 After living in Providence for about two years , Arnold moved with his family and other relatives and associates to the north side of the Pawtuxet River forming a settlement commonly called Pawtuxet , later a part of Cranston , Rhode Island . He and his fellow settlers had serious disputes with their Warwick neighbors on the south side of the river and as a result separated themselves from the Providence government , putting themselves under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . This separation from Providence lasted for 16 years , and as the head of the settlement , Arnold was appointed as the keeper of the peace . He died sometime during the great turmoil of King Philip 's War in 1675 or 1676 . Arnold 's son , Benedict Arnold , succeeded Roger Williams as President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1657 , and under the royal charter of 1663 became the first Governor of the colony . 
