John Bradshaw's Signature
In 1649, Rhode Island colonists were busy establishing new communities and Providence was hammering out the last details of its own Charter. Meanwhile, in Newport, William Coddington was annoyed by governmental and territorial disputes with Providence, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Plantations. To solve this problem, Coddington made an arrangement with Parliament to proclaim himself Governor of Aquidneck Island for life in 1651. This Coddington Commission, in the collection of the Newport Historical Society, was signed by John Bradshaw, President of the Council of State and affixed with the Great Seal of Oliver Cromwell. Needless to say, other Rhode Islanders were not amused and sent John Clarke to have the document nullified the following year. Earlier, John Bradshaw (1602-1659) had set his hand and seal on another notable document: The Death Warrant of King Charles I at Westminster Hall on 30 January 1649.