French Family Association
The Official Website of the Surname French
(left) Neddy French
House, Moorestown, Burlington Co., NJ, ca. 1770.
(right) Thomas French House, 512 Camden Avenue,
Moorestown, Burlington
Co., NJ, SR 01/19/76, NR 01/09/78
Chart #20, Thomas French Jr., the Quaker, 1639
Rancocas, Moorestown, and Chester, Burlington Co., NJ
Immigrated from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire,
England
This page updated by Mara French on 7/2/09. Send any corrections or additions to this page to marafrench@mindspring.com. Revisions: 2007, 2008, 2009.
Contents
For comments or additions to this GEDCOM file, contact Jeff French. This chart includes over 1,000 members of this French family.
Morristown and Moorestown Locations
History and Research
Thomas French Jr., b. 1639 in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England, immigrated to Burlington Co., NJ.
From Burlington: A Provincial Capital, Historical Sketches of Burlington, New Jersey and Neighborhood, by George DeCou, 1945, CD purchased by Mara French from http://genealogycds.com.
Thomas and Jane French and their children arrived in Burlington from Nether Heyford, County of Northampton, early in 1680. When a youth, Thomas French joined the Society of Friends and in 1657, when only 18 years of age, he was imprisoned for refusing to pay tithes for the support of the Established Church.
In November, 1680, he purchased 1/8 of a share of land in West Jersey from John Woolston and as a proprietor his name appears as a signer of the Concessions and Agreements. Under this proprietary right, he located 600 acres on Rancocas Creek below the village of Rancocas in 1684. Franklin Park Farm, now owned by Mrs Julia C. Taubel, at one time the country seat of Governor William Franklin, the last of the Royal Governors, is part of the French plantation. T. Harvey Buzby, a direct descendant of Thomas French, owned the Park Farm until 1940.
Jane French died in 1692 and four years later Thomas French married Elizabeth Stanton of Philadelphia. He died in 1699 and both he and his wife were buried in the family burying ground on the plantation, the location of which is not known at the present time. His will, dated Jun 3, 1698, is a most interesting document. The first paragraph reads:
ÒI being intended if the Lord will to goe for Old England not knowing whether I shall ever returne againe to my family doe make & ordaine this my last will & Testamt. . . I give unto my wife Elizabeth after my decases if shee be the longer liver the House & Plantation where now I live with four Hundred Acres of Land belonging to it . . . , during her naturall life. . . . I give unto my sone Charles ffrench Two hundred Acres of land Lyeing next John Hudsons.Ó
The will stipulated that the entire plantation should revert to his son Charles at the death of both parents. He willed to his son Richard Òall the Reversion of my Eighth part of a Propriety,Ó purchased from John Woolston in 1680. In 1695 he had by deed of gift conveyed 300 acres west of Moorestown, to his oldest son Thomas Òin consideration of the natural affection, good will and kindness which he hath and beareth to his well beloved Son.Ó This was part of the 600 acre tact in Moorestown (formerly Chester) Township which he had taken up in 1689.
This book also states that Sarah Scattergood married Richard French, son of Thomas and Jane French, in 1693 (p. 209). The Frenches mentioned in this book are: Charles (182, 188); Hannah (181); Jane (181, 187); Mary (181); Richard (188, 200); Thomas Sr. (181, 187-8); Thomas Jr. (188).
Morristown and Moorestown Locations
Two distinct locations are being confused in relation to the Thomas French Quaker line. Information from Jeanette S. French.
á MORRISTOWN is located in Morris County, New Jersey
á MOORESTOWN, which for over two centuries has been one of the most distinctive Quaker quarters, is located in Chester township, Burlington County, New Jersey
The Thomas French House
Thomas French Jr. House, 512 Camden Avenue, Moorestown, Burlington Co., NJ, SR 01/19/76, NR 01/09/78.
Now located in a relatively urban setting, this building was once the centerpiece of a large farm. It is believed to incorporate the oldest house in Moorestown, built by Thomas French, Jr. in the early 18th century. Although at first glance this appears to be a 5-bay, 2 1/2-story house with a conventional Georgian center-hall plan, closer inspection reveals that it was constructed in at least three sections. This is suggested on the exterior by the placement of the front door slightly off-center, and evidence, revealed in the brickwork, of the relocation of a window to make the facade appear more symmetrical.
The oldest section consisted of a 1-room structure, now encompassed in the southeast corner of the building. As occurred frequently in central New Jersey, this was then enlarged to a 3-bay, side hall plan, two rooms deep, and then to a full central hall, 5-bay plan.
Some fine woodwork survives on the interior. The east parlor retains chair rails, a molded cornice, and a round-arched corner cupboard with carved pilasters and keystone. In the living room is a corner fireplace, with a Federal-style mantel with delicate free-standing columns and bulls' eyes in the end panels.
Thomas French, Jr. was locally prominent in Moorestown in the early 18th century. He served in several church and township offices, and eventually was elected to the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The property descended in his family until 1837. During the Revolutionary War, the farm was probably occupied by troops from both sides. Certainly both sides raided it. Continental troops appropriated cedar rails, hay, and grain in February 1777. In June 1778, British troops, retreating from Philadelphia, slaughtered cattle and made off with timber and clothing.
For a time in the 19th century, a girls' school operated on the property. Elwood Hollinshead acquired the farm in 1858. It remained in possession of his descendants until 1965, although the family began to subdivide the property for development in 1914. From Moorestown Township.
Books on Chart #20
á The Descendants of Elizabeth Jane, Bertie Melissa, and Fannie Ellen Hottel, by FFA member Warren B. French Jr., and Christopher E. French, 8 Feb 1994. Chart #20. Elizabeth Jane Hottel m. William Schoonover French Sr., 1855-1928. William was a prominent citizen in the Valley of Virginia, the son of Martin V. French, and was born at Kylertown, PA, then resided in Woodstock, VA. Thomas (1), m. Jane Atkins; Richard (2), m. Mary King; Jonathan (3), m. Esther Matlack; Francis Sr. (4), m. Elizabeth Sparrow; Thomas Sr. (5), m. Hannah Johnson; Capt. William (6), m. Phoebe Mathis; Martin Van Buren French (7), m. Frances Schoonover; William Schoonover French Sr. (8), m. Elizabeth J. Hottel; Warren Ballinger French (9), m. Lena Belle Sheetz; Warren B. French (10), m. Patricia H. Teale; Christopher E. French (11), m. Rhonda L. Harris. Book is about 250 pages. Request book from Christopher French, Frenchfield, Route 2, Box 325, Edinburg, VA 22824.
á The Descendants of the Hottel Family, by Warren B. and Christopher E. French, February 8, 1994. Includes the ancestry of Thomas French of Nether Heyford, Chart #20. Thomas (1); Thomas (2); Richard (3); Jonathan (4); Francis (5); Thomas E. (6); Capt. William (7); Martin Van Buren (8); William Schoonover French, Sr. (9). William S. French, Sr., was the son of Martin V. French, b. Kylertown, PA, and m. Bettie Hottel of near Woodstock, Virginia, in Feb 1885. Frenchfield, Route 2, Box 325, Edinburg, VA 22824.
á The Frenches of Woodstock, VA, an account of six generations: our relatives, our enterprises, and our memories. Edited by Anne French Dalke, FFA member Christopher Edward French, and Carolyn French Long. The FFA says this is one of the nicest book we're seen. Just published in 1997. Martin Van Buren French of Burlington Co., NJ and his descendants of Little Egg Harbor, NJ and Woodstock, VA. 850 pages. Contact FFA member Christopher E. French about ordering.
á BF669 THOMAS FRENCH. Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas French from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England, who settled in Burlington County, New Jersey, by Howard Barclay French, Vol 1, Philadelphia, 1909, 501 pages, copied in its entirety. SLC US/CAN 929.273 F887fh Vol 1. Thomas French is one of the original proprietors in Burlington together with William Penn, Edward Byllynge, Thomas Ollive, Gauen Laurie and others. With some account of Colonial manners and doings, setting up of Friend's Meetings, copies of old minutes and other particular writings of public interest, curious and rare papers in facsimile, noteworthy happenings and places, etc. Large index. Mara French ordered this volume on CD from http://genealogycds.com. Order book through Ms. Iris Watson, Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington Street, Salem, MA 01970, Tel: 508-745-7170, FAX: 508-745-8025. Vol. II is 743 pages, published in 1913.