Robert Burdick

Robert Burdick (November 2, 1630 – October 25, 1692), sometimes written as Robert Burdett, was a British American legislator and deacon for the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Burdick was one of the earliest settlers in what is now known as Westerly, Rhode Island. Burdick is best known for playing a leading role in a border dispute between Rhode Island and the Massachusetts Bay Colony over lands along the Pawcatuck River. In 1661 he was arrested and jailed by Massachusetts authorities in a test case over territorial rights that were enshrined in the Rhode Island Royal Charter. Burdick served several terms as a Deputy in the General Court of Rhode Island later in his career from 1680 to 1685.

Early life Robert Burdick was born on November 2, 1630, to parents Frances (née St. Lawrence) and Samuel Burdick in Devonshire, England. His maternal grandfather was Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth, meanwhile one of his paternal ancestors was William Burdet. He was an early advocate for Sabbatarianism (later the Seventh Day Baptist church) in the Rhode Island colony. On March 22, 1661, Burdick was a signatory of a portion of the Misquamicut Purchase, a land cession treaty between colonists of the colony of Rhode Island and the Narragansett people.

Boundary dispute and imprisonment

Territory between the Narragansett Bay and the Pawcatuck River near present-day Westerly, Rhode Island was a contested area between the Rhode Island and Massachusetts colonies in the mid-17th century. In 1661, Burdick and a group of 36 settlers led by Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke occupied lands in the Misquamicut region (extending west of present-day Pawcatuck, Rhode Island) under the authority of the Rhode Island colonial government. The Rhode Island Royal Charter dictated that the Pawcatuck River (at the time also referred to as the Narragansett River) served as the territorial boundary of the colony of Rhode Island. Many colonists interpreted the boundary of the Pawcatuck River, including the western bank, which quickly caused confusion amongst settlers.

The Massachusetts colony claimed the same territory as part of a settlement that was then known as Southertown (present-day Stonington, Connecticut) within the borders of the Connecticut Colony. Burdick argued that he and the other men had acted with the "authority of the Lord Governour of the Massachusets" (that is, the Rhode Island colony). The Massachusetts court found the men guilty and fined them £100 each. The defendants were ordered to remain in the Boston Gaol until the fines were paid and security for future "good behaviour" was also provided by their families or friends.

Burdick and Saunders' imprisonment in Boston became a diplomatic incident between the colonies.

Burdick was elected several times as a Deputy to the General Court of Rhode Island (the colonial legislature). His several terms of service included the years 1680, 1683, and 1685.

Westerly was forced to be temporarily abandoned during King Philip's War (1675–1678), as the conflict between colonial settlers and Native American tribes was in close proximity to the town. Burdick and his family, along with other residents, fled the settlement for Newport, Rhode Island, returning at the end of hostilities.

In approximately 1666, Burdick formed a Sabbatarian congregation in Westerly with Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke. This congregation was the precursor to the Hopkinton Seventh Day Baptist Church, Burdick would end up serving as the church's deacon.