Roger Williams (December 21, 1603 – April 1, 1683) was an English-American Puritan, and a Calvinist-Baptist theologian. He was widely known as a supporter of religious toleration and separation of church and state. He also supported fair dealings with Native Americans. In 1644, he received a royal charter creating the colony of Rhode Island, named for the main island in Narragansett Bay. He is believed to have started the first or second Baptist church in the United States. He is known to have left the church soon afterwards, saying, "God is too large to be housed under one roof."
Famous descendants
These are some famous descendants of Roger Williams: Nelson Rockefeller Gail Borden Charles Eugene Tefft Michelle Phillips Julia Ward Howe Sarah Palin Bill Gore
References
Further reading
Brockunier, Samuel. The Irrepressible Democrat, Roger Williams, The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1940. Gaustad, Edwin, S., ed., Liberty of Conscience: Roger Williams in America. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1991. Miller, Perry, Roger Williams, A Contribution to the American Tradition, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc, Indianapolis and New York, 1953. Settle, Mary Lee, I, Roger Williams: A Novel, W. W. Norton & Company, Reprint edition (September 2002). Winslow, Ola Elizabeth, Master Roger Williams, A Biography. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1957. Peattie, Donald Culross, Roger Williams- First Modern American. The Reader's Digest. December 1946.