Deposition
Deposition by Nathaniel Waterman (February 6, 1705/6)
Deposition by Nathaniel Waterman aged 69 and a longtime resident of Providence in the colony of Rhode Island. Waterman was previously employed as a translator between the England and Native Americans in Rhode Island and recounts his knowledge of the tribal sachems. He describes the line of descent from Canonicus, and tells the story of Nonoganit, who was employed by the sachems to retrieve a Narragansett who had fled to the Pequot tribe and rewarded with lands called Niantic County for his success.
Newport Historical Society Collection (Box 60, Folder 8)
Deposition by William Coddington about the Purchase of Aquidneck Island
(True copy made February 11, 1705, original dated September 27, 1677)
True copy from Book No. 2 of Land Evidences in Rhode Island. William Coddington describes the purchase of Aquidneck Island. When he was a magistrate of Massachusetts, he made peace with Canoncius and Miantonomi prior to their conflict with the Pequots. Later on, he sought to purchase land to settle on Aquidneck Island, at the suggestion of Roger Williams. Coddington bargained with Canoncius and Miantonomi, the leadership of the Narragansett Nation who controlled Aquidneck Island.
Newport Historical Society Collection (Box 60, Folder 8)
Deposition by George Wrightman (July 5, 1704)
Deposition by George Wrightman aged 71 and resident of Kingstown in Narragansett County in the Colony of Rhode Island. Wrightman lived in Kingstown for forty years and here describes the extent of the land occupied by Scuttup, one of the chief sachems of the Narragansett tribe.
Newport Historical Society Collection (Box 60, Folder 8)