French Family Association

Mara French, P.O. Box 1109, Sutter Creek, CA 95685-1109. 209-267-0649 marafrench@mindspring.com

Chart #ED, Robert and John French of Sible Hedingham, Essex, England

This chart updated by Mara French on 2/21/08. Return to FFA Home Page.

Contents

á                       Contact Information

á                       England History and Research

á                       French Family Ancestry in England

á                       Maps of Suffolk and Essex Counties

á                       Bibliography

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Contact Information: Please send any corrections or additions to Mara French.

England History and Research

This family did not immigrate to America, but the genealogy is presented here because the location is precisely where other Frenches lived who immigrated to America. This chart is especially important to disseminate because various researchers have confused these Frenches with those that immigrated to Massachusetts in the 1630s. These Frenches never immigrated to America – they lived and died in England.

It's very difficult deciphering the Frenches of Essex England. Sometimes children were christened in their mother's hometown, not their fathers. Some villages didn't have a parish and the children were christened elsewhere. Other children were christened long after they were born, sometimes 2 or 3 siblings together, and not in the parish where they were born. No one had middle names back in the 1600s.

Sible Hedingham is about 3 miles north of Halstead, Essex County. Many Frenches remained in Sible Hedingham in the 1700s. Six French marriages in the 1700s.

French Family Ancestry in England

The letter designation for England goes backward beginning with the last generation living in England, Generation A, and goes forward with number designations in America, beginning with the first generation living in America, Generation 1.

Generation D

D.1* Robert French, b. ca. 1555, m. ca. 1578, raised family in Sible Hedingham [1]. Robert d. 19 Oct 1619 in Sible Hedingham [4], a collier [7].

D.2* John French, b. 14 Sep 1563 [6], m. ca. 1580, raised family in Sible Hedingham [1].

Generation C

Children of Robert French, D.1

C.1 Grace Frenche, b. 28 Aug 1580 in Sible Hedingham as the dau. of Robert [1], m. Francis Belleo (or Belles) on 30 Oct 1613 [2] [3] [5] in Sible Hedingham, in a double ceremony with her brother John.

C.2 Elizabeth Frenche, b. 1 May 1582 in Sible Hedingham as the dau. of Robert [1], m. Edward Buke on 30 Dec 1611 [2] [3] in Sible Hedingham [5].

C.3* WyllÕm (William) Frenche, b. 13 or 14  Mar 1584 in Sible Hedingham as the son of Robert [1]. No marriage record of a William in Sible Hedingham [5].

C.4 Thomaysin Frenche, b. 10 Mar 1587 in Sible Hedingham as the dau. of Robert [1], m. Clement Linssille on 1 May 1623 in Sible Hedingham [2] [5].

C.5* John Frenche, b. 6 Jan 1593/4 in Sible Hedingham as the son of Robert [1], m. Ane Bearde on 30 Oct 1613 in Sible Hedingham [5], a double ceremony with his sister, Grace [2].

Children of John French, D.2

C.6* John French, b. 22 Jan 1583/84 in Sible Hedingham as the son of John [1].

C.7 Joane Finch or French, b. 7 Nov 1585 in Sible Hedingham as the dau. of John [1].

Generation B

Children of William French, C.3

B.1 Alse Frenche, b. 24 Jan 1605/6 [6].

Children of John and Ane (Bearde) French, C.5

B.2 Jhon French, b. 8 Jan 1614 in Sible Hedingham as the son of Jhon French [2].

B.3 Thomas French, b. 4 Mar 1618 in Sible Hedingham as the son of Jhon French [2].

B.4 Sammull French, b. 2 May 1621 in Sible Hedingham as the son of Jhon and Ane French [2].

B.5 Ane French, b. 2 Jan 1624 in Sible Hedingham as the daughter of Jhon and Ane French [2]. No more children born in Sible Hedingham after this child and until 1635 [2].

Children of John French, C.6

B.6* John French, b. 6 Sep 1604 [6], m. Joan.

Generation A

Children of John and Joan French, B.6

A.1 Marie French, b. 4 Jul 1630 [6], but not in Sible Hedingham.

Maps

These superly-detailed historical Ordnance Survey maps date back to between 1860 and 1910, and are available for every town in England and Wales.

Zoom in on this satellite map of England to visually see the approximation of these towns: Boxford, Assington, Edwardstone, Bures St. Mary, Lamarsh, Twinstead, Groton, Halstead, Coggeshall, Gosfield, Wethersfield, Arkesden, Great Bardfield, Farnham, Sible Hedington, and Wickhambrook where large French families lived.

Bibliography

Numbers in square brackets [ ] are bibliography notations. FFA stands for French Family Association Library Number.

[1] Essex County Council, Essex Record Office, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX, England. Research completed on 17 Oct 1990, order number GS 262/90, 3 hrs research. Baptism registers for Sible Hedingham, 1560-1600.

[2] Essex County Council, Essex Record Office, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX, England. Research completed on 17 Oct 1990, order number GS 262/90, 3 hrs research. Baptisms 1601-1635, Marriages 1599-1635.

[3] Essex IGI.

[4] Calendar of the Commissary Court of London (Essex & Herts.), Probates between 1431-1660.

[5] BoydÕs Marriage Index, Essex, Males A-K, 1600-1625.

[6] Delpha Triptow research, July 1994, parish register.

[7] Wills at Chelmsford, Essex and East Hertfortdshire, 1400-1619.

Records

Sible Hedingham Baptism Transcripts, Essex Record Office, 31 Aug 1994, research by Mara French:

John French, 5 Mar 1656/7, son of John and My

Mary French, 7 Apr 1640, dau. of Richard and My

Mary French, 12 Mar 1653/4, dau. of John, d. 25 May 1656.

Sam French, May 1621, son of John

Sol French, 15 Oct 1637, son of Richard

Thomas French, 4 Mar 1618/19, son of John

Barb French, 16 Oct 1603, dau. of Edm

Richard French, d. 16 Jun 1643

Rob French, d. 8 Oct 1619

Thos French, d. 12 Jan 1760 at Foundling Hospital

Agnes French, 1594/5

Websites

Later French families in Sible Hedingham, Thomas French 1685-1755