 Benedict Arnold ( 21 December 1615 – 19 June 1678 ) was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , serving for a total of 11 years in these roles . Coming from Somerset , England , he was born and raised in the town of Ilchester , likely attending school in Limington , nearby . In 1635 , at the age of 19 , he accompanied his parents , siblings and other family members on a voyage from England to New England , where they first settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony . In less than a year they moved to Providence on the Narragansett Bay at the request of Roger Williams . In about 1638 they moved once again , about five miles south to the Pawtuxet River , settling on the north side at a place commonly called Pawtuxet . Here they had serious disputes with their neighbors , particularly Samuel Gorton , and as a result put themselves and their lands under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts , a situation lasting for 16 years . 
