From Plymouth, he made his way to Pocasset, the new settlement which the followers of Anne Hutchinson had begun on the island of Aquidneck, in Narragansett Bay, where he arrived, probably, some time in December, 1638. The weather was cold and the journey perilous. His wife, in delicate health, had an infant at the breast, sick with measles, which “struck in” under the exposure, nearly causing its death. At Pocasset Gorton’s name appears as one of four out of fifty-nine freeholders to which the title of “Mr.” is prefixed, then an indication of social position and gentle birth.[19] The government of Pocasset was at first theocratic, a judge and five elders constituting its magistrates, who were bound to execute justice “according to the laws of God.” A majority of the community desired a more democratic form of government; and Coddington, the judge (afterwards Governor of the united Colony), with the elders, and a few other free-holders, emigrated to the southern end of the island, where they founded the town of Newport.[20] The remaining free-holders, including Samuell Gorton, thus forsaken by their magistrates, instituted a new town government, and changed the name of the settlement to Portsmouth. This occurred in the spring of 1639. A year later,[21] the two settlements were united under one government for the transaction of affairs of common interest, and the influence of Coddington and the Newport magistrates became potent throughout the island. Gorton and his friends regarded this coalition as irregular and illegally constituted. It seems never to have been sanctioned by a majority of the free-holders. He appears to have declined to admit allegiance to it, and to have permitted his citizenship to lapse, though still retaining his residence.