Samuel Wilbur Jr

Samuel Wilbur, Jr., was the son of Samuel Wilbore. He was born in 1622 and was baptized in Sible Hedingham in Essex, England on the 10th of April, 1622. His family first settled in Boston, Massachusetts, but in 1638, his father left the Massachusetts Bay Colony and went to Narragansett (now Rhode Island). Samuel (Jr.) was one of the early settlers of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island, where he appeared on a list of freemen in 1655. He was one of the seven Pattaquamscutt purchasers, mentioned previously, of land that would later become South Kingstown, Rhode Island. He married Hannah Porter. Samuel held a number of important positions within the colony including Commissioner, Deputy to the General Assembly, and Assistant to the Governor. He was well respected within the colony and was one of the men named in the Royal Charter of 1663, giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island, approved by King Charles II in 1663. This charter was the foundation for Rhode Island’s government for 180 years. It provided freedom of religion and a government in which officials were elected by the people, the basis for the American government of today. In 1667, he enlisted and was Captain of a “Troop of Horse” during King Phillip’s War. He died in or soon after 1678, perhaps in Taunton, Massachusetts, where his two brothers lived.