History of Portsmouth
(Note: I am not a history major, I am simply taking information from other resources and summarizing. If anything in here is incorrect, please E-Mail me so it can be fixed.)
The History of Portsmouth begins with a woman in the Massachusetts bay colony. She was simply the wife of a leading Boston citizen, but she would become so much more. At that time the Puritans believed in Covenant of Works, the path to salvation was through good deeds, etc. This woman did believe in this, but she had a slight spin on it. She believed that if someone had the grace of God in their heart, then these good deeds would come naturally. She held small meetings in her home with other women, as a way for them to get together and be involved in religion and politics.
What started as quiet meetings which the Puritan leaders at first respected, turned out to be quite a big deal as they began criticizing some of the Puritan teachings. The Puritans were very strict in their beliefs, and they also had a patriarchal hierarchy. These women were going against the teachings of God, and they were rebelling against men too! So in 1637, Anne Hutchinson was convicted of heresy and banished from the colony. If you read the transcript of her court examination you will note Hutchinson's character. She is brave, strongwilled, and intelligent. She knew that the issue was not what she was preaching, but the power that she possibly had. The men were afraid of the women taking over. Even the men of the court admit that she was able to influence other women. She was charged with heresy, but really her crime was standing up to the men of the colony.
After the judge casted her out of the Colony, she replied, "The Lord judgeth not as man judgeth. Better to be cast out of the church than to deny Christ" (source: Providence Journal Online Article). And so her and her family fled south to a colony named Providence. Providence had been founded by Roger Williams in 1636, who had also fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony for similar reasons. Williams was very friendly with the local natives, and negotiated the purchase of Aquidneck Island, later to be named Rhodes Island. In 1638, the Hutchinson family and a few others settled on the northern end of the island, where they found the settlement of Pocasset (later to be named Portsmouth).
Portsmouth was the first town in the nation to have been founded by a woman. Although probably not intentional, Hutchinson is credited as being a feminist, as well as contributing to the decline of Puritanism. Unfortunately, even in the haven of their new settlement, religious disputes arose, which caused some people to move south and find the town of Newport. In 1642, Anne's husband passed away and she feared that Boston authorities would try to gain control of Rhode Island, so she fled once again, this time to what's now known as Pelham Bay, in New York. The following year an indian revolt led to the death of her and her family.
Portsmouth Historical Links
Court transcript of Anne's Trial in Newton
State of Rhode Island General Assembly: History
Providence Journal Online Article
Other Portsmouth Links
RI Economic Development Corp (Portsmouth)PortsmouthRi.Com
Maps of Portsmouth (ca. 1728)