Who am I?

--- Who am I? --

I was the eldest daughter of a ruler who wanted to establish relationships with another country. So, my father married me off at the young age of 12 to someone old enough to be my grandfather. When this guy died, his son married me despite the fact that people didn't like it and talked about us. But, the son died in a few years, too. So, I was left alone with no husband or children. By then, I was still a young teenager. My father put me into a convent for protection. However, I met this dashing young gentleman, who didn't have my pedigree but had my heart, with whom I eloped. Our marriage made my father furious, of course. He tried to track us down, but my husband was clever enough for us to avoid my father's thugs. We even made it to another country so that we could appeal to someone with higher authority. We found support which forced my father to accept our marriage. But, my father gave my husband the worse part of his realm to govern. Nevertheless, we were able to find success and happiness. That part of my father's realm became the best part. With my husband, I had three sons, but I didn't get to see them grow. I died in my 26th year. Needless to say, my sons did me proud so that I have not been forgotten.

Do you know who I am?

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While researching for an issue of Gardner's Beacon and looking backward at historical events (after all, genealogy and history are intimately tied -- yes, those seduced by abstraction may complain, yet they have had their say for eons and might need to broaden their mindset), I ran across several tales about remarkable women that seemed to have a common theme that carried down through time. Some might say that things are still the same. But, looking at the 1692 time frame, I wondered what reception these women, from history, would have found in Salem Village, or any of the colonial sites.

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So, the above might be thought of as the first of a series. We'll allow one character to talk about herself and to ask us: Who am I? (nod to the show, Who do you think that you are?).

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For the Beacon, one instrumental book was written by John Goff, the Salem Preservationist: Salem's Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity (Google's digitization). John writes about the area, in particular, that around the Corwin House. Also, I like his description of the families involved with, and event related to, the house. Naturally, those facts touched upon are broadly of interest.

Remarks:

02/10/2013 -- Brought in the image from Wikipedia.

02/10/2013 -- There are many stories like this one. The answer? Judith of Flanders. She married two Wessex Kings, father and son, without issue. Then, she married Baldwin. One of their descendants was consort of William I.

10/27/2012 -- Still looking at options on how to present this type of query and to obtain/manage responses.

Modified: 02/10/2013