 In 1651 Arnold left troubled Providence and Pawtuxet for the politically enlightened island of Aquidneck , settling in Newport . He recorded in the family record , " Memorandum . We came from Providence with our family to Dwell at Newport in Rhode Island the 19th of November , Thursday in afternoon , & arrived ye same night Ano . Domina 1651 " . With only a few exceptions , men from Newport held the reins of power for the first century of Rhode Island history . When the first English settlers came to Aquidneck Island in 1638 , they organized a quarterly court and English @-@ style jury trial . In 1640 Newport established monthly courts , rights of appeal and trial by jury , whereas in Providence there was no court , no judge , and no jury . Newport was by far the most attractive settlement on the Narragansett Bay , with most of its settlers being educated . 
