Ralph Merry, III (1753 – 1825) is known as the founder of

Magog, Quebec Magog (; ) is a city in southeastern Quebec, Canada, about east of Montreal at the confluence of Lake Memphremagog—after which the city was named—with the Rivière aux Cerises and the Magog River. It is a major centre and industrial city in ...

. He was born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

on March 16, 1753, and died and was buried in the Outlet,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

(now

) in 1825. His grandfather, Ralph Merry, arrived in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in the late seventeenth century from

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. He sold his vessel, married and settled in

, where he had one son, Ralph II. Ralph III married Sarah Sylvester, with whom he had eight children. He served in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, enlisting in 1775, stationed in Lynn and nearby

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. After the war, he lived for a time in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, and then moved to

St. Johnsbury, Vermont St. Johnsbury (known locally as "St. J") is the shire town (county seat) of Caledonia County, Vermont, Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,364. St. Johnsbury is situated ...

in 1792. Like many Americans at the time, Merry was enticed by the prospect of land in

, which was then being freely offered to those who would swear loyalty to the Crown. Merry purchased large tracts and settled at the Outlet on

Lake Memphremagog Lake Memphremagog (; french: Lac Memphrémagog) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that ...

in 1798. The village that grew from this settlement would be renamed as Magog in 1855. Merry developed saw and grist mills on the

Magog River The Magog River, or Sekosonotek in Abenaki, is a river that drains Lake Memphremagog. It is a small river running through the territories of the cities of Magog and Sherbrooke, in the administrative region of Estrie, in Quebec, in Canada, along a ...

, as well as ironworks, though these were unsuccessful due to the poor ore quality of the region. He continued to develop the village with a carpenter's shop, wool mill, and a general store that opened in 1820. By 1823 this was a stage stop on the mail route between

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and Stanstead. Merry built a comfortable home for his family in 1821, which still stands today as the oldest structure in Magog. Merry died in 1825 and is interred at Pine Hill Cemetery in Magog.

References

External links

Ralph Merry: Dictionary of Canadian BiographyRalph Merry, III: Find A GraveForests and Clearings: The History of Stanstead County, Province of Quebec (Google Books)The Merry House: Magog Historical Society (article in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merry, Ralph 1753 births 1825 deaths People from Magog, Quebec