Rhode Island: Digitized County Histories

Little Rhody – Rhode Island, doesn’t have many counties – just five – but each county has a history and there are several good state histories to add to your family history.

FAQ

1. While every county in the state is listed, links are only provided for titles that no longer fall under U.S. copyright laws. All (almost) links connect to free websites.
2. There are a few instances when a book has been digitized, but is only found on a paid site. In that case, no link is inserted, but a note as to the website where it has been found is given.
3. When a state history has also been found in digital format, it is listed in the STATE section that precedes the county list. I have limited STATE entries to those with county histories/biographical volumes in them.
4. There are a number of counties that DO have histories written, BUT they remain copyrighted material. Therefore, if a county has NONE after its name, it doesn’t mean there is no county history, just that none has been digitized. It’s also possible that the only digitized county history is included in one of the state volumes, so be sure to check those entries.
5. If the book is on FamilySearch, you will need a free account to access it. This list does NOT include town histories.
6. When all fifty states have been completed, I will post a PDF of them all.
7. One last note – it is very possible that a book is digitally available on more than one website. I’ve only included links to one site per book.

RHODE ISLAND

 STATE – History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Volume I, 1636-1700, Samuel Greene Arnold, Preston & Rounds, Providence, Rhode Island, 1894.
STATEHistory of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Volume II, 1701-1790, Samuel Greene Arnold, Preston & Rounds, Providence, Rhode Island, 1894.
STATEA Short History of Rhode Island, George Washington Greene, J.A. & R.A. Reid, Providence, Rhode Island, 1877.
STATE: History of Rhode Island, Rev. Edward Peterson, John S. Taylor, New York, 1853.
STATE – Rhode Island: a guide to the smallest state, Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Rhode Island, 1937.

BRISTOL –  Sketches of old Bristol, Charles Orrin Freeman, Roger Williams Press, Providence, Rhode Island, 1942
KENT – History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island, including their early settlement and progress to the present time; a description of their historic and interesting localities; sketches of their towns and villages; portraits of some of their prominent men, and biographies of many of their representative citizens, J.R. Cole, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1889.
NEWPORTHistory of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress, Richard Mather Bayles, Editor, L.E. Preston & Company, New York, 1888.
PROVIDENCE History of Providence, County, Rhode Island, Volume 1, Richard Mather Bayles, Editor, W.W. Preston, New York, 1891.
PROVIDENCE – History of Providence, County, Rhode Island, Volume 2, Richard Mather Bayles, Editor, W.W. Preston, New York, 1891.
WASHINGTON – History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island, including their early settlement and progress to the present time; a description of their historic and interesting localities; sketches of their towns and villages; portraits of some of their prominent men, and biographies of many of their representative citizens, J.R. Cole, W.W. Preston & Company, New York, 1889.

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