Thomas French (1639 - bef. 1699)

Born 29 Oct 1639 in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Atkins) French — married 12 Jun 1660 (to 5 Oct 1692) in Whilton, Northamptonshire, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Stanton) French — married 25 Sep 1696 in Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died before 3 May 1699 before age 59 in Willingboro Township, Burlington, Province of West Jersey

Biography

Thomas French was born in Northamptonshire, England.

Marriage

County: Northamptonshire Place: Nether Heyford Church name: St Peter and St Paul Register type: Phillimore's Transcripts Marriage date: 12 Jun 1660 Groom forename: Thomas Groom surname: FRENCH Groom occupation: cooper Bride forename: Jane Bride surname: ATKINS

Register note

Thomas French Jun.; Note.-March 8, 1663 The said Jane French presenting unto me, John Bedford, parson of Heiford, a consigned Certificate of the said Thomas French, cooper, jun., and Jane Atkins, both of Heiford parish, Testifying that they the said Thomas and Jane were marryed in the parish Church of Whilton, June 12, 1660, by Mr. Richard Morris, then Minister there. Returning her Certificate of marriage backe againe into her owne Custody, I thus entered the Record of ye said Marriage at her request into this my Heiford parish Register.

Thomas ffrench, founder of the New Jersey branch of the French family, resided, in 1680, the year of his migration to America, in Nether Heyford, a parish in the hundred of Newbottle Grove, county of Northampton (p. 39) ... His baptism, in childhood, in 1639, in the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Nether Heyford, England, is recorded but when the Society of Friends arose he with other members of the family became actively identified therewith, suffering for his faith at different times (p. 43) ....

Thomas ffrench was among the first to take a practical interest in the colonization of Friends in America.... he signed the famous 'Concessions and Agreements' at London, in 1676, which provided for the settlement of New Jersey.... He sailed from London, in the ship Kent... about the 1st of August 1680, with his wife and nine children... He settled upon a tract of 600 acres of desirable land, located along the banks of the Rancocas, about four miles from Burlington. Throughout the remainder of his life he held an influential place in the colony and prospered in business." (p. 48) ^[1]

Death and Legacy

Thomas French wrote his will while "about to set sail for England", leaving bequests to wife Elizabeth, sons Charles, Thomas, and Richard, and daughters Rachel Allen, Hannah Busby, Sarah Wood, Mary Busby, Jane Hall, Lydia, and Rebecca. A copy of this will is dated 3 May 1699 but the will was written earlier than this date, as the inventory was conducted 21 April and the will was proved 3 May 1699.^[2]

Did Thomas French make the journey back to England referenced in the will? An estate could not be probated until the owner was deceased, and it's unclear from the abstract when the will was written. The original can be accessed at the NJ State Archives.

Timeline

• 1639 "I Thomas ffrench was baptized November the 3, 1639." At Church S.S. Peter and Paul, Nether Heyford, England.^[3]
• 1660 "I Thomas ffrench was married to my wife Jane, June 12, 1660." ^[4]
• 1673 "In the year 1673 was a very stormy year for the waters did sore break out of their bounds and was a very wet season, such wet May day, after which floods that flooded the meadows when they were ready to mow and drove away in many stacks and binding of hay, and we had a summer like unto winter for cold and wet for the general year" ^[5]
• 1680 "I an my wife and nine children through the great mercy of God came into this country and landed at Burlington, the 23 of the 7 month 1680. Thomas French" ^[6]

DNA note

This is an ancestor of interest in my research, Gedmatch C17 Group 1. Please contact me should you wish to share information. Veronica Williams 18:37, 3 April 2015 (EDT)

Sources

1. ↑ Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas French; Howard Barclay French; Digital Image, Google Books;
2. ↑ Calendar of Wills, Administrations, Etc. 1670-1730. Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey. (Trenton, NJ: Archives of the State of New Jersey), volume 23, page 174
3. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofdesce01fren#page/64/mode/2up
4. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofdesce01fren#page/56/mode/2up
5. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofdesce01fren#page/56/mode/2up
6. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofdesce01fren#page/56/mode/2up

• https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/58184843e93790eb7f8272e0?search_id=5a0dbaac4325a6ed8371f5f2&ucf=false

• Northamptonshire parish registers, marriages. V. 1" https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE93512&from=fhd

Acknowledgements

This person was created on 13 December 2010 through the import of DEG_16_GEDMATCH.GED.