On this "special day", I want to introduce you to one of my favorite ancestors, partly because her name is my middle name but also because as a child during the Christmas season, I always thought everyone saying "Merry Christmas" to me was actually saying "Mary Christmas!" So, without further ado, meet Mary Christmas who was baptised on this day in 1688!
Mary's life was during a fascinating period in history, known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. This was a time when the reigning king, James II, was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. This significant event marked the keystone of Whig history in Britain, as it opposed a Catholic succession.
Mary Christmas, my 7x great-grandmother, was born around 1688. She was the daughter of John Christmas (born 1664) and Mary Morris (born c. 1664). Mary was baptized in Dallington, Sussex, England, on December 21, 1688. She married Thomas Sinden in Dallington on May 2, 1714. Together, they had six children that I've discovered so far, four boys and two girls, born between 1715 and 1730.
Looking back through history, several significant events occurred on this day:
1135: The crowning of King Stephen. After King Henry I died without legitimate heirs, his eldest daughter Matilda was named his heir. However, Stephen of Blois, Matilda's cousin, invaded England and had himself crowned in a coup d'état. This period of conflict became known as The Anarchy.
1715: The English pretender to the throne, James III, landed at Peterhead.
1882: Thomas Edison created the first string of Christmas tree lights.
it's unlikely that these events had a direct impact on Mary Christmas' personal life. The crowning of King Stephen and the Glorious Revolution were significant events though that shaped the political landscape of England, while Edison's invention of Christmas tree lights adds a festive touch to her story I have shared today.
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