Zachariah Rhodes 10th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

Zachariah was born in 1603 in Lancashire, England and was in America before 1644. In Rehoboth, Massachusetts on July 3, 1644 Zachariah with others in Rehoboth signed a compact “to order the prudential affairs of the plantation”, then land lots were assigned.

Zachariah married Joanna Arnold in March 1646, they had 9 children. Zachariah didn’t stay long in Massachusetts and may have been in a Boston jail, he refused Massachusetts religious laws, “the courts have naught to do with matters of religion”. The Rhodes family followed Roger Williams to Providence, Rhode Island. In both Providence and Rehoboth, Zachariah was a commissioner, constable, treasurer, deputy and more.

Zachariah died on October 11, 1665, “drowned on the Pawtucket shore”. He was 64 years old. He wrote his will April 28, 1662. Zachariah named widow Joanna as overseer of the estate, left lands and money to his children and gave Joanna permission to change the will if needed, “if any Shall Marry or Match themselves with any Contrarey to ye Mind of their Mother or of my two friends my will is then that it shall be in their Mothers liberty what to give them, whether anything or No”.

Sources

• The history of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts at HathiTrust land and compact
• Indian Rock, Narragansett Pier at Library of Congress
• The early records of the town of Providence at HathiTrust
• The genealogical dictionary of Rhode Island at Archive
• Representative men and old families of Rhode Island at HathiTrust