Martha Woodbridge, my 8th Great Grandmother, was born in Stanton, Wiltshire, England on 15 Jun 1658. She was the daughter of Reverend John Woodbridge (subject of an earlier post) and Mercy Dudley, who had temporarily returned to England from Massachusetts.
Martha returned to Massachusetts with her parents and married on 8 July 1680 a Cpt Samuel Ruggles (subject of an earlier post). Martha and Samuel would have ten children, six daughters and four sons. Martha would live to the age of eighty dying in 1838 in Billerica Massachusetts.
While Martha's life may have seemed uneventful, she was part of a family which had an impact on early Massachusetts history.
Martha's maternal Grandfather Thomas Dudley and her uncle Simon Bradstreet were Governors of Massachusetts Bay Colony. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Simon_Bradstreet_1854.jpeg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dudley
Martha's Uncle, Joseph Dudley, was a Governor of Massachusetts Colony.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Dudley
Martha's uncle, Benjamin Woodbridge, was the first graduate of Harvard College
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Woodbridge
Martha's Aunt, Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet, was the first published poet of New England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Annebradstreet.jpg
Martha's Grandson, Timothy Ruggles, would become a Politician and later a Tory Leader in the war of Independence, being banished to Nova Scotia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Ruggles_(Nova_Scotia_politician)
Martha's Great Granddaughter, Bathsheba Spooner, would have the distinction of being the first women tried and excuted by a court of The United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathsheba_Spooner
For Family Genealogy See: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=m-leblanc&id=I340
