Thomas Ffrench

Thomas died 4th August 1931. Probate was granted on 13th October 1931 to his wife, our grandmother Alice Vera Ffrench. The total value of his estate was only GBP187-15s-8d which was about half the average annual wage in 1931. At the time of his death they were living in a semi-detached house at 54 Gladstone Road, Broadstairs, Kent.

Thomas had divorced his first wife Edith neé Keelan in 1910 due to an affair she was having with a Raymond (Raymont) Knight, a Judge of the India Courts. Raymont Knight lived at 231, The Strand, Westminster, London and later in 1912 at 43 Alleyn Park, Camberwell/Dulwich close to the Dulwich College Private School. Edith married Raymont Knight a year later in the December quarter 1911.

The National Archives Kew has the divorce details :-

NA Ref : J 77/1023/1027 Divorce Court File: 1027. Appellant: Thomas Ffrench. Respondent: Edith Mary Theresa Ffrench. Co-respondent: Raymond Knight. Type: Husband's petition for divorce [hd]. Covering dates 1910

History Thomas had three brothers, Joseph, Captain Arthur and Aloysius and one sister Philomena who died in infancy.

Thomas, who was a Catholic, followed his fathers footsteps and joined the army. At the time of the 1881 Census he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hereford Militia. Thomas rose to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. He received his first Commission on 14th May 1884 and was awarded the title of "Kaiser-i-Hind" which translates to mean "Emperor of India" and was a civilian award of the British Raj. Thomas was a Tamil specialist and he played the banjo. He retired to Margate on 1st August 1910 where he played the banjo to children at the seaside in Margate. He died at Margate on the 4th August 1931 aged 68.

Thomas had previously married Edith Mary Theresa Keelan in 1885 in Hull where the Keelan family was living. Edith's father, Patrick Francis Keelan, was Irish by birth and had been a surgeon for the Royal Navy. Thomas and Edith had three children including Raymont, Patrick and Thomas who also went the Indian Army route becoming a Colonel in the Indian Army with the Rajputana Rifles.

Here is the full history of the Ffrench family as related to me by Raymond Ffrench word for word -

...As far as I can tell, the first ffrench was a man called John ffrench who was born in Ireland in 1489. He had the title of "Shane ne Sallim" (Knight without Stain) and he became the Mayor of Galway in 1538. John, who was my direct ancestor, was descended from the "de la Freyne" and then "Freynsh" line. Sir Humphrey de la Freyne came over from France in the 12th Century with Strongbow and he settled in Ireland where he owned a lot of land which was passed down the line through the centuries to the present day. The family in Ireland were "high family" and were said to have been a Protestant family that built Monivea Castle in Galway "Castle ffrench?) which was the family "seat" for many generations. The largest area of land was actually owned in County Roscommon where Frenchpark became the new family seat in later generations. Please let me know if anything above is inaccurate. I am still trying to piece the story together.

At one stage the double "f" was dropped in favour of a single capital "F". Three successive Arthur French's were MPs for Roscommon in the 17th and 18th centuries. The middle one was Colonel Arthur French who had five illegitimate children including my direct ancestor Dominick. Apparently there was a programme on Channel 4 about him in about 2000 which I missed because we were living in Kuwait at the time. Arthur French may have had a Catholic wedding with a Margaret Daly who was a Catholic and unfortunately Catholic weddings were not recognised by English law. Following this "marriage" Arthur married a Protestant, Alicia Margennis, with whom he had several more children who inherited the family seat.

Dominick was born in about 1750 in Ireland. He was a Catholic and became a sailor working for the East India Company. He married a Spanish woman who died young and they had no children. Dominick became a ropemaker and went into ship and insurance broking when he settled in England in Margate. Dominick was mentioned in Arthurs will and he inherited a desk seal bearing the Coat of Arms of the Frenchs of Galway. In England Dominick had three children with Eleanor Sophia French (French was her maiden name) including my direct ancestor Michael ffrench (also Captain Andrew French and Mary Thomasina Ffrench who married the Reverand Kyrle Erle Money (CofE) from a well-to-do family). I have copies of Mihael & Eleanors wills though they are very difficult to decipher!

Michael ffrench was born in either Margate or Barking in 1789. Michael re-adopted the double "f" acknowledging his family history. Michael was a Catholic and studied law at St Edmunds college at Oxford where he became a Barrister at Law and worked at the Supreme Court in Madras. Michael who was also a flortist died in Chelsea in 1843. Michael married Margaret Hunn who was CofE with whom he had five children including Montagu Thomas ffrench. The other children were Edmund, Edward, Martin and Ellen ffrench.

Montagu Thomas ffrench was born on the 21st August 1819 in Bermondsey. He was a Catholic who also attended St Edmunds College at Oxford before joining the Indian Army. He rose to become a Colonel for the Madras Staff Corps and won an Indian Mutiny medal. Montagu died in Kensington on the 18th August 1883. Montagu had married Georgina White who was born in India in 1824. They had five children including Thomas ffrench who was born in India (French Colony BS) on 23rd December 1862. Thomas had three brothers, Joseph, Captain Arthur and Aloysius and one sister Philomena who died in infancy.

Thomas, who was also a Catholic, followed his fathers footsteps and joined the army. At the time of the 1881 Census he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Hereford Militia. Thomas rose to become a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army. He received his first Commission on 14th May 1884 and was awarded the title of "Kaiser-i-Hind" which translates to mean "Emperor of India" and was a civilian award of the British Raj. Thomas was a Tamil specialist and he played the banjo. He retired to Margate on 1st August 1910 where he played the banjo to children at the seaside in Margate. It seems from what you say that he also played the piano accordian! I will ask my dad about that! He died at Margate on the 4th August 1931 aged 68.

Thomas had married my great-grandmother Edith Mary Theresa Keelan in 1885 in Hull where the Keelan family was living. Ediths father, Patrick Francis Keelan, was Irish by birth and had been a surgeon for the Royal Navy. Thomas and Edith had three children including my grandfather Raymont Patrick Thomas ffrench who also went the Indian Army route becoming a Colonel in the Indian Army with the Rajputana Rifles, Raym .............. uncompleted!!