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- ! MariagePRDH # 47948Montr?al 1707-06-14Rank Name Age M.S. Pr. Sex01 LOUIS LEBAU SPOUSE OF 02 DECLARED BEING ABLE TO SIGN 029 c p m Residence : MONTR?AL Origin : BOUCHERVILLE02CHRISTINE OTESSE SPOUSE OF 01 DECLARED BEING ABLE TO SIGN 018 c p f Residence : MONTR?AL Origin : DOUVRES EN VIEILLE ANGLETERRE03JEAN LEBAU FATHER OF 01 --- --- p m Residence : BOUCHERVILLE04 ETIENNETTE LORE MOTHER OF 01 --- --- p f Residence : BOUCHERVILLE05 RICHARD HAUTESSE FATHER OF 02 --- --- d m06MARIE MADELEINE LAGARENNE MOTHER OF 02 SPOUSE OF 09 ---m --- f07 JEAN BAPTISTE BAU BROTHER OF 01 --- --- p m08 DOMINIQUE THAUMUR --- --- p m Occupation : MAITRE CHIRURGIEN09PHILIPPE ROBITAIL FATHER-IN-LAW OR STEPFATHER OF 02 SPOUSE OF 06 --- mp m Occupation :MAITRE TONNELIER10 FRANCOIS VACHON DEBELMONT --- c--- m Occupation : GRAND VICAIRE11 PRIAT --- c p m Occupation : PRETRE, FAISANT LES FONCTIONS CURIALES Residence : MONTR?ALDISPENSE DE DEUX BANS?PRDHwww.genealogy.umontreal.ca! <http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/doverhistory/christine_otis_baker.htm>ChristineOtis BakerBy JohnScalesChristine Otis, who married Capt. Thomas Baker of Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1715, was born in Dover March 1689 in her father?s garrisoned house which stood on the north side of where is now Milk Street, about half way between Central Avenueand Mt. Vernon Street. She was the daughter of Richard Otis Esq. and his second wife, Grizel Warren, daughter of James and Margaret Warren of Kittery, Maine. The Otises and Warrens have an excellent ancestral record but I will not stop to give it here. When her father?s garrison was burned and he was killed on June 28, 1689, Christine was an infant and was taken prisoner with her mother to Canada by the Indians, as were also her half sister Rose, and herhalfbrothers Stephen andJohn (October 15, 1693). Christine?s mother having been converted to the Romish faith was married to a Frenchman namedPhilip Robitaile and never returned to New England, dying in Montrealat the great age of 90 years. Her daughter had been baptized in the First Church at Dover by the pastor Rev. John Pike, as Margaret Otis, but when her mother joined the Roman Catholic Church and married a Frenchman, the priest rebaptized the daughter and gave her the name Christine, whichname she retained to the end ofher life, although good Parson Stoddard of Dover baptized her againwhen she returned and married Capt. Thomas Baker in 1715and gave her the old name Margaret.In Montreal she was placed ina nunnery andeducated in theRomish faith, until shewas 15 years old. They tried to induce her to become a nun and take the veils ofthe church, but she would not be persuaded; then they compelled her tomarrya Frenchman, named La Beau,June 14, 1707. the recode of her marriage ison file inMontreal. As the education of women went, she was well-educated. She and her husband livedtogether about 7 years and then hedied, leaving her with two or three children.The first that shesaw of Thomas Baker was in 1707,the year she marriedtheFrenchman. Baker had been brought to Montreal a prisoner from Deerfield, Massachusetts. He was a frisky young fellow and tried to escape; the guard caught him and he was about to be shot, a Frenchman intervened and paid a suitable ransomto save his life and permit him to return to his home in Massachusetts. Somehow during the affair- which of course, made a great commotion among the inhabitants, both French and English- Christine Otis Le Beau made the acquaintance of the young man andgavehim her sympathy and probably expressed her admiration for his courage in attempting toescape. It may have been her husband who paid the sum for Baker,a ransom. Anyway, they became close friends then and did not forget it inthe seven years that followed.Thomas Baker returned home and, in time, became a Captain,and won fame in the public service. Christine remained in Canada and in the courseof seven years became the mother of three children and a handsome widow of twenty-five years. Then itcame to pass that Thomasand Christine met again and under circumstances entirely difference from those under which they had parted in 1701.Massachusetts sent a commission to Canada in1714 to arrangefor ransoming theEnglish prisoners there; MajorJohnStoddard being at the head of it and Captain Thomas Baker a member- being famousnow from his leadership of the Indian campaignin the White Mountain region, in which he secured the scalp of the famous Indian Sachem, Wattanummom, and by the deed perpetuated his name forever in Baker River which joins the Pemegewasstt north ofPlymouth, NewHampshire. It was near thejunction of theserivers that the battle withthe Indians took place. Moreover,besides, having the river named for him, the GeneralCourt of Massachusetts gave Baker a reward of ?20, summa cum laude.Captain Baker, with the rest of the Commissioners, was in Montreal in March 1714; they met the prisoners and the officials and commenced negotiations. It does not come withinthescope of my paper to speak further of the negotiations than tosay that ChristineOtis Le Beau then and there met Captain Thomas Baker. She was a handsome widow of twenty-five yeas in thebloom of health, sparkling with wit and womanly attractions; he was abachelor a few years older- tall, stalwart, andhandsome in his military bearing. After they met and exchanged the usual formalities of such and occasion, she resolved inher own mind to returnto New England; he resolved in his mind to rescuethathandsome widow from the thralls of poperyand the hated and detested Frenchmen.Thus matters stood for awhile; negotiations made slow progress. The French would notconsent for her to go; if she went, she must leave her children and lose allof her property. She attempted to smuggle her personal property into a boat to carry them to Quebec- the French priests discovered her work and tookeverythingfrom the boat.About this time in the negotiation, Capt. Baker was ordered by Major Stoddard toreturn toBoston and report progress and ask for further instructions. He attended to these duties and returned. The French continued as obstinateas ever in their refusal to let the captives go. The Caption and the widow helda council of war;she decidedto leave her children and all her property, except her wearing apparel and what she could carry in her hands. They secretly embarked on a boat and started on the voyage to Quebec, where MajorStoddard and other Commissioners were then stationed, Just imagine that trip of 160 miles in an ordinary boat! Talk about romance! Why romance pales before the true story of the heroism ofthis woman who so loved Old Dover which she had seen onlyas a babe, and so loved the gallant captain, that sheforsook allandtrusted her life and her fortune to his care, It is easyenough to look back over 175 years, but what a struggle it musthavebeen for her to look ahead sixty years.Major Stoddard chronicles their arrival at Quebec in the summerof 1714; later they sailed with others for Boston, where they arrived 21 September of that year.From Boston she accompanied theCaptain to Deerfield, and good Parson Stoddard took her in hand and soonmade a good protestant of her.He rebaptized her with her baby name Margaret, and took her into the church.The townspeoplebecameinterested in her welfare and enthusiasticin the praise of her noble qualities. December 14, 1714, the town granted hera valuable lot of land on the condition that she marry Capt. Thomas Baker.She accepted the landand the conditions.They were married in 1715 andset up housekeeping and farming in Deerfield; they remained there two years, leading a peaceful, quiet and happy life. Their first child was born June 5, 1716; in due time ParsonStoddard christened it Christine,having previouslybaptized the mother by her baby name of Margaret.In 1717 they removed from Deerfield to Brookfield where they resided on their farm until 1732. In 1718 she made a trip to Canada with the object inview of getting her French children and bringing them to New England.Her efforts were unsuccessful. The Romish priestswould not permit herto see them, much less bring them away; on the other hand, they tried to persuade her to staythere. She wouldnot listen to them and so returned grievedin heart, but determined inspirit. The women are few who could have endured what she did and not yield to the wily talk of the priests.In 1719 Capt. Baker was elected Representativeat the General Courtof Massachusetts by the freemen of Brookfield, being the first toserve that town. He served his town in that and various capacities,honorably and ably during the next ten years. It was in this town that mostof their children were born; one ofwhom became oneofDover?s most distinguished men, Col. Otis Baker.In 1727, Christine received a letter from the prelate whohad been her priest in Canada, in which he urged her to return there and reunited with the Romish Church,presenting many theological reasonswhy he thought she ought to do so.Insteadof returning to Canada, she turned the letter over to Gov. Burnetand he wrote an elaborate answer to the theological statements of the priest; both the letter andthe Governor?s answer are inprint in the Massachusetts archives of thatperiod. The Governor had the best of the argument, as you all cansee by reading the letter and the answer. The Kanuc priest never ventured a reply, nor made further endeavors to get her back to Canada.In 1732 they sold their Brookfield property, which wasa comfortable estate to a speculator, who in some way cheated them out of the whole amount ofthe sale, and left Capt. Baker and his family in very straightened circumstances.They livedawhile at Mendon, and next at Newport, Rhode Island. On account of the high standing of Captain Baker and his wife, the general court of Massachusetts very generously aided them to help them recover their fortunes. The Court was furthermore inclined to do this asCaptain Baker?shealth hadgiven out so that hecould not do any hard work that required manual exertion. The Court granted Christine 500 acresof valuable land in York County, Maine. Shesold this land for ahandsome sumof money with which she builtahouseinDovertowhich they removed in1734.Thishouse stood at the cornerof Silver Street and Central Avenue,where now is the brick block. After she had built and furnished it, she petitioned the general court of New Hampshire for a license to keep apublic house, whichpetition can be found in theunpublished ProvincialPapers of New Hampshire. Here she kept a public house for many years, and prospered in her business affairs, although her husband was an invalid all the rest of his years, until his death in 1753whileon a visit tofriends inRoxbury, Massachusetts. The record says he died of ?the lethargy?, which I supposed the doctors in the twentieth century would call apoplexy.Christine died February 23, 1773, aged85 years,andherremainswere interred in the Col.Baker burial loton Pine Hill. I know not whether the spot can now be found; be that as it may, a marker of some kind ought to be placed near the spot- if not on her grave, so that futuregenerations may knowandhonor the spot.Her record inDover is ofthe best. Her house was a model of neatness, comfort and good cooking. When the Royal Governorspassed through Dover they honored themselvesby calling at her tavern; theyalways left withafeeling of good cheer and the highest respect fortheirhostess.May 11, 1735 she united with the First Church, Parson Cushing being pastor. She remained a devout member of this organization tothe end of her life; during herlast few years she wasaninvalid, but all her wants were kindly administeredtoby herson Col. Otis Baker and his family, Rev. Dr. Belknap, who was then pastor gaveher that spiritualconsolation which her four score years must have made her greatly enjoy;and when she closedher eyelids forever atfour score and five,he performed thelast sadritesover her remains.Her son, Col. Otis Baker, lived in a house that he built severalyears before theRevolution where the Whidden house now stands atthe cornerof Silverand Atkinson streets. Of course,then Atkinson Street did not exist andSilverStreet wassimply the Barrington Road. It was in this house that Christine Baker passed her old age; Dr. Belknap was her next door neighbor, living wherenow is theBelknap School House.Several members of this Society are relatives of her; allof the Bakerfamily in Dover are her descendants. Her career as a whole is undoubtedly the mostremarkable of anyDover woman previousto theRevolution.Dover People in the past havebeeninclinedto make too little account of heir heroes and heroines, while they looked up to those in Massachusetts because great writers and lecturers and Boston newspapers have for a hundred years continually talkedaboutthem and their great deeds. Even the heroine Mrs. Baker is rarelyspoken of by Massachusettswritersas aDoverwoman, though forty yearsof her life were passed here; and here her distinguishedson and grandsonlived, and their worthy descendants.Her husband, Capt. Thomas Baker,seems not to have taken an activepart in public affairs after he cametoDover. He was broken in health before coming here, and appears to have been an invalid during the nearly twenty years he lived here, coming in 1734 and dying in 1753. He assisted his wife in running the tavern, but fromthe first it washer tavern, nothis. Hisrecord during his vigorous years isthat of an active and honorable man and hewas heldin highesteem by theauthorities in Massachusetts, as was also his wife.There ought to be a marker placed on the brick block at thecorner of Silver Street andCentralAvenue, designating that as the spot where Christine Otis Baker kept a tavern.Thereasonshe hadto petition the General Court to grant hera license to keep a public houseis supposed to be thatthe Selectmen ofthe town refused to grantitbecause theyfavored the proprietors of the old Dover Hotel. You see, theofficials of Dover one hundredand seventy years ago were not so much superior to those of the modern city; they were afraid Mrs. Baker would hurtthe business of old resident.But theGeneral Courtgave her the required license and she kepta first class old-fashioned tavern.This historical essay is provided free to all readers as an educational service. It may not be reproducedon any website,list,bulletin board,orinprintwithoutthe permissionofthe Dover Public Library. Links to the Dover PublicLibraryhomepage or a specific article's URL are permissible.
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1689 - 1773 (~ 83 ans)