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THOMAS FRENCH (bp. 1584–d. bef. 1639)
SUSAN RIDDLESDALE (bp. 1584–1658)
Thomas, the son of Jacob and Susan (Warren) French, was baptized on 11 October 1584 in Bures St. Mary. [1] He died before 5 November 1639 in Ipswich. [1] He married Susan Riddlesdale on 5 September 1608 in Assington, co. Suffolk. [1]
Susan, the daughter of John and Dorcas Riddlesdale, was baptized on 20 April 1584 in Boxford, co. Suffolk. [1] She died in August 1658. [1]
Thomas and Susan went to New England in 1637 and settled in Ipswich. [1]
Children of Thomas French and Susan Riddlesdale:
i. Ensign Thomas French was baptized on 27 November 1608 in Assington, co. Suffolk. [2] He died on 8 August 1680 in Ipswich. [2] He married Mary ___ by 1632. [2] She died on 6 May 1681 in Ipswich. [2]
Ancestry of Thomas French [1]
Jacob French married Susan (Warren) French on 27 September 1579 in Bures St. Mary. Susan was probably the daughter or granddaughter of William and Katherine (___) Warren of Bures St. Mary.
Children of Jacob French and Susan Warren:
i. William French was baptized on 25 July 1580 in Bures St. Mary.
ii. Jacob French was baptized on 12 August 1582 in Bures St. Mary. He probably died young.
iii. Thomas French was baptized on 11 October 1584 in Bures St. Mary.
iv. Elizabeth French was baptized on 27 February 1586/7 in Assington.
v. John French was probably the John baptized on 27 March 1596 in Assington.
vi. Susan French was born in 1589/98. She (or maybe her mother) was buried on 1 August 1613 in Assington.
vii. Robert French was baptized on 25 June 1600 In Assington.
Thomas and his younger sister Alice arrived in New England by 1632; his next younger siblings Dorcas and Susan came in 1633. [2] His parents and younger siblings came later. [2] Thomas first settled in Boston and moved to Ipswich in 1635. [2]
Thomas was a tailor. [2] He was appointed ensign on 18 May 1664. [2]
ii. Alice French was baptized on 9 April 1610 in Assington. She died on 26 June 1666 in Ipswich. She married Thomas Howlett.
iii. Amy French was born about 1612. [3] She died in June 1658 in Ipswich. [3] She married John Gage. [3] He died on 25 March 1673 in Ipswich. [3] He married second Sarah (___) Keyes, the widow of Robert Keyes. [2][3] Sarah died on 7 July 1681 in Newbury. [2]
iii. Dorcas French was baptized on 31 July 1614 in Assington. [3] She died on 30 December 1697 in Roxbury. [3] She married first Christopher Peake on 3 January 1635. [3] She married second as his third wife Griffin Crafts. [3]
On 11 June 1633 Thomas Gostlin wrote to Jonathan Winthrop about two of Goodman French's daughters who had been sent to New England to serve as maids in the Winthrop household. The eldest [19-year-old Susan] was to serve three years; the youngest [17-year-old Susan] was to serve four years. [3]
iv. Susan French was baptized on 22 April 1616 in Assington. She married Henry Kingsbury.
v. Anne French was baptized on 15 March 1617/8 in Assington. She died on 1 May 1689 in Bradford. She married Thomas Hardy.
vi. Margaret French was baptized on 12 March 1619/20 in Assington. [3] She was buried there on 25 November 1635, age 15. [3]
vii. John French was baptized on 26 May 1622 in Assington. [3] He died on 1 February 1697/8 in Bradford. [3] He married Freedom, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Kingsley, in 1654. [3]
viii. Mary French was baptized on 6 January 1625 in Assington. [3] There is no further record of her.
The Ancestry of Susan Riddlesdale [4]
Jasper Riddlesdale of Boxford, co. Suffolk was probably born about 1490. He died between 29 August 1552, when he wrote his will, and 15 September 1552, when it was proved. He married Elizabeth ___. She died between 30 October 1553, when she wrote her will, and 13 April 1553, when it was proved.
Jasper, husbandman, was churchwarden at Boxford in 1542–3 and 1547–8.
Children of Jasper and Elizabeth Riddlesdale:
i. Henry Riddlesdale was born about 1518/20.
ii. Thomas Riddlesdale was probably born about 1552. He probably married Joan, who married second the widower Lancelot Mayor on 5 October 1567 in Boxford.
iii. Peter Riddlesdale married and had a son.
iv. Grace Riddlesdale was probably the daughter who married Richard Keble.
v. Elizabeth Riddlesdale was probably the daughter who married Thomas Ryvet.
vi. Jane Riddlesdale (possible twin)
vii. Amy Riddlesdale (possible twin)
viii. Robert Riddlesdale was born after 1532.
ix. Richard Riddlesdale was born after 1532.
x. John Riddlesdale was probably born about 1536. He was buried on 5 December 1614. He married Elizabeth Patte on 29 November 1562 in Boxford.
xi. William Riddlesdale married Joan Johnson on 2 November 1561.
Henry Riddlesdale was born about 1518/20. He was buried on 15 June 1591. He married Joan ___.
Children of Henry and Joan Riddlesdale: Baptisms in Boxford
i. Robert Riddlesdale was probably born in 1554/5.
ii. John Riddlesdale was baptized on 26 September 1557.
iii. Thomas Riddlesdale was baptized on 2 June 1560. He was buried on 7 February 1588/9. He married Susan Bronde on 1 September 1584 in Boxford. Susan, the daughter of John Bronde, was baptized on 23 January 1560/1 in Boxford. She married second Richard Wendall on 20 January 1693/4.
iv. Joan Riddlesdale was baptized on 23 October 1562. She married Richard, the son of Richard Walton, on 30 June 1682 in Boxford.
v. Julyan Riddlesdale was baptized on 10 December 1564. She married John Stanbye on 13 June 1587 in Boxford.
vi. Henry Riddlesdale was baptized on 6 March 1566/7. He married Bridget Smythe, the daughter of Symond and Alice Smythe, on 5 September 1592 in Boxford.
vii. Richard Riddlesdale was baptized on 13 August 1570. He married Rose Brand on 17 September 1593 in Groton. She married second John Warren of Nayland on 23 April 1611. She married third Richard Grymes on 20 November 1617 in Boxford.
John and Rose's son John Warren went to New England in 1630 and settled in Watertown.
John Riddlesdale was baptized on 26 September 1557. John of Bures St. Mary was buried on 4 June 1629 in Assington. He married Dorcas ___ about 1583. She was buried on 24 September 1624 in Assington.
Children of John and Dorcas Riddlesdale:
i. Susan Riddlesdale was baptized on 20 April 1584 in Boxford.
ii. Richard Riddlesdale was probably born about 1586. He was buried on 6 November 1610 in Boxford, apparently unmarried.
iii. Thomas Riddlesdale was was probably born about 1588.
iv. Joan Riddlesdale was was probably born about 1590. She married Richard Mather on 11 October 1610 in Assington.
v. Dorcas Riddlesdale was was probably born about 1590. She was buried on 15 December 1610 in Assington. She married Thomas Dynes, yeoman of Assington, in a double marriage with her sister Joan, on 11 October 1610.
Joan and Dorcas were possibly twins.
vi. Edward Riddlesdale was was probably born about 1592 in Assington. He was buried there on 9 February 1630/1. He married Mary ___. She died on 10 April 1683 in Rowley, Massachusetts. She married second as his second wife John Wyatt on 27 June 1632 in Assington. John died between 23 November 1665 and 26 December 1665 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He married first Martha Sheldrake. Martha, the daughter of John and Joan Sheldrake was baptized on 8 February 1596 in Assington and died there on 16 March 1631/2. Mary married third James Barker on 22 May 1666 in Rowley.
vii. John Riddlesdale was was probably born 1594/8 in Assington. He was buried there on 10 December 1602.
viii. Sarah Riddlesdale was baptized on 2 March 1599/1600 in Assington. She married first Mark Gryme on 30 May 1620 in Assington.
References:
1. "Thomas French of Assington, Suffolk, England, and Ipswich, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 142 (1988): 250–2, 393.
2. "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620–1633, Volumes I-III," digitized book, AmericanAncestors.org, originally Published as: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 703–5, entry for Thomas French, 721, entry for John Gage.
3. Melinde Lutz Byrne and John Edward Hardy, "Three French Daughters and Their Husbands ... ," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 175 (2021): 104–19.
4. John Brooks Threlfall, "John Wyatt of Ipswich, Massachusetts and his wife Mary (___) Riddlesdale," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 143 (1989): 215–21, 363–4.
Map: Google, image, Google Maps (http://maps.google.com : 1 December 2022).
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25-Nov-2023