The Betsey Williams Sycamore

This Old Tree

The Betsey Williams Sycamore is the most famous tree in Rhode Island. Its huge girth and spreading branches have been photographed, climbed on, and loved by generations of visitors to historic Roger Williams Park in Providence. But its history touches on the legacy of Roger Williams, Rhode Island’s founder; introduces overlooked characters, some noble and some "shady," including a forgotten tree; and features a Williams family crisis (and divorce trial) that threatened the tree and future park.
Guests
Renee Gamba
Director of the Museum of Natural History
Parks Dept., City of Providence
http://providenceri.gov/museum/
http://https://www.providenceri.gov/parks-recreation/
Ruth Macaulay
History Dept., Lincoln School
http://lincolnschool.org
Special thanks to
Andrew Smith, The Rhode Island Supreme Court Judicial Record Center, http://https://www.courts.ri.gov/JudicialRecordsCenter/Pages/default.aspx
Rebecca Valentine, The Rhode Island Historical Society, http://rihs.org
Readers in order of appearance
Ed Nardell, Martha Douglas-Osmundson, Andy Sabo, Margaret Sabo, Laura Maxwell, Robb Barnard
Podcast Consultant
Martha Douglas-Osmundson
Music
"No Broken Windows," Headlund

Theme Music
Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com
Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home
Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.
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This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of New England ISA. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.
We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]
This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

פרקים

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Intro - Meeting the Betsey Williams Sycamore (00:01:29)

3. Renee Gamba - Who Was Betsey Williams? (00:06:57)

4. Ruth Macauley - The Role of Women in early 19th c. New England (00:15:10)

5. Rhoda Williams Straight's Divorce Trial (00:19:00)

6. Every Day Life for Betsey and Rhoda (00:24:03)

7. Betsey Bequeaths the Farm (00:27:59)

8. Roger Williams Park Dedication Ceremony (00:29:25)

9. The Rhoda Williams Mulberry (00:30:56)

10. Age of Betsey Williams Sycamore (00:34:26)

11. Episode Wrap-Up (00:36:38)

12. This Old Tree - full song, Dee Lee (00:37:56)