Coggeshall ( [694]) refers to Elizabeth as the “only child of William Baulston, innkeeper of Portsmouth.” Also possibly the William Balston who appears in Winthrop’s list of passengers in 1630. Winthrop Society accepts both.

Great Migration says arrived 1630, origin unknown. He and his wife Elizabeth were admitted as members #38 and #39 of the church at Boston in the fall of 1630. Served as Boston selectman for four six month terms beginning in March 1635/6. He fell out of favor with the colonial authorities beginning in November 1637 when he was fined for supporting John Wheelright. The fine was later reduced, but he was disarmed and in March 1637/8, he was one of 11 who had license to leave from the General Court.

William Baulston was present at the first town meeting at Portsmouth on 7 March 1637/8 and at most of those of May, June and November of that year [ RICR 1:52, 53, 54, 56, 61, 62]. He was granted 6 acres of land in Portsmouth in June 1638 (followed by 240 acres in Feb 1639/40) and sold his land in Boston in August. When the Newport settlers split away early in 1639 and Portsmouth reorganized itself on 30 April 1639, William Baulston was not included in the list of those entering into the new compact, but this omission must have been an accident, since on the same day he was appointed to a committee to lay out land [ RICR 1:70-71]. On 12 March 1639/40 he was one of the Portsmouth men who were "reunited to this body [Newport]" to form the joint government of Newport and Portsmouth [ RICR 1:100].

 At Portsmouth on 26 August 1647 "Mr. Boston is chosen to keep an inn to sell beer & wine to entertain strangers" [ PoTR 36]. On 21 August 1654 it was ordered that "Mr. Bastone shall keep a house of entertainment to entertain strangers" [ PoTR 65; see also RICR 1:314] He held a number of offices in Portsmouth, including Assistant to the General Court, town treasurer, commissioner to the Rhode Island Court, assessor, delegate in numerous colonial matters for Rhode Island and frequent moderator of the town meeting. He held these offices continuously from 1639 until 1673.[ [501]]

Savage's: WILLIAM, Boston, came, no doubt, with Winthrop's fleet, desir. adm. as freem. of the comp. 19 Oct. 1630, and took the o. 18 May foll. by w. Elizabeth wh. d. early, had d. Pity, bapt. Oct. 1630, being, the third ch. so favor. in rec. of our first ch. Other ch. here bapt. were William, 14 Apr. 1633; Mary, 14 Sept. 1634; Mehitable, 24 Jan. 1636; and Meribah, 9 Apr. 1637; I presume, all by sec. w. Elizabeth and all these d. bef. him; beside ano. ch. Elizabeth after his banishm. He was in steady employm. for town affairs, trusted among the worthiest, chos. a selectman 1637, yet in the latter part of the same yr. was disarm. with the majority of his fellow worship. as being, under the fascinat. of Mrs. Hutchinson, and sev. favorers of Wheelwright, went, 1638, to Portsmouth R. I. wh. his assoc. purch. that season, was held there in high regard, made an Assist. 1639, 41, and 56, named in the royal chart. 1663, and d. 14 Mar. 1679, aged 78. His wid. d. 14 Apr. 1683, aged 86. See Haz. II. 612; 2 Mass. Hist. Coll. VII. 98 and any of the Histories of [[vol. 1, p. 110]] Winthrop, Hutchinson, Barry, or Arnold. His d. Elizabeth m. the sec. John Coggeshall, a. 1647, bore him two s. and one or more ds. but by mut. consent they separat. after wh. he having gain. liberty from the governm. to m. again in June 1655, she next mo. obtain. the same license, and thereupon m. Thomas Gould of Wickford.

In his will, dated 11 March 1677[/8], William Baulston of Portsmouth bequeathed to "my wife Elizabeth Baulston all movables with the use of a room or rooms in the dwelling house and the fruits of the orchard, with the conditions that grandson John Coggeshall pay her £12 a year in consideration of his use of the farm, and when Elizabeth Baulston dies he is to pay the £12 to "my loving daughter Elizabeth Gould" if she wants it, and "my grandson William Coggeshall or whomsoever shall by due right possess those lands about this township by me given to him shall yearly find and allow to my said wife his grandmother during her natural life and after her decease to his said mother my daughter Elizabeth Gould during her life if she want the same for her maintenance sufficient summer pasture and winter stuffer[?] for five cows"; to "my grandson John Coggeshall and unto his male heirs forever all that my farm of land" in Portsmouth; to "my grandson William Coggeshall and his male heirs forever" four parcels of land in Portsmouth: "all those lands and meadows to me belonging in the place called the Claypitt Feild, all that parcel of land where my now dwelling house now standeth ..., all that parcel of meadow and land adjoining to the land of John Sanford and all that meadow called Spicer's Meadow" (with contingency plans depending on whether John Coggeshall leaves male or female heirs); to "my grandchild Elizabeth Peck the wife of Thomas Peck" £50 "to be paid unto her or her child"; and "forasmuch as it was serious upon my mind to have given unto the sons of my brothers in England a considerable tract of land in the common fence yet upon further mature consideration all that tract of land to me belonging in the common fence, I not hearing whether any of my kindred are alive, I do therefore give and bequeath all the said land in the common fence unto my two aforenamed grandsons to be equally divided between them"; to "my daughter Gould" the movables (after the death of his wife) to be administered by his executors for the benefit of "my said daughter (their mother)"; to son-in-law Gould £5 [ PoLE 1:153-54]. [2]