[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #0988, Date of Import: Oct 22, 1998]
George Wightman (1632-1721) George Wightman was a man of some education. He came to America with established standards of living; and he did not come empty-handed. He learned the trade of tailor in England and took advantage of the oppor- tunity to establish himself more generously as a yeoman, looking to the future of himself and family. In Rhode Island, in contrast to conditions in both the Bay Colony and in CT, most of the early settlers acquired considerable land, many being large proprietors; and this was reflected in the social life on the Colony. George Wightman possessed lands totaling some two thousand acres. It is to be observed here also that he was a good judge of land, his various holdings in Quidnessett, on the Great Plain in Exeter, and el- sewhere being then as they are today some of the best land in Rohde Island. One may believe that George Wightman knew his own mind. He stood firm in his allegiance to the jurisdiction of Rhode Island, believing in the fundamental principles which actuated its leaders. His religious convic- tions were certainly clear and strong, and he was undoubtedly a Baptist. The fact that he left a bequest to "my friend Richard Sweet" and in the same connection a sum of money with which "to buy bread and wine for the congregation" indicates that he was a member of the Six-Principle Baptist Church in North Kingstown, of which Richard Sweet was at that time the Pastor, and suggests that he was, himself, a Deacon in that Church. His wife, Elizabeth, had been baptized and nurtured in a different faith; but she was the granddaughter of one who had: for his conscience to God renounced faire possessions in old England" and who was until his death the friend of Roger Williams in New England. Her brother, Lodowyck Updyck, later in life, following his wife, favored the Anglican communion; but it may be believed that there were no religious differences in the house of George Wightman. It is significant that in a new land in which oppor- tunities for material advancement might seem the paramount interest, the eldest and youngest sons of this household stepped out into positions of active leadership in support of religious principles. His "great bible," printed in 1587 in London is now owned by a direct descendant of his oldest grandson. It is assumed that he came more or less directly to Newport. In 1686 George Wightman was elected Constable. In 1687 at Rochester George was sworn as a member of the grand jury. He lived to pass his eight-ninth birthday. Emigrating from and old and established country, he took part in the founding of a civilized order in a wild and savage domain; he made a home in the wilderness; and he founded a family nurtured in principles to which they held. Sources: George Wightman and Descendants by Mary Ross Whitman (1939) FHL 929.273 W639w.