Ancestors

Ens. Thomas French

Thomas French was in New England by 1637, when he served as a soldier in the Pequot War. He first appears in the Ipswich records in 1638, written "Thomas French, Jr." He was a different man from the older Thomas French who came to Ipswich from Boston in 1635 with his wife Alice and died in 1639. Whether the two were related is not known, and they have often been confused.

His public life was in the militia and the courts. He contributed to Major Dennison's compensation in 1648. He was called Sergeant French until 1664 and Ensign French after that. An ensign was the junior officer who carried the company's colours. In 1664 he testified to the mutinous behaviour of Samuel Hunt and others while the Ipswich troop was training on Wolfpen plain. He sat on the trial jury of the county court in 1651, 1652, 1657 to 1660, 1662, 1664, 1669, 1672, 1674, 1675 and 1678, and on a jury of inquest in 1676. He was listed as a commoner in 1678 and as a voter in 1679.

In 1672 he petitioned the colony for a grant of land northwest of Salisbury, for himself and eight other Ipswich men who had served in the Pequot campaign thirty five years before. He signed the petition himself.

He and his wife Mary had at least five children: Thomas, John, Samuel, Ephraim and Mary. Mary married Robert Smith of Rowley Village. John settled at Topsfield.

He made his will on 3 August 1680 and died five days later, on 8 August. His wife survived him until 6 May 1681.

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Cite: Heirology, "Ens. Thomas French (d. 1680)", https://heirology.com/ancestors/ens-thomas-french-1680-489c3d.