Gregory Dexter
| Gregory Dexter | |
|---|---|
| 7th President of Providence and Warwick | |
|
In office 1653–1654 |
|
| Preceded by | John Smith |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Easton (as President of all four towns of Rhode Island Colony) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1610 Northamptonshire, England |
| Died | 1700 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Spouse(s) | Abigail Fullerton |
| Children | Stephen, James, John, Abigail |
| Occupation | Printer, stationer, commissioner, town clerk, deputy, president, Baptist minister |
Gregory Dexter (1610–1700) was a printer, Baptist minister, and early President of the combined towns of Providence and Warwick in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was in New England as early as 1644 when he had a five-acre lot assigned to him in Providence. He had been in the printing business in London, and still operated that business in 1643 when his establishment printed Roger Williams' translation of the Narragansett language. As an experienced stationer, he offered his expertise to the printing operation in Boston in 1646, asking for no compensation other than an annual almanac.
Dexter became active in colonial affairs in 1647, as the four towns of the colony were consolidating into a unified government. He later became a commissioner from Providence during the early 1650s, after William Coddington had received a commission to remove the two island towns of Portsmouth and Newport from the unified government. Dexter became the President of the combined towns of Providence and Warwick during the final year of the split government, and the four towns were reunited with his successor. Dexter was a Baptist and, following his presidency, he renewed his association with the Baptist church in Providence, becoming the pastor of the congregation in 1669. He was considered to be very pious, seldom smiling, and in social interaction was always ready to engage his company with a sermon.
Dexter may have been born in the village of Old, Northamptonshire, England, where his father Gregory Dexter was baptized in 1581 and continued to live with his family until his death. Young Gregory Dexter is found in London, apprenticed to Elizabeth Aldee on 3 December 1632 for a term of eight years, and admitted to freedom in the Stationer’s Guild on 18 December 1639. Dexter gained a reputation for printing controversial tracts often critical of the crown. He printed a pamphlet on "Prelatical Episcopacy" for John Milton. While in London, Milton became involved with the Baptist church and began corresponding with Roger Williams in New England. About 1644, Dexter was in New England where he was assigned a five-acre lot in Providence, and he and 38 others signed an agreement in July 1640 to form a government there. This agreement gave authority to five selectmen to handle the business of the town, leaving difficult matters to arbitration. He possibly returned to England, as his printing establishment in London published Williams' book A Key into the Language of America in 1643, the first English translation of an American Indian language. He was in New England in 1644 with Williams in Providence, as he joined the Baptist church there. He continued to work as a printer, and he was asked in 1646 to get a printing operation running in Boston. He requested no remuneration for his services; he only asked that they send him their almanac once a year.
...
Wikipedia