Historian. Born Mercy Otis in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, her parents were James Otis and Mary Alleyne. She married General James Warren, a lineal descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. James succeeded Joseph Warren as President of the Provincial Congress. She and her husband would have five children. She was a distinguished person in her time, and although she criticised others for their inclination towards aristocratic ideals, she shared many of these same faults. She was noted for her active and powerful mind, and took a part in the politics of the day, an unusual role for a woman in those times. Her brother, James Otis II, was an ardent supporter of the American Revolution, and he coined the phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny." Both Mercy and her husband ardently supported the American Revolution. Between 1775 and 1778, Mercy wrote several patroitic satirical plays, including "The Sack of Rome" and "The Ladies of Castile", which stirred patriotism in the colony. After the war, she and her husband supported the effort to adopt a Federal Constitution, and she wrote several political speeches for members of the Constitutional Convention. In 1805, her three volume history of the American Revolution was published. In an age when women were not expected to have good intellect, especially in matters of history or politics, she was an early leader of women's rights by her example.
Historian. Born Mercy Otis in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, her parents were James Otis and Mary Alleyne. She married General James Warren, a lineal descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. James succeeded Joseph Warren as President of the Provincial Congress. She and her husband would have five children. She was a distinguished person in her time, and although she criticised others for their inclination towards aristocratic ideals, she shared many of these same faults. She was noted for her active and powerful mind, and took a part in the politics of the day, an unusual role for a woman in those times. Her brother, James Otis II, was an ardent supporter of the American Revolution, and he coined the phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny." Both Mercy and her husband ardently supported the American Revolution. Between 1775 and 1778, Mercy wrote several patroitic satirical plays, including "The Sack of Rome" and "The Ladies of Castile", which stirred patriotism in the colony. After the war, she and her husband supported the effort to adopt a Federal Constitution, and she wrote several political speeches for members of the Constitutional Convention. In 1805, her three volume history of the American Revolution was published. In an age when women were not expected to have good intellect, especially in matters of history or politics, she was an early leader of women's rights by her example.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Warren or Otis memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
