William Wickenden

Wickenden Street in Providence marks where he originally settled in the seventeenth century and is named in his honor.

[1] Wickenden was possibly born in Oxfordshire, England, in about 1614, although there has been no definitive evidence provided to prove this.

In 1656, he was arrested by Dutch colonial authorities, along with his host Sheriff William Hallet (husband of Elizabeth Fones).

The Dutch authorities learned that he was a poor cobbler with a large family, and they agreed to exile him rather than imprison him.

The following year, Dutch colonists signed the Flushing Remonstrance to permit more religious freedom.