Background
FFA
member Jim Conant French compiled Chart #1 for the FFA. This
chart was originally researched by Harry Dana French of Concord, NH.
Then Harry's very helpful handwritten notes were compiled in a database by Art Westneat. Both these copies were given to Jim Conant
French in his compilation. Jim is a professor at Rutgers University in New
Brunswick, NJ in Biology teaching such classes as Plants and People. He moved
over to Cook College from Busch Campus. Jim retires in the summer of 2008 and
will return to his hometown in San Luis Obispo, CA.
History and Research
Thomas
French was born in 1584 in Bures St. Mary next to Assington, County Suffolk, England. Thomas
m. Susan Riddlesdale 5 Sep 1608 in Assington. Susan was b. 20 Apr 1584 at Boxford,
Suffolk Co., England, dau. of John and Dorcas Riddlesdale, d. Aug 1658. Thomas d. 5 Nov
1639 in Ipswich. Both Thomas and Susan emigrated in 1635 to Ipswich,
five years after their son, Thomas French Jr., born ca. 1608, d. 8 Aug 1680 in
Ipswich, Essex, MA, who emigrated from Assington,
County Suffolk, England, to Ipswich, MA in 1630. Thomas French Jr, m. Mary Scudamore born approx
1612 in Gloucester, England and d. 6 May 1681 Ipswich, Essex, MA. Thomas lived
on Bridge St. near Mill St. in Ipswich, MA. He also owned land on Plum Island which is now a State Park.
Towns
Assington, Bures
St. Mary, Boxford, County Suffolk, England; Ipswich, Topsfield, Roxbury,
Rehoboth, Boston, Waterford, Boxford, Dunstable,
Northampton, MA; Canaan, VT; Franklin, Colebrook, Stewartstown, Laconia,
Stratham, Canterbury, Dover, Pittsfield, Alton, Manchester, Pembroke, NH;
Enfield, Norwich, Windsor, Windham, Coventry, Canterbury, Hanover, CT.
Intermarriages
Since the French family emigrated soon after the Pilgrims
landed and there were not many families nor marriage
choices in America, intermarriages in the French family were common. Here is an intermarriage between Chart #1 and Chart #2. Note that this does not change the male French DNA test results.
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(1) Thomas French, Ch #1 m. Susan Riddlesdale
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(1) William French, Ch #2 m.
Elizabeth Symmes
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(2) Dorcas
French, b 1614, m. Christopher Peake 1636 in
Roxbury, MA
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˘
(2) Sarah French b 1638 in Cambridge (1st Sarah born) m. Jonathan Peake, b. 1637, m. 15 Aug 1660 in Roxbury, MA
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(3) Jonathan Peake m. Sarah French
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Here's another intermarriage between Charts #1 and #6.
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(1) Thomas French, Ch #1
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(1) Richard French, Ch #6
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(2) Alice French m. Thomas Howlett
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(2) Samuel French m. Sarah Cummings
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(3) Sarah Howlett
m. John Cummings
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(4) Sarah Cummings m. Samuel French
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Books
Email Mara
French if youŐre interested in any of these books or manuscripts.
á
Zachary
Taylor French and Rachel Evelyn Duckworth, 1550-1990. Ninth Generation of the
Thomas French line of Ipswich, MA. Zachary Taylor French Descendants. FFA
Member Gene Jackson wrote a book on his line beginning with Zachary French:
Thomas (1); Thomas (2); John (3), m. Phebe Keyes;
John (4), m. Elizabeth; Abner (5), m. Sara Sluman; John (6), m. Elizabeth Robinson; Zephaniah (7), m.
Deborah; Franklin Robinson French (8), m. Virginia Irwin; Zachary Taylor French
(9), m. Rachel Duckworth. Write to him directly for ordering procedures. Gene
Lawrence Jackson, 4001 Twilight Drive South, Forth Worth, TX 76116. Published
by Gateway Press, Inc., 1991.
á
"Antecedents
and Descendants of Abner French of Topsfield, MA and
Norwich, CT", author unknown. 6 page typescript donated by Janette Klein.
With additional data, 8 pp, FFA library #F562. 8 1/2 x 11.
á
Thomas
French & Susan Riddlesdale, 1555-1995, and their
New Hampshire and Maine descendants, by FFA member Eleanor M. Crouch, 170 pp,
1995. Order through Ms. Iris Watson, Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington
Street, Salem, MA 01970, Tel: 508-745-7170, FAX: 508-745-8025. Or, inquire by
writing to Eleanor M. Crouch, HC 83 Box 374, Cardville, ME 04418.
á
Was
Mary French a Scudamore? Proof that Thomas French
married Mary Scudamore, by FFA member Dr. Brian
Berry, Texas, May 1991. 43 pages with drawings, maps, and pedigree charts.
Write to Brian Berry, P.O. Box 83-2130, Richardson, TX 75083.
á
Henry
Loker: According to Douglas Richardson's article in
the NEHGR, December 1989, Henry Riddlesdale, alias Loker, m. Elizabeth (not French).
á
Edwin
Davis French (1851
- 1906) Biography. Born in 1851 in North Attleboro, MA, and died in 1906 in
NYC, Edwin was a bookplate engraver of at least 284 bookplates. His book is
available on Antiquarian
Booksellers.
á
Thomas
and Susan French of Ipswich, MA. Emigrated from Assington,
Suffolk Co., England, 1555-1993. By Eleanor M. Crouch. 170 pages, includes
photos and index. Inquire by writing to Eleanor M. Crouch, HC 83 Box 374, Cardville, ME 04418.
Other Main Surnames of this Line
These surnames have at least 10 or more members connecting
to the French family. Please see FFA
Chart #1 for a further description of these names and others.
Abbott, Adams, Allen, Bachelder,
Barnes, Barnum, Bascom, Bishop, Blanding, Brown,
Bush, Cady, Carpenter, Case, Catlin, Cavenly,
Chaffee, Clark, Coleman, Corlett, Crane, Cranston,
Crocker, Cushman, Dame, Dexter, Dryer, Dunbar, Eastman, Everett, Ferry, Fitch,
Fowler, Fuller, Gilliland, Gleason, Gould, Hall, Haines, Holmes, Howe, Howlett, Ide, Irwin, Jackson,
Johnson, Kent, King, Kingsbury, Knickerbocker,
Langdon, Lyman, Martin, Matteson, Meeker, Morgan, Miller, Morgan, Morrison,
Murphy, Norton, Osgood, Peake, Perrin, Perry,
Pillsbury, Potter, Pomeroy, Read, Ross, Sanders, Sands, Severance, Sharp, Shapley,
Simpson, Singer, Stewart, Stanley, Swett, Smith,
Treat, Turner, Walker, Wallace, Warner, White, Wiggin, Williams, Wilcox,
Wright, Winslow, Young.
Bibliography
Numbers
in square brackets [ ] are bibliography notations. FFA
stands for French Family Association Library Number.
[1]
Bury Saint Mary Parish Register. This register has never been published.
[2]
Assington BishopŐs transcripts, covers a few years
after 1564.
[3]
IGI, Suffolk County, England. (not documented here)
[4] Assington Parish Register of St. EdmundŐs Parish, which
starts in 1598.
[5] Essex Record Office, Chelmsford R2/35/20.
[6]
The Ancestry of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles by Linzee. (not documented here)
[7]
Marriage Licenses at the Ipswich Probate Court, 1613-1674. Printed at the Private Press of
Frederick Arthur Crisp, 1903, Suffolk Record Office, School Hall St., Bury St.
Edmunds, England. (not documented here)
[8]
Diary of Adam Winthrop, the Winthrop Papers, Vol. I, II, III,
25 Martii 1603, the Massachusetts Historical Society,
1929. (not documented here)
[9]
Debate on Mary Scudamore researched by FFA members
Brian Berry and Paul Hokanson, June 1990.
[10] Nilda Evans, researcher at Suffolk Record Office, Bury St.
Edmonds.
[11]
Baptism, marriage, and burial records checked for Twinstead,
Essex County, England, by Dr. Emmison of Chelmsford
in May 1989. The Twinstead registers are available
back to 1568.
[12]
Map of Assington. Adjacent to the parish of Assington is the parish of Bures
St. Mary, which straddles the River Stour and lies
partly in Suffolk and partly in Essex. Boxford is the next parish NE of Assington. Halstead, Essex is about 7 miles SW of Assington.
[13]
1777 Map of Halstead.
Thomas Sr. was a farmer in Assington living on John
GurdonŐs land called Garlands. 8/9 children. Land called Garlands appears
halfway between Assington and Halstead, just outside Pebmarsh.
[14]
IGI, Essex County, England.
[15]
FFA member John B. Threlfall, who had his research
published in the NEHGR Vol. 142, July 1988, p. 250-252.
[16]
The Planters of the Commonwealth by Charles Edward Banks, 1620-1640, published
1961. Immigrated on the Winthrop Fleet of 1630, with 11 vessels: the Arbella (flagship for masters), Ambrose, Talbot, Jewel,
Charles, Mayflower, William and Francis, Hopewell, Whale, Success, Trial. The
first five ships sailed 8 Apr 1630 from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight and arrived in
Salem 13 Jun 1630 and following days. The other six sailed in May and arrived
in July. Altogether there were 700 passengers.
[17]
NEHGR, July 1988, pages 251-252.
[18]
Topsfield Historical Collections, 13:153.
[19]
Essex Quarterly Court Files.
[20]
PopeŐs Pioneers of Massachusetts.
[21]
Visitations of the County of Gloucester, 1623, by Henry Chitty and John Phillipot, London, 1885, Sutro
Library in San Francisco, CS 434 H35 V21.
[22]
BoydŐs Marriage Index, Essex.
[23]
Ron French, P. O. Box 70971, Shasta Lake, CA 96079-0971, (530) 275-4440.
