Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island Genealogy

Description
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County.
 * Newport, Rhode Island at Wikipedia

Colonial Period

Newport was founded in 1639 and its eight founders and first officers were Nicholas Easton, William Coddington, John Clarke, John Coggeshall, William Brenton, Jeremy Clark, Thomas Hazard, and Henry Bull, who left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a political fallout with Anne Hutchinson and her followers. As part of the agreement, Coddington and his followers took control of the southern side of the island. They were soon joined by Nicholas Easton, who had recently been expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for holding heretical beliefs. The settlement soon grew to be the largest of the four original towns of Rhode Island. Many of the first colonists in Newport quickly became Baptists, and in 1640 the second Baptist congregation in Rhode Island was formed under the leadership of John Clarke.

The early Jews

In 1658 a group of Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal were allowed to settle in Newport (Jews fleeing Brazil after defending Dutch interests there against the Portuguese were denied the right to stay in then-Dutch New York until governor finally relented in 1655; seeking asylum in Spain and Portugal was not an option). The Newport congregation, now referred to as Congregation Jeshuat Israel, is the second oldest Jewish congregation in the United States and meets in the oldest standing synagogue in the United States, Touro Synagogue.

Populated Places
Includes Neighborhoods, Villages, Unincorporated Communities, Districts, and Census-Designated Places:

Town Records
In New England most original vital records of birth, marriage, and death can be found at the town clerk's office

Births

 * 1636-1850 Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)
 * 1639-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1852-1900 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Marriages

 * 1636-1850 Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Deaths

 * 1636-1850 Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)

Divorce
For more resources see:

Resources
For more County and State resources see:

Biographies

 * Robert Durfee's journal and recollections of Newport, Rhode Island; Freetown, Massachusetts; New York City &amp; Long Island; Jamaica and Cuba. Robert Durfee was born about 1770 in Rhode Island. During his lifetime he spent time in Massachusetts, New York City area, and several islands in the West Indies before settling on Saint Simons Island, Georgia about 1805. This material includes his journal kept during this period with supplimentary information collected by Virginia Wood concerning the events, individuals, and thoughts discussed in Robert's journal.

Business and Commerce

 * Commerce of Rhode Island: 1726-1800 Half title: Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, seventh series, v. 9-10. Includes index. Contents: v. 1. 1726-1775 -- v. 2. 1775-1800."The letters and papers printed in these volumes formed a part of the commercial correspondence of four generations of a Newport mercantile house. The earlier letters were of the Redwood family. The house of Ayrault of Newport entered about the middle of the eighteenth century as also that of Lopez. To the second half of the century, the firms of Lopez and Champlin contribute the larger part"--Prefatory note, v. 1.

Cemeteries

 * 1647-2000 Rhode Island: Historical Cemeteries, 1647-2000 at American Ancestors — index & images ($)


 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Newport Cemeteries List at FindAGrave
 * at FamilySearch Catalog
 * Newport County Cemeteries at FamilySearch Places

Church Records
Historically, the largest religious groups in Rhode Island were the Congregational, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Methodist churches. For general information about Vermont denominations, view the New Hampshire Church Records wiki page. To see the churches in TOWN, visit. Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. The following are church records available online for the town of TOWN:


 * 1636-1899 Rhode Island, Vital Extracts, 1636-1899 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1639-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1639-1932 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1671-1899 Rhode Island Church Records 1671-1899 at Findmypast - index($)
 * Rhode Island Church Records

Society of Friends
also known as Quakers.


 * A preliminary guide to the records of the meetings in New England Yearly Meeting of Friends with their subordinate meetings

City Directories

 * 1856-1959 U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, Newport at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
 * 1871-1942 Rhode Island, U.S., City Directories, Newport at Ancestry - index & images ($), some years may be missing
 * 1900 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images, some years may be missing
 * Various Dates U.S. City Directories, 1860-1960 at MyHeritage - index & images ($) some towns and years may be missing

Land Records
The following are online land records for the town of Newport:
 * 1646-1851 (*) Rhode Island. General Assembly, & Rhode Island. Court of Trials at FamilySearch Catalog - index & images
 * Rhode Island Land and Property

Maps
This selection incudes town, county, state, and historical maps
 * Boundary Map of Newport at HomeTownLocator
 * McConnell's Historical Maps of the United States at Library of Congress
 * Newport at FamilySearch Places
 * Newport at Google Maps
 * Newport at Mapcarta
 * Old Maps of Rhode Island at Old-Maps.com
 * Rhode Island Maps State Page

Military
Some Records are Searchable by Town
 * 1741-1854 Newport, RI: Members of the Artillery Company of Newport, 1741-1854 at American Ancestors - index & images ($)
 * United States Military Records

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
For more Revolutionary War Military Records see:
 * Rhode Island Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783
 * United States Military Records - Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Civil War, 1861-1865
For more Civil War Military Records see:
 * Rhode Island Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865
 * United States Military Records - Civil War, 1861-1865

World War I, 1917-1918
For more World War I Military Records see:
 * Rhode Island Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918
 * United States Military Records - World War I, 1917-1918

World War II, 1941-1945
For more World War II Military Records see:
 * Rhode Island Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945
 * United States Military Records - World War II, 1941-1945

Newspapers

 * 1800-1801 - The Guardian of Liberty (Newport, R.I.) at Google News - free

Other Town Records
In Rhode Island, most records are kept at the town level and generally began being kept at the founding of the town. These records may include the following: The following are TOWN town records available online:

Probate Records
In Rhode Island, most probate records are kept at the town level. The following are online probate records for the town of Newport:
 * 1582-1932 Rhode Island, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1582-1932 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Rhode Island Probate Records

Websites

 * Newport RI Genealogy

Nearest FamilySearch Center

 * Providence Rhode Island FamilySearch Center
 * American French Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Clark Memorial Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Newport Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Roger Williams University Library - an affiliate library