there but Roger Williams from Rhode Island. So I, as a native Rhode Islander, was very proud that his legacy, and beliefs and principles that he helped establish so many years ago were not only recognized in our own state and country, but really around the world.
"Certainly he was an individual that let his feelings be known. Every day I have the privilege of walking through the state house where there are reminders of his commitment to a new kind of government. We
have the Independent Man that stands witness to that spirit. We have the words over the south entry of the statehouse 'to hold forth a lively experiment that a most flourishing civil state may stand … with full liberty
of religious concernments.' And yes we do get things lively in Rhode Island even today. And some times people accuse us of being a rebellious and quirky little state, but we are leaders and trailblazers and certainly
much bigger in heart and mind and ideas than in our geographic size. But what do you expect with a founder like Roger Williams? So I think that his character and vision, and more important, tenacity that have stood the
test of time for 400 years, and will stand the test of time for many years in the future. But it is up to us in this state and across the country to make sure that his idea of a 'lively experiment' and respect for the
separation of church and state continues to be a bedrock principle in our country. So, all of you who are descendents by blood, happy birthday to your ancestor and thank you for sharing him with us in Rhode Island."
Lieutenant Governor Fogarty presentation to President Covell:
"This presentation of a citation to the Roger Williams Family Association recognizing the celebration of the 400th
birthday of Roger Williams on behalf of the Governor and everyone, and to present this with his best wishes as well."
President Covell:
"It is my privilege to recognize the splendid
accomplishments of the Department of the Interior in providing the resources and real estate and manpower to establish and maintain sites where citizens may learn and enjoy memorable national treasures. Among the most
important of these is the Roger Williams National Memorial. Located on North Main Street in Providence, not far from where Roger had his first home site. This park, together with the Blackstone National Heritage
Corridor is staffed by Rangers Spark Olsen and Scott McNiff, and managed by Ranger Sue Andrews. All are with us today. And now I would like to call on Ranger Sue Andrews to address us."
Ranger Andrews:
"Good afternoon everybody. Thank you very much; it is a pleasure to be here. I appreciate your kind invitation to address the group. I wanted to start by sharing a few of the visitor comments that we have
received in the logbook at the Roger Williams National Memorial, to give you an idea of the kinds of things that people are thinking about or want to leave as their mark when they finish taking a look at the exhibit.
One visitor said, 'I wish Roger were around to comment on where his thoughts have been taken. I think he got it almost right. And I think that the one thing about Roger Williams and his ideas is that we are still
debating them today and that debate is a very good thing.' Somebody else wrote, 'Eye opening. How easy to forget that people struggled for our everyday freedoms.' Somebody said 'He was way beyond his time.' And another,
'May his ideals reign for everyone.' I thought a nine year old was very sincere in saying, 'Roger Williams is my hero.' Finally to just go back to the idea that the ideals and principles are not always extremely
straightforward, one person wrote that 'the principles of the separation of church and state is one of the things that makes the USA unique and wonderful among other nations, and since I am full of inconsistencies, God
bless America.'
"In his thirties, Roger Williams set out toward a brave new world with high expectations of what he would find here. While on arrival, it was not what he expected, but he did not pack and go
home. Rather he sought to make a difference. That difference is reflected in this country's principles of freedom and appreciation and practice of toleration.
"Roger Williams National Memorial was created
in 1965 to commemorate Roger Williams' legacy by providing contemplative settings to discover Roger Williams' contributions, and every year thousands of visitors arrive from varied backgrounds and with various opinions.
They depart appreciating the importance of Roger Williams' thoughts and ideals to their lives, now in the 21st
century. That doesn't mean that the visitors' opinions are the same when they leave, but hopefully they have a better understanding of the history that allows for those diverse opinions. The Roger Williams Family Association is Roger Williams' living legacy and 400 years since his birth offers the opportunity to look back at his accomplishments. Roger Williams was a complex figure making decisions and acting upon them based on the world he inhabited four centuries ago. And we are in a very different time. Every day there are conflicts reported in our media based on religious differences or about separation of church and state and how that is interpreted and put into action. If not for people with Roger Williams' foresight and fortitude who were willing and able to stand up for their dangerous opinions, these might not be issues at all. And what a sad place to live it would be. And yet four hundred years from now, how wonderful if the debate continues.
"Thank you very much."
President Covell:
"And thank you, Miss Andrews, and also, Rangers Bryant and McNiff, I thank you for being present here. And with heartfelt gratitude now that
I acknowledge on behalf the Roger Williams Family Association, the invaluable assistance of Roger Williams University in preparations for this event. In particular we have worked with the incomparable vanquisher of the
devil in the details, the Dean of Library Services at the university, Peter Deekle."
Dean Deekle:
"I'd like to bring words of welcome from the university, administration, faculty and the students,
too, whom all, I think, consciously steward the memory of Roger Williams and embody that 'lively experiment' every day in our classrooms, our laboratories and in particular, the library. I am very glad to have Senator
Reed here today who is nationally recognized as a library supporter and our Lieutenant Governor and our good friend Sue Andrews and your colleagues from the memorial downtown. I would like to say our association
tangibly has begun fairly recently with the Family Association as we cooperated with you in the housing of your papers and correspondence, and we greet you as friends and colleagues almost every week now, because of
this particular momentous event. The other thing that I would like to say is that this occasion has really sparked an awful lot of bibliographic interest world wide and we were very fortunate just two weeks ago to hear
from a book dealer, as some of you know, in California who had found one of only two extant volumes from Roger Williams' personal library. And we have that book on loan, actually it is available for purchase, and we are
hoping to keep it in Rhode Island, but it is on display in the library display case, just inside the main lobby. So, I hope you will look for Roger Williams' signature in the volume; it's Justinian's Institutes, one of
the foremost legal texts of the time, and one that he referred to and made marginal notes in. So we are very glad to have it, from a dealer in California. Please do take a look at that. I welcome you today, I think even
the weather is kind of a 'lively experiment', and I hope that you enjoy the birthday cake. Thank you very much, Walter."
President Covell:
"Since no television, radio or daguerreotype archives of
the1600's exists to preserve the likeness of our founder, we are fortunate to have with us today a faithful impersonator, who's real life identity will be divulged later, but this is Roger Williams."
Discourse with Roger Williams (aka John Wolcott):
What cheer! It is so good to see you. Impersonator indeed! I am your humble servant, Reverend Roger Williams. I greet you. I am very happy that you invited me to
come today. I have to admit something however; a lot of what you know about me was something of a mistake. I never sought to found a colony. I never sought to be the leader of so many people. I never sought to have as
Dorothy White told me just the other day, perhaps a million or more descendants, and very fine ones, I see, but we had a lot more children in those days. I have six. I have thirty grandchildren, they had children, and I
have a book here that Mrs. White put together that has the descendents of one of my daughters, Mercy, The Waterman-Winsor Line, and there are thousands and thousands of names, and it goes back seven generations.
There have been seven or eight more since then. And yet, you remember me. I am humbled. I am honored. Most of the adults know who I am; you know something about me. I am glad to see some young people here. I will ask
them what they know, because it is so important to keep history alive, not just to hear about people, but to visit with them. That is why I am here.
What questions do you have? What do you know about
me? Young man, do you know anything about me? Are you a descendent of mine? Do you know what line? Which one of my daughters? Daniel my son? Joseph? Mercy! Mercy had two husbands, Mr.
Winsor and Mr. Waterman. You are a Waterman aren't you? Yes I could tell by the look in his eye! Very good. What do you know about me?
Comment: You founded Rhode Island.
That I founded Rhode Island? Yes, 360 years ago, is that possible? 370 almost. As I said, it was not my intention. I had come here shortly after seminary; I married a beautiful woman, Mary Barnard, and came here in
1630. Many, many, many Puritans came here, over a thousand Puritans came here. A Puritan is someone who wished to keep the religion pure. Part of that means separate from government and that was one of the things I
preached year after year, the separation of government and church. Your Constitution many years later guarantees a separation of church and state. That was very radical in my day, and when I came here with a thousand
other Puritans in 1631, I found that the church in Boston, where I landed; the church had not separated from the government; they were as one. There was no freedom of religion, another thing your Constitution guarantees
and I am very glad it does.
The religion, the State religion, was the Church of England; you could not belong to another religion. I was a minister in the Church of England and I had no quarrels with the
tenets and the beliefs of the Church of England. But I didn't think we had any right to foist it upon everyone and that is why, when we founded Rhode Island, we had Jews here, we had Quakers and the Huguenots came here.
This is the melting pot of religions from all over the world in this new world, and it is not because of me it is because of your ancestors, the people that followed me.
So back to my story: Yes I
founded Rhode Island. I didn't go out to found Rhode Island; I was expelled from Massachusetts. Now the older people know that, but the young people may not. I had lived in Salem, Massachusetts then Plymouth then back
to Salem and no where could I find the degree of separation of church and state and the degree of religious liberty, that I felt we should foster in the new world. I preached that and it didn't go over too well with the
magistrates of the church.
I also insisted that when we settled on land in this new world we would compensate the Indians. We would pay them for their land; it was their land. Just because some king, a
two-month boat ride away says that this land is mine. Tell that to my Indians friends. Tell that to the wonderful Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomi who met me and ministered to me and sold me land, and taught me how
to till the land in this new world. Tell that to them. King Charles didn't own that land; well I wasn't too popular. In 1635 they banished me from Massachusetts, and on the eve of being sent back to England (I wasn't
too popular back in England either) I left. I came west. It was a brutal winter. I almost didn't survive that winter. Thanks to a Mr. Thomas Angell, (he was my angel), who went with me that winter and nursed me back to
health.
We came to a settlement on the Seekonk River; unfortunately it was on the east side of the river. We had the settlement half built that year when we found out it was still part of the Plymouth
Colony, so we had to cross the river and start all over again in the Narragansett territory. The Narragansett knew we were friends of the Wampanoag Indians on the other side of the river, and they didn't get along. One
of the things I'm proud of is that I got to know both groups of Indians. I helped settle their claims and differences. I helped by being a mediator between the Colonists and the Indians. One English paper once wrote
that I was the leading expert on the language of the Indian people because I learned their language in their land.
So we came here in 1636. There were a dozen of us at the core of that group and within a
few years many more people had come here. I named this place Providence because I was brought there because of the Providence of the Lord God. I felt that very strongly. My third daughter was the first white person born
in this new colony and I named her Providence. Are there any descendants of Providence here? You are an honest bunch! She never married. The only one, the rest of them did. [Providence Williams, third child of Roger
& Mary (Barnard) Williams, was a male.]
Are you from Washington, Mr. Reed? I am. Where is that? South of New York? I didn't know that anything was south of New York. I did read in history books
that it was named for George Washington. Jamestown was there twenty years before I came. So was Roanoke. What ever happened to Roanoke? Did anyone ever find out?
I studied at Cambridge. I was very
fortunate. My father, James Williams, was a Merchant Tailor. That isn't a term that is used anymore. He was an importer, a businessman, a mercantiler, and we had some funds and were a fairly well off family. They
trained me at Pembroke College. I was gratified, as I've read my history that Brown University, the oldest institution of higher learning in this colony, had a Pembroke house that was named after my college at Cambridge
University. I studied Greek, Latin and Dutch and came here and learned the language of the Narragansett and Wampanoag and as I said wrote a book about those languages. It was key to surviving here, getting to know these
people, and they were wonderful people.
I was so dejected when in my latter years, King Phillips War took place and the Indians were conquered. The English Colonists in several colonies were not always
kind to these Native Americans, but they were wonderful people. I was also terribly dejected when Providence was burned to the ground a few years before I died. I lived to see it rebuilt and I was very glad of that.
Question: What language did you preach to the Indian people?
We taught them a fair amount of English. I tried to preach to them in the Narragansett and Wampanoag languages. I
didn't preach to the Indians very much, they had their own beliefs and I would share. I am an Anglican Minister. I shared my knowledge of the Bible and my opinions, if you will, of what is proper in religion and they
shared their opinions with me. We would honor them together.
Comment: And you also translated the Bible so they could read it afterwards.
I hadn't remembered that, of course I did. You must understand I am 400 years old!
Someone remarked when I came in that I don't look like the statue. No picture was ever made; I never sat for a portrait. No
one knows what I look like.
Question: Can you tell us something about your trading post?
I'd be happy to tell you about the trading post. I returned to England twice, both
times to receive a charter. I forget the years, 1643 and 1651? My friend Dr. John Clarke and I went to receive a charter because we were constantly at odds with the other end of the colony down in Aquidneck
Island, called Rhode Island. There were two settlements down there also. But in between those two trips I had a trading post. It was at Cocumscussoc. Have you ever been to Cocumscussoc? I think it is now called North
Kingston. Go down old Post Road, on the left you will see a sign for Smith's Castle and Cocumscussoc was right there. We had a trading post there for a few years. I had to sell it because I was needed in England to go
and receive a charter, because the Connecticut Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony were at odds at how to split up Rhode Island. The Providence Plantation and Rhode Island were it's own colony, we thought. I spent
three years trying to convince King Charles to finally sign that charter revoking any charter the Earl of Warwick or anyone else had given; he wasn't King. I came home after three years without the charter; John Clarke
had to spend another nine years there to get that charter. Sometime we forget him; he was really a key figure in the early days of Rhode Island.
Comment: Your writings are magnificent
but your personality is thoroughly abrasive. A writer from the Historical Society wrote two volumes on you and didn't miss much of anything. I asked him what he thought of you and he said "I wouldn't want him as my next
door neighbor."
Abrasive hey? If you read in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th century any of the history of myself, you will find very little positive written
about me. Until the late 19th
century I don't think you would find anything positive written about me. I was insistent. We came here to America to found a new land based on religious freedom and tolerance and separation of church and state, and then we paid no attention to it. How could I not preach against that?
I will quote one thing that perhaps you might be referring to. It is a quote from me some years ago. I did say, "Civil interference in the church will undoubtedly render the garden and spouse of Christ a
filthy dung hill and whore house of rotten and stinking whores and hypocrites." You couldn't call that abrasive. I wrote that at a much younger age. So perhaps I did tweak a few of the higher ups in the church and
government, but I felt I had to. I did get their attention. When I returned to Rhode Island, Providence, after my second trip they made me Governor for four years. So not everyone thought I was terribly rotten.
I invite you to come and visit any time. I am reposed at Roger Williams Monument at Prospect Park overlooking the city. Perhaps you have seen me there in stone, blessing the city of Providence? I was
originally buried on my homeland, and then later removed to a burial site at Old North Burial Ground on Main Street. But then in 1936, I was moved to that Monument. So if you see me I am underneath and I am gratified to
know that that year, 1936, on the 300th anniversary of the founding of Providence Plantation, I was granted a reprieve of my banishment from Massachusetts.
President Covell:
"Now all
Roger Williams' descendants here are invited to join us in having a photograph made of everyone all together, not separately, and following this, everyone, members and guests, are invited to enjoy the birthday cake and
the punch that we have acquired here. That concludes our formal celebration, and thank you all for your participation.
"Thank you!"
Dean Deekle:
"As one who had a small hand in local
arrangements, would you join me in thanking Walter Covell for being such an excellent host?"
Transcribed and edited by Greg and Stephanie Allen
