French Family Association

The Official Website of the Surname French

Essex, Suffolk, and Warwickshire Parish Registers
for the Surname French

This page updated by Mara French on 11/17/10. Send any corrections or additions to this page to marafrench@mindspring.com. Revisions: 2010. Research on these parish registers was done beginning in 1994 by:

· Peter Nutt of the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England

· Frederick G. Emmison of the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England

· Jane Smith of the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England

· Nesta Evans of the Suffolk Record Office in Bury St. Edmunds

· Mara French in California via internet and trips to the ERO in Chelmsford and other record offices

· J. Michael Frost in Arizona via internet searching records at the ERO

· Delpha Triptow in Salt Lake City via physical records

· Chris N. French in Manchester, England

· Joanna Martin from the Suffolk Record Office in Bury St. Edmunds

· Christine Hodgetts from the Warwickshire Record Office in Warwick

· John B. Threlfall of Madison, Wisconsin, author and researcher of Essex families

· Ray Whitehand, Historical Suffolk Research Services

Contents

FFA Home Page

Essex

Alphamstone • Ardleigh • Arkesden • Belchamp Otten • Belchamp St. Paul • Birdbrook • Bradwell • Bures Hamlet • Mount Bures • Chappel • Coggeshall • Colchester • Colne Engaine • Copland • Dagenham • Earls Colne • Farnham • Feering • Felsted • Finchingfield • Fordham • Foxearth • Frating • Gestingthorpe • Gosfield • Great Bardfield • Great Maplestead • Great Tey • Great Yeldham • Halstead • Hanningfield (West) • Hanningfield (East) • Helions Bumpstead • Horndon (East) • Horndon (West) • Ingatestone • Kelvedon • Lamarsh • Leyton • Little Bardfield • Little Maplestead • Little Tey • Manuden or Mallenden • Mark’s Hall • Mark’s Tey • Navestock • Pattiswick • Pebmarsh • Peldon • Pentlow • Ridgewell • Sible Hedingham • Stebbing • Steeple Bumpstead • Stisted • Terling • Toppesfield • Twinstead • Wakes Colne • Wethersfield • White Colne • Wickham St. Paul

Suffolk

Assington • Bures St. Mary

Warwickshire

Alcester • Rugby

Alphamstone Parish Register

Not much exists, only the marriage records 1707-1836, T/R 168/1.

Ardleigh Parish Register

D/P 263/1/1, register of baptisms, marriages, and burials, 1555-1666, 35 images. I haven’t taken the time to look at these, but I did browse through the marriages 1635-1640 and found no French. However, a Robert French was living in Ardleigh in 1641, after the Great Migration.

Research on these parish registers was done beginning in 1994 by Peter Nutt, Frederick G. Emmison, and Jane Smith of the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford, England, and by Mara French in California and J. Michael Frost in Arizona via internet, and Delpha Triptow in Salt Lake City via physical records.

*Added to the Chart.

Arkesden Parish Register

D/ABW 14/59, 28 Jul 1551, Will of French of Arkesden
Q/SR 4/7, Indictment of Thomas Frenche of Arkesden, yeoman, for breaking into the close of William Waldegrave, esquire, at Great Wenden and cutting down and carrying away 2 cart-loads of wood, 6 Mar 1561
Q/SR 5/32, Thomas French of Arkesden, yeoman, 8 Jan 1562, to the Sheriff to take and have at the said Easter Sessions with many others listed. No parish register survive for Arkesden before 1690 per researcher Peter Nutt.

Assington Parish Register (Suffolk)

The Assington Bishop’s Transcripts cover a few years after 1564. Assington Parish Register of St. Edmund’s Parish start in 1598. Baptisms and burials start in 1598, and marriages start in 1599 according to researcher Peter Nutt at the ERO. These records were searched for any French entries from the earliest records available to 1650 by researcher Ray Whitehand in Suffolk. The earliest church register begins in 1598. As some of the pages on the fiche copy of this register are faded beyond legibility, the archivist allowed Ray Whitehand to access the original register in October 2010. With regard to records before 1598, there are some registers bills available for Assington. Ray listed those available (on microfilm) below together with the identifying film codes. I don’t know if you are familiar with these bills. They are notoriously difficult and time consuming to read. The single sheets (as presented by individual parishes to the archdeacon annually) are arranged on the film by year, then hundred, and parish. As the parishes are not in any alphabetical order it is a painstaking to search through the 20 to 30 parishes for the one required. One year at a time.

The marriage of Catherine French and an unknown event of Julyan French could not be located in Assington. However Ray checked out the marriage of Catherine French to John Ansell in Boyd’s Marriage Indexes for the county. While there was not an entry for Catherine French in the female index, he did identify an entry for John Ansell to a Katherine (surname not given) in Bures St Mary in 1558/59. Frustratingly it does not identify the surname of the bride, but as you have mentioned other French entries in this parish, I am wondering if this is in fact the marriage in question.

Because there are no records from 1636 to 1650 in Assington, this clearly indicates another reason to prove that this entire family immigrated to America.

Assington register bills available for the following years, researched by Ray Whitehand in October 2010:

1564-67; 71,72,75,77,80-82,85,86,92,94-96,98,1600.

Microfilm copy at Bury St Edmunds:

1550-1566; J502/1

1567-1574; J502/2

1575-1577; J502/3

1578-1583; J502/4

1584-1585; J502/5

1586-1590; J502/6

1591-1593; J502/7

1594-1595; J502/8

1596-1598; J502/9

Assington b/m/b 1598-1683; J596/1

original register 1598-1603; FL521/4/1

checked original registers to 1650.

1586-02-27 bapt: the twentieth seventh of february baptism of Elizabethe ye daughter of Jacob ffrench (1586/87)
1600-06-25 bapt: Robert ffrench s.o. Jacob ffrench & Susan his wife
1608-11-27 bapt: Thomas ffrench s.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife
1610-04-09 bapt: Alice ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife
1614-07-09 bapt: Dorcus ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife
1616-04-02 bapt: Susan ffrench d.o. Thomas & ffrench & Susan his wife
1617-03-15 bapt: Anna ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife (1617/18)
1619-03-12 bapt: Margaret ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife (1619/20)
1622-05-26 bapt: John ffrench s.o. Thomas ffrench & Susan his wife
1624-01-06 bapt: Mary ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susanna his wife (1624/25)
1608-09-05 mar: Thomas ffrench = Susan Riddlesdale
1613-08-01 bur: Susan ffrench d.o. Jacob ffrench
1615-11-11 bur: Jacob ffrench
1620-01-22 bur: Sara ffrench d.o. John ffrench (1620/21)
1624-08-04 bur: John fforsduke son in lawe of George Potter
1635-11-25 bur: Margaret ffrench d.o. Thomas ffrench & Susanna

for loose entries of: Catherine ffrench = John Ansell & unknown event of Julyan ffrench
no sign of either entries in Assington register bills or the original registers

Boyds register 1500-1600, male; ditto female;
No sign of any marriage for Catherine French or Julian French .but:
John Ansell = Cath in Bures 1557

Bures St Mary b/m/b 1538-73: FL540/4/1
item ye marriage of John Anssell & Katherine hys wyfe ye fyrst day of february 1558/59
no sign of Julyan

Baptisms

Date	Name	Image	Chart
20 Apr 1584	Susan Riddlesdale, dau. of John and Dorcas, in Boxford, Suffolk (not Assington)		E1*
27 Feb 1586/7	Elizabeth ffrench, dau. of Jacob ffrench		E1*
27 Mar 1596	John ffrench, parents not named (Ray Whitehand could not find)		E1*
1589-98	Susan ffrench, dau. of Jacob, died young in 1613 (Ray Whitehand could not find)		E1*
25 Jun 1600	Robert ffrench, son of Jacob ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
27 Nov 1608	Thomas ffrench, son of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
9 Apr 1610	Alice french, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
9 Jul 1614	Dorcas ffrench, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
2 Apr 1616	Susan ffrench, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
15 Mar 1617/18	Anna ffrench, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
12 Mar 1619/20	Margaret ffrench, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susan his wife		E1*
26 May 1622	John ffrench, son of Thomas French and Susan his wife		E1*
6 Jan 1624/5	Mary ffrench, dau. of Thomas French and Susan his wife		E1*

Marriages

Date	Name	Image	Chart
5 Sep 1608	Thomas ffrench and Susan Riddlesdale		E1*
27 Sep 1578	Jacob ffrench and Susann Warren (Ray Whitehand could not find in Assington. Perhaps they married in Boxford).		E1*

Burials

Date	Name	Image	Chart
Aug 1658	Susan (Riddlesdale) ffrench (Ray Whitehand could not find)		E1*
1 Aug 1613	Susan ffrench, dau. of Jacob ffrench		E1*
11 Nov 1615	Jacob ffrench		n/a
22 Jan 1620/1	Sara ffrench, dau. of John ffrench		E1*
25 Nov 1635	Margaret ffrench, dau. of Thomas ffrench and Susanna		E1*

Birdbrook Parish Register

Will of Richard French, yeoman, 1624, D/ABW 45/156
Will of Henry French, 1662, D/ABW 61/236
Will of Richard French, yeoman, 1629, D/ABW 49/13

Parish Register, 1633-1754, D/P 271/1/1, 63 Images, FFA Chart #EH.

Bradwell Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “No registers survive before 1704”. But these registers have been found and catalogued as of 2010. D/P 51/1/1 1558-1623 (75 images) and D/P 51/1/2 1624-1694. I need to review these when I have time.

Bures Hamlet Parish Register (Essex)

Mount Bures Parish Register (Essex)

D/P 376/1/1 (1599-1711) and D/P 281/1/1 (1540-1773 – 63 images). These images are ONLY of Mount Bures in Essex, just moments over the border from Bures St. Mary in Suffolk.

Essex Researcher Janet Smith says there is a gap in the register from 1604-1611. After that the name French does not appear. No French burials in Bures St. Mary to 1604.

In the early years, only about 2 people are born yearly, and many years, no one was born, got married, or died. Bures St. Mary is on both sides of the Stour River. It is referred to as Mont Bures in Essex, and no one from this family is in these parish registers. They are all probably from the Suffolk side of the Stour River. It doesn’t seem as though any French is listed in the D/P 281/1/1 register.

Baptisms

None

Marriages

1 Feb 1558/59, Cath and John Ansell (Boyd’s Register does not give Cath’s surname), and the Bures St. Mary b/m/b 1538-73: FL 540/4/1 shows, item ye marriage of John Anssell & Katherine hys wyfe ye fyrst day of february 1558/59. This was actually Katherine Warren died 8 years later and John Ansell may have married Elizabeth French at that time.

Burials

The following records could not be found in Mount Bures, Essex, nor in Bures St. Mary, Suffolk.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
26 Sep 1554	William Warren, perhaps 12 Oct 1550 (not in D/P 281/1/1)		E1*
31 July 1567	Katherine Warren, proved Jan 1570/71 (not in D/P 281/1/1)		E1*

Bures St. Mary Parish Register (Suffolk)

Family Siday in Bures St. Mary, Mount Bures, and Bures Hamlet. John French married Joanna Siday in Great Tey, and perhaps she came from Bures Hamlet.

Daniel Sydey, 31 Mar 1600, D/DU 351/3, Bures St. Mary

Daniel Sidey, 2 Nov 1601, D/DU 351/11, Bures St. Mary

William Sidey, 25 Apr 1600, D/DU 351/5, of Great Tey

Daniel Sidey, 10 Oct 1600, D/DU 351/7, of Bures St. Mary and Bures Hamlet to son or senior William Sidey, land from Bures St. Mary to White Colne a grove of 2 acres, and all of Bures Hamlet and Mount Bures.

Wills: John Sydaye, senior of Pebmarsh, yeoman, 1539. William Sidney, sen. of Bures Hamlet, 1594. Joseph Sydey of Foxearth 1605. Margaret Sydaie of Bures Hamlet 1606. Christopher Sidey of Alphamstone 1620, T/G 62/1.

William Sidey of Bures St. Mary, 1 May 1587, E/EU 351/2

William Sidey of Bures Hamlet and Mount Bures, 4 Nov 1601, D/DU 351/12

Mary Sidey of Bures St. Mary and Bures Hamlet, widow, 25 Apr 1600, D/DU 351/6, witnessed by Daniel and William Sidey.

William Sidey, gent., of Bures St. Mary, Bures Hamlet, and Mount Bures, 1601, D/DU 351/10

William Sidey of Bures Hamlet, 1608, D/DU 351/33, witnessed by William and Daniel Sidey.

William Sidey, to John Sidey of White Colne, yeoman, 20 Mar 1545/6, D/DU 351/1A.

William Waldegrave of Wormingford to John Sidey of Bures Hamlet, Gentleman, manor house lands, etc. called Ropers late in occupation of John Ridlesdale and now of Mark Grymes, gent., in Bures St. Mary and Assington, witnesses: John Pearce and Robert Smith, 1 Jan 1648/9, D/DU 78/1.

William Sidey of Bures Hamlet, vs. Joseph Sidey, 1617-21, T/G 62/5.

Many more records exist of the family Sidey in Bures Hamlet especially around 1600, but I have not listed them all here. William Sidey Junior, gentleman, was an attorney in Great Tey on 5 Jan 1557, D/DPb T2/12.

Research from Ray Whitehand on 1 Nov 2010 for the surnames French and Warren in Bures St. Mary:

For any Warren or French entries

Bures St Mary 1538-1600 FL540/4/1 in SUFFOLK

1542-10-13 bapt: item the christening of Jelyan Warren the xiij Oct in the yr of our lord ml xlii & in the xxxiiij year of Henry Viii (1542)

1549-10-12 bur: item the buryall of Wyllm Warren ye xijth day of October 3 Edw 6^th. (1549)

1561-11-23 bapt: Christening Wyllum ye sone of Willm Waren was bapt ye xxiij day November 1561

1562-11-10 mar: John Warren = Johan Hasnale

1562-07-20 mar: George Warner = Rose Smith

1573-04-13 mar: John Dykes = Johan Warin

1574-05-06 mar: William Sidey = Elizabeth Warin

1579-09-26 mar: Jacob French = Susanna Warin

1580-07-25 bapt: William ffrench was baptised xxvth July 1580

1582-08-12 bapt: Jacob ffrench was baptised xij August 1582

1584-10-11 bapt: Thomas ffrench son of Jacob was baptised same day (as previous entry in register being; 11 Oct 1584)

1625-04-28 mar: Thomas Warren = Rose Northam

Chappel Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1590-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. Parish Registers have now been found for 1538-1764, D/P 87/1/1. I need to check these when I have time. Only 35 images.

Coggeshall Parish Register

D/P 36/1/1, St. Peter’s ad Vincula Church
1558-1735, 136 Images
Baptisms 1584-1653 – start Image 2
Burial 1558-1653 – start Image 50?
Marriages 1561-1653

Baptisms in Coggeshall

No baptisms listed before 1584.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
1545?	Thomas Fuller, father of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, still living in 1607 when his son Robert Fuller Ye Elder died. On 21 Aug 1606 Thomas Fuller was living in Colchester, Q/SR 177/124, indicating that perhaps the family originated in Colchester, then moved to Coggeshall.	n/a	E6
1550?	Robert French who d. 31 Oct 1616 and who m. Alice Walker on 11 May 1572 who d. 13 Oct 1605.	n/a
1568	William Fuller, brother of Robert Fuller Ye Elder	n/a	E6
ca. 1570	Robert Fuller Ye Elder who married Elizabeth Scott, she was from Glemsford, Suffolk, England.	n/a	E6*
ca. 1570?	Alice Fuller, sister of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, who m. William Clarke, mentioned in her brother’s will of 1605	n/a	E6*
ca. 1570?	Elizabeth Fuller, sister of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, who m. John Leswell, mentioned in her brother’s will of 1605	n/a	E6*
ca. 1570?	Marie Fuller, sister of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, m. William, mentioned in her brother’s will of 1605.	n/a	E6*
11 May 1578	Elizabeth Scott christened in Glemsford, Suffolk, the dau. of Edward Scott and Elizabeth. She m. Robert Fuller of Coggeshall.	n/a	E6
17 Nov 1594	Sara Fuller, dau. of Robert Fuller Ye Elder (might be oldest daughter because she is mentioned first in will of 1605)	8	E6
1600?	Samuel French, father of Samuel French who was bap. 5 Apr 1625 in Coggeshall – cannot find. This record is incorrect and the name is not Samuel French.	n/a	n/a
7 Dec 1600	Robert Fuller Jr., son of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, mentioned in his father’s will of 1605	11	E6
28 Oct 1602	Robert Fuller Jr., son of Robert French Ye Younger, first child of his marriage to Elizabeth Scott in Jan 1601/2.		E6
4 Feb 1603/04	Elizabeth Fuller, dau. of Robert Fuller, Ye Younger. Cannot find, but the death of Elizabeth Fuller is found on 4 Feb 1603. Did she have 2 daughters who both died, or is one of these daughters the daughter of Robert Fuller, Ye Elder?		E6*
27 Nov 1604	Elizabeth Fuller, dau. of Robert Fuller Ye Younger. This dau. died 3 days later and is therefore not the Elizabeth Fuller who m. Richard French. The image clearly says “ye younger”.	15	E6
30 Jul 1605	Thomas Fuller, son of Robert Fuller Ye Elder, mentioned in his father’s will of 1605. The image clearly says “ye elder”.	16	E6
31 Oct 1605	Thomas Fuller, son of Thomas Fuller.	16	E6
8 Apr 1606	Richard French, son of William – no, this is incorrect. Researcher Joanna Martin in Suffolk says it reads Richard Trewe. Yes, there was a large Trewe family in Coggeshall when I entered “Trewe” and “Coggeshall” in the search engine. This surname later became “True”.	17	E6
19 Jan 1607/8	Elizabeth Fuller, dau. of Robert Fuller Ye Elder and Elizabeth Scott, D/P 36/1/1. She was born 6 months after her father Robert Fuller Ye Elder died on 3 Jun 1607. The reason we know this Elizabeth Fuller was still living in 1627 is that she is mentioned in her grandfather, Edward Scott’s, will of 8 Sep 1627 in which he mentions the children of his daughter Elizabeth Scott: Thomas Fuller and Elizabeth Fuller. Edward Scott m. Elizabeth (Scott) their dau. Elizabeth Scott m. Robert Fuller Ye Elder. Their dau. Elizabeth m. Richard French	18	E6*
Oct 1617	Susan Fuller, dau. of Robert Fuller Ye Younger. This must be Robert Fuller Ye Younger because Robert Fuller Ye Elder d. in 1607. It could not be Robert Fuller Jr. because he was born in 1602 and would have been too young to have daughter Susan.	26	E6
5 Apr 1625	Samuel French – actually, in my research visit, this record was found. Need to re-check it. Samuel could have been the brother of Richard French, Jr. This looks more like it says Finch. YES IT SAYS FINCH.	34
6 May 1629	Richard French Jr., son of Richard French Sr. and Elizabeth. No French baptism records appear between the time this couple got married in 1622 and the baptism of his son in 1629.	38?	E6
21 Sep 1630	Thomas French, son of Richard French Sr. and Mary	39	E6*
25/26 Apr 1636	Mary French, dau. of Richard French Sr. and Mary	45	E6*
1738	Richard French, master in 1738, in the Coggeshall index of settlement papers which is too late a date for our Richard. The entry lists John Cook as an apprentice under Richard French, bay weaver of Coggeshall.

Marriages in Coggeshall

Marriages 1561-1653

Date	Name	Image	Chart
11 May 1572	Robert French, m. Alice Walker. Did not find in D/P 36/1/1.	61 – n/a	E6
Jan 1601/2	Elizabeth Scott who married Robert Fuller and had children Thomas Fuller and Elizabeth Fuller according to her father’s will (Edward Scott) of 8 Sep 1627. Before 1627, Elizabeth (Scott) Fuller had died.
Ca. 1593	Robert Fuller Ye Elder		E6
Pre 1607	Robert Fuller Ye Elder m2. Anne (named in Robert’s will of 1607)		E6
28 Oct 1622	Richard French Sr. m1. Elizabeth Fuller – no children listed until 6 May 1629.	72	E6
ca. 1627?	Thomas Fuller m. Alice Raynes. Thomas was probably the son of Robert Fuller Ye Elder.		E6
ca. 1629-1630	Richard French Sr. m2. Mary (not listed)	73?	E6
1664	Richard French to unknown
3? Jun 1681	Richard French and Elizabeth Wiltshine? D/P 36/1/3	2
1 Jun 1681	Thomas French and Christian Brown, D/P 36/1/3	2

Burials in Coggeshall

Burial 1558-1653 – start Image 50? No entries for French 1622-1630 (to Image 118) per Peter Nutt. Therefore Elizabeth French is not listed in Coggeshall, but look at East Hanningfield.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
8 Jun 1550	Robert Fuller, D/ABW 14/49	n/a	E6
18 Jan 1603/04	Marie Fuller, daughter of William Fuller	99	E6
1 Feb 1603/04	Elizabeth Fuller, daughter of Robert Fuller, Ye Elder. We are not sure when her birth was – perhaps she died at birth and hence the birth was not recorded. Because this Elizabeth was born exactly 9 months before the next Elizabeth was born, according to the Old Calendar, I am assuming they are from different fathers.	99	E6
30 Nov 1604	Elizabeth Fuller, daughter of Robert Ye Younger, died 3 days later perhaps of the plague but no proven truth to it.	100	E6
13 Oct 1605	Alice Walker, wife of Robert French Ye Younger – he d. 31 Oct 1616. Not in D/P 36/1/1, St. Peter’s ad Vincula Church.	100 – n/a
3 Jun 1607	Robert Fuller – not found this day, but found on 19 May 1607 as Robert Fuller Ye Elder.	101	E6
	William Fuller appoints Thomas Fuller of Stebbing in his will. There was a John French living in Stebbing in 1579, T/B 86/2. There was also a William French of Stebbing, weaver and Mary his wife, 1650, D/DHt/T253/4. There was also a Thomas French of nearby Waltham, labourer, 1587, T/A 418/47/54.		E6
31 Oct 1616	Robert French Ye Younger	108 – n/a
Before 1627	Elizabeth Scott who m. Robert Fuller Jan 1601/2
ca. 1629	Elizabeth (Fuller) French -- perhaps she died in East Hanningfield – she is listed there as dying in 1631. Might be the same person.	118	E6
3 Nov 1630	Thomas Fuller (found), probably son of Robert Fuller Ye Elder	118	E6
2 Jun 1631	William Fuller, son of Robert Fuller (found)	119	E6
29 Dec 1631	Robert Fuller Jr. – continued thru Image 123, 1636 and found no more French or Fuller.	119	E6
4 Apr 1637	Unknown French, no details. Not in D/P 36/1/1, St. Peter’s ad Vincula Church. On 24 May 1637 is Elizabeth, daughter of Eliz French widow in D/P 36/1/3.

Colchester Parish Register

D/P 203/1/1, D/P 203/1/2, and D/P 203/1/3
St. Botolph’s Church

There are many parish registers from Colchester. Since we know the French family belonged to St. Botolph’s Church, I am not researching Berechurch, Bradfield, Brightlingsea, Holy Trinity, All Saints, St. Mary Magdalen, Chignal St. James, Chignal Smealey, Chickney, Chigwell, St. Mary the Virgin, St. Mary-at-the-Walls, Liston, Littlebury, Loughton, Maldon, Hadleigh, Hadstock, Gt. Hallingbury, or others.

The Register of St. Botolph’s Church was in the care of All Saints Parish for nearly 300 years before it was returned by the rector in 1936. Christenings start in 1560. From ca. 1650 to 1836, the church was in ruins and most baptisms and marriages were recorded at All Saints Church during this period (I am not researching this period). We are looking for a William or John who were christened about 1580 at St. Botolph’s.

D/P 203/1/1 has 84 images, 1560-1664, and only the last 2 images are of burials; no marriages that I could find. Marriages are on Image 26. Births start on Image 5. Marriages start on Image 23 – only need until Image 32.

D/P 203/1/2, 1667-1685 is too late

D/P 203/1/3, 1680-1799 is too late.

Marriage transcript available 1560-1631, also in Boyd’s Marriage Index 1560-1688 per Peter Nutt.

Baptisms in Colchester

D/P 203/1/1, Colchester St. Botolphs Parish, records researched by Peter C. Nutt on 12 Apr 2010 from 1560-1640. No other French ancestors exist in this parish.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
16 Feb 1605/6	Richard French, son of William French Rechard Frenche the sone of Welyam Frenche the 16 of Februarye 1605	15	E6*
11 Dec 1608	William French, son of John French Welyam Frenche the sone of John Frenche the 11^th of Desembre 1608	16	E6*
13 Nov 1614	John French, son of Thomas French (this entry is incorrect – it does not say John French)	18	n/a

Marriages in Colchester

D/P 203/1/1, Colchester St. Botolphs Parish, records researched by Peter C. Nutt on 12 Apr 2010 from 1560-1640. No other French ancestors exist in this parish.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
22 Jul 1605	John French and Cath Welam. This name could have been Welham which name appears in Colchester.	26	E6*
13 May 1622	John Hull de Stoke upon Nailand in Com Suff et Jane French de Ipswich in predicto single married 13 May 1622 This mean that Jane French, who currently was living in Ipswich, Suffolk, married John Hull, who currently was living in Stoke by Nayland in Suffolk married on 13 May 1622 in Colchester.	28	E6*
28 Dec 1624	Bartholmew Burgess singleman de Nayland et Elizabeth French vido de St Nicholas in Colchester per licence This mean that Elizabeth French who currently was living in Colchester married Bartholomew Burgess of Nayland on 28 Dec 1624. St. Nicholas was a parish church.	29	E6*

Burials in Colchester

D/P 203/1/1, Colchester St. Botolphs Parish, records researched by Peter C. Nutt on 12 Apr 2010 from 1560-1640. No other French ancestors exist in this parish.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
7 Sep 1613	The wife of John French (Catherine Welam/Welham)	46	E6*
4 Sep 1638	Willyam Ffrench peddler. No will can be traced to the William French who died on 4 Sep 1638 in Colchester, and his will is not in the PCC wills per Essex researcher Peter Nutt on 13 Aug 2010.	56	E6*

Colne Engaine Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1629-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. No registers survived before 1629.

These records have been found now by Mara French in 2010 for the years 1605-1690, D/P 88/1/1 (36 images), and 1629-1762 D/P 193/1/1. I looked over these records and found several early entries for the Syday family who married into the John French family, FFA Chart #E3. In Sept 2010 I checked all records thru 1636, Image 11, and found no French although the writing was fairly easy to read. I suppose someday all these names will be in a searchable database.

Q/SR 252/70, John French, collier, to keep the peace to Margaret Crabb, widow, 19 Dec 1625.

Q/SR 253/20, John French of Colne Engaine, husbandman, 12 Apr 1626, kept a common alehouse (tavern) there without license.

T/A 418/105/5, John French of Colne Engaine, yeoman, indictment, 13 Jul 1629.

Copland Parish Register

D/P 186/1/1, Baptisms 1558-1760, Marriages 1558-1754, Burials 1558-1760. 72 images.
St. Michael and All Angels. These pages are quite mixed up and difficult to search. I checked baptism records between 1630-1636 and did not find any French.

Dagenham Parish Register

Need to check. Register covers period from 1598-1668. 60 images. The church is St. Peter and St. Paul. I checked quickly the baptisms from 1618 to 1637 (image 6 to 12). They were very easy to read. No French. It seemed plausible that some children would be baptized here before setting out to America, because Dagenham is along the docks just east of London. If there had been a French, I would have searched longer. The name French does appear later in the 1800s.

Earls Colne Parish Register

D/P 209/1/1, St. Andrew, Earls Colne, 1558-1605.
D/P 209/1/2, St. Andrew, Earls Colne, 1609-1654.

Q/SR 20/15, Thomas French, servant of John Cheyne, 1 Dec 1566. This might be Chart #EB?

Check Marriage Records: http://linux02.lib.cam.ac.uk/earlscolne/marriage/index.htm

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms or burials 1590-1640, gap missing 1589-1608”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked.

Roger Harlakenden was chr. 1 Oct 1611 in Earls Colne and d. 17 Nov 1638 in Cambridge, MA, only 3 years after he immigrated.

Farnham Parish Register

D/P 290/1/1, 1559-1635, St. Mary the Virgin Church, 44 Images.
Baptisms Images 1-20 (no French); Burials Images 21-30 (no French, but many from the related surnames Collyn, Eliot, Meade, Little, Wood, and Bland). Marriages start on Image 31-36. Burials start again on Image 37-44 from 1681 onwards. Researcher at the Essex Record Office (ERO) states that no Farnham baptisms exist from 1559-1600.

Elizabeth French m. John Meade on 9 Oct 1581 – Image 33
Thomas French m. Anne Olmstead on 26 Jul 1587 – Image 34

Feering Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1590-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked.

Felsted Parish Register

See Chris N. French’s list of Early Parish Registers for Felsted, 1554-1811.

D/P 99/1/1 1558-1641
Baptisms: 1558-1627 [virtually no 1628/9]
Marriages: 1558-1627 [no 1628/30]
Marriages: 1631-1641
Burials: 1558-1636

D/P 99/1/2 1630-1723
Baptisms 1630-1699
Baptisms 1701-1706
Burials: 1636-1641
Marriages: 1695-1723
Baptisms: 1699-1701

D/P 99/1/3 1678-1790
Burials: 1678-1790

D/P 99/1/4 1706-1812
Baptisms: 1706-1812
Marriages: 1723-1754
Baptisms: 1716-1770

See Chris N. French’s lineage of this French Family from Felsted: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.n.french/WilliamFrench.txt

Reference	Image	Date	Event	Names
D/ABW14/79		1554	will	Alice French widow of Felsted
D/ABW14/148		16-May-1567	will	John French, Felsted, husbandman
D/P 99/1/1	1	12-Feb-1558/1559	chris	Margerie ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	1	24-Jan-1559/1560	chris	John  ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	39	25-May-1560	bur	Joane ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	27	6-Oct-1560	marr	Robert ffrenche & Lettis Wheatly
D/P 99/1/1	2	6-Jan-1561/1562	chris	Henrie ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	2	8-Mar-1561/1562	chris	William ffrench
D/P 99/1/1	2	30-Jan-1562/1563	chris	Elizabeth ffrenche daughter of John
D/P 99/1/1	3	12-Mar-1565/1566	chris	Joyse ffrenche daughter of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	39	4-Sep-1566	bur	John ffrenche son of John
D/P 99/1/1	3	23-Feb-1566/1567	chris	Joan ffrenche daughter of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	40	6-May-1567	bur	John ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	28	24-Nov-1567	marr	Allen Coo & Allice ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	40	6-Aug-1568	bur	Peter ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	28	25-Aug-1569	marr	Robert Gele & Agnis ffrench widow
D/P 99/1/1	4	1-Nov-1569	chris	Margerie ffrenche daughter of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	4	28-May-1570	chris	Elizabeth ffrenche daughter of Richard
D/P 99/1/1	28	24-Sep-1572	marr	Thomas ffrenche & Joane Ayleife
D/P 99/1/1	5	5-Oct-1572	chris	Elizabeth ffrenche daughter of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	41	3-Nov-1572	bur	Elizabeth ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	5	14-Dec-1572	chris	Agnes ffrenche daughter of Richard
D/P 99/1/1	29	12-Jul-1573	marr	John Belcham & Agnis ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	6	1-Jan-1573/1574	chris	Joane ffrenche daughter of Thomas …
D/P 99/1/1	41	5-Jan-1573/1574	bur	Joane ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	6	24-Feb-1574/1575	chris	Alexander ffrenche son of John ffrenche of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	6	21-Apr-1575	chris	Cristopher ffrenche son of Thomas
D/P 99/1/1	6	30-Sep-1575	chris	Margaret ffrenche daughter of Richard
D/P 99/1/1	41	25-Apr-1577	bur	Robert ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	7	10-Jan-1577/1578	chris	John ffrenche son of John
D/P 99/1/1	8	17-Apr-1581	chris	William ffrenche son of John ffrenche of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	29	22-Oct-1581	marr	Peter ffrenche & Urseley Hunter
D/P 99/1/1	30	18-Nov-1582	marr	Robert ffrenche alias Oxnty & Margerie Burkes alias Sponer[sic?]
D/P 99/1/1	9	30-Jun-1583	chris	Margaret ffrenche daughter of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	42	14-Jul-1583	bur	Margaret ffrenche daughter of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	9	14-Jun-1584	chris	ffrancis ffrenche daughter of John ffrenche of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	9	17-Apr-1585	chris	Peter ffrenche son of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	10	26-Dec-1585	chris	Robert ffrench son of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	43	31-Mar-1587	bur	Robert ffrenche infant
D/P 99/1/1	43	7-Apr-1587	bur	William ffrenche
D/ABW14/230:		Apr.May-1587	will	William French husbandman
D/P 99/1/1	43	17-Apr-1587	bur	Joyse ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	43	21-Apr-1587	bur	Richard ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	11	14-Jul-1588	chris	Thomas ffrenche son of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	11	1-Sep-1588	chris	Agnes ffrenche daughter of John ffrenche of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	12	12-Sep-1590	chris	Marie ffrenche daughter of ffrancis
D/P 99/1/1	12	14-Feb-1590/1591	chris	ffrancis ffrenche daughter of Peter ffrenche of Burne
D/P 99/1/1	31	31-May-1591	marr	William ffoord & Elizabeth ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	44	29-Jun-1592	bur	Thomas ffrenche son of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	13	4-Feb-1592/1593	chris	Elizabeth ffrench daughter of John ffrench of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	13	27-May-1593	chris	William ffrenche son of Robert
D/P 99/1/1	13	20-Jan-1593/1594	chris	John ffrenche son of ffrancis
D/P 99/1/1	44	2-Oct-1595	bur	Robert ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	44	13-Oct-1595	bur	Peter ffrenche of Groncooke
D/AMR5A/44:		1596	will	Francis French
D/P 99/1/1	44	22-Jan-1596/1597	bur	ffrancis ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	15	19-Jun-1597	chris	Sara ffrench daughter of ffrancis ffrenche
D/P 99/1/1	15	6-May-1599	chris	Sander ffrench son of Alexander
D/P 99/1/1	32	22-Jun-1601	marr	John Bredge & Margery ffrench widdow
D/P 99/1/1	17	1-Jan-1601/1602	chris	John ffrench son of Sander ffrench of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/1	17	13-May-1604	chris	Agnes ffrench daughter of Alexander
D/P 99/1/1	33	1-Jul-1610	marr	William ffrench & Agnes Loane
D/P 99/1/1	20	24-Feb-1610/1611	chris	William ffrench son of Alexander
D/P 99/1/1	33	14-Sep-1611	marr	Peter ffrench & Bridget Merick
D/P 99/1/1	34	15-Feb-1612/1613	marr	Thomas Fitch & Agnes ffrench
D/P 99/1/1	21	24-May-1613	chris	Phillip ffrench daughter of Alexander
D/P 99/1/1	21	15-Aug-1613	chris	Peter ffrench son of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	34	19-Oct-1615	marr	William ffrench & Judith Rose
D/P 99/1/1	23	6-Apr-1617	chris	Thomas French son of Peter
D/P 99/1/1	24	10-Feb-1619/1620	chris	Willliam French son of William and Judith
D/AMR6A/3:		Feb/May-1621	will	Peter French
D/P 99/1/1	51	20-Mar-1620/1621	bur	Peter French senior
D/P 99/1/1	25	16-Mar-1621/1622	chris	Rebecca French daughter of Peter and Bridgitte French [IGI: nee Mevick or Merick]
D/P 99/1/1	52	4-Jan-1624/1625	bur	widow & surviving wife of John French farmer
D/P 99/1/1	26	8-Jan-1624/1625	chris	Bridgitte French daughter of Peter and Bridgitte
D/P 99/1/1	36	30-Oct-1625	marr	John French of Wilimgaur? Emma Tavernor of Wilimgaur?
D/P 99/1/1	53	20-Aug-1632	bur	William? Son of William French
D/P 99/1/2	3	3-Mar-1632/1633	chris	Alexander French son of Alexander & Jane
D/P 99/1/1	37	24-Jun-1634	marr	John Hull & Francisca French
D/P 99/1/1	54	15-Jan-1634/1635	bur	John French of Rutlands
D/AMW4/225:		5-Feb-1634/1635	will	John French senior
D/P 99/1/1	54	6-Oct-1635	bur	Peter? French  son? of Peter & Brigitte
D/P 99/1/1	54	6-Oct-1635	bur	Francis French late wife of John French of Rutlands
D/P 99/1/2	5	6-Jan-1637/1638	chris	Sara French daughter of Alexander & Jane
D/P 99/1/2	5	12-May-1640	chris	Anna & Philippa French daughters of Alexander & Jane French
D/P 99/1/1	37	5-Jul-1640	marr	Edward Dawson & Agnis French
D/P 99/1/1	37	21-Oct-1640	marr	William French & Elizabeth Drane
D/P 99/1/2	30	10-Jan-1640/1641	bur	Margerie wife of William/Nicholas [either?] French]
D/P 99/1/2	7	1-Mar-1641/1642	chris	Samuel ffrench son of William & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/2	7	16-Sep-1643	chris	Elizabeth ffrench daughter of Alexander & Jane
D/P 99/1/2	10	6-Oct-1650	chris	Elizabeth ffrench son of William
D/P 99/1/2	13	5-Jan-1662/1663	chris	John ffrench son of John & Mary
D/P 99/1/2	14	14-Aug-1665	chris	Mary ffrench daughter of John & Mary
D/P 99/1/3	7	4-Jul-1681	bur	widow ffrench
D/P 99/1/2	24	9-Aug-1693	chris	John ffrench son of John & Ann
D/P 99/1/2	25	16-May-1695	chris	William ffrench son of John & Ann
D/P 99/1/3	14	19-Nov-1695	bur	John ffrench
D/P 99/1/2	26	7-Dec-1696	chris	Mary ffrench daughter of John & Ann
D/P 99/1/2	30	19-Jun-1698	marr	William French & Joane Skillingham
D/P 99/1/3	17	28-Mar-1700	bur	Mary French widow
D/P 99/1/2	27	16-Dec-1701	chris	Samuell French son of John & Anne
D/P 99/1/4	n/a	11-Jul-1706	chris	Richard French son of John & Ann
D/P 99/1/2	32	1-Nov-1722	marr	John French & Sarah Page
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	8-Dec-1723	chris	Sarah French daughter of John Sarah
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	5-Mar-1723/1724	chris	Judith French daughter of William & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	28-Dec-1725	chris	John French son of John & Sarah
D/P 99/1/3	26	21-Jan-1725/1726	bur	John French son of John
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	20-Jan-1726/1727	chris	baptism Mary French daughter of John & Sarah
D/P 99/1/3	27	17-Sep-1728	bur	wife of William French
D/P 99/1/4-2+:	n/a	17-Jun-1729	marr	William French & Elizabeth Page
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	20-Oct-1729	chris	Elizabeth French daughter of John & Sarah
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	24-Mar-1729/1730	chris	William French son of William Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/3	28	30-May-1730	bur	William French son of William
D/P 99/1/3	28	3-Aug-1730	bur	wife of John French junior
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	27-Jan-1731/1732	chris	John French son of William & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	5-May-1734	chris	Mary French daughter of William & Sarah
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	20-Nov-1735	marr	John French & Elizabeth Hills
D/P 99/1/3	31	28-Dec-1735	bur	Judith French daughter of William
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	7-Sep-1736	chris	William French son of William & Sarah
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	9-Sep-1736	chris	Jeremiah French son of Jeremiah & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	9-Sep-1736	chris	Susannah French daughter of John & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	23-Aug-1737	chris	Elizabeth French daughter of William & Elizabeth [says IGI, fiche to blurred]
D/P 99/1/3	32	30-Apr-1738	bur	William French junior
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	13-Jun-1738	chris	Thomas French son of Jeremiah & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	13-Jun-1738	chris	William French son of John & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	17-Jan-1738/1739	chris	John French son of Jeremiah & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	Sep-1742	birth	John Page son of John & Margaret French [Oops!? from baptism at 2 years]
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	15-Apr-1744	chris	Ann French daughter of John & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/3	35	7-Apr-1746	bur	John French elder
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	12-Jun-1749	marr	William Marner Little Dunmow & Sarah French OTP
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	24-Feb-1750/1751	chris	Richard French son of John & Elizabeth [24th/27th?]
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	9-Jan-1754	marr	John Belsham OTP & Sarah French OTP
D/P 99/1/3	44	29-Sep-1754	bur	William French
IGI:	n/a	11-Oct-1759	marr	William French & Mary Evans
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	14-Mar-1760	chris	William French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	7-Jun-1761	chris	Elizabeth French daughter of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/3	47	25-May-1762	bur	John French
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	16-Jan-1763	chris	John French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	22-Jul-1764	chris	Susannah French daughter of John & Susannah
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	23-Dec-1764	chris	William French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	9-Feb-1766	chris	John French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	13-Apr-1766	chris	Elizabeth French son of William & Susannah
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	14-Feb-1768	chris	Samuel French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	19-Feb-1769	chris	William French son of John & Susannah
D/P 99/1/3	51	23-Apr-1769	bur	Mary French
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	19-Aug-1770	chris	John baseborn son of John Sutton & Elizabeth French
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	28-Jul-1771	chris	Sarah French son of John & Hannah
D/P 99/1/3	53	6-Aug-1771	bur	Elizabeth French
D/P 99/1/4-1:	n/a	24-May-1772	chris	Ann French son of William & Mary
D/P 99/1/3	59	29-Sep-1782	bur	Elizabeth French
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	18-May-1783	chris	John French son of Richard & Mary
D/P 99/1/3	60	22-Mar-1784	bur	William French
D/P 99/1/3	61	4-Jan-1785	bur	Elizabeth French pauper
D/P 99/1/3	61	14-Jun-1785	bur	Susannah  French
D/P 99/1/3	67	8-Dec-1790	bur	Susannah French - sic?
D/P 99/1/4	n/a	8-Aug-1796	bur	Susannah French - not the 1789/1790 one?
IGI:	n/a	21-Oct-1797	marr	John French & Ann
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	20-Feb-1802	birth	Mary French daughter of William & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	28-Mar-1802	chris	Mary French daughter of William & Elizabeth
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	25-Oct-1806	birth	Sarah French daughter of William & Abigail
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	23-Nov-1806	chris	Sarah French daughter of William & Abigail
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	27-Jun-1811	birth	Elizabeth French daughter of John & Mary [nee Poulton]
D/P 99/1/4-2:	n/a	1-Aug-1811	chris	Elizabeth French daughter of John & Mary [nee Poulton]

Finchingfield Parish Register

Chris N. French found just one marriage and one baptism prior to 1635 in Finchingfield. Records of a French at the ERO include:
Will of Richard French, yeoman, 1726, D/AMW 13/2/12
Will of William French, husbandman, 3 Jul 1640, D/AMW 2/52. He died on 25 Jun 1640 according to the Finchingfield parish register, Image 21. These dates do not coincide.

Precept, Thomas French of Arkesden, yeoman, 1562, Q/SR 5/32
Indictment, Peter French, 1662, T/A 418/156/75

Parish Register of Finchingfield, D/P 14/1/1, 1617-1708, 77 images

William French, widower, and Martha Crofley, married 1 Feb 1624/25, Image 8
Margarett French, wife of William, buried 26 Oct 1624, Image 8
William French, buried 25 Jun 1640, Image 21

Fordham Parish Register

Q/SR 234/132, John French, husbandman, recognizances, 2 Oct 1621. Parish register is from 1563-1730, D/P 372/1/1
It includes 59 images. I checked baptisms from 1621 to 1638, images 10-14. No French. Easy to read.

Foxearth Parish Register

D/P 368/1/1. Register is from 1551-1617. I’d rather check a parish register from 1625-1635, the era right before the Great Migration, but none is available. Perhaps the microfilms of the transcripts are available for later on. Q/SR 264/61 shows a record of recognizances of William French, John Ellingham, and Henry Ellingham, all weavers, and John Ellingham to keep the peace to Elizabeth Evans, all of Foxearth, 1628. Could William French of FFA Chart #2 have married Elizabeth Evans?

There was an Edward Ellingham of Foxearth, laborer, who made his will on 26 Dec 1620 in Foxearth, D/AMW 3/92. Only 6 images appear. The name Ellingham appears many times in the parish register, first mentioned in 1551. Foxearth is very close to the Suffolk border and near Bildeston, Suffolk, where the John French of FFA Chart #4 lived. No French appears in this Foxearth parish register up until 1617 which shows only baptisms. The register is quite clear and easy to read.

Frating Parish Register

D/P 349/1/1 from 1560, 39 images.
Baptisms Images 2-15
Burials Images 15-26
Marriages Images 27-39

Thomas French chr. ca. 1587, Image 7, but nothing there
Thomas Woode the son of John Woode was christened the first Monday in November 1589, Image 7.
William Beckingham, son to William Beckingham and Palludia his wife, 2 Jan 1622, Image 11.
Thomas Woodde, buried the second of November 1580, Image 17. (many surname Wood in register as well as Beckingham)
Thomas French, gentleman, buried 27 Feb 1621/22, Image 21.
Thomas French will, 6 Nov 1622 PROB 11/140, no male issue.

Gestingthorpe Parish Register

Jonathan French the elder, recital of admission of land called Milbrook Field, 6 June 1759.

D/P 95/1/1 Register of baptisms, marriages, and burials, 1610-1752, 26 Images. Starts on Image 5, very sparse. No French up to Image 8 in 1660, baptisms only.

Gosfield Parish Register

Births in Gosfield, 1538-1650

D/P 165/1/1, 1538-1733. 77 images. St. Catherine Parish Register. Gosfield is a village 2 miles SW of Halstead. This village is close to Sisted. No French birth recorded in Gosfield prior to 1636. In 1990 I had all baptism records of Gosfield checked from 1538-1650. At Image 75-76 begins baptisms again from 1653 to 1658 and no one with the surname French.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
18 Oct 1596	William French, son of Christopher French perhaps in Gosfield?		EC*
28 Dec 1636	Thomas French; son of Robert; mother was Edith	25	EB*
17 Jan 1644/45	Francis French; son of Robert; mother unnamed, she died in this childbirth.	27	EB*
8 Jan 1645/46	Robert French Jr.; son of Robert, gent.; mother was Elizabeth (Man)	27	EB*
8 Feb 1648/49	Elizabeth French; son of Robert; mother was Elizabeth (Man)	28	EB*
29 Oct 1650	Thomas French; son of Rob’t, gent., and Elizabeth (Man)	28	EB*
15 Apr 1652	Susan[n]a French, dau. of Rob’t gent. and Elizabeth (Man)	28	EB*

Marriages in Gosfield, 1538-1650

No French marriage recorded in Gosfield between 1599 and 1643. In 1990 I had all marriage records of Gosfield checked from 1538-1650. Marriages end at Image 10 in 1702.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
26 Jul 1573	William Frenche and Ellen Scotte. “An” Ellen Scott is listed as living in nearby Earls Colne, spinster, on 15 Jan 1604, Q/SR 166/8. The word “spinster” was appended to names as the official legal description of an unmarried woman. Was this Ellen French’s mother?	3	E2*
1 May 1598	Michaell Brocke and Joan(na) Frenche	4	E2*
1635?	Robert French and Edith (cannot find)		EB
17 Feb 1644/45	Robert French, gent. and Elizabeth Mann	6	EB*
12 Dec 1649	Thomas Person and Mary French. “A” Thomas Person was listed of Stisted, yeoman, as an adult on 1 May 1599, Q/SR 146/17. He is also listed on documents dated 21 Jun 1585, Q/SR 93/53, and 1576 Q/SR 56/4, and on 30 May 1552 in Saffron Walden D/B 2/4/18, and in 1582 Q/SR 82/5, and 1614 Q/SR 206/42 in Witham, and 26 Sep 1590 Q/SR 114/9 in Chafford indicating he is probably not the person who married Mary French, but he could have been a son.	7	?

Burials in Gosfield, 1538-1650

No French burial recorded in Gosfield before 1636. In 1990 I had all burial records of Gosfield checked from 1538-1650. Burials after 1650 are very sparse either because there were no burials or because no one entered them in the parish register. I checked the register from 1650 to 1733 (to the end Image 74) and found only those listed below.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
17 Jan 1636/37	Thomas French; son of Robert and Edith	57	EB*
17 Jan 1644/45	Edith French; wife of Robert	59	EB*
3 Feb 1644/45	Francis French, died in infancy (2 weeks old)	59	EB*
19 Nov 1648	Robert French; the younger, died at age 2 ½	60	EB*
10 Dec 1660	Will of Robert French of Gosfield, gentleman, D/AMW 6/4 (need to get this transcribed)		EB
22 Apr 1687	Mary ffrench buried in woolen	65	EB*
14 Jun 1687	Elizabeth ffrench	65	EB*

1644, Q/SR 322/57 – Robert Frenche of Gosfield

Great Bardfield Parish Register

D/P 297/1/1, 1561-1735, 31 Images. Great Bardfield was also known as Little Saling and Muche Bardfield at this time, and these records cover St. Peter and St. Paul Church. These are the only records available:

Baptisms : 1561-1562, 1583-1687, 1694-1732

Marriage : 1561, 1584-1653, 1694-1735 (after 1712, only five entries)

Burials : 1561-1562, 1583-1682, 1693-1713

Not available are the following:
Births of Mary, Elizabeth, and Thomas French which took place from 1558-1565.
Marriage of Mary French and John Collin ca. 1578.
Children born to Mary French and John Collin after 1578.
Children born to Elizabeth French and John Meade after 9 Oct 1581.

Great Maplestead Parish Register

Records in Great Maplestead to 1650

The Great Maplestead Parish Register did not appear until 1651; baptisms and marriages began in 1697, and burials in 1678. Apparently earlier than 1651 no parish was established in that village; therefore, the parish records may be found in a nearby town with a church.

We have records of a French family living in Great Maplestead before 1651, but we have not found the parish to which this family belonged.

Little Maplestead, St. John the Baptist, D/P 363/1/1, 1688-1829, 30 Images, baptisms 1690-1829; marriages 1691-1745; burials 1688-1814.

Thomas French of Weathersfield, singleman, and Sarah of Finchingfield? Parish, singlewoman, were married by license May 1708, Image 4
Richard, the son of Richard and Mary French, baptized 24 Feb 1714 in Little Maplestead, Image 4
John, the son of Richard and Mary French was baptized 26 Jun 1715 in Little Maplestead, Image 4
John, the son of John French and Mary his wife was baptized 26 Nov 1752 in Little Maplestead, Image 10
Samuel, son of ______ French, baptized 21 Feb 1779, Image 11, Little Maplestead
John, the son of John and Sarah French, b. 10 Apr 1785, Image 12, Little Maplestead
Thomas, the son of Thomas and Sarah French, 30 Oct 1785, Image 12, Little Maplestead
Elizabeth, dau. of John and Sarah French, 5 Aug 1787, Image 12, Little Maplestead
Israel, the son of Thomas and Mary French, baptized between June 8-22, 1788, Image 13, Little Maplestead
Henrietta, the dau. of John and Henrietta French, bap. 26 Oct 1788, Image 13, Little Maplestead
Mary Anne, dau. of John and Alice French, 11 May 1799, Image 14, Little Maplestead
Hannah, dau. of John and Hitty French, 2 Jan 1803, Image 14, Little Maplestead
Rachael, dau. of John and Henrietta French, bap. 6 Oct 1805, Image 15, Little Maplestead

Thomas French, buried 12 March 1811, Image 20, Little Maplestead
John French, buried 4 Jun 1777, Image 22, Little Maplestead
John French, buried 15 Jul 1787, Image 22, Little Maplestead
Richard French, buried 17 Feb 1751, Image 23, Little Maplestead
Ann French, buried 12 Feb 1770, Image 23, Little Maplestead
Elisabeth French, buried 27 Nov 1770, Image 23, Little Maplestead
Richard French, buried 14 Feb 1734, Image 24, Little Maplestead
John French, buried 29 May 1740, Image 24, Little Maplestead

William Hurril and Sarah French married 19 Nov 1734, Image 25, Little Maplestead
Sarah French widow was buried 2 May 1716, Image 27, Little Maplestead

Will of Christopher French, proved 1617

Christopher French of Great Maplestead, Essex, a millwright, gave unto Mary, his wife, unto John, Thomas, and William his sons. Witnessed by Richard Greene, John Canham, and Philip Clarke, proved on 17 June 1617 in Gosfield, Essex, England.

Will of John French of Great Maplestead, 1679

See FFA Chart #EC.

Court Cases

Q/SR 298/69, John French, Great Maplestead, 10 Sep 1637
Q/SR 325/34, John French of Great Maplestead, 1645
Q/SR 350/77, Henry French, Little Maplestead, 1 Aug 1651
Q/SR 443/43, Solomon French, Little Maplestead, 1681
Q/SR 361/27, Solomon French, Little Maplestead, 8 July 1689

Great Tey Parish Register

D/P 37/1/1, Great Tey also called Much Tey, 1559-1660

Baptisms 1557-1664, Images 3-23
Marriages 1559-1648, Images 24-28
Burials 1560-1660, Images 29-40

No other French exists in the parish register of Great Tey other than these listings below. However, the will of Jeffrey Syday of Great Tey, husbandman, dated 1632, D/ACW 11/164 exists. Jeffrey could have been the father of Joan, and John and Joan may have been married in the Bride’s hometown as was the custom in those days. Jeffery died the year after his daughter was married.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
19 Aug 1631 (marriage)	John French married Joan Syday (other Syday family members: Elizabeth Syday, widow, was buried on 13 Sep 1638 and her husband Jeffery Syday was buried on 5 May 1632. Their daughter Susanna Syday was buried in January 1624.) This record also appears in Boyd’s Marriage Index.	28	E3*
5 Sep 1633 (birth)	John French, son of John and Joan French	19	E3*
1632 – D/ACW 11/164	Jeffrey Syday’s will. He was buried on 5 May 1632. His wife Elizabeth was buried on 13 Sep 1638, and their daughter (Susan?) was buried in Jan 1624. It is not known why John and Joan didn’t name any of their children Jeffrey, Elizabeth, or Susan. Their children were Mary, John, Sarah, Joseph, and Nathaniel. These names must have come from the French side.		E3*

Great Yeldham Parish Register

D/P 275/1/1, Baptisms, 1560-1812, no French up until 1636, therefore, I did not check marriages or burials. Many records listed for the surname Finch, but not French. Thomas Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead was a juror for Great Yeldham, Q/SR 106/8.
D/P 275/1/3, Marriages, 1560-1812
D/P 275/1/2, Burials, 1560-1812

Thomas French of Halstead, yeoman, and wife Margaret French, D/DQ 41/263, 1697

Halstead Parish Register

Including Greenstead Green

Baptisms in Halstead, 1582-1650

D/P 96/1/1, http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/
Baptisms 1564-1624 (begins at Image 2-61)
Marriages 1564-1630 (begins at Image 62-85)
Baptisms 1625-1628 (begin at Image 86-93 1/2)
Burials 1564-1647 (begins at Image 93 1/23-120?)
Baptisms 1628-1632 (begins at Image 121-130)

D/P 96/1/2 from 1631 to 1694, 44 Images

Baptisms above are from 1564-1624, then marriages start from 1564-1630 and right after that, baptisms pick up again in 1625-1628 (from image 85-93 1/2), and then burials start 1564-1647, and at the very end, baptisms start up again until 1633 (unclear).

No baptism records from Halstead with the surname French from 1664-1669, and 1686-1700, indicating that perhaps the French family no longer lived in Halstead.

Baptisms in Halstead, 1564-1650

In 1989 I had checked baptisms from 1564-1616 and found 22 baptisms. In 1989 I checked baptisms from 1617-1650 and found no French baptisms.

Essex County Council, Essex Record Office, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX, England. Research completed in 1989, document ref. E.R.O. D/P 96/1/1, Search ref. G.S. 173/89 of all baptisms in the Parish of Halstead in the county of Essex from 1564 to 1616. 22 French baptisms listed in Halstead between 1564 and 1616.

Essex County Council, Essex Record Office, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX, England. Research completed in 1989, document ref. E.R.O. GS 207/89, dated 9 August 1989, of all Halstead baptisms between 1617-1650, and all burials 1564-1607. No French was born between 1617 and 1650 in Halstead. Only two deaths were recorded in Halstead between 1564 and 1607, a William and John, both in the year 1604.

Essex County Council, Essex Record Office, County Hall, Chelmsford, CM1 1LX, England. Research completed 13 Jun 1990, document ref. E.R.O. GS 149/90, burials in Halstead, 1639-1650, only one surname French, 26 Jan 1641, the child of Thomas French. Marriages 1564-1650 (5 total).

Date	Name	Image	Chart
1564	William French, date is unreadable. Hire researcher to read it. – Nope, researcher Peter Nutt says that this says Rose Finch, not anything to do with French. No known children born between 1565 and 1573 (8 years) in Halstead.	2	n/a
14 Oct 1582	Susane French, daughter of Christopher French	20	EC*
6 Sep 1584	Anne French, daughter of Christopher French	22	EC*
6 Dec 1587	Anne French, daughter of William French	25	EA*
28 Feb 1590/91	William French, the son of Stephan French?? NO, this was William Fynch, son of Sebastian Finch, christened the 28^th day of Feb	26	n/a
25 Jul 1591	John French, son of Christopher French	27	EC*
3 Oct 1591	Marie French, daughter of Thomas French	27	EB*
21 Sep 1592	Anne French, daughter of Thomas French	28	EB*
14 Dec Nov 1595	John French, son of Thomas French, gent.	30	EB*
29 May 1597	Elenor French, daughter of Mr. French	31	EB*
13 Aug 1598	Edward French, son of Thomas French	32	EB*
25 Feb 1598/99	Marget (Margaret) French. She may have died at birth and the next daughter Margaret was named after her. No father named.	33	EB*
24 Jun 1599	John French, son of William French	33	E2*
26 May 1600	Elizabeth French, daughter of Thomas French	34	EB*
2 Feb 1601/02	Margaret French, daughter of Thomas French, gent.	35	EB*
15 Mar 1602/03	William French, son of Thomas French, gent. (this William died in 1621 in London)	36	EB*
24 Jul 1603	Ellen French, daughter of William French	36	E2*
28 May 1604	Ann Bland daughter of Thomas Bland. Ann married William French on 18 Feb 1640/41	36	E2
6 Apr 1606	William French, son of William French	38	E2*
29 Jun 1606	Francis French, son of Thomas French, gent. – could this Francis have had a son, Francis, born in 1625 to Elizabeth, and then the father Francis died, and wife Elizabeth was born in 1605 and immigrated to Boston in 1635 with William French of FFA Chart #2 on the ship Defence?	38	EB*
28 Jun 1607	Rychard French. I believe his father was not Thomas EB because Thomas was a wealthy man and always had his name expressed in these vital records as “Mr.”, Esquire, or Gent. Also, his birthdate is too close to other children of Thomas. Also, Rychard is not mentioned in any will of the EB family.	39	ED
21 Nov 1607	Jerrymya French, daughter of Thomas French, Esquire	39	EB*
26 Oct 1609	Judeth French, daughter of Thomas French	41	EB*
2 Sep 1611	Dorothy French, daughter of Thomas French, gent.	43	EB*
5 Sep 1630	Elizabeth French, dau. of William French (cannot find, but it would be at the very bottom of Image 128 or at the very top of Image 129 – have Peter Nutt check) FYI: 30 Aug 1629, baptized Elizabeth the daughter of John French, Image 34, in Stisted (see Stisted Parish Register below).	128?	E2

Marriages in Halstead, 1564-1650

Marriages in Halstead, 1564-1650

No French marriage recorded in Halstead between the years 1564 and 1580. Halstead parish register for marriages is interrupted between 1592-1597 (see Image 69). No French married in Halstead between 1641 and 1650. In 1990 I had marriages records checked for Halstead 1564-1650 with only 5 found. D/P 96/1/2 from 1631 onwards, 44 images of all vital records, image 32 begins marriage records.

Date			Name	Image	Chart
12 Oct 1581			Christopher French m. Elizabeth Tewson	67	EC*
2 May 1585			Looks like a French was married, but it is unreadable. NO, this is Sebastian Fynch and Fraunces Hutt	68	n/a
4 Oct 1612			Rychard Smythe m. Susan French. On 10 Aug 1618 there was “a” Richard Smythe, a tailor, of Wivenhoe. Another Rychard Smythe was a constable of Pebmarsh in 1557. This marriage took place in Halstead which was probably the home town of the bride.	72	EC*
13 May 1622			William French, widower, m. Anne Stevens, widow, also listed in Boyd’s Marriage Index. This William cannot be William of Greenstreet as he died in 1620. I would think it was William of The Leete.	79	E2*
20 Nov 1631			William French to Elizabeth, D/P 96/1/2 start, records 1631-1694 (cannot find) – this record was found on ancestry.com; however, in 1631 William was no longer living in Halstead.	32?	E2?
	1631	John French married Jane Pratt at Halstead		Boyd’s	EB
1632			Thomas French to Margaret, D/P 96/1/2	33?	EC?
2 Feb 1639/40			Richard French, widower, m. Mathie Penyall, widow, D/P 96/1/2, no image found yet. “A” Penyall is listed in Halstead on 3 and 4 Feb 1611. He is most likely the Richard who was born in 1607—he married for a second time at age 33.	36	ED?EA?
18 Feb 1640/41			William French, widower, m. Anne Bland, widow (this marriage took place after the Puritan immigration to America, therefore, this William was not the one who immigrated). D/P 96/1/2. In Halstead on 20 Dec 1617, William French and Reginald Bland, both weavers, answered to misdemeanors Q/SR 220/65.	36	EC*EA?
29 Aug 1654			John French, single person of this parish, married Mrs. Elizabeth Ingram, single person of this parish. “An” Elizabeth Ingram, widow, wrote her will in 1591.	n/a
14 Jul 1700			Thomas French Br (Brother?) of this parish, married Elizabeth Hickford Spr (Spinster) of this parish.

Burials in Halstead, 1564-1650

In 1990 I had 1608-1639 burial records checked. Also in 1990 I had burial records checked for 1639-1650, showing only 1. No French burial recorded in Halstead between the years 1642 and 1650. No French burial recorded in Halstead between the years 1582 and 1603. In 1989 I checked 1564-1607 and found only 2 deaths in 1604.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
9 Sep 1604	William French; no father, widower, infant or husband mentioned	104	EA?
1 Oct 1604	John French; no father, widower, infant or husband mentioned	104	EA?
28 Nov 1613	Thomas French, gent.	106	EB*
26 Aug 1616	Christopher French	109	EC*
3 Dec 1617	Anne French, dau. of William French of Greenstreet	111	EC?
23 Apr 1620	William French, from Greenstreet	113	EC?
12 Oct 1620	Mrs. Wood, mother-in-law of Mr. Thomas French	114	EB*
7 Jul 1623	Anne French, widow, the wife of William French from The Leete. A widow is a woman who lost her husband thru death. In this case it indicates that Anne had died as a widow and that her husband who predeceased her was William French. Or, because Anne was married only 14 months to William French, it could have meant, Anne French, the widow of Stevens, and the wife of William French.	116	E2*
11 Feb 1624/25	Anne French, widow and genttGent. from Stansted Hall. This was Thomas French who died in 1613. Her parents were John and Palladia (Wood) Olmstead. Children: Edward, Mary, Ann, John per ancestry.com.	118	EB*
5 Apr 1625	Elizabeth French, widowe from The Leete. She may have married a William of The Leete or a sibling of his or have been his step-mother. She was not his sister. She could have also been the mother of Francis French and died at his birth, FFA Chart #E8.	118	E2*
11 Mar 1638/39	John French, Gentt., D/P 96/1/2 from here onward. This is definitely EB.	29	EB*
26 Jan 1641/42	The child of Thomas Frenchn, D/P 96/1/2. You would think that since the child was not even named, that this child died at birth.	31	EC*
16 Feb 1654	Thomas French, D/P 96/1/3, no wife, father, or widower mentioned.	42	EC*
28 Jul 1667	Widdow French. Burials between 1653-1673 are blank.	n/a
14 Feb 1670	Henrye French. Burials between 1653-1673 are blank. Also see record Q/SR 345/40 of 16 Jul 1650 concerning Henry French of Halstead who was accursed of begetting a bastard child of his maid servant, now in prison, which child is supposed to be made away by them. Only 1638-1647 and 1673-1678 records are available.	n/a
29 Nov 1671	Mistris French. “Mistress” was an archaic definition used as a title prefixed to the name of a married woman, in other words, Mrs. Burials between 1653-1673 are blank.	n/a

Hanningfield (West) Parish Register

Research done by Peter Nutt in Essex, England, 11 Sep 1999

D/P 247/1/1, 1558-1696, St. Mary and St. Edward’s Church in West Hanningfield, 69 images
T/R9 – Peter Nutt also checked, baptisms 1615-1650 for West Hanningfield

Baptisms

Date	Name	Image	Chart
13 Jun 1627	John French Jr., son of John French Sr. and Elizabeth his wife, in West Hanningfield, was bapt the 13 June Ao p’dicto
3 Dec 1629	Elizabeth French dau. of John French Sr. and Elizabth his wife was bapt the 3^rd of Dece’b’r An p’dicto , in West Hanningfield

Marriages

Marriages 1615-1638 – no entries for French in West Hanningfield per Peter Nutt, 11 Sep 1999

Burials

Burials 1615-1655 – no entries for French in West Hanningfield per Peter Nutt, 11 Sep 1999

Hanningfield (East) Parish Register

Research done by Peter Nutt in Essex, England, Sep 1999

D/P 250/1/1, 1538-1612, All Saints Church, East Hanningfield
D/P 250/1/2, 1612-1654, All Saints Church, East Hanningfield, 36 images
T/R 8/1 – Peter Nutt also checked, baptisms 1615-1650 for East Hanningfield (the years 1641 an 1642 are missing).

There is a transcript of East Hanningfield, but it needs to be checked at the ERO. Less than 5 children were born yearly in the early 1600s in this parish.

Baptisms

Date	Name	Image	Chart
ca. 1610	John French Sr. who m. Elizabeth
ca. 1608	Robert French Sr., perhaps brother of John French Sr., Robert m. Elizabeth Bernard on 24 Sep 1629.
? Aug 1630	Bar . . . son of Robert French Sr. by Elizabeth (Bernard) his wife, their first child after their marriage on 24 Sep 1629	10
20 Mar 1631/2	Robert French Jr., son of Robert French Sr. by Elizabeth (Bernard) his wife	11
20 Sep 1632	Mary French dau. of John French Sr. by Elizabeth his wife	11
3 Oct 1633	Sarah French, dau. of John French Sr. by Elizabeth his wife	12
8 May 1634	Elizabeth French, dau. of Robert French Sr. by Elizabeth (Bernard) his wife	12
5 Apr 1636*	Ann French, dau. of Robert French Sr. by Elizabeth (Bernard) his wife. The birth of this child in 1636 indicates that this family was not the one who boarded the ship Defence to America in 1635.	13

Marriages

Marriages 1615-1640 in East Hanningfield T/R8 and D/P 250/1/2

Date	Name	Image	Chart
30 Apr 1580	Rebecca French, dau. of John French, m. William Wheeler of Terling in East Hanningfield		EF
ca. 1631	John French Sr. and Elizabeth
24 Sep 1629	Robert French (perhaps brother of John Sr.) and Mrs. Elizabeth Bernard. badly soiled. Yes, this has been verified by Peter Nutt on 13 Aug 2010.	21	n/a

Burials

Burials 1615-1650 in East Hanningfield T/R8 and D/P 250/1/1.2

Date	Name	Image	Chart
20 Jul 1649	John French, his will D/ABW 59/109, a yeoman. John lived in East Hanningfield in 1631 in a court case Q/SR 273/29 regarding a horsebridge. He mentions John his son, Mary his daughter, and Sarah his daughter, and Elizabeth his wife.
18 Oct 1631	Elizabeth French, wife of Richard French, in East Hanningfield, D/P 250/1/2	29	E6?
31 Aug 1632	Bar . . . French, son of Robert
23 Oct 1691 wrote his will	Joseph French of East Hanningfield, carpenter, D/ABW 73/313, gives to his wife Mary, his brother John who does not live in the same city, but in the same county and is a yeoman, and to his half brother Thomas Wortham. Joseph lived in East Hanningfield in 1685 in a court case Q/SR 447/163.

No entries for the name of Fuller between 1620-1640 in East Haddingfield per Peter Nutt on 13 Aug 2010.

Horndon (East) Parish Register

Need to check. D/P 260/1/1 shows records at the All Saints Church in East Horndon as: baptisms 1558-1699, marriages 1557-1686, and burials 1558-1679, of only 31 images. These were not checked.

Horndon (West) Parish Register

Need to check.

Ingatestone Parish Register

Need to check. D/P 31/1/1, 1558-1732. The microfilm transcripts for those years are at T/R 11/1 at the ERO. There are 102 images. Because Ingatestone is close to London, I will check baptisms from 1625-1635. The administrator had beautiful printing skills, and these records were easy to read. Although there were many surnames of Fuller and Frost, there were none of French.

Kelvedon Parish Register

D/P 296/1/1, 1559-1695. 37 images. Looking quickly between 1620 and 1636, I found no French. Not too many entries and easy reading.

Lamarsh Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “No French vital records before 1700”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked.

Leyton Parish Register

If available, please check the Leyton Parish Register for surnames French and Wood, in specific, Anne Wood chr. 22 Apr 1611, dau. of Toby Wood. Check baptisms from 1600-1640 at ERO. T/R 306/1. Research done by Peter Nutt, August 13, 2010.

LEYTON ERO T/R306/1

Baptisms 1600-1640

1611 Apr 22 Anne Wood the daughter of Toby Wood gent was baptized the 22 of April 1611

1616 Jun 11 Dennis Wood the daughter of Toby Wood gent was baptized the 11^th of June 1616

1617 Jun 3 Bowyer Wood the sonne of Toby Wood Esquire was baptized the 3 day of June

1618 Dec 2 Barbara Wood the daughter of Toby Wood Esqr was baptized the 2 of December

1619/0 Feb 20 Robert the sonne of Toby Wood Esquire was baptized the 20^th of Febraury 1619

1622 Mar 19 William Wood the sonne of Toby Wood gent was baptized the 19^th of Marcdh 1622

1624 Aug 12 Haggith Wood?? dafter to William Wood?? was baptized the 12 of August 1624

Little Bardfield Parish Register

D/P 348/1/1, 1537-1698
Baptisms 1539-1630, Marriages 1538-1630, Burials 1537-1600, 65 Images

Agnes daughter of John French, 28 April 1539

Researcher Peter Nutt says that there are no entries for the name French in the Little Bardfield parish registers for the period 1537-1630 under T/R 170/1.

Little Maplestead Parish Register

See Great Maplestead.

Little Tey Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “No registers survive before 1660”.

Manuden or Mallenden Parish Register

D/P 272/1/1, 1561-1733, 68 Images. All vital records for birth, marriage, and burial are together. Perhaps Thomas French of FFA Chart #EB had sons-in-law in this village. Records are good and easy to read. Completed reading thru Image 5 and found no French.

Mark’s Hall Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1590-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. See Great Tey.

Mark’s Tey Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1590-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. See Great Tey.

Navestock Parish Register

D/P 148/1/1, parish register baptims, marriages, and burials for 1538-1659, 113 images.

Pattiswick Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “No registers survive before 1677”.

Pebmarsh Parish Register

This is important to check out. This is where the Siday / Syday family lived of FFA Chart #E3, specifically, John French married Joan Syday about 1632. See http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ancestorsearchresults.asp?last_name=Syday. This website shows a Joan Syday who m. 1539 in Pebmarsh to Robert Cook. Parish registers exist for 1648-1750. This doesn’t help us. Also in Pebmarsh lived Joseph Cocke whose name may be mixed up with Cook. Joseph Cocke and his brother George Cocke were passengers on the ship Defence in 1635 with William French of FFA Chart #E2. Joseph was b. ca. 1608 in Pebmarsh and m. Elizabeth in 1642 in Cambridge, MA. George Cooke was from Great Whelentham, Suffolk, chr. 18 Jun 1611.

D/P 207/1/1, Parish Register, St. John the Baptist church, baptisms: 1548-1750; marriages 1654-1747; burials: 1655-1749, marriages entries sporadic initially: 1654, 1660, 1663-1668, 1674, 1676-1679. 54 Images.

Images 2-8, later marriages
Images 8-32, later christenings
Images 33-51, later burials

I could not find any records before 1654.

The only Bishops Transcripts years available are for 1629-30.
Pebmarsh ERO T/R83/3 Bishops Transcripts

Baptisms

1629 May 13 Thos son of John & Eliz Coke

1629 Dec 3 Bridget dau of Thos & Bridget Sidey

Burials

1629 Apr 2 William French infant

1629 Dec 5 Eliz French

(could these have been mother and son?)

It seems that Pebmarsh (located between Assington and Halstead) could be a village where the French family resided. No parish registers exist in Pebmarsh before 1654. The villages of Pebmarsh, Lamarsh, Alphamstone, Mount Bures, and White Colne seem to all coincide in one way or another. Possible relations of the Cooke, Smythe, and Sidey families are abundant in Pebmarsh. The following connections have been found:

Will of John Smythe, yeoman, 1592, D/ABW 35/116
Will of Christopher Sidey, yeoman, 1580, D/ABW 34/235. It could be that Christopher French, FFA Chart #EC, was named after Christopher Sidey.
Will of Jeffery Smythe, husbandman, 1571, D/ABW 34/120
Will of Robert Smythe, yeoman, 1554, D/ABW 33/253
Will of Richard Smythe, 1550, D/ABW 33/189.
Will of William Smyth, 1550, D/ABW 33/181
Will of Robert Sidey, yeoman, 1623, D/AMW 2/109.
Will of John Cooke, yeoman, 1693, D/AMW 10/134.
Will of Edward Meade, blacksmith, 1700, D/AMW 11/4 (FFA Chart #EB, son of John Meade and Elizabeth French).
Probate of Will of Christopher Sidey of Pebmarsh, yeoman, properties in Pebmarsh, Wickham St. Paul, and Gestingthorpe, 1579, D/DPr/560.
Will of John Sydaye, senior, of Pebmarsh, yeoman, 1539, and William Sidney, senior, of Bures Hamlet, 1594.
Will of James Sidey, yeoman, 1627, D/AMW 2/223.

Peldon Parish Register

Need to check. These need to be checked using the microfilm transcripts at the ERO: T/R 173/1. There is a record of the will of William French of Peldon, yeoman, 1607.

Pentlow Parish Register

Pentlow is actually in Suffolk, but in the earlier years it was included in Essex. I found some Frenches in Pentlow so I decided to check those records.

D/P 23/1/1, French record in 1586. Records are from 1539-1722, St. George Parish, Pentlow, 47 images.

Mara French checked all records thru 1568, Image 14, and found no French. Later on in 1723 appear Newman French and Elizabeth French. These can be checked on the microfilm of transcripts at the ERO, T/R 168/13.

Sible Hedingham Parish Register

1560-1679 Baptism Register of Sible Hedingham, a village 2 miles NW of Halstead, 97 images, D/P 93/1/1, very difficult to read. From St. Peter’s Church, 97 images.

Baptisms 1560-1678 (start at Image 2-49
Marriages 1599-1679 (start at Image 86-97)
Burials 1560-1678 (start at Image 49-85)

Baptisms in Sible Hedingham

Date	Name	Image	Chart
14 Sep 1563	John French, son of George. Nope, researcher Peter Nutt says this reads John Finch, not French	4	n/a
28 Aug 1580	Grace French, dau. of Rob’t French	10	ED*
1 May 1582	Elizabeth French, dau. of Robert French	10	ED*
22 Jan 1583/84	John French, son of John (does not appear to be French)	11	n/a
13 Mar 1584	Wyll’m French, son of Rob’rt French	11	ED*
7 Nov 1585	Joane Finch (does not appear to be French), dau. of John	11	n/a
10 Mar 1587	Thomaysin Frynch, dau. of Rob’rt French	12	ED*
6 Jan 1593/94	John French, son of Rob’rt French	14	ED*
16 Oct 1603	Barb French, dau. of Edm?? This image needs to be checked with an ultra-violet lamp at the ERO. Too difficult for anyone to read. Delete it.	17	n/a
6 Sep 1604	John French, son of John. Nope, researcher Peter Nutt says this reads John Finch, not French	17	n/a
24 Jan 1605/06	Alse Frenche, dau. of William Sr.	18	ED*
8 Jan 1614/15	Jhon (John) French, son of Jhon. Too difficult for anyone to read. Delete it.	21	n/a
4 Mar 1618/19	Thomas French, son of John and Ane	23	ED*
2 May 1621	Sammull French, son of Jhon and Ane	24	ED*
2 Jan 1624	Ane French, dau. of Jhon and Ane	26	ED*
4 Jul 1630	Marie French, dau. of John and his wife Joan. Researcher Peter Nutt says the name reads FINCH, not French.	28	n/a
	No French births between 1624 and 1637.
15 Oct 1637	Sol (Solomon) French, son of Richard. He lived in Little Maplestead in 1681-1689.	31
7 Apr 1640	Mary French, dau. of Richard and Mary	32
17 Aug 1653	Anthony French, innholder in Castle Hedingham, Q/SR 358/57, not a birth date. Also a record of him as innholder in 1680-81. Need to read those between image 32 and 38
12 Mar 1653/4	Mary French, dau. of John; died 25 May 1656	38
5 Mar 1656/7	John French, son of John and Mary	39

Marriages in Sible Hedingham

Date	Name	Image	Chart
1578/79	Robert French to ? (register starts in 1599)	n/a	ED
1582/83	John French to ? (register starts in 1599)	n/a	ED
30 Oct 1613	Grace French to Francis Belleo or Belles	88	ED*
30 Oct 1613	John French to Ane Bearde	88	ED*
30 Dec 1611	Elizabeth French to Edward Buke	88	ED*
1 May 1623	Thomaysin French to Clement Linssille No further French marriage thru 1668	89	ED*

Burials in Sible Hedingham

No French burial in Images 49-50, start searching from 51.

Date	Name	Image	Chart
19 Oct 1619	Will of Robert French, collier, D/ABW 15/213, is available at the ERO.		ED
16 Jun 1643	Richard French	68	ED*
25 May 1656	Mary French, age 3, dau. of John; Mary chr. 12 Mar 1653/54	75
5 Sep 1793	Will of Mary French, widow, D/ABW 112/1/56
13 Sep 1736	Will of Elizabeth French, widow, D/ABW 91/2/83
12 Jan 1760	Thos. French at Foundling Hospital

Later Frenches of Sible Hedingham. As you can see, several Frenches lived in either Little or Great Maplestead, of Chart #EC.

Date and Age	French Ancestor
1 May 1705 20	Thomas French of Lt. Maplestead yeoman m Elizth Ames at Gt. Yeldham
21 Nov 1706 21	Elizth, wife of Thomas French of Gt. Maplestead buried at Gt. Yeldham
19 Jun 1707 22	Thomas French wdr of Lt. Maplestead m Ann Kiddy of Braintree at Sible Hedingham
18 Apr 1708 23	son Thomas French at Sible Hedingham
16 Oct 1709 24	dau Mary French at Sible Hedingham
30 Sep 1711 26	dau Ann French at Sible Hedingham
26 Jul 1713 28	dau Elizabeth French at Sible Hedingham
14 Jan 1715 30	son John French at Gt. Yeldham
13 Sep 1737 32	dau Ann Frenchm John Speakman at Toppesfield
2 Feb 1738 33	dau Elizth French buried at Gt. Yeldham
3 May 1754 69	Thomas French made his last will
2 Nov 1755 70	Thomas French buried at Gt. Yeldham
c    1756	Thomas French’s wife Ann Ames died
28 Jan 1757	Thomas French’s will proved by son John

Stebbing Parish Register

William French of Stebbing, weaver and Mary his wife, 1650, D/DHt/T253/4. These parish records have not yet been checked.

Steeple Bumpstead Parish Register

1585, Q/SR 93/6 – Richard Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead

1621, Q/SR 233/81 – Richard Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead

1585, Q/SR 95/8 – Richard Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead

1588, Q/SR 106/8 – Thomas Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead

1587, Q/SR 102/81 – Richard Frenche of Steeple Bumpstead

1589, Q/SR 107/14 -- Richard French of Steeple Bumpstead

Stisted Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “Baptism 1 Nov 1591 of Mary, christened the dau. of William French”. No others. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. In Sept 2010, Mara French rechecked D/P 49/1/1, 42 images, 1538-1654, and found many more. Perhaps these were not available in 1998:

Oct 1540, baptized Johanne son of John French, Image 3
Dec 1540, buried Johanna son of John French, Image 3
Mar 1541, baptized John son of John French, Image 3
Nov 1551 _______ John French, Image 7
1 Nov 1591, baptized Mary daughter of William French, Image 19
1614 Elisabeth French, Image 26? Can’t find
Sep 1615 buried Reginald or Richard French, Image 27
8 Oct 1618 baptized Mary the daughter of Thomas French, Image 29
23 Feb 1619 buried Anne the daughter of Thomas French, Image 29
24 Sep 1619 buried Henry French of Rentifhe?, Image 29
21 Dec 1619 baptized Thomas the son of Thomas French, Image 29
25 Mar 1622 Thomas French was a church warden, Image 30
3 May 1622, buried Thomas the son of Thomas French, Image 30
14 Jun 1621, baptized John the son of Thomas French, Image 30
Nov 1625, baptized Anne, the daughter of Thomas French and Anne his wife, Image 31
21 Feb 1626, buried John the son of Thomas French, Image 31
26 Feb 1626, baptized Henry the son of Henry French, Image 31
23 Nov 1626, baptized Johann, the son of Richard French, Image 32
13 April 1627, baptized Jeremy, the son of Thomas French, Image 32
27 May 1627, buried Sarah the daughter of Thomas French, Image 32
22 Nov 1627, baptized Anna the daughter of Richard French, Image 32
17 May 1629, buried Jeremiah the son of Thomas French, Image 34
30 Aug 1629, baptized Elizabeth the daughter of John French, Image 34
25 Apr 1631, baptized Rebecca the daughter of Thomas French, Image 35
14 Dec 1634, buried Mary, daughter of Thomas French, Image 36

Thomas Isaac of Halsted, singleman, and Elizabeth French of this parish singlewoman were married banes published November 5^th, 1639, Image 38 (Elizabeth was b. in 1614) FFA Chart #EH. She was dau. of Thomas and Ann French of Stradishall, Suffolk, and Thomas’ parents were Henry French and Constance Pleasance.
March 25, 1641, Thomas French was a church warden, Image 38

Q/SR 264/87, 11 Oct 1628, recognizances of Thomas French of Stisted, yeoman.
A/SR 247/136, 13 Jul 1624, lists chief inhabitants of Stisted, Thomas French. Others are Mary Wiseman, John Fox, George Cranmer, George Hurrell, George Wood, and John Harry.

Terling Parish Register

The last image I could find in Terling was in 1627, and no French appears in Terling from then through 1635 when the Great Migration took place.

D/P 299/1/3 – not separated by event, but given year by year
Baptisms 1538-1688
Marriages 1538-1688
Burials 1538-1688

William Ward of Terling was elected parish register on 5 Nov 1653.

The last image I could find in Terling for French was in 1627.

Baptisms in Terling

Date	Name	Image	Chart
1520	Richard French, listed as the father of Robert French of Terling, but perhaps not born in Terling	n/a	EF
1520?	Jane Clanche, wife of Richard French	n/a	EF
1530?	John French	n/a	EF
3 May 1541	George French, son of Richard and Jane French	7	EF
26 Jul 1544	Thomas French, son of Richard and Jane French	10	EF
22 Feb 1547/48	Hugh French, son of Richard and Jane French (cannot find)	??	EF
Mar 1549/50	Robert French, son of Richard and Jane French	14	EF
23 Mar 1550/51	John French, son of Richard and Jane French (cannot find)	14?	EF
2 Feb 1561	Awdry French, dau. of John and Avelyn Hant French, D/P 299/1/3	20	EF
17 Mar 1562	Rebecca French, dau. of John French (cannot find)	23?	EF
14 Feb 1564	Edward French, son of John (cannot find)	24?	EF
6 Apr 1567	John French, son of John (cannot find)	26?	EF
3 Sep 1569	Unk French, child of John (cannot find)	27	EF
1570?	Robert French, father of Mary		EF
26 Oct 1572	Mary or Marie French, dau. of Robert		EF
1 Jan 1575	Jane French, dau. of Robert		EF
2 Feb 1576/77	Elinor French, dau. of Robert		EF
7 Feb 1579/80	Richard French, son of Robert French. Note below that he died 17 years later.		EF
Jan 1583	John French, son of Robert, D/P 299/1/3	38	EF
12 Jan 1584/85	Robert French, son of John French (cannot find)	39	EF
	Rebecca French, dau. of John (did not check yet)	40	EF

Marriages in Terling

Start in 1538

Date	Name	Image	Chart
ca. 1540	Richard French, m. Jane perhaps Clanche (cannot find) Their first child was chr. 3 May 1541	7	EF
19 May 1560	John French m. Avelyn Hant D/P 299/1/3	20	EF
11 May 1572	Robert French m. Alice Walker (cannot find)	28?	EF
25 Apr 1603	Elinor French m. James Cardell, D/P 299/1/3	54	EF
1 Jul 1613	Robert French m. Ann Abdals, D/P 299/1/3	65	EF
27 Mar 1654	Matthew Browne & Lydia or Lydia ffrench (this may not read ffrench)	102

Burials in Terling

Date	Name	Image	Chart
14 Apr 1561	Awdry French, as daughter of John, D/P 299/1/3	20	EF
15 Dec 1568	Edward French, son of John	26?	EF
3 Sep 1569	Unk French, child of John	27?	EF
3 Sep 1569	Avelyn Hant French, mother of unk French	27?	EF
9 Sep 1569 or 68	Richard French. Apparently this Richard made his will in 1565 in Terling, but his death record cannot be found.	26?	EF
26 Apr 1582	Jane French, wife of Richard French, D/P 299/1/3	37	EF
29 Dec 1597	Richard French, son of Robert. If he had been married, the burial would have listed his wife, not his father. This record clearly states “buryed” and not christened or married.	49	EF
13 Oct 1605	Alice Walker French	57	EF
21 Nov 1616	Robert French, son of John, D/ACW 7/299 will, D/P 299/1/3. Robert was a tailor.	69	EF
26 Mar 1627/28	Jane French, dau. Of Robert, D/P 299/1/3	84	EF
11 Jul 1666	Richard and Edward French (plague?)	111

Twinstead Parish Register

Baptism, marriage, and burial records checked for Twinstead, Essex County, England by Dr. Emmison of Chelmsford in May 1989. Parish records are available from 1568 and onward. No marriage or burial records appear for French. In Oct 2010 Mara French rechecked this register, D/P 212/1/1, 1568-1721, 44 Images. Perhaps William married ca. 1605. It is easy to read, but the pages are all out of order, plus all baptism, marriage, and burial records are combined. I would suspect that William French, of Bures St. Mary and FFA Chart #1 married someone whose hometown was Twinstead, hence perhaps a marriage before the birth of 2 children there. No marriage was found in Twinstead for William.

Baptisms

Date	Name	Image	Chart
10 Nov 1606	Thomas French, son of William	28	E1*
17 Jan 1607/8	Jacob French, son of William	28	E1*

Marriage

Date	Name	Image	Chart
Jul 1643	John French and Elizabeth Fox	41

Wakes Colne Parish Register

Researcher Peter C. Nutt reports in 1998 “no French baptisms 1604-1635”. He checked only the baptisms at first to see if any French lived in that particular parish, and if none existed, the marriage and burial records were not checked. Except for years 1550-1560, nothing survived before 1604.

Part of the Little Colne estate held of Robert Malet by Walter of Caen in 1086 extended into Wakes Colne where it formed the freehold or submanor of Serdeleshey or LOVENEY HALL. It was held of Colne Engaine manor until 1556 or later. By the later 12th century William de Cheney or his successors had enfeoffed Richard Blunville, whose great nephew William Blunville disputed the estate with Richard Engaine between 1199 and 1201. Another William Blunville held c. 1278. By c. 1380 the estate was called Loveney Hall, pre- sumably from an owner; c. 1440 it belonged to a Culpepper. About 1503 Roger Draper sold 'Loveney Hall and Sherdelous' to Edward Sulyard, and in 1546 Edward's son Eustace conveyed the estate, then called a manor, to William Sidey. Sidey at once sold part of the estate, later Great Loveney Hall, to John Newton, and the rest to John Sidey. John Sidey devised the manor to his son, another John, who sold it in 1574 to John Ball (d. 1602) and his son John (d. 1621). They were succeeded by another John Sidey, whose widow held in 1646 with her second husband Thomas Harlakenden. The estate, still called a manor in 1698 and 1711, was called Little Loveney Hall by 1730. It belonged to Osgood Hanbury (d. 1784) in 1768, and presumably descended with Inglesthorpes manor in White Colne to O. B. Hanbury (d. 1890). It was farmed by H. C. Crook in 1902, and belonged to his family in 1996.

Wakes Colne 1871 Census

Ann French	74	Cornard, Suffolk, England	Head	Wakes Colne	Essex
Ann French	48	Mount Bures, Essex, England	Head	Wakes Colne	Essex
Earnest E French	3 months	Colchester, Essex, England	Grandson	Wakes Colne	Essex
Elisha C French	14	Wakes Colne, Essex, England	Son	Wakes Colne	Essex
Eliza French	15	Wakes Colne, Essex, England		Wakes Colne	Essex
Henry French	20	Mount Bures, Essex, England	Son	Wakes Colne	Essex
Joseph French	70	Wakes Colne, Essex, England	Lodger	Wakes Colne	Essex
Louisa French	18	Mount Bures, Essex, England	Daughter	Wakes Colne	Essex
Marthia French	10	Mount Bures, Essex, England	Daughter	Wakes Colne	Essex
Mary French	77	Wakes Colne, Essex, England	Mother	Wakes Colne	Essex
Peter French	40	Wakes Colne, Essex, England	Head	Wakes Colne	Essex
Sophia French	38	Bures Hamlott, Essex, England	Wife	Wakes Colne	Essex
William French	11	Wakes Colne, Essex, England	Son	Wakes Colne	Essex

Wethersfield Parish Register

No records appear before 1690.

White Colne Parish Register

No French

Great Maplestead Parish Register

Records in Great Maplestead to 1650

The Great Maplestead Parish Register did not appear until 1651; baptisms and marriages began in 1697, and burials in 1678. Apparently earlier than 1651 no parish was established in that village; therefore, the parish records may be found in a nearby town with a church. We have records of a French family living in Great Maplestead before 1651, but we have not found the parish to which this family belonged.

Will of Christopher French, proved 1617

Christopher French of Great Maplestead, Essex, a millwright, gave unto Mary, his wife, unto John, Thomas, and William his sons. Witnessed by Richard Greene, John Canham, and Philip Clarke, proved on 17 June 1617 in Gosfield, Essex, England.

Earls Colne Parish Register

Births in Earls Colne, 1628-1635:

None for French.

Wickham St. Paul Parish Register

This includes Lamarsh area just north of Halstead.

D/P 213/1/1, 33 Images, 1609-1667 I checked only Images 2-8 up until 1637, no French, but it is difficult to read.

Notes

Essex Record Office, England, Researchers Notes

The term “mother-in-law” often described a step-mother rather than what we would today know as a mother-in-law.

The terms “plaintiff” and “deforciant” in the Fines in Public Record Office normally indicate “purchaser” and “vendor,” respectively.

*Added picture to chart.

Bishop Transcripts

Parish registers began in 1538 of course not all registers have survived from this date. The Bishop Transcripts are a copy of the original parish register, copied by pen, pencil, or later by typewriter.

Many Incumbents were negligent in keeping parish registers so the Bishops ordered that the incumbents were to send copies of their registers each year to the Bishop this practice was made general in 1598. In almost any series of these transcripts there are annual gaps and also errors and omissions owing to insufficient care in copying. Essex has suffered very badly as regards to its Bt’s the main series starts in 1800 a number of parishes have Bt’s for 1629-30 & 1639-40 and some have years during the 1700’s and the years 1810-1812 are missing for all parishes. Obviously you are interested in the 1600 years so you should order T/R 83

Boyd Marriage Index

This index is in book form on the open shelves at the ERO.

Boyd’s Marriage Index of Essex: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~boydsindex/Boydsindex.htm

Key

*Added to a Chart

Template

Baptisms in xxx

Date

Name

Image

Chart

Marriages in xxx

Date

Name

Image

Chart

Burials in xxx

Date

Name

Image

Chart