xvi                                         ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Finally, we thank Isaac Dorsch who, under the direction of Tanya
Buckingham of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cartography Lab-
oratory, prepared the Rhode Island map found on the endpapers.
This final of three Rhode Island volumes can only be dedicated to
one person-Dr. Patrick T. Conley, the first historian laureate of Rhode
Island. For more than fifty years no one has written more extensively
on Rhode Island. His expertise in the political, economic, legal, con-
stitutional, religious, local, and biographical history of Rhode Island is
remarkable. His bibliographic knowledge of the Founding Era is exten-
sive and perhaps unmatched. The Ratification project has been fortu-
nate to have Dr. Conley serve as a consulting editor on all three Rhode
Island volumes. His diligence and insightfulness have been a boon to
our editorial efforts.