"Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants"; by John Cortland Crandall; Higginson Book Co.; 1949, p 8, 12.

"The Descendants of Robert Burdick of Rhode Island"; by Nellie W. Johnson; The Syracuse Typesetting Co., Syracuse, NY; 1937, p10.

"Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants"; by John Cortland Crandall; Higginson Book Co.; 1949, p 12.

Born in London in 1679, George Stileman Pickering Jr. Gent, was educated and apprenticed to the trade of tailor when he first moved to the colonies to live with his father in 1689. Not liking that profession, George persuaded his father that he should be a Medical Doctor and returned to England, studied medicine and became known as Doctor George Stileman Pickering. Rejoining his father in around 1700, Dr. George dropped the last name Pickering, took the name of his father - Stillman - moved to Wethersfield with his father, then on to Westerly, Washington Co., Rhode Island, where he was made a freeman or citizen.

Professor Thomas B. Stillman writes that George Jr. on a journey from Wethersfield to Boston, passed through the town of Westerly, Washington Co., Rhode Island, the seat of a Society of Sabbatarians, who observed the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and he was much surprised to see the people at their work on Sunday and thought they must be a very deluded set. Upon his return from Boston, he thought he would stop at Westerly and inquire into the matter. Accordingly, he had an interview with their pastor, Elder Thomas Hiscox, but instead of convincing them of error, he became convinced himself and took up his abode with them.

In 1706, Dr. George married Deborah Crandall, daughter of Reverend Joseph Crandall and Deborah Burdick of Westerly,Washington Co., Rhode Island. Deborah Burdick was grandaughter of Samuel Hubbard, charter member of the 1st Seventh-day Baptist Church in America at Newport, RI in 1671. It is through Deborah Crandall that all decendents of Dr. George Stillman are direct decendents of royalty such as: Charlemagne Emperor of the West,King of Franks; Alfred the Great, King of West Saxony; and, the Kings of Scotland.

Dr. George purchased a large tract of land in Westerly, situated in the bend of the Pawcatuck River, where he settled after his marriage and practiced medicine. Dr. George Stillman was a member of the Westerly Seventh-day Baptist Church where he was appointed lay preacher and served as Clerk of the Church for over 30 years. Dr. George died in 1760.

"The Descendants of Robert Burdick of Rhode Island"; by Nellie W. Johnson; The Syracuse Typesetting Co., Syracuse, NY; 1937, p10.