In 1739, grave diggers shovel accidentally cracked open one end of Roger William’s coffin. This fateful mishap likely planted the seed for the story that Williams was eaten by an apple tree. In a five-minute video, Beyond the Grave tells the tale of what may have happened following William’s death in 1683 when it was decided to dig up his remains in 1860. Click here for the video posted on July 26, 2024 and here for the National Park Service version of the story.

(Above) Williams left London in 1631 and by 1636 had established the town of Providence. Throughout his time in Plymouth, Boston and Salem, Williams promoted religious freedom and liberty of conscience, as summarized by his statement that “forced worship stinks in God’s nostrils”.

(Above) In 1860, in an attempt to memorialize his remains under a newly-erected statue, his coffin was dug up in the back yard of his house that had been replaced by the Sullivan Dorr House in Providence. This 1939 photo shows Williams’ remains prepared for transfer to Prospect Terrace in Providence, to be interred at the base of his statue. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Zachariah Allen wrote: “At the time the apple tree was planted, all the fleshy parts of the body had doubtlessly been decomposed and dispersed in gaseous forms; and there was then left only enough of the principal bones to serve for the roots to follow along from one extremity of the skeleton to the other in a continuous course, to glean up the scanty remains.” The tree root is on display at the John Brown House Museum, above left. For more, click on any of the pictures above.