Mercy (Richards) Paul (abt. 1720 - aft. 1740)

Born about 1720 in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Wife of Jacob Paul — married 24 May 1740 in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Cheri Ryals-Hallisey [send private message]

Biography

Mercy was Wampanoag.

Mercy Richards was a Native American born about 1720. Birth year is estimated 20 years before her marriage to Jacob Paul. Birth location in Barnstable is a guess for now. She was possibly a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Marriage:

• 24 May 1740: Jacob Paul and Mercy Richards, Indians. Marriage recorded in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[1]

Research Notes

1. This profile of Mercy Richards is possibly related to the Mercy Richards or her siblings mentioned below in Rev. Gideon Hawley's letter. There is also the possibility that she is the same person. If she is the same person, she would have been about 71 years old when she married Jacob Paul.
2. There is a Mercy Richards mentioned on page 500 under the heading of Rev. Gideon Hawley, who was the minister to the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians. Mercy lived to be about 90yo. from about 1669 to when she passed away in 1759. She had a brother and sister who both have died since at the age of about Threescore and eighteen; and Deborah their sister is now living at the age of Fourscore and may live many years to come. This correspondence was dated 22 Jan 1771 at Mashpee and signed by Rev. Gideon Hawley.^[2]
3. Threescore and eighteen=3x20+18=78 years. Fourscore=4x20 years.

Sources

1. ↑ https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Barnstable/Barnstable/Images/Barnstable_33-168.gif
2. ↑ Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Extracts From The Itineraries and Other Miscellanies of Ezra Stiles (Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, Conn., 1916) Page 498-500