| Office: | Speaker of the House of Deputies of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
| Term Start: | May 1726 |
| Term End: | October 1726 |
| Predecessor: | Thomas Frye |
| Successor: | Jeremiah Gould |
| Term Start1: | October 1724 |
| Term End1: | October 1725 |
| Predecessor1: | Thomas Frye |
| Successor1: | Thomas Frye |
| Term Start2: | May 5, 1724 |
| Term End2: | May 6, 1724 |
| Predecessor2: | Thomas Frye |
| Successor2: | William Wanton |
| Term Start3: | October 1722 |
| Term End3: | February 1723 |
| Predecessor3: | William Wanton |
| Successor3: | Thomas Frye |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1680 |
| Birth Place: | Newport, Rhode Island |
| Death Place: | Newport, Rhode Island |
| Parents: | Nathaniel Coddington Susanna Hutchinson |
| Relations: | William Coddington (grandfather) William Coddington Jr. (uncle) |
William Coddington (July 15, 1680 – 1755) was a colonial American politician and merchant.
Coddington was born on July 15, 1680, in Newport in what was then the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was the son of Susanna (Hutchinson) Coddington and Maj. Nathaniel Coddington (1653–1723).[1] Among his siblings were Anne Coddington (wife of the Rev. Samuel Niles) and Nathaniel Coddington (who married Hope Brown).
His paternal grandparents were William Coddington, the first Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and a founder of Newport,[2] and his third wife, Anne Brinley (the daughter of Thomas Brinley and Anna (Wase) Brinley). His uncle, William Coddington Jr., also served as Governor from 1683 to 1685. His maternal grandparents were Edward Hutchinson (a son of William and Anne Hutchinson) and Katherine (Hamby) Hutchinson.
Coddington was a prominent merchant in Newport.[3] From 1717 to 1718, he was Major for the Island and from 1719 to 1720, Lt. Col. of the regiment of the militia for the Island.
A member of the House of Deputies, he served as Speaker of the House at four different times between 1722 and 1726.[4] From 1734 to 1735, he was one of the four Justices in the Court of Common Pleas for Newport County.
On November 12, 1700, Coddington was married to Content Arnold (1680–1721), a daughter of Benedict Arnold Jr. and Mary (Turner) Arnold.[5] Her paternal grandfather was English born Benedict Arnold, president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island. Content's brother, Benedict Arnold III, married Hannah Waterman King and was the father of Gen. Benedict Arnold (notorious today for his treason during the American Revolutionary War). Together, William and Content were the parents of:
After her death in 1721, he married Jeanne Bernon (1696–1752) in Providence, Rhode Island on October 11, 1722.[8] She was a daughter of wealthy French Huguenot merchant Gabriel Bernon and Esther (LeRoy) Bernon.[9] Jeanne had been born in La Rochelle, France and her father had helped establish the Cathedral of St. John in Providence.[10] Together, they were the parents of:[11]
Coddington died in 1755 in Newport.[12]