Mercy Dudley (A Governor's daughter and Reverend's Wife"

                                   Painting of the "Arbella"

  Mercy Dudley, my 10th g-Grandmother, was born on 27 September 1621 in Oakley, Northampton, England. Mercy was the youngest child born to Thomas Dudley and Dorthy Yorke.
 
  In 1630, at the age of nine, Mercy moved to the new world with her family as part of "The Winthrop Fleet" aboard the ship "Arbella".  Mercy's father would serve on and off as Govenor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her family originally settled in Newtown (present day Cambridge), moved to Ipswich and then onto Roxbury.

  At the age of Seventeen, Mercy married a John Woodbridge on 20 May 1639 at Andover Massachusetts. The couple would have twelve children, of which eleven would reach adulthood.

  Mercy's husband would teach school and become an ordained Minister at the urging of her father. In 1647, the couple would return to England, where her husband taught the Gospel for the the next seventeen years.

  On 27 July 1673, Mercy and her husband returned to the new world on the ship "Society". and they  would ultimately settle in Newbury Massachusetts. Mercy would die, at the age of sixty-nine,  in Newbury on 1 July 1691 and  was buried at the "First Parish Burying Grounds".

Blaise Juillet dit Avignon

                          Baptism at Saint-Agricol France

  Blaise Juillet, my 10th g-Grandfather, was born on 16 February 1611 in Avignon France. He was baptized on 26 February 1611 at Saint-Agricol Parish, the son of Jean Juillet and Gabrielle Barbarine.

  On 21 April 1644, at the age of thirty-three, Blaise contracted to go to Ville-Marie (Montreal) Quebec as a becheur (wood cutter). The contract was to last for three years, but Blaise chose to remain in Quebec. In 1848, Blaise was offered a concession of land in Montreal of which he took title in November of 1650.

  On  2 February 1651, Blaise married an Anne de Liercourt at Trios-Rivieres Quebec. The couple would reside in Montreal and from this marriage was  born two daughters and two sons.

                             Burial at Montreal Quebec

  On 19 April 1860, Blaise was involved in a battle with the Iroquois Indians. While trying to flee in a canoe, the canoe overturned and Blaise drowned in the river. Blaise was buried the next day in Montreal.

For family genealogy see:  http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I15247

My Otis Family of Dover New Hampshire

  My Otis family was one of the early families of Dover New Hampshire. On the night of 28 June 1689, in what would be called "The Cocheco Massacre", two generations of my family would be killed and a third generation would become captives of Indians and sold in Quebec "New France".

  Richard Otis, my 8th g-Grandfather and the patriarch of the Otis family in Dover, was murdered in his bed. His two year old daughter was also murdered and his wife and youngest daughter were taken captive to Quebec. Three other daughters of Richard, from a previous marriage, were originally taken captive and rescued a few days after the massacre.

  Stephen Otis Sr., my 7th g-Grandfather and son of Richard above, was killed on the night of the massacre. Mary Pittman, my 7th g-grandmother and wife of Stephen, was presumed killed in the massacre as she was never heard from again.

  Nathaniel Otis, my 6 g-Grandfather and subject of a previous post, was taken to Quebec along with his elder brother "Stephen Jr" and sister "Rose" All three of the siblings would grow up and marry, remaining  in New France.

For Further reading see:  http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/doverhistory/cocheco.htm

For family genealogy see: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I15195