A History of Kingston, R.I., 1700-1900, Heart of Rural South County, by Christian M. McBurney, Kingston, R.I.:  Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 2004 (392 pages, 32 images). 

Kingston, a village in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, has a history in the 18^th and 19^th centuries as rich as any village in New England.  The key is that it served for 100 years as one of the five rotating state capitals; for almost 150 years as the seat for the county courts in Washington County; and for 125 years as the town seat for South Kingstown (then including Narragansett).

In "A History of Kingston, 1700-1900," relive these events in Kingston’s history:

• Locals break open the Kingston jail to set free Samuel Casey, a talented silversmith languishing in jail under a death sentence for counterfeiting coins in 1770.
• George Washington spends the night in the village during the Revolutionary War.
• Jemima Wilkinson, religious prophet and utopian leader, reportedly tries to walk on water and bring back the dead to the land of the living.
• Rhode Island’s constitutional convention held in Kingston refuses to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1790.
• Thomas Mount is hanged in 1791 for the mere crime of burglary.
• Elisha Gardner, the “Cat Inspector,” plays his best practical joke.
• The South Kingstown town council in 1808 rejects Elisha Gardner’s request to set free his African American female slave, Patience.
• Elisha Potter, a powerful politician, throws his African American farm worker in jail for the “crime” of leaving his farm to preach at a local Sunday church meeting.
• Forgers and burglars, at trials in the court house, are sentenced to die by hanging, to be whipped on the naked back, or to have a piece of their ears cut off.
• Villagers establish the Kingston Anti-Slavery Society in 1837, and Sara Harris Fayerweather, African American abolitionist, moves to Kingston in 1855.
• At the start of the Civil War, Kingston hosts a heart-wrenching going away party for a company of local Union soldiers.
• In 1888, the University of Rhode Island is founded and located in Kingston.

Order your copy today!  The cost is $19.95 (no charge for shipping and handling).

ORDER YOUR COPY BY SENDING A CHECK (NO CASH PLEASE) TO:

Christian M. McBurney, 9912 Old Spring Road, Kensington, Maryland  20895

Make check payable to "Christian McBurney" and inform me of any inscription you would like from me

The book is also available at the following stores:  In Kingston:  Kingston Hill Store, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society (Museum Store; at the old jail), URI Bookstore, and Rhode Island Book Company (at Kingston Emporium).  In Wakefield, Picture This (at Quo Vadis shopping center), Myopic Books (343 Main Street, across from former Kenyon's), Basket Case (212 Main Street) and South County Hospital Gift Shop.  In West Kingston, Courthouse Center for the Arts (tues-fri, 10-4).  In North Kingstown, O'Keeffe Books (629 Boston Neck Road).  In Westerly, Other Tiger Bookstore (downtown, 90 High Street).  In Providence, Brown University Bookstore, Thayer Street.. 

For information on Christian McBurney's new book, Jailed for Preaching, The Autobiography of Cato Pearce, a Freed Slave from Washington County, Rhode Island, with an Historical Introduction by Christian M. McBurney, Kingston, R.I.:  Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, 2006, click on the link in this site under "Menu" or go to www.freewebs.com/jailedforpreaching