Pardon Tillinghast (1625–1718) was an early settler of Providence, in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. A cooper by profession in England, he emigrated to the colony about 1645, and became a successful merchant. Later in life he became a pastor of the Baptist Church of Providence, serving without compensation for nearly four decades before his death in 1718, aged about 96.
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Life
Baptized in 1625 in Streat, Sussex, England, Pardon Tillinghast was the son of Pardon Tillinghast and Sarah Browne of Ifield, Sussex. His paternal grandparents were John Tillinghast and Alice Pardon of Streat in Sussex, and his maternal grandparents were Reverend Benjamin Browne and Sarah Leachford of Ifield. His grandfather, John Tillinghast, attended Cambridge University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1581/2, a Master of Arts degree in 1585, and then served as the rector at Streat from 1593 to 1624.
An uncle was John Tillinghast, a Fifth Monarchist.
While still in England, Pardon Tillinghast may have served as a soldier under Oliver Cromwell and participated in the battle of Marston Moor. He was in Providence by 19 January 1646 when he was received as one who would get a "quarter share" of parcels to be distributed. His reason for emigrating from England may have been the religious intolerance at the time. Tillinghast had little estate when he came to New England, and in 1650 he was taxed three shillings and four pence, a fairly low amount compared to other inhabitants.
In 1658 he became a Providence freeman, but the following year he had a deed of land in Newport from Benedict Arnold, and was called an "Inhabitant of Newport" in the deed. While living in Newport, he became involved in importing and selling dry goods, and appears to have had a brewery, based on a 1684 deed in which he conveys a "brewhous" to his son John, along with his other Newport properties. About 1665 he was back in Providence when he received a lot there in a division of lands, and between 1672 and 1700 he served for six one-year terms as a Deputy to the General Assembly representing Providence.