List of Attorneys General of Rhode Island

Seal of the Attorney General of Rhode Island

The Attorney General of Rhode Island is the chief legal advisor of the Government of the State of Rhode Island and oversees the State of Rhode Island Department of Law. The Attorney General is elected every four years. The current Attorney General is Peter Kilmartin.[1]

History of the Rhode Island Attorneys General

In 1643, Roger Williams obtained a patent (charter) from the English Parliament. The towns of Providence and Warwick elected a Chief Officer under the authority of this Parliamentary Patent of 1643. In 1647, the towns of Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and Warwick formed a united colony under the Parliamentary Patent. In May 1650, the offices of "Attorney General for the Colonie" and "Solicitor" were created.

List of Attorneys General of Rhode Island

Attorney General under the Patent of 1643

Solicitor under the Patent of 1643

  • Hugh Built: May 1650 – 1651

Attorney General after the Coddington Commission

  • John Easton, of Newport: May 1653 – May 1654 (Attorney General only for Portsmouth and Newport following the repeal of the Coddington Commission, and before the re-unification of the four towns into a single government)

Attorneys General Under the Patent of 1643

Attorneys General Under the Royal Charter of 1663

Richard Ward, 1712-1713
Henry Marchant, 1771-1777
David Howell, 1789-1790
Ray Greene, 1794-1797
Albert C. Greene, 1825-1843
Samuel P. Colt, 1882-1886
  • John Sanford, of Portsmouth May 1663 – November 1664
  • John Easton, of Newport 1664–1670
  • John Sanford, of Portsmouth 1670–1671
  • Joseph Torrey, of Newport 1671–1672
  • John Easton, of Newport 1672–1674
  • Peter Easton, of Newport 1674–1676
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1676–1677
  • Edward Richmond, of Newport 1677–1680
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1680–1681
  • Edmund Calverly, of Warwick 1681–1682
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1684–1685
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1685–1686
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1684–1685
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1685–1686
  • John Williams, of Newport 1686–1689
  • John Pococke, of Newport May 1690 – ????
  • John Smith, of Warwick May 1696 – 1698
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1698–1700
  • John Rhodes, of Warwick 1700–1701
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1701–1702
  • Nathaniel Dyre, of Newport 1702–1704
  • Joseph Sheffield, of Newport 1704–1706
  • Simon Smith, of Warwick 1706–1712
  • Richard Ward, of Newport 1712–1713
  • John Hammett, of Newport 1713–1714
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1714–1721
  • Henry Bull, of Newport 1721–1722
  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1722–1732
  • James Honeyman, Jr., of Newport 1732–1740

King's Attorneys

  • James Honeyman, Jr., of Newport 1741–1743
  • John Wanton, of Providence County 1741–1742
  • Daniel Updike, of King's County 1741–1743
  • John Andrew, of Providence County 1742–1743

Attorneys General

  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1746–1747
  • Augustus Johnston, of Newport 1758–1766
  • Oliver Arnold, of Providence 1766–1771
  • Henry Marchant, of Newport 1771–1777
  • William Channing, of Newport 1777–1787
  • Henry Goodwin, of Newport 1787–1789
  • David Howell, of Providence 1789–1790
  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1790–1791
  • William Channing, of Newport 1791–1793
  • Ray Greene, of Providence 1794–1797
  • James Burrill, Jr., of Providence 1797–1814
  • Samuel W. Bridgham, of Providence 1814–1817
  • Henry Bowen, of Providence 1817–1819
  • Dutee J. Pearce 1819–1825
  • Albert C. Greene, of East Greenwich 1825–1843

Attorneys General Under the Constitution of Rhode Island, 1843-present

NamePartyTerm of OfficeResidence
Joseph M. Blake1843-1851Bristol
Walter S. Burges1851-1854Cranston
Christopher Robinson1854-1855Cumberland
Charles Hart1855-1858Providence
Jerome Kimball1858-1860Providence
Walter S. Burges1860-1863Cranston
Abraham Payne1863-1864Providence
Horatio RogersRepublican1864-1867Providence
Willard Sayles1867-1882Providence
Samuel P. ColtRepublican1882-1886Bristol
Edwin Metcalf1886-1887Providence
Ziba O. Slocum1887-1888Providence
Horatio RogersRepublican1888-1889Providence
Ziba O. Slocum1889-1891Providence
Robert W. Burbank1891-1894Providence
Edward C. Dubois1894-1897East Providence
Willard B. TannerRepublican1897-1901Providence
Charles F. StearnsDemocratic1901-1905Providence
William B. GreenoughRepublican1905-1912Providence
Herbert A. RiceRepublican1912-1923Pawtucket
Herbert L. CarpenterDemocratic1923-1925North Smithfield
Charles P. SissonRepublican1925-1929Providence
Oscar L. HeltzenRepublican1929-1930Providence
Benjamin M. McLymanRepublican1930-1933Providence
John P. HartiganDemocratic1933-1939Cranston
Louis V. JackvonyRepublican1939-1941Providence
John H. NolanDemocratic1941-1949Newport
William E. PowersDemocratic1949-1958Cumberland
J. Joseph NugentDemocratic1958-1967Providence
Herbert F. DeSimoneRepublican1967-1971Providence
Richard J. IsraelRepublican1971-1975Providence
Julius C. MichaelsonDemocratic1975-1979Providence
Dennis J. Roberts IIDemocratic1975-1985Providence
Arlene VioletRepublican1985-1987Providence
James E. O'NeilDemocratic1987-1993Narragansett
Jeffrey B. PineRepublican1993-1999Providence
Sheldon WhitehouseDemocratic1999-2003Providence
Patrick C. LynchDemocratic2003–2011East Providence
Peter KilmartinDemocratic2011–Pawtucket

References

  1. "State list of Attorneys General". Retrieved 2012-05-25.
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