Stephen French (1558 - aft. 1606)

Born 1558 in Chiddingly, Sussex, England

Husband of Barbara (Fowle) French — married 2 Jun 1579 in St Denys Church, Rotherfield, Sussex, England

Descendants

Died after 24 Oct 1606 after age 48 in Streame House, Chiddingly, Sussex, England

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Biography

Stephen French was born circa 1558 in Chiddingly, Sussex, England. He was the son of John French and Joane Owen. The family were iron workers and had an iron smelting furnace at Chiddlingly.^[1]

Chiddingly: Chiddingly Parish (about 4400 acres) is located "in the hundred of Shiplake and Rape of Pevensey." Adjacent are the parishes of Waldron, Hellingly, Arlington, Chalvington, Ripe, Laughton, and East Hothly. A piece of the parish is located "in the hundred of Dill."^[2] The area is known for it's rich deposits of raw iron ore.

Streame: One of the houses in Chiddingly is Streame, aka Streme, Stream. The estate was the residence of the French family for several generations.^[2] There, the family operated a water-powered ironworks called Stream Furnace. It would have looked something like this:

Old English Ironworks

Parents of Stephen: "John ffrenche, of Streame of Chittingligh," was the founder of a family. He made a will dated 4th March, 1583. He left legacies to Joane his wife, and Stephen his son. He bequeathed to his sons John & Thomas 300 pounds each and to son Andrew 400 pounds. His sons-in-law, Thomas Edolphe and Thomas Salter, were appointed overseers of his will.^[2]

Stephen French, Esq., heir to the estate, married Barbara, daughter of Anthony Fowle, of Rotherfield, Esq.^[3][4]

Children:^[2]

1. John
2. Joane, wife of Captain Samuel Fuller, of Waldron,
3. Mary, wife of John Meeres, of Glynley, Esq.^[5]
4. Elizabeth^[6]

Stephen French wrote his will on October 24, 1606.^[7][2][8] It was probated on February 18, 1607.

Sources

1. ↑ Combes, Pamela. WEALDEN IRON RESEARCH GROUP, Bulletin No. 31 Second Series, 2011, pages 32-33.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Lower, Mark Antony. "Chiddingly--Parochial History." Sussex Archaeological Collections, Relating to the History & Antiquities of the County. Vol XIV (Vol II Second Series) (Google eBook). Sussex Archaelogical Society, 1862.
3. ↑ Visitations of Sussex, p 115, Fowle.
4. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N6KN-Q9X : 10 February 2018), Steven French and Barbara Fowle, 1579; citing Rotherfield, Sussex, England, reference 2:4073ZQS, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,067,279.
5. ↑ Visitations of Sussex, p 104, Alman.
6. ↑ "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QQ-K7K9 : 11 March 2018), Steven French in entry for Elizabeth French, 1586.
7. ↑ Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) Wills, 1384-1858 [database online]. TheGenealogist.co.uk 2021, PROB 11/ 0109/ 0257. The Will of Stephen Frenche, yeoman of Chiddingly, Chichester, Sussex.
8. ↑ Attree, Frederick and Town, William. 1853. Notes of post mortem inquisitions taken in Sussex. 1 Henry VII, to 1649 and after. Abstracted from the Great Britain Court of Chancery. Page 93.

• [London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 - London Metropolitan Archives]
• [Devon, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records]
• "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QQ-K7K9 : 11 March 2018), Steven French in entry for Elizabeth French, 1586.

• Benolte, Thomas; Philipot, John; & Owen, George. The Visitations of the County of Sussex: 1530 and 1633-4. London: The Harleian Society, 1905. Vol LIII.