As I am unaware of your line of descent beyond Mary Smith I have included the two Smith marriages for the two Mary Frenchs'. This can be a very confusing family, Mary French, b 1624, dau of Thomas and Susan, married George Smith and her niece, Mary French, b 1634, dau of Thomas Jr(son of Thomas and Susan) and Mary (?) married Richard Smith. The information below may help, but I recommend you save it to your word processor or print it out as reading it in email might be even more confusing. Best wishes, Kathy ------------------------------------------------------ From, -- The History of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles. By John William Linzee. Privately Published, Boston 1913 --- Children of Thomas French (86) and Susan Riddlesdale (87). I. THOMAS, bapt. 27 Nov. 1608 Assington, Co. Suff., England (Par. Reg.), as Thomas son of Thomas and Susan Ffrench; d. 8 Aug. 1680 Ipswich*, Mass. (Ct. R.), as Ens. Thomas French; m. Mary (???) about 1630-1, as Mary dau. of Thomas French was bapt. 23 Sept. 1631 (should be 1632) Boston* (First(+)); b. about 1609-10 England; d. 6 May 1681 Ipswich*, as widow of Ens. Thomas French. Thomas French was number 128 among the early members of the First Church of Boston, and Mary Morton was number 87; this lady remains unaccounted for. ("Mary Morton/Norton is possibly the Mary, wife of Thomas French, as no further record of Mary Morton can be found under that name. KB") Thomas French (Jr.) was freeman at Boston 6 Nov. 1632, his daughter Mary, dau of Thomas French was bapt. 23 Sept. 1632 Boston* (First(+)), and another daughter Mary of Thomas French was bapt. 2 Mar. 1634 Boston* (First(+)). (Boston, First(+)) The 27 Jan. 1638. Our brother Thomas French was wth ye Consent of ye Congregation Dismissed to ye Church of Ipswich. He was the Sergent French who received ten acres in Ipswich 20 Feb. 1636, he was Commoner of Ipswich in 1641. (Ipswich Deed I: 21) This wittnesseth that I Thomas French of Ipswich tailor, for five pounds, have sould unto George Varnham ten acres of upland ground at Reedy marsh lying betweene the land of Mr. John Whittingham, Robert Day & Goodman Perley. Dated 1 Apr. 1647. Witnesses: Samuel Appleton, Edward Waldron. Ack. 28 Apr. 1647. Ensign Thomas French had a share of Plumb Island in 1664. (Water's Ipswich) Ensign French and his son Thomas French were both Commoners in 1678, and voters in 1679 at Ipswich. Among his children occur the names of Ephraim, aged 25 in 1658; Thomas aged 22 in 1658, and 32 in 1666, who married Mary Addams 29 Feb. 1659 Ipswich*, dau. of William Addams Senr. of Cambridge and Ipswich; John born about 1637, married Phoebe Keyes (Essex Institute, Vol. for 1908: 348); daughter Mary, who married Robert Smith of Topsfield, Mass. (Topsfield Hist. Coll. VIII: 87). Robert Smith died 30 Aug. 1693, by the record of his probate. (Essex File No. 10190) . . . I Thomas ffrench senior of Ipswich . . . doe . . . make this my last Will of Testament . . . I give . . . to Mary my beloved wife . . . I give to my son Thomas ffrench . . . I give to my son John French . . . Also I give to my daughter Mary Smith . . . And to my son Samuel ffrench . . . as concerning my lands at the Pequod lots, and my division lot of marsh at Plum Island my will is, that my sons Thomas and Samuel French for and in consideration of twenty pounds by them engaged according to my order unto my son Ephraim French . . . shall possess and enjoy the said Pequod lands and division lot of marsh . . . to my sonn Thomas French . . . dwelling house . . . my Lot lying in Labour-in-vain fields containing twelve acres more or less . . . to my son Samuel I give . . . two acres of upland joining to Joseph Quilters, and two acres of meadow-ground at Reedy marsh . . . my will is that my son Thomas French doe give . . . free libertie to Mary my wife his mother to abide . . . in the . . . said house . . . after her decease my son Thomas shall deliver to my three children John Samll and Mary three of the biggest pewter dishes . . . I doe name . . . my son Thomas French . . . Executor . . . This proved in court held at Ipswich 28 of Sept. 1680 to be the last will . . . of Ens: Tho: ffrench by the oath of Mary French and Samuell ffrench . . . Dated Agust 3: 1680. An Inventory of all the goods & Chattels of Ensigne Thomas ffrench late of Ipswich deceased taken . . . this 25 August 1680 . . . by his dwelling hous & barne & homestand with the privelidg belonging by 12 accres of Lande at Labor in vain by 2 accres of Land by Scotes Land by 2 accres of march in the Comon feild Jonathan Wade John Whipple. (Essex: File No. 25729) We the subscriber being Desired by Samll Smith Son of and administrator on the Estate of Robart Smith of Boxford desced to asist him In his bill of charg for maintaining his mother and his brother Nathaniell Smith his mother being upward of sixty years of age att his fathers dath and his brother being uncapabell of taking care of himself all his days and his brother contined with him for the space of twenty four years and then departed this Life and the aboue Samuell Smith toock the care of him the tarme of twenty fower years and his mother livied with him after his father dath twenty five years and he toock ye care of her also . . . and in our happurhenion we think it may be worth six pound pur year for the keeping his brother Nathaniell Smith twenty years and for the Last four years ten pound pur years . . . and for the maintaines of his mother for the space of twenty six years taking one year with another eight pound per year. Dated in Topfeld June 3: 1720. Benjamin Bixby John Gould Jacob Dorman Phebe Gould 43. II. ALICE, bapt. 9 Apr. 1610 Assington, Co. Suff., England, (Par. Reg.), as Alice dau. of Thomas and Susan Ffrench; d. 26 June 1666 Ipswich*, Mass. (Ct. R.), as Alice wife of Ensign Howlett; m. THOMAS HOWLETT (42) about 1634. III. DORCAS, bapt. 31 July 1614 Assington, (Par. Reg.), as Dorcas dau. of Thomas and Susan Ffrench; d. 30 Dec. 1697 Roxbury*, Mass., as Dorcas the relict of Griffin Craft; m. 1st Christopher Peake 3 Jan. 1636 Roxbury*; b. (???) England; d. 22 May 1666 Roxbury*, as Christopher Peake Sen. Dorcas Peake m. 2nd Griffin Craft (98) of Roxbury, and was his third wife. (Boston First(+)) Dorcas French, maid servant to or brother John Winthrop ye Elder, was admitted to the First Church 10 Aug. 1634. VIII. MARY, bapt. 6 Jan. 1624 Assington, Co. Suff., England (Par. Reg.), as Mary dau. of Thomas and Susanne Ffrench; d. (???); m. George Smith about 1644 (Hammatt's Ipswich); who was a Denison subscriber of Ipswich in 1648; he was b. (???) England; d. 15 Dec. 1674 Ipswich (P. R.). A George Smith was of Salem, Mass. in 1635, perhaps the same as the one of Ipswich. George and Mary Smith had a dau. Sarah, who married John Newman 9 Nov. 1664 Ipswich* (Ct. R.). George Smith had a share in Plumb Island in 1664. His son Samuel Smith d. 31 May 1727, aged 80 y. at Ipswich*. (Essex File No. 25524) . . . The thirteene day of Aprill one Thousand six hundred & seventy foure I George Smith of Ipswich . . . doe make . . . this my last will . . . I give to my sone Samuell Smith my Dwelling house . . . But the rest of my estate . . . I give to my sons Thomas & Samuel Smith . . . & my will is yt my sonns shall pay my wife forty shillings apeice per anum . . . my daughter Sary Newman shall have my mare . . . I give to my daughter Rebeca ten pound . . . I give to my daughter Elizabeth ten pound . . . & if either of them or both marry with in one yere after my decease . . . I give my daughter Johana . . . twelve pounds to be paid her at twenty yeres of age . . . Thomas & Samuell . . . executors . . . John Brewer Senr Walter Roper . . . Inventorie of the Estate . . . of George Smith whoe deceased the 15th of December 1674 taken by vs . . . A marsh Lott at plumb Island. Daniel Eppe John Whipple Ipswich the 30 . . . March 1675. **(Boston First(+)) = First Church of Boston ------------------------------------------------- And from, -- The Ancestry of Lieut. Amos Towne, 1737-1793, of Arundel (Kennebunkport), Maine, by Walter Goodwin Davis, originally published by the Southworth Press of Portland, Maine, in 1927. This 1987 reprint edition was made possible with the cooperation of the New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, New Hampshire. It is printed under the auspices of Parker River Researchers, P.O. Box 86, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950. Reprinted by THE ANUNDSEN PUBLISHING CO., 108 Washington Street, Decorah, Iowa 52101 THE SOUTHWORTH PRESS, PORTLAND, MAINE ------------------------------------- Page 25 SMITH 1. ROBERT SMITH, first of Ipswich and later of Rowley Village, testified in a civil suit in 1659 when his age was stated to be thirty-three. From the depositions in a previous lawsuit in 1655, in which he gives evidence concerning a circumstance of his voyage to New England, it would appear probable that he came from the vicinity of Boston, Lincolnshire, and that he made the voyage to New England as an apprentice of a Mr. Whittingham in 1638. According to the estimate of his age he was born in 1626 and would have been about twelve years old at the time of his emigration.(*) An examination of the parish register of Boston discloses a Robert Smith baptized in 1626, but the burial records show that he died within a year. Experience in attempted identifications of English emigrants to America teaches that it is always unwise to leap at conclusions unsupported by very strong evidence, and this is particularly the case with a surname so common as Smith. The 1659 deposition states that Robert Smith was living with Mrs. Tuttle, Simon Tuttle's mother, in Ipswich "eight or nine years ago." In 1652 he and Edmund Bridges were witnesses in an Ipswich suit.(+) He married Mary French, daughter of Thomas and Mary French of Ipswich, before March, 1656/7, when they both testified in the action brought by Henry Kemball against Thomas Smith et al.?? Within a few years they moved to Rowley Village, then closely identified with Topsfield, and in 1673, when some of the inhabitants of the village attempted to throw its association toward Rowley, Robert Smith headed the petition to the General Court in opposition. The village eventually became the town of Boxford. Smith took the oath of allegiance in 1678. When Mr. Capen became the minister of Topsfield church in 1684, Robert Smith's wife was one of the members in full communion. Robert Smith made his will on August 7, 1693, and it was probated on September 26. His property was left to his wife, Mary, his sons Samuel, Ephraim and Jacob, and his daughters Mary Towne, Phebe Towne, "Emey" Towne and "Meriah" Smith. (*) Records and Files, etc., I : 381; II : 141. (+) Records and Files, etc., I : 256. ?? Records and Files, etc., I : 416. ------------------------------------------------------------ Page 26 His son Nathaniel, who was an invalid, was left in charge of his brother Samuel, and his son Thomas, who lived with "his grandfather ffrainch," received no legacy. Administration cum testamento annexo was granted to Samuel on October 3, 1698, his sureties being his brother Ephraim and his uncle John French. The property administered at this time was appraised by John French and John Gould at œ189:7:3. From papers filed with the account of this administration it appears that Mary (French) Smith survived her husband twenty-six years, which would indicate that she died in 1719. A final division was made by Ephraim, Jacob and Samuel Smith in 1731, when it was stated that they had bought out the interests of their brothers and sisters.(*) Children, born in Rowley Village:-- 2. i. THOMAS, b. about 1656. ii. MARY, b. Oct. 28, 1658, at Ipswich; m. John3 Towne, son of Jacob2 and Catherine (Symonds) Towne, Feb. 2, 1680; they were living in Oxford, Suffolk County, in 1726 when they disposed of their rights in her father's estate to her brother Jacob Smith.(+) Children, born in Topsfield:-- 1. Mary Towne, b. June 23, 1681. 2. John Towne, b. Nov. 25, 1682; d. Sept. 29, 1683. 3. Israel Towne, b. Nov. 18, 1684; m. Susanna Haven; Oxford. 4. Esther Towne, b. Dec. 13, 1686; m. Simon Mellen April 23, 1711. 5. Ephraim Towne, b. April 22, 1688; m. Sarah Kenney Dec. 31, 1719; Oxford. 6. Jonathan Towne, b. March 11, 1691; m. Catherine(???); Oxford. 7. David Towne, b. Oct. 22, 1693; Belchertown. 8. Samuel Towne, b. Jan. 25, 1695; Oxford. 9. Edmund Towne, b. May 7, 1699; Oxford. 10. John Towne, b. May 31, 1702; m. Lydia Hunkins March 6, 1728; Oxford. iii. PHEBE, b. Aug. 26, 1661; m. Jacob3 Towne, son of Jacob2 and Catherine (Symonds) Towne, June 24, 1684; she d. Jan. 14, 1740; he d. Oct. 4, 1741. Children, born in Topsfield:-- 1. Joshua Towne, b. Nov. 13, 1684; m. (1) Angelique Page May 19, 1707; m. (2) Rebecca Johnson; d. June 11, 1762. 2. John Towne, b. Feb. 2, 1686; m. Abigail (Stanley) Towne, May 11, 1715. 3. Abigail Towne, b. Dec. 10, 1687; m. Timothy Ramsdell March 12, 1712. 4. Catherine Towne, b. Jan. 2, 1690; m. Benjamin Towne April 1, 1713. (*) Essex Probate, No. 25729; 306 : 74, 114; 313 : 98; Essex Deeds, 65 : 243. (+) Essex Deeds, 57 : 180. ------------------------------------------------------------- Page 27 5. Jacob Towne, b. about 1692; m. Louise Page May 28, 1719. 6. Phebe Towne, b. about 1694; m. John Gould June 23, 1715. 7. Gideon Towne, b. Feb. 4, 1696; m. Hannah Gould. 8. Ruth Towne, b. May 25, 1698; d. Aug. 1, 1739. 9. Stephen Towne, b. Nov. 2, 1700; m. Mary Butler Dec. 22, 1740. 10. Jabez Towne, b. June 15, 1704; m. Tryphemia Dwinell March 30, 1730. 11. Elisha Towne, b. Oct. 25, 1706; m. Sarah Rhodes Feb. 16, 1738. 3. iv. EPHRAIM, b. Oct. 29, 1663. 4. v. SAMUEL, b. Jan. 26, 1666. vi. AMY, b. Aug. 16, 1668; m. Joseph3 Towne, son of Edmund2 and Mary (Browning) Towne, Aug. 10, 1687 (See Towne.) vii. SARAH, b. June 25, 1670; d. Aug. 28, 1673. viii. NATHANIEL, b. Sept. 7, 1672; an invalid, who lived with his brother Samuel for twenty-four years after their father's death; d. about 1717.(*) 5. ix. JACOB, b. Jan. 29, 1674/5. x. MARIAH, b. Dec. 18, 1677; m. Peter Shumway Feb. 11, 1700, in Topsfield; he was a son of Peter and Frances Shumway and was b. June 6, 1678; in 1713 they moved to Oxford where they were living in 1726 when they deeded their share of Robert Smith's estate to her brothers Jacob and Ephraim;(+) she d. Jan. 17,1739, and he m. (2) Mary Dana Feb. 28, 1740. Children:-- 1. Oliver Shumway, b. May 10, 1702, in Topsfield. 2. Jeremiah Shumway, b. March 21, 1702/3. 3. David Shumway, b. Dec. 23, 1705. 4. Mary Shumway, bapt. May, 1708. 5. John Shumway, bapt. Aug. 16, 1710. 6. Samuel Shumway, bapt. April 22, 1711. 7. Jacob Shumway, b. March 10, 1717, in Oxford. 8. Hepsibah Shumway, b. April 1, 1720. 9. Amos Shumway, b. Jan. 31, 1722. (*) Essex Probate, No. 25729. (+) Essex Deeds, 57 : 18. ?? 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