John Easton

John Easton
15th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office
1690–1695
Preceded byHenry Bull
Succeeded byCaleb Carr
8th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office
1674–1676
GovernorWilliam Coddington
Preceded byWilliam Coddington
Succeeded byJohn Cranston
3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th Attorney General of Rhode Island
In office
May 1656 – May 1657
GovernorRoger Williams
Preceded byJohn Cranston
Succeeded byJohn Greene
In office
May 1660 – May 1663
GovernorWilliam Brenton
Benedict Arnold
Preceded byJohn Greene
Succeeded byJohn Sanford
In office
1664–1670
GovernorBenedict Arnold
William Brenton
Benedict Arnold
Preceded byJohn Sanford
Succeeded byJohn Sanford
In office
1672–1674
GovernorNicholas Easton
Preceded byJoseph Torrey
Succeeded byPeter Easton
Personal details
Bornbaptized 19 December 1624
Romsey, Hampshire, England
Died12 December 1705
Newport, Rhode Island
Resting placeCoddington Cemetery, Newport
SpouseMehitable Gaunt
OccupationDeputy Governor, Governor

John Easton (1624–1705) was a political leader in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, devoting decades to public service before eventually becoming governor of the colony. Born in Hampshire, England, he sailed to New England with his widowed father and older brother, settling in Ipswich and Newbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. As a supporter of the dissident ministers John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson during the Antinomian Controversy, his father was exiled, and settled in Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island (later called Rhode Island) with many other Hutchinson supporters. Here there was discord among the leaders of the settlement, and his father followed William Coddington to the south end of the island where they established the town of Newport. The younger Easton remained in Newport the remainder of his life, where he became involved in civil affairs before the age of 30.

Ultimately serving more than four decades in the public service of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Easton began as an Attorney General for the island towns of Portsmouth and Newport, soon fulfilling the same role for the entire colony. To this line of service he added positions as Commissioner, Deputy, and Assistant, for many years serving simultaneously in multiple roles. In 1674 he was elected to the office of deputy governor, serving for two years, with a part of his tenure being during King Philip's War, about which he published a written treatise. Following the overthrow of the Edmund Andros governorship under the Dominion of New England, Easton was elected as governor of the colony for five consecutive years. While in office his biggest concerns were funding the ongoing war that England was fighting with France, and dealing with the disruptive French privateers. Other issues during his tenure included a smallpox epidemic in Newport, charter issues having to do with Rhode Island's militia serving in other colonies, and the ongoing border line disputes with the neighboring colonies.

The son of the Quaker governor, Nicholas Easton, the younger Easton was also a lifelong Quaker, and following his death in 1705 was buried in the Coddington Cemetery in Newport where his father and several other Quaker governors are also interred.