death_date death_place children birth_place parents birth_date spouse article_title education name occupation
1681 london , england andrew , mary , susannah , howlong , toleration northbourne , kent , england andrew harris and jane bagley baptized 9 december 1610 susannah hyde william harris -lrb- settler -rrb-
 sufficient his legal pursuits to write books and volumes of material concerning william harris attorney
william harris -lrb- settler -rrb-

william harris -lrb- 1610-1681 -rrb- was one of the four men who was with roger williams at seekonk in the plymouth colony during the winter early in 1636 .
he then joined williams and several families in establishing the settlement of providence which later became a part of the colony of rhode island and providence plantations .
he became one of the 12 original proprietors of providence , and one of the 12 original members of the first baptist church in america , and appears prominently in the early records of the settlement .
harris had a very keen mind for business , and while roger williams was a dreamer , harris was a realist who knew legal methods and principles better than any other man in providence .
he had very liberal views concerning the freedom of conscience , and published these views .
this put him in deep conflict with williams , who as president of the colony in 1657 issued a warrant for harris 's arrest with the charge of high treason against the commonwealth of england .
at the ensuing trial , the court decided that the matter must be sent to england for resolution , with harris being placed under bond .
ultimately , the ruling was in harris 's favor .
harris was very active in town and colonial affairs from 1660 to 1676 , while at the same time acting as agent or representative for interests that were inimical to the interests of the colony .
he became an agent on behalf of the pawtuxet settlers in some complex land disputes , and made several trips to england on their behalf .
while he was successful in winning his cases , the results were never realized , and disputes continued following his death .
in his last trip to england in 1680 , harris once again represented the pawtuxet settlers , but also became an agent for connecticut in its claims for the narragansett lands , very much at odds with rhode island interests .
during this trip , his ship was seized by an algerian corsair , and he became a slave along the barbary coast .
being released over a year later after a very high ransom had been paid on his behalf , he made his way back to london where he died three days after his arrival there .
