Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Coddington, William
CODDINGTON, WILLIAM (1601–1678), governor of Rhode Island, New England, a native of Lincolnshire, was born in 1601. He was chosen in England to be an 'assistant' or magistrate to the colony at Massachusetts Bay, and arrived at Salem 12 June 1630, along with the governor and the charter, after which he was several times re-elected. He is said to have built the first brick house in Boston, where he was a 'principal merchant.' For some time he was treasurer of the colony. Having in opposition to Governor Winthrop and the ministers of Boston warmly espoused the cause of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, he was so chagrined at the result of the trial that he abandoned his lucrative business in Boston, and joined the emigrants who in 1638 left for Rhode Island. His name appears first on the covenant signed by eighteen persons at Aquidneck, or Rhode Island, 7 March 1638, forming themselves into a body politic 'to be governed by the laws of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings.' After a more formal code was drawn up he was appointed judge at Portsmouth, then the chief seat of the government, three elders being joined with him in the administration of affairs. At Portsmouth he held office for a little over a year; he was then appointed judge at Newport, and when Portsmouth and Newport were united in 1640, he was appointed the first governor. The four towns, Portsmouth, Newport, Providence, and Warwick, were united in 1647, and he was the second president chosen, holding office from May 1648 to May 1649. This year he made an unsuccessful attempt to have Rhode Island included in the confederacy of the United Colonies of New England. In 1651 he went to England, and was commissioned governor of Aquidneck Island, separate from the rest of the colony; but as the people were jealous lest his commission should affect their laws and liberties, he resigned it, and for a time retired from public life. In his later years he was, however, prevailed upon to accept the chief magistracy. He died 1 Nov. 1678.
[Callendar's Historical Discourse on the Civil and Religious Affairs of the Colony of Rhode Island in vol. iv. of Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society; Savage's Winthrop; Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers; Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts Bay.]