Mary Smith

Mary French was baptized on 6 January 1624/5 in Assington, Suffolk, England and died on 1 February 1697. She was buried on 1 February 1697 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. (???)

Uncertain Marriage

Spring 2021 NEHGR on "Three French Daughters and Their Husbands: Three Unrecorded Marriages from Early Ipswich, Massachusetts, Amy (French) Gage, Susan (French) Kingsbury, and Anne (French) Hardy. link

ix. Mary French, bp. Assington 6 January 162[4?/]5; no record of her marriage or death is known and allegations that she married George Smith are unproven. The assertion of her marriage to Smith may be a mistaken conflation of her father Thomas French and her brother Thomas French, the latter of whom had a daughter “Mary Smith” named in his will.

---

Do not confuse her with her niece Mary Smith who married Robert Smith, of Boxford

Parents: Thomas French (1584-1639) and Susan Riddlesdale (1584-1658)

Married:

1. about 1645 in Ipswich, Massachusetts to George Smith (b. abt. 1620-d. 30 March 1675).

children include:

1. Elizabeth Smith, b. about 1653, Ipswich, MA d. 23 February 1735/6. She married John Smith (1654-1736)
2. Rebecca Smith, b. about 1656, Ipswich, MA. She married John Chapman (1654-1677)
3. Johanna Smith, b. 14 April 1660, Ipswich, MA. She married John Yell (d. abt. 1701)

Other children are listed on the Ancestral File, but Jona (Joanah) is the only child documented in Ipswich births.

Biography

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/French-326

Mary French was baptized in Assington, Suffolk, England on Jan. 6, 1624, daughter of Thomas and Susan (Riddlesdale) French. She emigrated to New England with her parents. (p. 429[1]

She married about 1644, George Smith, who was born in England. [1]. George died Dec. 15, 1674. [1]

His will (Essex File no. 25524) written April 13, 1674 mentions the following:

• his wife
• son Samuel who died at age 80, on May 31, 1727 at Ipswich
• son Thomas
• daughter Sarah Newman who married John Newman of Ipswich on Nov. 9, 1664
• daughters Rebecca, Elizabeth and Joanna, all unmarried at the time

Notes

Will of George Smith made 13 April 1674 and his Inventory was taken 15 Dec 1674; The children named in the will are listed on their family group sheet. His wife, Mary was alive at the time of his inventory; George may have had another daughter, Mary; She is not listed in the will indicating that she died young;

Comments

Be extra careful about Smith children. George Smith & this Mary French were NOT the parents of Mary, Phebe and Amy, who married Towne brothers.

In the will of Robert Smith, of Boxford

5. I give to my daughter Mary Townes and to my daughter Phebe Townes and to my daughter Emy Townes and to my daughter Mariah Smith all my moveable estate within doors to be equally divided between them at the death of me and my wife. My true meaning is that what any of my daughters hve already had shall be accounted and if any has her share already, then they shall have no share of what do remain to be divided, for my will is that my daughters shall be equal in that estate with what they had had, and if there is [any one that?] do fail to their share, then they shall have the __________ that my daughter Mariah Smith shall have as good a share [for herself?] as any of my daughters that are already married.

Links

• http://trees.wmgs.org/getperson.php?personID=I62891&tree=Schirado
• https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:George_Smith_%284%29